Mint and Lemon Drink
Recipe courtesy of Café Liz
On Tuesday, we heard from Allysar Hassan about her summer vacation in Jordan. Here is the recipe she promised to the surprisingly fresh and delicious drink she had while traveling.
Whether your beachside, poolside or inside, I promise, this will be your favorite summer drink. It is simple and ubiquitous, and there’s nothing more refreshing than freshly squeezed lemons and ground sprigs of mint, whether served on ice or blended into a smoothie.
The recipe contains a lot of fresh lemon juice, as well as a lot of mint, which gives it a strong flavor and a bright color. If you’re over 21, and looking to kick it up a bit, a splash of Vodka is also delicious blended in with it.
For 4 cups (one liter) of ice limonana:
2 heaping cups of ice
1 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4 large lemons)
1/2 cup spearmint leaves (from about 40 stalks), plus a few more to garnish
4-6 tablespoons sugar *(or to taste; see note below)
Juice the lemons, and remove the mint leaves from the stalks. Dump all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.
Serve garnished with mint.
*You’ll want to adjust the sugar to your tastes: 4 tablespoons (i.e. 1/4 cup) will give you a mildly sweet drink, and 6 tablespoons will give you a drink that’s sweet but not cloying, something like the sweetness you’ll get in restaurants. 2 tablespoons comes out barely sweet. I prefer 4 tablespoons, but if you like things really sweet, you might even want to add more than 6 tablespoons.
