Friday, January 4, 2013

In my Thermomix - my favourite new summer drink

Like so many, I'm starting 2013 with a list of new food goals. I refuse to call them resolutions, as that is a sure fire way for them to fail [no alcohol in January for example...]. But moving right along...
Minty lime lemon cordial
One of my food goals for 2013 is to use my Thermomix more. And to blog my experiences with it. And share a few recipes. I've had this wonder-toy for nearly three years, and while I use it more than any other appliance, I definitely don't use it every day, or even close to its potential.

Luckily I now have many friends who also have a wonder-toy and who are happy to share recipes. Such as this one that my friends Brad and Cathie made me when I popped over for afternoon tea a few weeks back.
My wonder-toy. AKA Thermomix 
 It comes from the [I think] 2011 Thermomix calendar. This is my version:

Minty lime lemon cordial
by Mel Kettle [with thanks to Thermomix]

What you need:
80-100g sugar [I like it quite tart - makes the gin taste better]
generous handful of mint leaves
250g ice cubes
3 limes with skin, scrubbed, cut in half
2-3 lemons [2 if big and juicy, 3 if smaller] with skin, scrubbed, ends trimmed, cut into quarters
300-350g fizzy water [preferably sparkling mineral water]

What you do:
Place sugar and mint into Thermomix and blitz for 10 seconds on speed 10.

Add the ice and blitz for 6 seconds on speed 8.

Add lime, lemon and water. Set the dial to closed lid position and push the turbo button 2-3 times.

Strain through the Thermomix basket into a bowl. Once the bulk of the liquid is out, use a nut milk or a curd and jelly bag (or some muslin or a clean chux) to strain and squeeze out the remainder of the liquid.
A curd and jelly bag - just a very fine polyester bag. Great for squeezing out excess liquids
Pour the cordial into a clean bottle and keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. Discard the solids [if you have a good recipe for these I would love to hear it!].

To serve, pour equal amounts of cordial and fizzy mineral water over ice, garnish with a slice of lime and fresh mint.

Or, even better, add a generous [very generous...] splash of gin or vodka in place of some or all of the fizzy mineral water. Or replace mineral water with a bit of tonic for a posh G&T. SO GOOD!

This bottle doesn't last long in our house!
What is your favourite summer drink? With or without the generous splash?

4 comments:

Lizzy (Good Things) said...

Mel, love the freshness of mint! Thanks for sharing this recipe.

Fiona Bris-Vegas! said...

That looks refreshing. Tonight I'm going to try some Ginger Beer with a dash of Limoncello, mint and swirl with one of your lemongrass stalks.

Gabriella Campbell said...

This looks delicious Mel! Do you think a syrup like rice syrup or maple syrup might work? Or would it change the flavour too much? My favourite summer drink is definitely a banana or mango almond milk smoothie in the thermomix!

rhubarbwhine.com said...

I usually mix it up with some meat scraps and feed it to my chickens :)

But, you can try mixing it into pancakes, muffins, and maybe into a cream cheese icing for a not to sweet muffin topper? Otherwise, it makes wonderful compost, under the vegetables when you plant - put the pulp in the base of the hole.