Home-grown Mint & Lemon Cordial

Just add water...

...and ice. actually when we say 'water' we probably mean soda water; and a dash of rum; or vodka.

Actually, screw the cordial ...

...and the soda water ...

.. the ice is strictly optional really.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

You'll need:

• About 75g fresh spearmint
• A couple of lemons
• 500g - 600g of sugar
• 600ml water
• A pan that can comfortably hold all of the above

A lot of this is 'to taste'. 75g of mint is a very minty amount,, for example. You can adjust accordingly. Go mad, experiment.

The same can be said for the sugar. With 600g you'll make a very sweet cordial. If you like it strong you'll be able to feel the diabetes with each sip. It's just there to balance the lemon. I use a little less.

Method:

• Zest the lemons. I didn't have a zester, but found that a cheese grater actually did a pretty good job. A sharp peeler may do just as well. I did this straight into the pan, because that's sensible.
• Chop the mint. Not too finely. The leaves and stems are all fine. If you're a bit rubbish at chef style knife action like me just roll it all into a ball and cut through it. Put this in the pan with the zest.
• Add the sugar, and the juice of both lemons, and mix thoroughly. Like lemon? Chop these up and add them as well.
• Pop a lid on the pan and leave for an hour or so.
• Add the water, stir in and bring slowly to the boil, stirring as you go, and make sure all the sugar has dissolved.
• Leave to cool.
• Bottle.

 That's it. Works nicely with lemonade as well. I've been told it's a good thing to drink if you're feeling queasy; possibly not with the rum mind. Seriously though, it has a bit of a Mojito thing going for it...

Enjoy!