Cocktails
Kaffir Lime Mojito
One of my favourite recipes from my new book How to Drink without Drinking. I absolutely adore the flavour of kaffir limes which are wonderfully fragrant in comparison to ordinary limes – a bit like a bergamot is to a lemon. They more than make up for the lack of rum in this classic cocktail.
If you can’t find fresh kaffir limes, you can use the more widely available frozen ones, but the flavour of the rind is not quite so intense. I suggest garnishing the drink with a wedge of ordinary lime, though, because the pith of kaffir limes is so thick.
SERVES 1
about 10 mint leaves, plus 1 sprig to garnish
pinch of coarse sea salt
30ml (2 tbsp) Kaffir Lime Syrup (see below)
wedge of lime
crushed ice
chilled soda water, to top up
Put the mint leaves in the bottom of a wide, heavy-based tumbler, sprinkle over the salt and lightly crush with a muddler or the end of a rolling pin. Pour in the kaffir lime syrup, then squeeze over the wedge of lime, drop it into the glass and stir.
Fill the glass halfway with crushed ice, top up with chilled soda water and stir. Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve.
For the kaffir lime syrup
Makes 300ml/10 fl oz
3-4 kaffir limes
200g (7oz) caster sugar
300ml (10 fl oz) water
Using a vegetable peeler finely peel the rind of the kaffir limes, taking with it as little of the white pitch as possible. Juice the limes and set aside.
To make the syrup put the sugar in a saucepan and add the measured water. Place over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved. Bring to the boil and add the lime rind then simmer for 3 minutes. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
Stir in the lime juice then strain the syrup through a fine sieve into a wide-necked jug or bowl. Pour through a funnel into a sterlised bottle or jar, seal and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
El Pastor's Pina del Oro
If you're looking for a cocktail to run up for your Cinco de Mayo celebrations try this delicious pineapple and sage-based Piña del Oro from El Pastor in London's Borough market. Perfect with a taco or two.
See also 6 of the best drinks to pair with tacos
Piña del Oro
50ml Tequila Herradura Reposado
60ml pineapple juice
15ml lime juice
15ml sage syrup
3 drops Peychaud bitters
Sage Syrup
1 litre water
I litre sugar
Bunch of sage
To make the sage syrup, pour boiling water on the sage leaves. Let steep for 5 minutes. Remove the sage then add sugar and stir. Let cool.
Shake all the ingredients together and serve straight up in a sherry glass.
El Pastor is at 7a Stoney Street (Borough Market)
Cognac Summit
Sometimes cocktails seem like just one more thing you have to do when you have people round but this summery cognac one is so easy it's no hassle at all.
I tasted it at a a pop-up supper club I was co-hosting for the Bureau National Interprofessional du Cognac (for which - declaration of interest - they paid me). But they didn't ask me to run the recipe or tweet about it. I just thought it was so good I wanted to pass it on. And you don't even need a shaker - you just make it in the glass.
For each glass you need
1 strip of lime peel/zest
4 thin slices of fresh ginger
40 ml (1 ½ oz) VSOP cognac
60 ml (2 oz) traditional lemonade (something like R. White's - nothing fancy)
1 long strip of cucumber peel
An old-fashioned/rocks glass
Place the lime zest and ginger slices in the glass.
Pour in 20 ml (3/4 oz) of VSOP Cognac.
Lightly press the lime and ginger 2 or 3 times using a pestle (in other words 'muddle' it)
Half fill the glass with ice. Stir well for 5 seconds using a bar spoon.
Pour in the remaining cognac
Add the lemonade and cucumber peel.
Stir well for 5 seconds and serve
You can reduce the amount of cognac if you want to, obviously, and skip the muddling and it'll still taste good.
* If you're wondering the cocktail is named after the International Cognac Summit in 2008 which brought together mixologists from all over the world to create cognac cocktails. Bet they had a good time ....
RSS
Most popular
.jpg)
9 great wine pairings for duck (updated)
My latest book
How to Drink without DrinkingNews and views
.jpg)
Fine Wine and Fast Food
About Fiona
About Matching Food & Wine
Work with me
