We need a drink. Not a glass of wine or a cold beer, but something long, sweet-sour and fizzing with the flavours of the season. So we make one or, more accurately, a jug full. A drink that is truly seasonal, of gooseberries and elderflower, and then another of watermelon and the sort of sparkling wines that seem made for when the sun is shining. And then we take them outdoors.
Every drink, be it a small, cold golden beer or an espresso, needs something to go with it. A bite or two. That something could be a tiny, too-hot-to-hold pastry filled with a paste of anchovies and pine kernels or it could be an olive or two that you have marinated with roast peppers, rust-red chillies and coriander. A spicy morsel to alternate with a swig of icy watermelon fizz.
The one truly essential rule for making summer drinks is that they be iced. Hand me a lukewarm cocktail on a summer’s day and I’ll probably throw it at you. Ice cubes, yes, but you could swap them for frozen berries or chunks of fruit. I made a gooseberry drink this week and cooled it with frozen berries. Rather than dissolving into your drink like ice cubes, they partially thaw as they do their work and leave you with diminutive, sozzled nuggets to scoop up at the end.
A bright red drink to cool a blazing hot summer’s day. It also makes a splendid water ice. Just pop it in the freezer.
Makes 12 small glasses
watermelon 1kg elderflower cordial 250ml prosecco 750ml bottle
Cut the watermelon into 3cm thick slices, remove the skin and seeds, then place in a freezer bag, seal and freeze for 2 hours.
Put the frozen watermelon into a blender, add the elderflower cordial and process to a bright pink slush.
Tip into 12 small glasses, then top up with prosecco, and if you wish, some edible flower petals.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
