No spring gathering is complete without a refreshing cocktail – alcoholic or otherwise. The Mediterranean Culinary Academy’s culinary innovation director Ghislaine Calleja presents two new-season drinks that will go down a treat.
Grapefruit, Mint and Lovage Cocktail
Serves 15
Ingredients for the grapefruitade
8 large grapefruits
3-5 stems of lovage
160g sugar
1.5 litres of water
To make the grapefruitade, scrub the grapefruits with warm water. Zest two of the grapefruits into a bowl and add sugar, then juice all of the grapefruits into the bowl. Add 1.5 litres of boiling water, stir to dissolve, then cover and leave at room temperature to cool.
Add 2-4 sprigs of mint (depending on the mint flavour desired). Then juice the stems of the lovage and add 10-20ml to the drink (depending on the flavour desired). Finally, stir and strain through fine muslin and chill.
To complete the cocktail add 25ml prosecco to 25ml grapefruitade for the alcoholic version and 15 ml premium quality sparkling water to 35ml grapefruitade for a non-alcoholic twist. Pour into a champagne flute and serve.
Naspli, Basil and Almond Cocktail
Serves 15
Ingredients for the grapefruitade
10 Japanese loquat leaves (dark green)
20 ripe Japanese loquats
Small bunch of basil sprigs
Still water
Agave syrup or stevia to sweeten
Pinch of salt
Grated nutmeg (1/2 tsp)
Almond milk, sweetened (or another type of milk if allergic)
To make the Japanese loquat leaf ice tea, scrape the underside of the leaves using a fingernail to gently remove the furry miniscule hairs.
Dehydrate the leaves at 40°C for 4-6 hours. Break down into smaller pieces to create a larger surface area. Bring water to a boil and add leaves for 10 minutes – maintaining a temperature of 80-100°C. Let the tea brew and allow it to cool until it has a strong orange colour. Infuse a couple of basil sprigs for 5-10 minutes. Strain the tea and chill.
To make the Japanese loquat syrup, wash, peel and remove the seeds from the ripe loquats and place them in a medium-sized saucepan. Add your sweetener of choice (2tbsps agave syrup or 1tbsp of stevia), ½ cup water and a pinch of salt, and grate in 1/2 tsp of nutmeg. Over medium heat, cook on the stove and bring to bubble, then hold at an aggressive simmer until the loquats are soft and the syrup has thickened up a bit. Puree in a blender (immersion or normal) and add a squeeze of citrus juice. Cool the puree.
To serve, add two teaspoons of loquat puree to a wine glass and top with the naspli ice tea (pour it slowly and give it a little swirl to incorporate the juice in the bubbles). Just before serving, apply a layer of foam to the top of the glass using a tablespoon to ensure it stays at the surface (so that it looks like beer head).