Strawberry and Balsamic Basil Soda
We adore the combination of strawberries and basil and strawberries and Balsamic vinegar, so we wondered: what happens when you combine all three ingredients … in drink form? Pure, summery refreshment.
Fragrant, fizzy, and sweet-but-not-too-sweet, On The Lamb’s strawberry and Balsamic basil soda is destined to become our non-alcoholic drink of choice for spring and summer brunches and picnics. It consists of a simple formula: strawberry-Balsamic purée + basil simple syrup + seltzer or club soda.
There’s a lot of room for variation in whipping up the components and assembling the drinks – use more or less vinegar in the purée (though we found the amount called for just enough to bring out the sweetness of the strawberries), substitute sugar for agave nectar in the syrup, mix the drink sweeter or less sweet, punch it up with sparkling wine instead of fizzy water.
We can imagine loads of other uses for the purée and simple syrup, too, such as spooning the purée over desserts or whisking it into vinaigrette and using the basil syrup in iced tea or cocktails.
Give it a try!
• Strawberry & Balsamic Basil Soda, from On The Lamb/Surfas
And a variation with Prosecco: Strawberry Balsamic Basil Spritzer, from A Cozy Kitchen
(Images: Emily Ho)