Mango-Mint Limeade

amaka inyese

June 21, 2015 7:56 PM

If you love sweet mango with tart lime this drink is created to celebrate the two

mango limeade

If you love sweet mango with tart lime this drink is created to celebrate the two. This is a very nice beverage that is both refreshing and light. The addition of mint and cardamom gives the limeade a lovely combo of spice and herb on the background of the mango and the lime. Feel free to adjust the mint and cardamom amounts to your liking. The use of turbinado sugar gives the drink a nice complex sweetness that you don't get with regular white sugar.

If you happen to be lucky enough to have a surplus of fresh, ripe mangoes, by all means use them here.

Ingredients

1. 1 T grated lime zest + 1/2 cup juice from 4 to 5 limes

2. 10 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed with the back of a knife

3. 1 cup loosely packed mint (basil or a combination of mint/basil can be substituted))

4. Sparkling water

5. Thinly sliced limes and mint for garnish

Directions:

1. In a bowl of a food processor, combine mango and lime juice and process until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing down and scraping back and forth with a spatula to extract as much of the mango-lime juice as possible. Also make sure to scrape the underside of the strainer into your bowl -- just make sure you rinse your spatula first! You should have about 2 cups of mango-lime juice. Chill until ready to use.

2. To make the mint simple syrup, combine the sugar, 1 cup water, lime zest, cardamom pods, and mint in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until a thin syrup forms. Pass the syrup through a strainer into a bowl or measuring cup. You should have about 1 cup of mint simple syrup. Chill until ready to use.

3. When ready to serve, combine the chilled mango-lime juice and mint simple syrup in a 1.5 quart or larger pitcher. Stir to combine, then add sparkling water into glasses filled with lots of ice. Garnish with lime wedges and mint.

amaka inyese