Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Blueberry Spritzer

This spritzer just made my top 10 favorite drinks.  It'll make you want to go sit out on the deck and put your feet up.  It's summer in a glass.  Sweet blueberries, tangy lemons, perfection.
The recipe is adapted from one I found, credited to Persian Food from the Non-Persian Bride, at Leite's Culinaria.  The original recipe was for a cherry spritzer.  Doesn't that sound fabulous?  Unfortunately, my husband can't have cherries, so I had to go with something else.  I wanted something seasonal, so decided on blueberries.  I'm very glad I did, too, because it works just wondefully here.
So, mix up a batch, sit back, and relax with your tasty beverage!

Blueberry Spritzer
Adapted from Leite's Culinaria

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup blueberries (frozen work great)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Setzer Water, chilled

Directions:
1.  Stir the sugar and water together in a medium saucepan.  Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.

2.  Gently stir in the blueberries.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Do not smash the berries.

3.  Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth, into a bowl (discard the solids).  Pour the lemon juice through the strainer.  Chill the mixture until cold.

4.  Stir the blueberry syrup together with the seltzer water at a ratio of 3 to 1 (1/4 cup syrup to 3/4 cups seltzer makes a small glass).  Garnish with frozen blueberries, if you'd like (it's pretty and helps keep the drink cold).  Serve!

Note: store any leftover syrup in a covered container in the refrigerator.


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