Fresh Ginger Ale with Lemongrass: A Refreshing & Natural Simple Saturday Sipper
Posted Jun 12 2010 3:01am
Thumbing through a cookbook I have had forever but never seem to cook from, " Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four Star Chef" by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman, I found a recipe for a homemade ginger ale. I love the fact that it is real food and not soda with artificial ingredients, and is made with one of my favorite ingredients, lemongrass, and also a kick of chile--making it a refreshing (and a bit fiery) choice for this week's Simple Saturday Sipper.
Vongerichten says, "This is a ginger ale for grown-ups, a spicy, not-to-sweet, ultrarefreshing drink that combines fresh ginger, lemongrass, and chiles in a way you've probably never had them."
Fresh Ginger Ale with Lemongrass "Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef" (Makes about 1 quart--enough for at least 10 glasses)
1 lb fresh ginger, unpeeled and cut into small dice
2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 small fresh chiles, stems removed
1 1/2 cups sugar
soda water
lime wedges
Combine the ginger, lemongrass, and chiles in a food processor and process until minced, stopping the machine periodically and scraping down the sides, if necessary.
Place the puree in a saucepan with the sugar and 1 quart water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Cool, then strain and chill.
To serve, place about 1/4 cup of the syrup in a glass full of ice. Fill with soda water; taste and add more syrup if you like. Garnish with a lime wedge, then serve.
Note: The syrup keeps for weeks, refrigerated.
Notes/Results: Absolutely delicious! The flavors work well together and nothing overpowers. The lemongrass is wonderful with the ginger, and I used two small red chiles so it was plenty spicy, but not too spicy when diluted with the soda water. I used an unbleached organic sugar and next time I might try agave or honey in place of the sugar. The syrup is very refreshing with the club soda and would work well as a cocktail with vodka or rum, or even simply mixed with iced tea or lemonade for a summer treat. It would also be a fun hostess gift when presented in a nice bottle. Next time I make this I am going to add some kaffir lime leaves to the mix for an additional flavor kick. An easy and great recipe for a natural and flavorful homemade soda.
Fresh Ginger Ale with Lemongrass
"Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef"
(Makes about 1 quart--enough for at least 10 glasses)
1 lb fresh ginger, unpeeled and cut into small dice
Happy Saturday!