It’s that time of year when the seasons change, the leaves turn a fierce shade of red and crunch deliciously beneath our feet. Our environment is transposing all around us, but what about our eating habits? Are we making conscious choice to ensure we pack more seasonal fruit and vegetables into our diet?
Here are recipes for two seasonal berry cordials to pack in some extra antioxidants into your daily intake. Enjoy as an alternative to alcohol during Autumn and Winter, or you can always add them to your favourite spirit over a meal, to be enjoyed with balance and care.
For the pomegranate cordial:
- Cut the top of the pomegranate (the big knobbly part) off and then cut in half to reveal the seeds.
- Use a spoon to scoop out the pomegranate seeds and put them in a bowl.
- Transfer the seeds into a blender and pulse (don’t blend otherwise the seeds will get bitter).
- Put the seeds into a sieve lined with a muslin cloth and strain through into a bowl, leaving the hard seed shell behind.
- Once you have extracted the juice you can boil with equal parts filtered water, the juice squeezed from your lemon and a dash of coconut blossom syrup depending on your taste.
- Transfer to your glass bottle and refrigerate. Serve chilled with fruit ice cubes.
For the Sloe berry cordial:
- Put your sloes into a pan of filtered water and bring to the boil
- Set to simmer and break up the sloes and stones with a wooden spoon (these will be left behind later after sieving.)
- Add the lemon juice and continue to simmer for a further 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and strain through a sieve lined with a muslin cloth into a bowl.
- Put this juice back onto the heat adding the coconut blossom syrup (depending on your taste, but at least one tbsp) and simmer for a further 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, transfer to your glass bottle and refrigerate. Serve chilled with fruit ice cubes.
- Shop for your ingredients at Abel and Cole online and enjoy your #10portionchallenge
