Black Grape, Tamarind and Mint Lemonade with Trio of Grape Skewers
Yield
8
oz DrinksFrom juice bars to coffee bars to cocktail bars, the venues where Americans drink have become more diverse…and a lot more inventive. Chef Scott Samuel from The Culinary Institute of America shows us a new take on lemonade, flavored with sweet black grape juice, tangy tamarind and herbaceous mint. The black grapes make the lemonade a beautiful purple color.
Ingredients
6 cups Black grapes
1/2 cup Tamarind paste
900 ml Filtered water
1/4 cup Palm sugar
1/2 cup Mint, stemmed
1/2 Tbsp Lemon juice
2 cups Red, black and green grapes for skewer
Mint, for garnish
Directions
- Add 300 ml of the water to a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Add the tamarind paste and palm sugar, and stir to break apart any chunks as they melt. Bring the mixture to a boil, and add the mint. Turn off the heat and allow the mint to steep for about 5 minutes. Pour the mixture through a sieve and press the pulp to extract all the juice; discard remaining pulp. Pour the strained liquid into a pitcher.
- Put 6 cups of black grapes into a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour the grape juice through a sieve and press the skins to extract the grape juices and some of the pulp into a container. Discard the leftover skins and pulp, and pour the strained juice into the pitcher with the tamarind base.
- Add the remainder of the water and the lemon juice into the pitcher and stir well. Taste and adjust acid or sugar if needed.
- Put ice in a glass and pour in the black grape lemonade. Garnish with a grape skewer and spring of mint. Serve.
- Note: You can also serve the drink with a skewer of frozen grapes. For an alcoholic version of this drink, you can add 200 ml of vodka to the grape lemonade.
