Thursday, July 15, 2010

Mint Limeade

As noted in my last post, we had mint limeade at our SYTYCD marathon and I made it again for my dad's 40th BBQ lunch (again, a bit hit!)

Here's the recipe for 2 cups of simple syrup:
Bring 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil, stirring until dissolved. Let cool.

Mint Limeade:
Muddle 2 lime wedges and some mint leaves in each glass and add ice. Mix 2 cups simple syrup, 2 cups water, 1 1/2 cups fresh lime juice and 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice in a pitcher; pour into the glasses.

Zesty Lemon Potato Salad

The other night while having a SYTYCD marathon, we did a potluck dinner at Janine's house. I brought grilled vegetables and a crab appetizer and Janine made chili salmon and a zesty mint limeade. I can't tell what was better: the show or the food!

The potato salad was just right for a hot summer's night and the dill and lemon just added that lift that a boring potato salad is always desperately in need of. The mint limeade was a little tart but a perfect non-alcoholic accompaniment to a summer's night dinner.

Here's the recipe for the zesty lemon potato salad (thanks Victoria!)

Ingredients:
600g of fingerling potatoes (sliced),
50g shredded rocket (arugula) leaves

Dressing:
2 tbsp chopped preserved lemon rind,
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard,
1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise,
2 tbsp lemon juice,
sea salt and cracked pepper.

Place the potatoes in a saucepan of boiling water and cook until tender (usually about 8 minutes). Drain and rinse under running water. toss the potato with the rocket.

To make the dressing, place the preserved lemon rind, mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to combine. to serve pour the dressing over the potatoes and rocket and toss gently. serves 4.

Note: we dropped the arugula from the recipe (thank God) because I find the green a little too bitter for my liking.