I have neglected my Cocktail Friday feature for what feels like months (in reality it has been two weeks I think) and I feel really bad about that. I hope I can bring it back starting with this Cucumber and Lemongrass Caipirinha. Lets just ignore the fact that today is Saturday, shall we? I have a very good excuse after all – yesterday was my 12th wedding anniversary and my husband and I went out. To a restaurant. As a couple. A very rare occurrence.
Historically on our anniversary things usually go wrong. We argue. Public transport grinds to a halt. One of us falls ill. The restaurant can’t find our booking, the babysitter is an hour late, you name it. Yesterday was surprisingly uneventful in that we actually managed to go out and enjoy ourselves. But it does mean that this post is a day late.
Caipirinha is one of my absolute favourite cocktails duking it out with Margaritas for the top spot in my affections. Traditionally it’s made with Cachaça, lime and sugar – this recipe adds cucumber and lemongrass for a really refreshing twist. You can either muddle the cucumber, lime, lemongrass and sugar by hand and serve with crushed ice or use a powerful blender such as the Vitamix to do all the work for you.
Cucumber Lemongrass Caipirinha
Ingredients
- 2 limes
- 1/4 medium cucumber cubed
- 1 lemongrass stalk outer leaves removed and soft centre finely diced
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp Cachaça or up to 6 if you prefer a stronger drink
- 20 ice cubes or crushed ice to serve
Instructions
- <b>Vitamix method</b>
- Peel and quarter the limes and add them together with the lemongrass, sugar and cucumber into the Vitamix.
- Pulse on low speed for a few seconds.
- Add the ice and alcohol and then pulse until the ice is crushed and the drink has the consistency of a slushie. You can use the 'frozen' setting for this or increase the dial speed gradually.
- Serve in rocks glasses with straws.
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- <b>By hand</b>
- Cut each lime into quarters then eights. Put the limes, lemongrass, cucumber and sugar in a cocktail shaker and muddle with the end of a rolling pin trying to extract as much juice as you can.
- Divide the juice and pulp between two rocks glasses and top with the Cachaça (either 2 or 3 tbsp per glass).
- Fill the glasses with plenty of crushed ice and serve with straws.
Natasha says
May 31, 2017 at 4:20 pmThis looks so refreshing!!