Introducing a quick & easy strawberry soda that you'll love for the summer months. Perfect as a non-alcoholic drink for yourself or the kids or simply add a bit of vodka or tequila to turn it into an alcoholic drink Super simple to make and the strawberry syrup can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Ingredients

Strawberry Puree

• 1 x punnet of fresh strawberries or 250g frozen strawberries
• 4 teaspoons caster sugar
• Zest of one lemon
• 4 tablespoons of water

Soda

• 1 cup of ice
• 1L sparkling water or lemonade
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• A few sprigs of mint

Method

1. To make the strawberry puree, add the strawberries, sugar, lemon zest and water to a small saucepan. Heat on a medium heat until the strawberries have broken down and it's created a thicky, syrupy consistency.
2. Remove from the heat and gently mash the strawberries with a fork until they are all broken down - you don't want a lumpy puree. Alternatively, you can gently blitz it in a food processor or blender.
3. To make the soda, arrange four 250ml glasses on your bench.
4. To add a sugar rim to your glasses, put the caster sugar on a dinner plate. Either wet the rim of each glass with a bit of water or with half a lemon or lime then immediately dip into the caster sugar.
5. Add a tablespoon of strawberry syrup to each glass.
6. Fill each glass 3/4 full with ice.
7. Add a few sliced strawberries to each glass.
8. Fill each glass with lemonade and give it a gentle stir so the syrup starts to mix.
9. Garnish with a sprig of mint and enjoy!

Makes: 1L ( 4 x 250ml glasses)