Strawberries

Strawberry & Balsamic Shrub

My friend and partner at Goya, Anisha, is someone I spend a lot of my day talking to. We talk about work, about the Kardashians and a *lot* about food. She is a whizz at coming up with unusual drink recipes and mum and I were so excited when she said yes to teaming up with us to make a drink for the 12 days of Christmas series. Since strawberries are in season, it seemed like an obvious choice. It also helps that it is a festive, cheery pink that brightens up the table instantly. We wanted to make a strawberry and lemongrass shrub, but lemongrass was nowhere to be found on the morning we were filming. Next year, maybe! 

Strawberry shrub recipe
Strawberry shrub recipe
Strawberry shrub recipe


Recipe:Strawberry& Balsamic Shrub 

Ingredients
250 g strawberries, hulled and washed
1 cup sugar (this depends on how sweet your strawberries are β€” ours weren’t. So taste your strawberries first and adjust accordingly) 
2 tsp balsamic vinegar 
1 tbsp chilli flakes 

Method
Using an immersion blender (or just a regular blender), blitz the strawberries. 
To a medium-sized pan, add the strawberries and sugar, and on a low heat, cook down the strawberries, and dissolve the sugar β€” this should talk about 5-8 minutes. 
Add the balsamic vinegar, and chilli flakes and when cool, transfer to a bottle and refrigerate. 
To serve, add 1/4 cup of the strawberry shrub to a glass, along with ice. Top up with soda and enjoy.