Fennel & Honey Iced Tea
A few lovely spring days and I get to thinking about summer cocktail ideas.
I discovered shrubs last fall, and I've been waiting for the first local strawberries to hit markets so I can test an idea for a peppered strawberry shrub. Shrubs are sweet/tart fruit based drinking vinegars, ideal thirst quenchers for yard work.
In the meantime, I discovered this recipe for honey & fennel iced tea on Epicurious and it's just too good not to share. The fennel is a fantastic addition to a citrusy iced tea. Highly quaffable!
- 4 cups water
- 1/4cup honey
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 4 orange pekoe tea bags
- zest of one lemon
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- For garnish, totally optional:
- I lemon, sliced thinly
- Fresh fennel fronds
Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the tea bags, honey, fennel seeds, lemon zest, turn off the heat, and let the mixture steep for 5-10 minutes. Strain the solids through a fine sieve into a pitcher, and let the tea cool to room temperature. Once it's cool, add the lemon juice. Refrigerate the tea for at least 30 minutes to chill. Serve in tall glasses filled with ice cubes and thin slices of lemon, and garnish with a fresh green fennel frond.
The herb garden is quickly coming to life, so I think some herb infused simple syrups are in order. I found that by adding a bit of thyme to blackberries, my margaritas have reached new heights. So, now I'm wondering what other combinations I might try. I have mint and tarragon in abundant supply at the moment, and lavender will be coming soon. Looks like I have some infusing to do.
