Nothing beats a glass of cold lemonade on a hot summer day! Set up a lemonade or ice tea stand to keep guests hydrated on hot afternoons. Place glasses nearby and within reach. Serve your guests and let them help themselves.
Here’s a refreshing twist to your old-fashioned lemonade recipe.

Sparkling Basil Lemonade

2 cups water
2 cups sugar
4 lemon peel strips, 3 inches long, plus 10-12 lemon slices for garnish
4 large fresh basil leaves
12 small leaves for garnish
1 ½ cups fresh lemon juice (8 to 10 lemons)
Ice cubes

Directions:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar with 2 cups water, sugar and lemon peel. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, stir in 4 large fresh basil leaves, and let stand for 30 minutes to infuse the syrup with the basil. Discard the basil leaves. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a small pitcher or bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and refrigerate until cold.

When you’re ready to serve, transfer the syrup mixture to 1 or 2 pitchers, add the sparkling water and stir well. Add ice cubes. Serve in glass tumblers and garnish each serving with a lemon slice and a basil leaf. Serves 12.

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One Response to “Basil Lemonade Recipe”

1. Ali says:

   June 11, 2011 at 12:39 pm

   This recipe sounds great, but it leaves out how much sparkling water to add.

   Reply