Strawberry and Sweet Cicely syrup

makes approximately 500 ml| 1 Pint

Ingredients

150 g | 5 oz fresh strawberries
60 g | 2 oz granulated sugar
generous handful of fresh sweet Cecily flowers and green seed pods
300 ml | 1 ¼ cup water

Preparation

Roughly crush the strawberries in a bowl, a potato masher works well for this.
Crush the sweet cicely in a pestle and mortar add it to the strawberries

Method

Place the water and sugar in a pan and heat gently, don’t stir the sugar but swirl the pan a few times until all the sugar is dissolved then leave it alone until it boils. Boil the sirup for 5 minutes then pour it over the crushed strawberries and sweet cicely. Set the sirup aside in the fridge for 24 hours to infuse then drain into a sterilised bottle and keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Fresh sweet cicely is in season with strawberries but if you can’t find any you can add 2 whole star anise to the water and sugar, leave the star anise to infuse with the sirup and strawberries.

To serve

Half fill each glass with ice and pour over the sirup and water dividing them equally between the glasses. Stir the fizz, garnish with a sprig of sweet cicely or fresh mint and serve immediately.

By Sarah Gurung