The perfect combination: Summer and Iced Tea
Jason Weslosky
| 3 min read
I am always adding or substituting things to tweak my home recipes from standard to unique. As many of my roommates, friends and family know, I let this get in the way of preparing food sometimes. My brother, Kevin, used to ask “How did you screw up dinner this time?” when I would make something. My roommate, Steve, rarely touched anything I made while away at school.
However, I learned from my trial and error. Now friends are routinely asking if they can try my newest creations. This spring, I decided I would do away with dried herbs and grow my own, fresh herbs in my backyard. Farmers Markets are a great place to let your inner food network star run wild.
Soon enough I found myself going overboard; buying oregano for Italian dishes, rosemary for chicken, dill for marinating fish, and lemongrass for…???…well, I didn’t have a plan for all of the different things I bought. My neighbor came up to me after I had planted the herbs and began asking what my ”master plans” were for all of them. When I got to lemongrass, I was admittedly stumped. Lemongrass smells amazing, very citrusy and clean so I figured it would be great in seafood dishes. But I didn’t really have an answer for her.
With that question, my quest to determine its use began. After experimenting for only a short while, I found this classic summertime recipe a perfect place to sneak in this amazing herb. Iced tea is a staple of my home throughout the summer, so when I found a recipe that combined one of my summertime favorites with the goal of finding a healthy recipe, I was thrilled. Read below for an awesome lemongrass iced tea recipe, adapted from foodandwine.com.
Double Lemongrass Tea
- 10 stalks lemongrass
- 9 cups water
- 1 cup honey
- 8 tea bags (I use black tea)
- Ice cubes
For a lighter version, try using half of the honey or a low-calorie sweetener.
- In a large saucepan, combine 1 cup water with honey and 5 stalks of the lemongrass. Bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat once the honey has dissolved. Allow the mixture to steep for 30 minutes. Set aside for later. This is lemongrass “syrup.”
- In a second large saucepan, combined 5 stalks of lemongrass with 8 cups water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and add tea bags. Let stand for 5 minutes or until desired strength is achieved (I like my tea strong so I keep mine in for 10 minutes before removing). This is lemongrass “tea.”
- Once cooled, combine lemongrass tea with half of the lemongrass syrup (or more if you prefer it sweeter).
- Serve over ice and enjoy.
How do you modify the traditional iced tea?
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Photo credit: shutterbean
