Easy Blood Orange Mocktail (with Rosemary and Lemongrass)
An easy blood orange mocktail recipe for non drinkers and kids that is a delicious blend of citrusy sweet flavours with scents of pine, charred wood and hints of lemon.
Squeeze the juice out of your blood oranges and set aside in a jug.
Pick a few leaves the bottom of the rosemary sprigs. You only need about 5 leaves per serving. Divide the leaves between 2 glasses, and using a muddler or the back of a teaspoon, crush the rosemary leaves slightly. You don't need to go mad here, rosemary is such a powerful herb, a little bruising is all that's needed to release its essential oils and aroma.What I like to do, is lightly char the rosemary twigs first. Just 2-3 seconds on the stove will do. Then, once they're not burning hot, pick the leaves and continue with this step. This introduces a burnt wood aroma, which is really nice and just another layer to our simple drink.
Chop of a little of the top of the lemongrass to tidy up. Using the back of a knife, pound down on the bulbous (thick) end of the lemongrass to split it a little. This is you bruising the lemongrass. Read more about it here. Place a bruised lemongrass in each glass.
Drop in the ice cubes.
Pour in the blood orange juice, dividing equally between the 2 glasses. Using the lemongrass stalk, just stir everything up, just a little, to mix the flavours and aromas.
Top with the fizzy water and garnish with a rosemary spring in each glass and serve immediately.