Strawberry lemonade

Step 1

Hull the strawberries and thinly slice into a bowl. Add the juice of 1 lemon and 100g/3½oz sugar and stir well. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight to allow the sugar and lemon juice to draw all the juice from the berries.

Step 2

The next day, strain the strawberry juice into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve.

Step 3

Tip the remaining 250g/9oz caster sugar into a pan, add 500ml/18fl oz water and the pared rind of 4 lemons. Slowly bring to the boil over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and then simmer for 3 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove the syrup from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature.

Step 4

Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the 4 pared lemons and set aside.

Step 5

Strain the lemon syrup into the strawberry juice, add the lemon juice and stir. Pour into a large serving jug, add sparkling water to taste and serve with ice and extra slices of lemon, sliced fresh strawberries and mint leaves.