Citronnade
Citronnade: Tunis's cloudy whole-lemon cooler with a drop of orange-flower water
Café terraces in Tunis serve citronnade in tall glasses on hot afternoons and through Ramadan evenings, and it is nothing like clear lemonade: whole lemons, peel and all, are blended with sugar and water, then strained, giving a cloudy, pale-yellow drink that tastes of the zest as much as the juice. A drop of orange-flower water rounds it off. It should be sharp, sweet and very cold. Use unwaxed lemons with thin skins. Chef's tip: let the cut lemons sit with the sugar for 10 minutes before blending; the sugar draws out the fragrant oils from the peel.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Top and tail 3 unwaxed lemons, cut them into eighths and flick out the seeds. Toss with 4 oz sugar in the blender jug and leave for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 2: Add half of 2 cups cold water and blend in short pulses for 20–30 seconds, just until the peel is finely chopped. A common mistake is blending for a minute or more, which pulverises the white pith and makes the drink bitter.
1 minStep 3: Pour through a fine sieve into a jug, pressing on the pulp. Stir in the rest of 2 cups cold water and 1 tsp orange-flower water, and taste: add a little more sugar if your lemons are very sharp.
Step 4: Serve over 12 ice cubes with 4 mint sprigs, straight away; it tastes best within a couple of hours.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 130 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does citronnade take?
- About 15 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of unwaxed lemons?
- Lime, or 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice per lemon (no zest from bottled juice).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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