What a scorching few weeks we’ve just had! To me, summer officially begins when the wild elderflowers are in bloom.
I’ve long wanted a sambucus nigra – or black elder – for the garden; it’s just that little bit more exotic looking than the usual type. What luck, I discovered that there’s one here in our new garden – and it’s a good size too!
As well as the elder, we have at least a dozen rose bushes; that’s when I decided this year, I’ll make elderflower and rose cordial.
The colours and scents of the elderflowers, rose petals and lemon peel give the cordial a fresh, fragrant, summery look & flavour.
I’d never attempted a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe before; they’re usually quite involved and require ingredients that aren’t the easiest to get hold of… pomegranate molasses, anyone? This one, for me anyway, is doable; florets of elderflower, petals from a single rose, a couple of lemons and caster sugar… that was it! The other great thing about the recipe was it makes less than a litre of the stuff; I find it much easier to double or triple up a recipe than to halve or quarter it. Or is it just me? How do you divide an egg by four?
Anyway, this will be an annual early summer ritual for me from now on. It’s gorgeous – a glug in a glass of fizzy water loaded with ice or a splash in a gin & tonic. I’m going to make some more before the elderflower season is over… I’m hooked!
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Elderflower and rose cordial
Ingredients
- 100 g elderflower heads about 12 heads, gently rinsed
- Shaved skin of 2 small lemons
- 1 small red rose petals picked (about 20 petals)
- 500 ml boiling water
- 325 g caster sugar
- 125 ml lemon juice
Instructions
- Put the elderflower in a large bowl with the lemon skin and rose petals. Pour over the boiling water and press down the florets, making sure they’re submerged. Leave to cool, then cover the bowl and leave to infuse at room temperature for about 36 hours.
- Strain the infusion into a medium saucepan, pressing against the flowers with the back of a spoon, to release all the liquid, and discard flowers, branches and rose petals. Add the sugar and lemon juice to the infusion, then turn on the heat to high and cook for three to four minutes, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved, and the liquid is starting to simmer. Take off the heat, leave to cool, then pour into a sterilised bottle, seal and store in the fridge.
The cordial keeps in a sterilised bottle in the fridge for at least a month.
