This turns the classic Italian dessert into a cooling, lemony cocktail that’s ideal for summertime drinking.
Sgroppino
Serves 1
For the lemon verbena cordial
100ml vodka
4g lemon verbena tea leaves
100g sugar
For the drink
1 scoop lemon sorbet (homemade or shop-bought)
Candied lemon zest, to taste (homemade or shop-bought)
15ml lemon verbena cordial (see above and method)
1 mint sprig, to garnish
Prosecco, to top
First make the cordial. Put the vodka in a jar, add the tea leaves and leave to infuse at room temperature for 24 hours. Strain or filter the infused vodka into a saucepan, add 100ml water and the sugar, then stir until the sugar dissolves; if it’s resistant, heat it gently to help it along. Decant the cordial into a clean jar or bottle, seal and put in the fridge, where it should keep for up to a month.
To build the cocktail, put the sorbet in the base of a frozen glass – a coupe would work well here – then top with a pinch of candied zest. Pour 15ml of the cordial around the sorbet, then top the sorbet with the mint sprig. Top up with prosecco, and serve with a spoon for ease of consumption.
