A bright, fruity blend of blueberries, lemon, and basil crafted for a refreshing sip.
# Ingredient List:
→ Fruit & Herbs
01 - 1 cup fresh blueberries, or thawed if frozen
02 - 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, plus extra for garnish
03 - 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from approximately 4 to 6 lemons)
→ Sweetener
04 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar, or honey/agave nectar for vegan option
→ Water
05 - 3 cups cold water
06 - 1 cup ice cubes, plus additional for serving
# Directions:
01 - In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with 1 cup of water. Heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves completely, forming a clear simple syrup. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
02 - Place the blueberries and fresh basil leaves into a blender and blend until the mixture is mostly smooth.
03 - Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the blueberry-basil blend into a large pitcher, pressing gently to extract juice and discarding the remaining pulp.
04 - Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and the cooled simple syrup to the pitcher. Stir thoroughly to combine.
05 - Pour in the remaining 2 cups of cold water and 1 cup of ice cubes into the pitcher. Stir well to blend all ingredients.
06 - Taste the lemonade and adjust sweetness by adding more sugar or water if desired. Serve chilled over ice, garnished with fresh basil leaves and additional blueberries as preferred.
