Welcome to December! How quick did this year go by!? Every week to celebrate the festive season and to of course give you ideas for your next dinner party, I will be doing at least one festive themed recipe per week. This week I wanted to create a light snack for summer, something for anyone and everyone to enjoy and a refreshing drink that all can enjoy too. 

I found a recipe from the renowned Chef Liam Tomlin from the revered Chefs Warehouse in Cape Town that he recreated for Woolworths Taste Magazine. The recipe is incredibly simple to recreate at home with very little effort involved, doesn’t that sound good? And of course I added a little(a lot) of sparkle because tis’ the season! 

I’ve been a weekly regular at a certain awesome bacon themed restaurant in my area, and they serve the most delicious, refreshing locally made artisanal iced tea. Mesmerized by its unique flavour and texture, I have been racking my brain to recreate it at home. This is a recipe that I have developed.

Ingredients: 

4x Rooibos tea bags

500ml boiling water 

200g strawberries 

100g blackberries/any other berry of your choice

A drop or two of rose water

250g castor sugar 

Juice of one lemon
Method: 

Over a medium to low heat, bring the berries, sugar, lemon juice and rose water to a simmer until the berries are macerated and the juices of the berries have covered the berries and sugar dissolved, take off the heat and leave to cool. 
Brew the rooibos tea in the boiling water and let the tea draw for 10 minutes, leave to cool and place in the fridge. Once both the tea and the berries have been cooled, pour the compote mixture into a tea pot or carafe with the rooibos tea, serve with a slice of lemon and a few sprigs of mint. 
This is the ideal drink for long scorching summer days or switch it up and add alcohol to make a crisp cooler. 
Happy festive season! 

Dominique x