Watermelon Lemonade

London has been having a major heatwave this year. And as a result my family has been craving watermelon like crazy. I mean, is there anything more refreshing on a hot day? I feel like every year there’s one fruit that I’m especially obsessed with all summer – often changing from year to year. It has never once been watermelon for me. But, this year I just can’t get enough!

We’ve been finding all sorts of ways to work it into our meals. Most often having it for “dessert”, but also serving it with some salty halloumi as an appetiser or side – not a new idea but still amazing! I just couldn’t resist turning it into a drink as well. Lemonade was an easy choice as it’s one of the kids’ favourite.

This is a healthier version than most lemonades, as the watermelon lends a nice natural sweetness, so less sweetener is needed. To give it that extra nudge of sweetness but still keep it on the healthier side, I’ve used maple syrup instead of sugar – but I promise there’s no taste of maple in this drink. If you don’t want to use maple syrup you can, of course, use sugar instead, simply whizz it up with the lemon juice until dissolved. I personally wouldn’t use honey as a substitute as it’s too strong of a flavour, in my opinion.

If the glorious colour alone doesn’t get you, just think of the freshness of watermelon paired with tart lemon. If that doesn’t get your lips smacking on a hot day I don’t know what will.

Watermelon Lemonade

The natural sweetness of the watermelon will affect the amount of syrup you’ll need. The first time we made it 60ml made it perfectly sweet, but the next time around the watermelon just wasn’t as sweet so we had to add a bit more syrup to take away that tart edge. So, start with the 60ml and add more to taste, as needed.

Makes: 5 servings 

• 2 lbs watermelon flesh (rind removed)
• 150ml lemon juice (squeezed from 4-5 lemons)
• 60ml (1/4 cup) maple syrup + more to taste
• 250ml sparkling water

Remove the black seeds from the watermelon and add to a blender. Blend until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove any remaining seeds and most of the pulp (for a clear drink with no bits, strain through a coffee filter). Stir the lemon juice and maple syrup into the watermelon juice. Taste and season with additional maple syrup, if needed. It will be quite potent at this point but you will water it down when serving. Store, covered, in the fridge until ready to serve.

To serve, fill a glass with ice, pour the watermelon lemonade to about 3/4 full. Top with sparkling water, to taste.