This is a well tried recipe that we all love - adapted by me to be "extra minty".
Mint sauce holds a special place for me. Its about the easiest thing that you can teach your kids to grow, prepare and preserve. Food self sufficiency "lesson 1" if you like.
Mint can grow anywhere...barrels, buckets, tyres, windowboxes - any container can be re-cycled into a mint garden.
Its free - just pull a sprig up from an existing climp and re-plant. I have all sorts of types - a polite "can I take a little sprig to grow some please?" has never failed yet! So a nice "frugal" item and the kids get to propogate a plant :
It can be preserved in old sauce and pickle jars (another re-cylcing chance).
When served on lamb, new potatoes and peas, I bet the kids want to do more...peas and speds are easily container grown, yield quickly and are a great treat.
If you want to get fancy, you can even make your own vinegar with a few helpful windfall apples
Anyway, off the self sufficiency bandwagon - and back to the mint sauce
My mint is ...abundant at this time of year. As are lambs in the fields...and..well, some things are just meant to be
For this recipe I will be using three different mints, but you can use any combination of your favourite mints - or just plain garden mint. Its all good.
I am using spearmint, variegated peppermint and garden mint
Spearmint by British Red, on Flickr
Garden Mint by British Red, on Flickr
Peppermint by British Red, on Flickr
Get a big collander and fill it with the new, soft mint growth. You are going to use a surprisingly large amount of mint here. Each collander / large bowl of mint makes one 8oz jar of sauce
Pick by British Red, on Flickr
Wash the leaves under the tap
Wash by British Red, on Flickr
Strip and pinch the leaves off the tough stalks and discard the stalks
Strip by British Red, on Flickr
Now, put 2 cups of cider vinegar in a steel pan (this is enough for two 8oz jars)
Vinegar by British Red, on Flickr
Add half a cup of demerara sugar
Sugar by British Red, on Flickr
Heat the vinegar until the sugar has dissolved
Bring to simmer by British Red, on Flickr
Finely chop two handfuls of mint
Chop Mint by British Red, on Flickr
Add to your warm vinegar to infuse (removing the vinegar from the heat)
Infuse by British Red, on Flickr
When cool, strain the vinegar into a jug - you will notice the mint has gone brown as all the "mintiness" is now in the vinegar.
Strain by British Red, on Flickr
VERY finely chop the rest of your mint and pack into 8oz jars
Pack by British Red, on Flickr
Top up with the infused vinegar
Cover by British Red, on Flickr
Seal and leave for 48hrs before consuming.
Seal by British Red, on Flickr
If you find this sauce a little woody, it means you have a tougher variety of mint. The way around this is to simmer the chopped mint in the infused vinegar for a few minutes before packing.
The sauce will stay good for two years at least.
A spoonful over new potatoes, peas and especially lamb is a flavour explosion
Red
Mint sauce holds a special place for me. Its about the easiest thing that you can teach your kids to grow, prepare and preserve. Food self sufficiency "lesson 1" if you like.
Mint can grow anywhere...barrels, buckets, tyres, windowboxes - any container can be re-cycled into a mint garden.
Its free - just pull a sprig up from an existing climp and re-plant. I have all sorts of types - a polite "can I take a little sprig to grow some please?" has never failed yet! So a nice "frugal" item and the kids get to propogate a plant :
It can be preserved in old sauce and pickle jars (another re-cylcing chance).
When served on lamb, new potatoes and peas, I bet the kids want to do more...peas and speds are easily container grown, yield quickly and are a great treat.
If you want to get fancy, you can even make your own vinegar with a few helpful windfall apples
Anyway, off the self sufficiency bandwagon - and back to the mint sauce
My mint is ...abundant at this time of year. As are lambs in the fields...and..well, some things are just meant to be
For this recipe I will be using three different mints, but you can use any combination of your favourite mints - or just plain garden mint. Its all good.
I am using spearmint, variegated peppermint and garden mint
Spearmint by British Red, on Flickr
Garden Mint by British Red, on Flickr
Peppermint by British Red, on Flickr
Get a big collander and fill it with the new, soft mint growth. You are going to use a surprisingly large amount of mint here. Each collander / large bowl of mint makes one 8oz jar of sauce
Pick by British Red, on Flickr
Wash the leaves under the tap
Wash by British Red, on Flickr
Strip and pinch the leaves off the tough stalks and discard the stalks
Strip by British Red, on Flickr
Now, put 2 cups of cider vinegar in a steel pan (this is enough for two 8oz jars)
Vinegar by British Red, on Flickr
Add half a cup of demerara sugar
Sugar by British Red, on Flickr
Heat the vinegar until the sugar has dissolved
Bring to simmer by British Red, on Flickr
Finely chop two handfuls of mint
Chop Mint by British Red, on Flickr
Add to your warm vinegar to infuse (removing the vinegar from the heat)
Infuse by British Red, on Flickr
When cool, strain the vinegar into a jug - you will notice the mint has gone brown as all the "mintiness" is now in the vinegar.
Strain by British Red, on Flickr
VERY finely chop the rest of your mint and pack into 8oz jars
Pack by British Red, on Flickr
Top up with the infused vinegar
Cover by British Red, on Flickr
Seal and leave for 48hrs before consuming.
Seal by British Red, on Flickr
If you find this sauce a little woody, it means you have a tougher variety of mint. The way around this is to simmer the chopped mint in the infused vinegar for a few minutes before packing.
The sauce will stay good for two years at least.
A spoonful over new potatoes, peas and especially lamb is a flavour explosion
Red
