PASSIONFRUITANDCUCUMBERPIMM’S

Pimm’s No 1 fruit cup, a gin-based drink, is the quintessential English summer beverage, designed to be made into a long, cool refresher such as this.

Its full-on fruit ‘‘garnish’’ is there for both looks and extra flavour. Make the base for this recipe a day ahead to allow time for thorough chilling.

Recipe: Bernadette Hogg Photo: Manja Wachsmuth Makes: About 2 litres with mixers

1 telegraph cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped

200ml Pimm’s, chilled

100ml vodka, chilled

100ml passionfruit in sweet syrup, strained to remove seeds

Dry lemonade, soda water or dry ginger ale

GARNISH OPTIONS

Mint sprigs Orange slices Strips of cucumber Raspberries Blueberries

Puree the cucumber in a food processor, then drain the pulp through a sieve into a bowl until you have about 200ml liquid.

Combine this liquid with the Pimm’s, vodka and passionfruit syrup in a container. Cover and chill overnight.

Place the Pimm’s mixture in a 2-litre jug or carafe, top up with some or all of the garnish suggestions, add ice to two-thirds full, then top with lemonade, soda water or ginger ale.

To serve, add a little garnish to each glass and pour the Pimm’s mixture over it.