Cantaloupe Agua Fresca
This refreshing drink can be easily modified to suit grown-up tastes.
Ingredients
- 1 small lime
- 1 medium cantaloupe, seeded, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 ½ cups water
- 3 sprigs fresh mint
- pinch of salt
- 750 ml bottle of sparkling water
Line a large strainer with cheesecloth and place over a large bowl.
Wash lime and cut into quarters. Place in blender or food processor and pulse until small chunks. Add 1/3 of the melon chunks and ½ cup of the water and puree. Pour puree into cheesecloth allowing juice to weep into bowl beneath. Loosely tear mint and add to strainer. Continue to puree melon chunks and water in as many batches as necessary, depending on the size of your blender/food processor, and add to strainer.
Stir fruit mixture a bit to allow juice to flow to bowl below. When most of the liquid has drained, gather up cheesecloth to form a ball so that the last bit of juice can be squeezed out. Discard solids.
Stir in salt and refrigerate juice until chilled.
Place ice cubes in cups and fill half-way with chilled juice. Top off with sparkling water. Garnish with sprigs of mint, lime wedges, or cantaloupe slice. Alternatively, for grown-up tastes, add a splash of vodka. Or, instead of mixing with sparkling water, pair with Prosecco for a modern twist on the classic Bellini.
