Lemon Barley Water

We're lucky enough to have a herb and spice stall on Norwich market that sells all sorts of things that are normally quite hard to come by. Vanilla pods, dried peaches, just about every nut you can think of...and big bags of barley at a very cheap price. I bought some a few years ago and since then I've made this on a pretty regular basis.

Ingredients

2 unwaxed lemons

50g caster sugar

125g pearl barley

1.2 litres boiling water

Method

1. Finely grate the zest of the lemons and place in a large bowl with the sugar. 

2. Thoroughly rinse the barley and add to the bowl with the boiling water. Stir well and leave to cool.

3. Squeeze the juice from the lemons into the cooled barley water. Strain through a sieve into a jug and chill in the fridge.

4. Serve with ice and maybe some sprigs of mint.