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Drinks: Make your own

How to make lemongrass tea

Lemongrass tea is a reminder that things are looking up - put the kettle on, says Henry
Dimbleby

Henry Dimbleby
Saturday 23 March 2013 07.00 GMT

W ith this miserable weather and all the talk of austerity and cuts, it may not
feel like this is an amazing time to be alive. But it is. Global life expectancy
hits new records every year. Scientists are on their way to conquering malaria and
Aids. A whopping 96% of us have televisions. And now, the corner shop at the
bottom of my street has started selling lemongrass.
This is a fact so startling that it deserves exploration. In 1979 my mother, Josceline
Dimbleby, wrote a cookbook for Sainsbury's called Cooking With Herbs and Spices
(there are 15 used copies left on Amazon if you are quick).

At the time, Sainsbury's only stocked cinnamon powder (for cakes), cayenne
pepper (for devilling eggs, presumably), mixed dried herbs and a mysterious
substance called mixed spice. Most Britons still regarded foreign food with
suspicion, bordering on fear. My mother – a diplomat's daughter, who had spent
much of her childhood hanging out in the embassy kitchens in Syria and Peru –
was a woman ahead of her time.

She suggested in an early meeting about the book that there wasn't much point in
them publishing it if they didn't have any of the ingredients she was going to
mention: fresh parsley, cumin, coriander – that sort of thing.
She wanted to include recipes that now seem quite familiar, like her orange and
cardamom ice-cream, and carrot and coriander soup. "They thought I was weird,"
says Mum. But they capitulated and the book sold tens of thousands of copies.
Fresh parsley was here to stay.

Since then, culinary progress has galloped along at such a pace that last week, I
was able to poach forced rhubarb in fresh orange juice, with a crushed stem of
lemongrass, all sourced from the local Costcutter.

So I offer this recipe by way of celebration. Take a moment from your frenzied bill-
paying. Infuse it slowly. Sip it while staring out of the window at this miserable
non-spring and think: we've never had it so good.

Make your own lemongrass tea

Serves 1
 2 lemongrass stalks
A pinch of ground cinnamon
Honey or sugar to sweeten (optional)
Boiling water
1 tea bag
Juice from ½ lime

1 Cut off the root end of the lemongrass stalk and remove any of the any dry outer
leaves. Gently bruise the base of the stalk with a rolling pin.

2 Tie the lemongrass in a knot and place in a cup with cinnamon and sweeteners if
using.

•
3 Pour in the boiling water. Add a tea bag and remove as soon as the water is
golden brown.

4 Add lime juice to taste and serve with a lemongrass stirrer.

Recipe by Jane Baxter and Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the healthy fast-
food restaurant chain Leon

Topics
Food & drink / Drinks: Make your own
Tea/ recipes

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