Watermelon Mojito | Peggy Lampman's dinnerFeed

Recipe: Watermelon Mojito

3/4 cups white sugar
4 (packed) cups seedless watermelon chunks, plus triangles for garnish, if desired
3-4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice, plus lime slices for garnish, if desired
1 tablespoon cup chopped mint, plus extra leaves for muddling, if desired
1 cup soda water
White rum, as desired

Make a simple syrup by dissolving sugar in 1 1/4 cup hot water. Stir until the sugar has completely incorporated into the water. Refrigerate until cold.
In a blender or food processor, working in batches if necessary, combine 1 cup simple syrup with watermelon, 3 tablespoons lime juice and blend until smooth.
Pour mixture through a strainer into a container or pitcher, pressing on the pulp with a spatula to extract all juice. Discard pulp and add soda water to remaining juice. Taste and add additional simple syrup and lime juice to taste. Refrigerate until chilled. (At this point, recipe may be made up to 48 hours in advance.)
Prior to serving, stir in chopped mint*. Serve with crushed ice, ice cubes, or strained into martini glasses (pictured) Garnish glasses with watermelon chunk and lime, if desired.

* Mint may also be lightly muddled in a shaker to extract oils. Muddle, add drink, shake with ice then strain into glasses.

Active Time: 15 minutes

Chill time for simple syrup and drink: 4-6 hours

Number of servings (yield): 4 cups, without the addition of ice or rum.