Name: Cucumber Spritz
Yield: Makes 2
Ingredients: 6 juicy limes; 1½ cups (300 grams) sugar; 2 Tbsp. (20 grams) salt; ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. (90 ml) water; 1½ large cucumbers, about 1 pound; 3 ounces (90 ml) Lime Cordial; 4 dashes Saline Solution (about ⅛ teaspoon plus a few drops); 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) lime juice, from 1 lime; Ice; Sparkling water or seltzer

Cucumber spritz next to a bowl of potato chips.

Photo by Gentl & Hyers

We opened a little bar called Pisellino across the street from Via Carota in 2019. It’s an homage to drinking all things Italian, inspired by our favorite cafés in Florence and Milan. We think that a fresh-squeezed juice and your latte macchiato should feel just as special as an evening cocktail. When we make this non-alcoholic beverage, the Bevanda al Cetriolo or Cucumber Spritz, we make a simple lime cordial for a dash of good old-fashioned bartending.

This recipe was excerpted from 'Via Carota' by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi with Anna Kovel. Buy the full book on Amazon.

Recipe information

Yield
Makes 2

Ingredients

For the Lime Cordial

6 juicy limes

1½ cups (300 grams) sugar

For the Saline Solution

2 Tbsp. (20 grams) salt

¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. (90 ml) water

For the Cucumber Spritz

1½ large cucumbers, about 1 pound

3 ounces (90 ml) Lime Cordial

4 dashes Saline Solution (about ⅛ teaspoon plus a few drops)

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) lime juice, from 1 lime

Ice

Sparkling water or seltzer

Preparation

Make the Lime Cordial
Step 1
Peel the limes with a vegetable peeler. Toss the peels with the sugar in a bowl or a large jar. Using the handle of a wooden spoon or a muddler, bruise the peels a little to release their fragrant oils. Cover and leave overnight. The next day, juice the limes—you want to add 6 ounces (180 ml) lime juice—directly into the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Lime cordial can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks.
Make the Saline Solution
Step 2
Stir salt and water together until salt dissolves completely. Pour into a small bottle, ideally one with a small opening, or a dropper.
Make the Cucumber Spritz
Step 3
Slice a few cucumber slices and set aside for garnish. Peel the remaining cucumber and purée it in a blender or run it through a juicer. If blending it, strain the juice, pressing on the solids to extract as much as possible. You should have about ½ cup juice.
Step 4
Stir the lime cordial, saline solution, and lime juice together in a mixing glass (you will have 4 tablespoons of this base). Pour in the cucumber juice and stir well.
Step 5
Fill two highball glasses with ice, pour the cucumber juice mixture into the glasses and top up with sparkling water or seltzer. Garnish with cucumber slices.

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From Via Carota: A Celebration of Seasonal Cooking from the Beloved Greenwich Village Restaurant by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, with Anna Kovel. Copyright © 2022 by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the book from Amazon or Knopf.