heirloom tomato bloody mary
This year, I planted 5 heirloom tomato plants. They are truly enormous. Every day I go outside and pick some more…they just keep coming. I am not sure one can ever tire of heirloom tomatoes. Once you eat them, you can never go back to any other variety. I was reading an article the other day about tomatoes and it mentioned making bloody mary’s (amongst a few other brilliant ideas) as a way to solve the ”you have so many tomatoes you just don’t know what to do with them” conundrum. All I have to say is yum. On a whim, I changed it up a little bit and used tequila instead of vodka. Much to my surprise, I definitely prefer it with tequila.
1 heirloom tomato, peeled, blended, strained and measured to 3 ounces tomato juice
1.5 ounces 100% agave tequila
up to 1 tblsp “whole foods 365 brand” hot sauce (it’s not terribly hot - it’s got a really nice depth of flavor)
juice from 1 lemon
salt & pepper to taste
1 good sized garlic clove, minced
2 basil leaves, chiffonade
1 stalk celery
celery salt (optional)
Side note: Worcestershire sauce has both wheat & soy so I cannot include it here. If you’re looking for some extra zest, do try and add from 1/4 tsp – to 1/2 tsp of horseradish. Or you can throw in some minced jalapeno pepper.
Put the tomato juice, tequila, hot sauce, lemon juice, salt & pepper, and minced garlic in a shaker with a handful of ice. Shake for 10 seconds and strain into a glass. Garnish with celery stalk. If you choose to use celery salt, you can rim your glass with it or put it in the shaker prior to mixing.
