Drinks & Juicing
Purple mary
This is basically a Bloody Mary with beetroot purée in place of the tomato. We add a bit of acid in the form of orange and vinegar to replace the acidity of the tomatoes. Make sure your guests aren't too oiled before serving these; beetroot won't come out of a cocktail dress. I'd advise making the mix the day before at least, as it allows the flavours to marry.
Ingredients
- 3 tennis ball sized beetroot, boiled or roasted till soft, and skinned
- 5cm fresh horseradish
- 300ml vodka
- shot sherry
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp celery salt
- Tabasco
- juice of 1 orange
- balsamic vinegar
- 3 ribs celery
Method
-
Step 1
The first step is to get a loose beetroot purée, not too thick and not too watery. You want to be able to drink it, not have to attack it with a spoon. The reason a Bloody Mary is a divisive drink is that it sits somewhere between a beverage and a meal, and that is down to the body of the tomato juice.
-
Step 2
Put the beetroot in a food processor or blender and run until smooth, add cold water until you get the texture of thick tomato juice, but don't forget the vodka will thin it down further. Now grate in the horseradish, add the vodka, sherry, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, and a shake of Tabasco.
-
Step 3
The next step is to season it with a dash of orange juice and balsamic vinegar until you feel happy with the acidity levels. A pinch more salt may be needed to bring everything alive.
-
Step 4
Pop in the fridge overnight, give it another stir, a taste and pass through a fine sieve into a jug. Serve in shot glasses with a small celery stick stirrer in each, or in a high-ball glass with a bacon sandwich for some 'hair of the dog' the next morning.