I might be one of the few people who got stumped by todays prompt to recreate a dish from a restaurant. I don’t eat out often, and I think part of the fun of eating out is that it is something you can’t make. So the desire to recreate is a little low. At first I thought about recreating the heirloom beans with a hazelnut-tomato vinegrette that I had from Charlie was a Sinner. But truthfully they were pretty simple, and I felt weird adapting an already vegan recipe. And then I started thinking of NON-vegan restaurants I’ve been too lately, which is pretty much only Indeblue. And then I thought about the bloody mary.
Then it occurred to me that their bloody mary might not of been vegan, because I always forget about Worcestershire sauce. Even though the bloody mary tasted awesome, the texture was a little off. It was really thick, and some of the spices, particularly the black pepper, were just in chunks. So I thought I could surely make something better, especially since I had a bunch of delicious tomatoes picked from my CSA farm.
I am a big bloody mary fan, but I am aware of it’s very un-vegan potential. It is one of the few savory cocktails that are popular, and therefore it is easy to add animal based umami flavors. A lot of cocktails end up using beef consommé or bouillon and worcestershire sauce, and that is if they didn’t fancy up the cocktail. Some places will add a slap of bacon or shrimp instead of a celery or pickle garnish. And then there is the Mary’s Canadian cousin Caesar that uses clamato juice. Ugh! And I am not going to get into the whole bloody mary mix. So many disappointments!
So what’s a vegan suppose to do? Well, make their own, duh! It is easy to make in large batches and serve in a pitcher for Sunday Brunch. And it tastes pretty good without the vodka too! So if you aren’t a drinker or underaged, you are still in luck. I tried to make this drink pretty simple, no fancy appliances. So hopefully most of you guys will have these two things: a blender and a nut milk bag. And your set!
Of coarse it is in order to point out that this isn’t a normal bloody mary. I got this at an Indian restaurant that was serving brunch, so it uses a curry blend in the drink.
I’ve heard from my sister who has traveled to various parts of Europe, and even lived in France for a year that Bloody Mary’s are a very American cocktail. Since Vegan Mofo has a lot of readers across the globe, I would love to hear if you had any Bloody Mary. When do you drink it? In a bar or brunch like Americans do? You wouldn’t think Bloody Marys would be such a brunch drink because of the vodka. I recently told my father in law how you make it, and he seemed pretty surprised!
Side note- if this is your first bloody mary, there are some standard garnishes. Celery is the classic, but I prefer the pickle (I just didn’t have any for the photo.) But there is still more variation including carrots, olives, and heck, do some facon-bacon!
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 2 oz (1/4 cup) vodka
- juice from half a lime
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp amchur powder*
- 1/4 tsp black soy sauce**
- a dash of hot sauce
- 1 celery stalk or pickle
1 Place everything in a blend and leave on for 15-30 seconds. The tomato should be blended into a fairly thin "smoothie"2 In a bowl or liquid measuring cup pour the tomato mix through a nut milk bag. Squeeze out all the liquid.3 Discard the pulp. Pour the liquid into a glass, add ice and garnish of celery or pickle.
* If you can't get a hold of amchur powder sub with juice from half a lemon or 1/4 tsp of tamarind paste/concentrate.** You can sub with regular soy sauce, braggs, coconut aminos, or vegan worcestershire sauce.
Spécialiste de l'éphémère
Yummy!
Jennifer
Oh! WOW! Look at THAT! And LOOK at the quality photo! Lovely! I never new that many run of the mill bloody mary’s called for gelatin until about a year ago! Eeeeek!
Jennifer
Gelatin, that’s a new ingredient! Maybe that is why so many mixes are so thick?