It’s a Bloody Mary, but a really different, refined version – without the heaviness of tomato juice. The colour messes with your head! It’s based on Raymond Blanc’s tomato essence, and you’ll find most of the other ingredients in your store cupboard. If you serve the essence on its own as a pre-starter, you’ll blow your guests away.
Serves 1
Tomato essence
- About 300g very ripe tomatoes
- ¼ shallot and ¼ stick of celery
- 3 large basil leaves
- A little sprinkle of thyme or tarragon leaves
- A pinch each of cayenne pepper, sugar and salt, and some black pepper
Cocktail
- 60ml vodka
- 20ml tomato essence (or 2 small, very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped)
- 10ml vermouth
- 5ml lemon juice
- 5ml white balsamic or white condiment
- A couple of drops of Worcestershire sauce
- A couple of drops of Tabasco (optional)
- A nice little pinch of celery salt
- Plenty of ice
Method
- For the essence, put everything in a food processor and pulse three times for two seconds each.
- Line a strainer with a cloth over a bowl, tip the mixture into the middle and leave it to drip. Don’t squeeze it, or it will go cloudy.
- Chill a small glass. No essence? Muddle the chopped tomatoes in the bottom of your shaker instead.
- Add the vodka, essence, vermouth, lemon juice, white balsamic, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco (if using) and celery salt to a shaker with plenty of ice.
- Give it a really good shake and strain into the chilled glass.
Tip: You don’t get a lot of essence, and I confess that just for me I squeeze the last of it out. It’s cloudier, but frankly still delicious in a Tomatini.