Summer is in full swing and tomatoes are coming in by the bushel, so I’ve been busy in the kitchen conjuring weird and wonderful uses for said tomatoes. It’s hot; so hot that hot is out and ice is in. With my mind focused in on tomatoes and ice it was only a matter of time before I set my sights upon re-envisioning the classic Bloody Mary. Let me present, Sunny Mary: a Bloody Good Alternative. I’ve been experimenting with tomato water lately and learning of its many virtues: light, luscious, packed-with-summer flavor, once I tasted it, I knew I had to make a lightened up, let-the-tomato-steal-the-show version of a Bloody Mary with tomato water. Pair that notion with a box of gorgeous yellow Roma tomatoes and the Sunny Mary: a Bloody Good Alternative was a done deal. Tomato water is delicate in flavor and body so it makes for a very elegant brunch cocktail. In the days of “add a fried chicken to it” Bloody Marys (thanks for that Wisconsin), the Sunny Mary: a Bloody Good Alternative is the exact opposite. Its flavor is intense yet subtle all at the same time. It begged for a fresh, crisp, raw garnish rather than a heavy, pickled one. Now I have to admit, making fresh tomato water is much more work than opening up a bottle of bloody Mary mix but not only is the drink an intriguing nod to the origins of the bloody Mary (when the cocktail was just vodka and tomato juice) but it’s much more delicious. I assure you, you won’t miss the Worcestershire or the horseradish because you’ll be sipping on a beautiful cocktail that tastes like Summer.
- 2 cups tomato water
- ¼ teaspoon celery salt
- juice of 1 lime
- good dash celery bitters
- 1 cup vodka
- ¼ - 1 teaspoon hot sauce (I used a yellow mango habanero sauce that was awesome and the right color. If you’re too aggressive with a dark sauce here, you can compromise your yellow color)
- ice
- limes half wheels
- cucumber sticks
- tomatoes halves for garnish
- Pour tomato water into a pitcher.
- Add the lime juice, celery bitters, celery salt and hot sauce. Mix well.
- Add the vodka. Obviously you can make them more or less boozy. With a little research I found out that the original Bloody Mary was 1:1 vodka to tomato juice. And while that sounds lovely and all, it’s too overwhelming for the delicate tomato water, so add it incrementally.
- Serve over ice with a tall stick of Persian cucumber, a couple of tiny tomato halves, and a lime wedge. Gorgeous.
- And you don't need vodka to enjoy this. It's a great mocktail, too.
- 1 ½ pounds yellow Roma tomatoes (of course you can use any color you like)
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- colander and large bowl or pitcher
- Rough chop the tomatoes.
- Set in colander over bowl or pitcher.
- Toss with the sea salt.
- Let sit several hours, stirring now and then. When you have about 1 ½ cups of tomato water and the tomatoes don’t drip much when you stir them, remove the remaining tomatoes to a blender and puree.
- Strain ½ cup of the puree through a fine mesh into the tomato water.
This will add a little more body. - Reserve what's left in the blender and colander for a soup or sauce. Or you could only blend about ½ cup of the tomatoes and use the rest for a salad. Now you should have about 2 cups of tomato water.
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