Russian Bloody Mary shots
These bloody mary shots are a fun way to use up an abundance of sun-ripened tomatoes! Serve them to guests during a summer bbq as a treat.
Ingredients
Tomato juice
- 1 kg ripe tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon salt
Shots
- ½ stick celery peeled
- ¼ telegraph cucumber
- 3 spring onions washed
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
- ice cubes
- 90-120 ml vodka 15ml per shot
- Worcestershire sauce*
- freshly ground pepper
- chilli salt to serve
Instructions
- Cut tomatoes into halves or quarters over a large saucepan (to catch juice) then drop into saucepan. Add salt, cover and cook for 20 minutes on medium heat. Stir well, replace lid and turn down to a simmer. Cook for a further 20 minutes or until tomatoes have turned liquid. Remove from heat and tilt lid to cool.
- Tip into a fine colander or sieve placed over a large non-reactive bowl. Use a ladle to press pulp through sieve until you have extracted all the juice. Discard solids.
- Cut celery and cucumber into sticks a little longer than your glasses (your glasses should be slightly larger than shot glasses, about 60-80ml capacity) Trim spring onions and cut to similar lengths.
- Add vegetable sticks and a lemon wedge to each glass with 2-3 ice cubes. Pour over vodka (15ml per glass), add a sprinkle of Worcestershire sauce and top with the tomato juice. Sprinkle over a little pepper and chilli salt to serve.
Tip:
- The tomato juice can be easily preserved. Return sieved juice to pot, bring to the boil then pour into hot jars. Cover with sterilised lids and tighten them when slightly cooled.
- * Check label if eating gluten free.
Notes
You could also use this recipe to make full-size bloody mary’s – just add more tomato juice, lots of ice and cut the vegetables longer to fit the glass you use. This is what I would do if I wasn’t going to add the vodka too, so you can sip away at it.
This recipe makes approximately 600ml of tomato juice; you could also bottle it to enjoy throughout the year. Otherwise, use a good quality tomato juice from the shops.