It takes a lot of fresh, ripe tomatoes to make a fresh tomato bloody mary mix. So when all those summer tomatoes are available, and all the soups, stews, pasta sauces, and caprese salads have already been at your table, it's time to try this spicy and flavorful mix made with juicy and ripe tomatoes. You'll need about half a pound of tomatoes per person, so when tomatoes are at their peak and very flavorful and relatively inexpensive, it's the best time to try this easy recipe. The fresh, bright flavor will knock your socks off when compared to commercial mixes, which are made with cooked tomatoes and have more additives and preservatives than you'll ever want to drink.
Since the tomatoes are getting chopped and blended, they don't have to look absolutely perfect. But they do need to be really ripe. Some farm stands will sell big baskets of slightly dinged tomatoes for a much lower cost, and those would work perfectly for this recipe.
While this is the base for an alcoholic bloody mary, the mix is so delicious that a virgin mary is also a great option. The more of this mix you make, the more chances you'll have to try both drinks. Serve it at brunch, as a pre-lunch drink, with or without the alcohol. Most importantly, try to have fun and personalize the amounts in the recipe to find the perfect balance of heat and spice that will make you want to come back for more. Tasting is the key to ending up with a mix that meets your ideal vision of what a tomato-based drink should taste like.
Ingredients
For the Mix:
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2 to 2 1/2 pounds fresh ripe tomatoes
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1 small shallot
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1 small fresh green or red chile pepper
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2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste
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Salt, to taste
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Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
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Hot sauce, to taste
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Grated horseradish, to taste
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Celery stalks, or pickled green beans, for garnish
For the Bloody Mary:
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6 ounces vodka
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients.
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Roughly chop tomatoes, shallot, and chile, if using.
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In a blender or food processor, puree tomatoes, shallot, and chile until smooth. Do this in batches, if needed.
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Run pureed mixture through a sieve or food mill to remove seeds and peels.
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Add lemon juice, salt, pepper, and hot sauce or horseradish. Taste test and add more lemon juice or seasonings if needed.
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Place in a pitcher and cover. Chill spiced-up tomato juice mixture until very cold, at least an hour, and up to two days.
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To make the cocktails, pour 1 1/2 ounces of vodka into each highball glass filled with ice. Pour 3 ounces of tomato juice on top of the vodka, or skip the vodka and use the mix to serve a virgin mary. Add extra seasonings to taste if using.
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Garnish with a celery stalk or pickled green bean.
How Strong Is a Bloody Mary?
With the appropriate serving of 1.5 ounces of vodka per cocktail, a bloody mary's alcohol content will be around 10 percent ABV (20 proof), similar to a glass of light wine.
Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
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74 | Calories |
1g | Fat |
16g | Carbs |
3g | Protein |
Nutrition Facts | |
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Servings: 2 to 4 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 74 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 1g | 1% |
Saturated Fat 0g | 1% |
Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
Sodium 200mg | 9% |
Total Carbohydrate 16g | 6% |
Dietary Fiber 5g | 17% |
Total Sugars 10g | |
Protein 3g | |
Vitamin C 43mg | 216% |
Calcium 53mg | 4% |
Iron 1mg | 6% |
Potassium 857mg | 18% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
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