Beet and Aquavit Bloody Mary
Roasted beets give this cocktail an earthy, slightly sweet flavor, a flashy magenta color, and a lovely velvety texture that all add up to a meal-in-a-glass that’s anything but ordinary.
- Preparation:
- Cooking:
- Total:
- Serves: 8 persons
Ingredients
- 1pound medium beets (without tops)
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- 1teaspoon fine salt
- 2cups tomato juice
- ¼cup chopped fresh dill leaves (loosely packed)
- 3tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1tablespoon prepared horseradish (not creamed horseradish)
- ¾teaspoon lemon pepper
- 1medium garlic clove
- Hot sauce, to taste
- 24ounces aquavit (see headnote)
- 8(5 to 6-inch) cocktail picks
- 6ounces dill havarti cheese, cut into cubes
- 2dill pickles, cut crosswise into 1-inch thick slices
- 8pickled cocktail onions
Instructions
Step 1
Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 F.Step 2
Wrap each beet tightly in foil, adding a drizzle of the olive oil and a generous pinch of salt to each packet. Place beets on a baking sheet and bake until a paring knife can pierce easily through the beets, about 1 hour.Step 3
Unwrap beets and let them stand until cool enough to handle. Slip the skins off the beets with your fingers under cool running water. You can do this with kitchen gloves to avoid staining your fingers, if desired.Step 4
Cut the beets into 1-inch chunks. Put 2 cups (about 12 ounces) of the beet chunks in a blender. Reserve remaining beets for garnish.Step 5
Add the tomato juice, dill, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, lemon pepper, and garlic to the blender and blend until completely smooth. The mixture will be thick but pourable. Taste and add hot sauce until the mixture is as spicy as you like it.Step 6
Fill tall cocktail glasses with 1 cup of ice cubes each glass. Add 1/2 cup of the bloody Mary mix to each glass. Add 3 ounces of aquavit to each glass and stir to combine.Step 7
Using eight 5 to 6-inch cocktail picks, skewer leftover roasted beets, cheese cubes, pickle slices, and pickled onions and balance a skewer on top of each glass.