Thanks to Lottie Muir and her new book Wild Mocktails and Healthy Cocktails, we are totally embracing Dry January! And since it's Blue Monday, we thought we would share with you one of her delicious healthy mocktail recipes to cheer you up!
Tools: Measuring pitcher, barspoon/ wooden spoon, 2 mixing glasses, cocktail shaker with strainer
Glass: Collins
Ice: Cubes
Garnish: Lovage/celery/fennel stalk and nasturtium leaves and flower (if available)
1 cup (250ml) Water Kefir
2oz (60ml) Beet Kvass or tomato juice
1oz (30ml) celery juice
1 tsp (5ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of black pepper
Dash of hot Tabasco
2 dashes of Bittermens Xocolatl
Serves 1
Add all the ingredients to the pitcher and stir. Fill one of the mixing glasses two-thirds of the way up with ice.
Pour the mix into the mixing glass and immediately “roll” (or transfer) the whole mix, including the ice, into the other mixing glass. Repeat this process, back and forth between the two mixing glasses, until your drink is cold. Strain immediately into the
Collins glass, garnish with a lovage/ celery/fennel stalk and nasturtium leaves and flowers, and serve.
Beet Kvass
This fermented beet (beetroot) juice is packed with probiotics and enzymes. It makes a salty and earthy contribution to a virgin or alcoholic Bloody Mary. Alternatively, mix it with an earthy spirit, such as mezcal or tequila, to make a delicious cocktail.
2 large or 4 small organic beets (beetroot), washed (peeled first if non-organic)
¼ cup (50ml) whey (the strained liquid from full-fat plain yogurt) or lacto-fermented pickle juice (from a commercial jar of sauerkraut)
1 tbsp sea salt
1 quart (1 liter) filtered (chlorine-free) water
Makes approximately 1 quart (1 liter)
Chop the beet/beetroot into ½ -in (1-cm) cubes and put in the sterilized jar. Add the whey or pickle juice and salt, then pour in the filtered water. Cover with the fermentation cover and secure with a rubber band. Leave at room temperature for 2 days in a cupboard or on a countertop away from direct sunlight until the mix has fermented.
Fine-strain the kvass into a wide-mouthed pitcher, funnel into the sterilized presentation bottle(s), seal, and store in the refrigerator. Consume within 3 months.
Water kefir
4 tbsp organic unrefined cane sugar
4 cups (1 liter) cool spring or mineral water
3 tbsp (45g) hydrated water kefir grains
Fruit juice, fresh or dried fruit (such as raisins), herbs, or spices of choice, for flavoring
2 x 1-quart (1-liter) wide-mouthed, sealable jars, sterilized
Nonmetal stirring utensil (plastic is fine), sterilized
Fermentation cover (such as a clean piece of cotton/closely woven
dishtowel/T-shirt or coffee filter) and rubber band
Plastic or bamboo sieve (avoid metal utensils)
Makes approximately 1 quart (1 liter)
Dissolve the sugar in a small amount of hot water in one of the sterilized jars. When the sugar has dissolved, fill the jar with the cool spring/mineral water. Make sure the water is at room temperature and no warmer. Add the water kefir grains, cover the jar with the fermentation cover, and secure with a rubber band. Leave the jar in a warm cupboard (preferably at 70–75F/ 21–24C) or on a countertop out of direct sunlight for 24–48 hours. The longer you leave the kefir, the more sugar will be consumed and the healthier it becomes. Any longer than 48 hours and you risk starving the grains. Stirring the grains regularly can speed up the fermentation process. When the kefir is fermented to your liking, remove the kefir grains by straining the kefir through the sieve into the second sterilized jar. Screw on the airtight lid. You now have water kefir.
This recipe is from Wild Mocktails and Healthy Cocktails by Lottie Muir, photography by Kim Lightbody © Ryland Peters & Small
