Muhamara Magic
I kindly interrupt your Negroni-filled feed for a drink I am super excited about because: 1) It was really tasty, 2) It’s my favorite type of drink (food-inspired), and 3) It actually was very reminiscent of the food dish. It all started when I got to talking with @shelbymastro about the awesomeness of pomegranate molasses and how it would be cool to make a drink with it inspired by Muhamara— a delicious Middle Eastern dish I posted about on 9/13 (recipe from @ottolenghi via @masterclass).
The dish is savory, and while the drink leans that way too, it’s certainly a balanced Sour at its core. The backbone of the drink is a lovely unaged aquavit with coriander notes. I roasted red bell peppers and tomatoes (skin removed) to get those sweet/roasty vegetal notes. The pomegranate flavor comes from the molasses, and the walnut flavor from black walnut bitters. The star of the show that ties it all together is a tincture I made with cumin and coriander, the key spices in the dish. I clarified the whole thing to take some of the edges off (and it looks way nicer, of course).
{tasting notes}
Savory - Spiced - Vegetal - Tart - Complex
Recipe
2oz unaged aquavit (@nordenaquavit, gifted)
1/4 roasted medium red bell pepper
4 roasted cherry tomatoes
0.75oz split pomegranate molasses + cane sugar syrup
0.75oz fresh lemon juice
1 dash black walnut bitters (@feebrothersbitters)
Combine all ingredients and blend on high speed until fully incorporated. Fine strain and add mixture slowly to 1oz whole milk. Let sit at least 1 hour, strain through coffee filter, chill in fridge. When ready to serve, add to glass with #clearice (@truecubes, gifted). Garnish with parsley leaf and pomegranate seeds. Cheers!!
