A Rhapsody on Tomato Juice

I absolutely love tomato juice, though I don’t like it as a Bloody Mary. I think the vodka sweetens it in a way that doesn’t work for me. For the same reason I don’t add a slug of sherry. The boy does like it with a good shot of vodka with the Sunday papers. He thinks it the perfect preface to the roast beef that is to come. My friend Dave says I just haven’t had a really good Bloody Mary yet. He’s no doubt right.

Chill a jug in the freezer.I think it should be served abundently, by the jugful, rather than by the glass. It should be cold but ice will just dilute it. Pour a litre carton of tomato juice into it. I prefer Libby’s or Prince’s. When we lived in Nairobi, Dad and I bought a big tin of Kenylon tomato juice to decant. It had a whole tomato, skin, on still in it. I'm assuming ours will be smoother. Squeeze in as much as you can get out of a juicy lemon. Sprinkle in some white pepper. Give it shake of Worcestershire Sauce and very many shakes of Tabasco. If I could have only one condiment it would be Tabasco.  Stir it with a stalk of celery. Not absolutely sure this flavours it, but it looks good. If it’s a Sunday morning, add some vodka for the boy (Russian Standard) and a good pinch of flaky Maldon sea salt. Make sure it’s really cold and put The Observer in front of him. Brahms Violin Concerto goes on the CD player - the Joshua Bell version. Gorgeous. So is he.

I like it with more pepper and Tabasco, he prefers it with more Worcestershire. It has to be Lea & Perrins by the way.  On the rare occasions I can get it, I love a yellow tomato juice from the Isle of Wight. It’s slightly less acidic. We spice it with white pepper and yellow hot pepper sauce from Barbados so it doesn't spoil the colour. The boy calls it a Bloody Canary. Unfortunately, it’s hard to come by. This year a single 200ml bottle is all I have managed to get. The Barbadian pepper sauce is Aunt May’s. It’s made from Scotch Bonnets and mustard so it just needs a drop or so.

The genius that is Simon Hopkinson came up with this properly made from scratch version.:

1kg ripe juicy tomatoes. (A box can be had from most Turkish supermarkets in Wood Green for around £2.99)

A large teaspoon of Maldon sea salt

1tbsp caster sugar

125ml water

1tbsp horseradish concentrate

 Peel and core the tomatoes. It’s a faff but worth it. Put everything but the horseradish in a pan and simmer. It will take about 20 minutes for the fruit to collapse. This should go into a Mouli Legumes but I’m not lucky enough to have one so it is pushed through a fine sieve. This is why you core them! Let it cool and add the horseradish concentrate. Ours is dug from the garden and grated. We need to decide what to do with it as it’s starting to take over. My addition to this is to lightly crush two stalks of celery and add them to the jug.  Let the juice infuse for another 20 minutes and sieve it again. It needs at least an hour in a jug, in the fridge.

Tomato juice generally needs to be concentrated – if you just put them through a juicer it is a watery salmon pink. That said, Nigel Slater has a couple of really good juicer recipes:

4 tomatoes

2 red peppers

A red chilli

Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, salt.

It all goes in the juicer. NS suggests just a piece of chilli, but you might as well go for this with a whole one. Be generous with the salt and pepper. Allow it to sit but then give it a really good stir.

He offers a milder juice, that is also really good:

4 tomatoes

2 stalks celery

6 radishes

A large handful parsley

Again just juice it all. This won’t be a pretty colour but will taste good. I think a pinch of salt improves it. Organic veg will make all the difference.

I like it as it comes, the boy likes it with vodka, but I prefer it spicier than he does.Love is about give and take. He also really loves a bullshot if it's well made:

330ml beef consomme
1tbsp lemon juice
A shake of celery salt
1tbsp Worcestershire sauce
175ml vodka
A very good shake of Tabasco

The best consomme we have found is Campbells (it's condensed so it will need water), but Baxters is good too. Heat it and then add the seasoning. The vodka needs to go in last so it doesn't evaporate too quickly. Our Boxing Day tradition is a long walk so this goes in our metal flask to stay hot. Happy boy!