Vegetarian loaded Bloody Mary brunch

So I’m ill again, for the second time this month. It doesn’t help that my husband teaches drums in about ten different schools – he must bring home every germ that passes through the county.

But before you think my cold has made me delirious, let me explain the monstrosity you see above. These loaded Bloody Marys have become a bit of a trend in the past couple of years, so it’s not just me who’s lost the plot. And in fact, my version is a lot less extreme than some of the ones I’ve seen, which are topped with burgers, entire pizzas, and whatever the heck this is (popcorn?!).

Compared to them, I’m quite sane really.

Anyway, the point of these loaded Bloody Marys is that they provide a good brunch and some liquid refreshment in one go. Since I’m feeling a bit under the weather, I can’t think of any better pick-me-up.

Before you go thinking that a loaded Bloody Mary is just a cheap gimmick… no, just kidding, it is totally a cheap gimmick. But either way, it all starts with a good quality cocktail. There’s no point in going to all the effort of making twenty different items to go on top if you haven’t got a good Bloody Mary in the first place.

You want to use a nice tomato juice, and a really good quality vodka – I used Ketel One vodka. I often use vodka as a mixer (usually just with coke or lemonade because I’m actually a pretty uncreative person a lot of the time), but I’ve always thought I couldn’t possibly drink it neat. I’m used to drinking cheap vodka which, in all honesty, is absolutely revolting when you can actually taste it. I’m still not sure I’m going to start slamming neat vodka shots, but the Ketel One vodka definitely has a much more pleasant flavour! One of those things that it’s very much worth paying a bit more for.

I went for a pretty straightforward Bloody Mary recipe this time, but if you’d like more inspiration, Ketel One have developed all sorts of variations on the traditional recipe (including a beetroot Bloody Mary, which looks amazing). You can check out all the recipes, as well as lots of other brunch inspiration from around the world, over on Ketel One’s nifty little infographic (I like the look of the Australian brunch recipe myself).

Once you’ve created your perfect Bloody Mary, it’s time to get topping. As I mentioned before, you can pretty much stick whatever you want on these things, as long as you poke a skewer through it. It totally depends how crazy you want to go.

I went for:

– grilled cheese sandwich (cut into squares)
– falafel
– green olives
– cherry tomatoes
– veggie cocktail sausages
– pickled gherkins
– veggie scotch eggs

Try to balance the more indulgent foods (i.e. all the brown bits…) with the more colourful, healthier foods. You’re already putting a scotch egg on top of a cocktail and calling it brunch, you’ve got to make sure you’re getting your veggies in too (pickled ones totally count).

So. Have I convinced you yet that I’m not a complete loon?

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Vegetarian loaded Bloody Mary brunch

Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 10 mins

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 1/2 lime
• Salt
• 50 ml Ketel One vodka (double shot)
• 225 ml tomato juice (~ 1 cup) - plus more, if necessary
• Dash of Tabasco (or other hot sauce)
• Black pepper
• Your choice of toppings, e.g: cherry tomatoes, vegetarian sausages, vegetarian scotch eggs, falafel, green olives, pickled gherkins, celery

Instructions

• Rub the cut lime around the top of a glass, and rub the glass in some salt.
• Add the vodka, tomato juice, Tabasco, a squeeze of lime juice, and a pinch of black pepper to the glass, and mix. Top up with additional tomato juice if necessary.
• Thread your chosen toppings onto a few long wooden skewers, and place in the glass to serve.

Author: Becca Heyes

The nutritional information of this recipe will vary a lot depending on what toppings you choose, so I am not displaying it here.

Not a fan of a liquid brunch? Perhaps my leek and cheese stuffed French toast will inspire you instead: