■MIXING IT UP I am a beet fanatic. I can eat beets in any way, shape, or form. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I grew up eating a lot of beets. As an Eastern European beets make up like 90 percent of our diet. But beets have only recently begun to get the proper SASHA POGREBINSKY attention that they deserve in the western world, especially here in America. I was so happy when I started seeing edgy little restaurants putting beet salads on their menus, and now it’s almost common place. However, beets have a long way to go beyond just showing up on a plate with a little bit of goat cheese. I’m talking about putting them inside your alcoholic beverages people! This cocktail, which I call the Bloody Beets, is on my menu at Bear and it is a bloody mary recipe with a real twist. Since summer is here and that means roof-top barbecues and fun Sunday brunches with friends – make this amazing pitcher of Bloody Beets. Sasha is the owner of Bear Restaurant in Long Island City and in March started writing a monthly column for the LIC Courier and bringing one-of-a-kind cocktail recipes right to your fingertips. Sasha’s first book “Rarely Known” was published in 2014 by Element Press and is available on Amazon. WHAT YOU NEED: 1 can of beet juice 2 large cans of tomato juice 1 bottle of horseradish Can of sweet pickles Fresh scallions Fresh radishes Salt, pepper, paprika Worcestershire sauce 4 fresh limes Bottle of Vodka HOW TO MAKE A PITCHER: 1. In a big bowl mix a can of beet juice, tomato juice, sweet pickle brine, 1 cup of Worcestershire sauce, a tablespoon of salt, pepper, and paprika, and a bottle of horseradish all together. Stir vigorously or even use a blender. But make sure the horseradish isn’t fully dissolved, you want that texture. 2. Squeeze about 3 to 4 fresh limes into the mix to give it that fresh zest. 3. Pour into a pitcher. GARNISHING: 1. Fill your glass up with ice 2. Pour about 3 to 4 ounces of cold vodka 3. Add the Bloody Beets mix 4. Garnish with a whole scallion (pictured) and a slice of fresh radish and sweet pickle 5. Serve! Secret Tip: If you want to get really fancy, buy about 5 organic beets from the farmers market. Clean them and cut them into little cubes. Boil them for one hour. Put the cubes into a bottle of vodka for two weeks and let them infuse. Use this vodka instead of the beet juice – it will be epic! BLOODY BEETS Courtesy Marielle Solan Photography
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