March 4, 2014
I have a serious problem with the Garden of Eden Cocktail at the San Ysidro Ranch. It’s fresh, delicious, not too sweet, and goes down pretty quick. It has led to that embarrassing moment where you take your last sip just five minutes into dinner, leaving you smiling weakly with a red faced, “Cheers!?”
Here’s my rendition, created fresh from the garden. This cocktail is Fat Tuesday worthy and will slide you right into St. Patrick’s Day in style. I’ve decided to call it my Garden of Good and Evil Cocktail — so good that it may just lead you to repent the next morning.
This recipe calls for fresh lime juice. If you can, track down Bearss Limes, they are amazingly juicy and flavorful — it’s sort of the lime equivalent to Meyer Lemons. If you happen to be in the market for a new citrus tree, I highly recommend a Bearss Lime tree. Also, wild arugula is remarkable in flavor and so easy to grow. (Seriously, plant some right now – it even grows in pots on your patio). If your garden isn’t cocktail ready, the fresh farmers market arugula will do the trick.
This is garden living that even New Orleans and your Irish brother-in-law can get on board with. Cheers!
Makes 4 cocktails
Note: Ideally, if you want to be flippin’ fancy, garnish this with a lime or orange blossom. It does give a nice floral finish. If you don’t have blossoms, then top just with a small leaf of arugula.
Juice of six limes, you want about 6 ounces or 3/4 cup juice
1/2 cup packed arugula, plus more for garnish
6 ounces gin or vodka (dealer’s choice)
3 ounces St. Germain Liqueur
Sparkling water
Citrus blossoms (if you’ve got’em)
Blend the juice and arugula in a blender until the arugula is finely chopped — the color of the liquid will be a beautiful shade of green. Strain this mixture into a clean pitcher. Stir in the booze and pour into four old-fashioned glasses filled with ice. Finish with a splash of sparkling water and garnish with one blossom and one arugula leaf.
