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Bon Appétit

Celery and Salted Lemon Cocktail

By Andy Baraghani
Celery and Salted Lemon Cocktail
Photographs by Emma Fishman

Inspired by the Salty Dog (grapefruit juice with vodka or gin), this refreshing cocktail recipe mixes puréed celery and preserved lemon with vodka and club soda. Don’t skip the celery leaves: They impart big celery flavor and just might become your new favorite salad green. Pro tip: Start by using just 1 jarred lemon and tasting before adding the next—the amount of salt varies from brand to brand.

What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    8 - 10 Servings

Ingredients

8 large celery stalks, chopped, plus as many leaves as you have
2 preserved lemons, seeds removed, chopped, plus 3 Tbsp. brine
2 cups vodka
Chilled club soda (for serving)
Small Manchego cheese pieces, tinned seafood (such as smoked mussels, boquerones, or clams), lemon wedges, and/or olives (for serving)

special equipment

8–10 cocktail skewers

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Purée celery stalks and leaves, preserved lemons, brine, and 2 cups cold water in a blender until very smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher. (Do not force it; you want to keep any solids from going through. You should have 3–4 cups.) Chill celery mixture at least 20 minutes before using.

    Step 2

    To serve, stir vodka into celery mixture and pour 3–4 oz. into each of 8–10 tall ice-filled glasses (they should be about three fourths full). Top off each cocktail with 1–2 oz. club soda. Thread garnishes of your choice onto skewers and garnish each cocktail with a skewer.

    Do ahead: Celery mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Stir well before using.

TagsBeveragesCocktailAlcoholPitcher DrinkCeleryVegetableLemonCitrusFruitVodkaBon Appétit

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