CSA Cookoff: Currant Cocktail

CSA COOKOFF: WHAT CAME IN LAST WEEK’S FARM SHARE AND HOW WE USED IT

1. Chinese broccoli: This went into a coconut curry alongside the water spinach (number 8), onion, curry, garam masala, turmeric, and cayenne.

2. Currants: See this week’s featured recipe, below.

3. Baby salad greens: Salad for lunch!

4. Cucumber: Cold cucumber salad with cilantro (number 7).

5. Beets: Roasted and stuffed into a sandwich with sautéed kale (number 9) and Brie.

6. Radicchio: I’ll be honest: Radicchio and I might have to agree to disagree. It’s still in the crisper. Any suggestions for recipes that might change my mind?

7. Cilantro: See number 4; also went on tortas with sautéed zucchini.

8. Water spinach: See number 1.

9. Kale: See number 5.

RECIPE: CURRANT COCKTAIL
This week’s recipe is the opposite of a classic cocktail. It’s a currant cocktail. (Yep, I said it. Insert your groans here.) Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, this drink was inspired in part by the currants that came in my CSA and in part by my foray earlier this summer into lime-free margaritas. If you don’t want to go the boozy route, this drink would be delicious with seltzer, in kefir, or just about any of the ways Cynthia recommends using simple syrup in her excellent 101.

FOR THE FLAVORED SYRUP:
» 1 cup currants, stemmed and washed
» 1 cup water
» ½ cup sugar

FOR THE COCKTAIL (MAKES TWO DRINKS):
» 2 oz tequila
» 1 oz lime juice
» 2 Tbsp currant simple syrup
» 2 Tbsp ice water
» ice
» dash of salt

For the flavored syrup: Combine the currants, water, and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved, the berries have popped, and the liquid has reduced by half. Remove from heat and let cool. Pour through a strainer to remove skins.

For the cocktail: Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake it like you mean it. Pour over more ice into two glasses. Cheers to farm sharing!

STILL HUNGRY?
CSA Cookoff is an ongoing series devoted to putting farm share bounty to good use. What did you get this week? And what did you make with it? Post a comment or photo and share the farm share love!