Cocktail of the week: Oren’s harissa bloody mary – recipe | The good mixer

This is a twist on the classic brunch drink. We serve it as part of our new “Slow Sundays” offering, and instead of the usual Tabasco, we use a house-made burnt harissa to add a real kick and smokiness.

Harissa bloody mary

Serves 1

For the burnt harissa
10-15 red chillies, to taste
A pinch of salt
1 small garlic clove, peeled
Olive oil

For the drink
45ml vodka – we use East London Liquor Co.
150ml good-quality tomato juice
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
10ml fresh lemon juice
A pinch of celery salt, plus extra to rim the glass, if you like
1 tsp burnt harissa (see above and method)
1 guindilla chilli, 1 pickled cauliflower floret and 1 olive on a skewer, to garnish

First make the harissa. Scorch the chillies over a gas flame until blackened and blistered all over. Once they’ve cooled down slightly,

peel off and discard the skins and finely chop the chilli flesh. Put this in a blender and grate in the garlic – add a little more, if you like, but you really don’t need much (at the restaurant, we use about a tablespoon in every two-litre batch). Add a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil to loosen, then blitz to a smooth paste. The harissa will now keep in a clean sealed container in the fridge for about a week.

To build the drink, measure everything into a mixing glass filled with ice and stir gently to combine. Strain into a highball glass (we use a 350ml one) filled with fresh ice (if you like, rim the glass with celery salt first). Garnish with a skewer of a guindilla chilli, a pickled cauliflower floret and an olive.

• Oded Oren, chef/patron, Oren, London E8