Fruits are the traditional first choice for smoothies, but let’s take a look beyond convention and start experimenting with the veggies and herbs in savory smoothie recipes.
Cucumber – Cilantro -Chives Smoothie
When choosing “milk” as a main ingredient – the basis of all our smoothies – and turning our heads towards matches in the vegetable category, you’ll spot cucumber. Cucumber consists of more than 90% of water, so instead of adding crushed ice to get the smoothie cold, just refrigerate the blended cucumber before use. Next we add olive oil for the body, cilantro and chives for some kick and sherry vinegar to brighten the flavours.
ingredients
- 335 g cucumber
- 3 g of cilantro
- 18 g chives
- 175 g milk
- 10 g sherry vinegar
- 75 g olive oil
- pepper and salt
Preparations
Dice the cucumber. Chop the chives and cilantro. Blend all ingredients. Add the olive oil in a continuous trickle. Season to taste, pass through a fine mesh and refrigerate. Serve with garnishes like shrimp or mussels.
Tomato – Basil – Mozarella Smoothie
- 255 g canned tomatoes (they give more taste then fresh ones)
- 3 g basil
- 100 g milk
- 20 g mozzarella water
- 25 g mozzarella
- pepper and salt
Blend all ingredients. Season to taste, pass through a fine mesh and refrigerate.
Tomato – Basil – Mozarella Smoothie with Raspberry
Furaneol is one of the molecules tomato and strawberry share. The same goes for raspberry and tomato, applying this neat little combo in a veggie smoothie is just magic. For the base we selected mozzarella but cottage cheese would also be great, added some fresh basil to give it a nice twist.
When you get the proportions right one can enhance the fruitiness of tomato by adding strawberries or raspberries without losing the characteristic tomato flavor.
Ingredients
- 255 g canned tomatoes
- 3 g basil
- 150 g milk
- 40 g raspberries
- 10 g ketchup
- pepper and salt
Preparations
Blend all ingredients. Season to taste, pass through a fine mesh and refrigerate.
Bacon – Pea Smoothie
preparations
Bacon flavoured milk
- 5 dl milk
- 150 g smoked bacon
Milk is easy to infuse, this is because of its colloidal (fat + water) properties. Infused milk allows for new aroma incorporation in a smoothie without using the actual flavoring ingredients; which could otherwise present textural, taste or other technical difficulties. Traditional examples are vanilla, cinnamon or anise infused milk. Here is a more challenging recipe with bacon flavored milk. Bring the milk to the boil. Dice the smoked bacon and add to the hot milk. Cover with plastic clingfilm. Let infuse for at least 1 hour. Sieve
Smoothie
- 150 g bacon flavoured milk
- 100 g cooked peas
- 1 g mint
- pepper and salt
Blend all ingredients. Season to taste, pass through a fine mesh and refrigerate.
Bell Pepper – Tomato – Chorizo Smoothie
Instead of using plain olive oil in the cucumber smoothie, we can create more depth by using an infused oil. Here’s an example with red bell pepper and tomato.
Preparations
Chorizo oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 40 g chopped onion
- 100 g diced chorizo
- 200 g olive oil
Fry the garlic with the onion and chorizo in some oil. Add the remaining amount of oil. Let simmer for 5′ minutes. Cover with plastic clingpaper and let infuse for at least 1 hour. Sieve.
Smoothie
100 g red bell pepper
140 g milk
20 g canned tomato
5 g chorizo oil
- pepper and salt
Blend all ingredients. Season to taste, pass through a fine mesh and refrigerate.
