I was never a fan of cucumber’s, but over the last few years I have changed and I love eating them. This cocktail is so refreshing it’s like a cucumber water you get at the spa combined with a margarita. It’s so delicious and I like that you can make a batch of it so you don’t have to mix them non stop.
Rick Bayless’s Summer Margarita
(Adapted from Fiesta at Rick’s: Fabulous Food for Great Times with Friends)
1-2 English (hothouse) cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced (you need 3 cups of cucumber slices)
1 1/2 cups silver tequila
1 1/4 cups fresh lime juice
1 cup simple syrup*
a lime half for moistening the glass rim
ice cubes
coarse (kosher) salt
cucumber slices, for garnish
In a blender, combine the cucumber slices, tequila, lime juice, and simple syrup. Puree until the mixture is smooth. Strain into a pitcher. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
To serve, moisten the rims of your glasses with the lime half. Dip the glass into a plate or bowl of salt to coat the rim of the glass. Fill each glass halfway with ice.
Fill a cocktail shaker 3/4 full with ice, then measure in 1 1/2 cups of the margarita mixture. Shake vigorously 10 to 20 seconds, then pour the margarita into the prepared glasses. Garnish each drink with a cucumber slice, and serve.
Repeat as needed for the remaining margaritas, or store, covered, in the refrigerator for the next round!
*For the simple syrup, combine 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, swirling often, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool. This can be stored indefinitely in the refrigerator.
