Zero-Proof Garden Sour with Snap Pea–Cucumber Cordial and Aquafaba Foam

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A shaken, foam-capped sour built entirely without alcohol — inspired by the herbaceous garden-distillate cocktails poured at zero-proof-forward bars. A quick blender cordial of sweet peas, cucumber, thyme and mint stands in for the botanical spirit, lemon and verjus supply the bite, and a hard double shake with aquafaba gives you the dense meringue-white cap you'd expect from a classic egg-white sour. Serve straight up in a chilled coupe with a cucumber ribbon and pea tendril.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 wide strips lemon zest, peeled with a vegetable peeler
• 20 leaves fresh mint
• 6 leaves fresh basil
• 1 cup sugar snap peas or frozen sweet peas, thawed
• 1/2 medium English cucumber, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 6 oz chilled garden cordial (from above)
• 1 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice, strained
• 1/2 oz verjus or unsweetened white grape juice
• 2 oz aquafaba (liquid from a can of unsalted chickpeas), well shaken
• 2 pinches fine sea salt
• ice cubes, plus 2 large cubes for shaking

• 2 long cucumber ribbons, shaved with a peeler
• 2 sprigs pea shoots or pea tendrils
• 2 small mint sprigs
• 1 lemon, for expressing peel over the foam
• coarsely cracked black pepper (optional, 1 turn per drink)

Instructions

1. Make the herb syrup: combine the sugar, water, thyme sprigs and lemon zest strips in a small saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the mint and basil, press them under the surface with a spoon, and steep uncovered for 15 minutes. Do not boil the herbs or the syrup turns grassy and bitter.
2. While the syrup steeps, blanch the peas: bring a small pot of water to a boil, drop in the sugar snap peas for 45 seconds, then transfer immediately to a bowl of ice water. This locks in the bright green color. Drain well. (If using thawed frozen sweet peas, skip the blanching.)
3. Strain the herb syrup into a blender, pressing the herbs and thyme against the strainer to extract everything, then discard the solids. Add the drained peas, chopped cucumber and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Blend on high for 45 seconds, until completely smooth and pale green.
4. Set a fine-mesh strainer lined with a double layer of cheesecloth (or a coffee filter, which is slower but clearer) over a measuring cup. Pour in the purée and let it drain, stirring gently and pressing lightly with a spoon, until you have about 1 1/4 cups of clear-ish cordial, 5 to 10 minutes. Discard the pulp. Chill the cordial in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes, or until very cold. It should taste like a sweet garden — vegetal, minty, not cloying.
5. Put two coupe or small martini glasses in the freezer to chill for at least 10 minutes.
6. Dry shake for foam: combine 6 oz cold cordial, 1 1/2 oz lemon juice, 1/2 oz verjus, 2 oz aquafaba and 2 pinches of salt in a cocktail shaker with just 2 large ice cubes. Seal and shake hard for a full 20 seconds — the ice barely melts but whips the aquafaba into a thick foam.
7. Add enough fresh ice to fill the shaker two-thirds and shake hard again for 15 seconds, until the tin is painfully cold and frosted over. This second shake chills and dilutes without knocking down the foam.
8. Double strain through a fine-mesh strainer into the chilled glasses, pouring in one steady stream from about 4 inches above the glass so the liquid settles and the foam layers on top. Let the drinks rest undisturbed for 30 seconds; the cap will set into a smooth, opaque white layer.
9. Garnish: twist a strip of lemon peel skin-side down over each glass to express the oils, then discard it. Curl a cucumber ribbon and set it on the foam, tuck in a pea shoot and a mint sprig, and finish with one turn of cracked black pepper on the foam if you like. Serve immediately, while the cap is still tight.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

More from Sprig Originals

Dark Roux Seafood Gumbo with Quick Shrimp Stock

One-Skillet Blackened Cajun Chicken Pasta

Char-Grilled Oysters with Garlic-Worcestershire Butter

Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem