I get so annoyed with Whole Foods. That whole forced neighborhood grocery thing is just ridiculous. Please admit that you are a big-box grocery that many people love (myself included), so you can go ahead and widen the aisles and stock a little food that normal people buy, in addition to random organic foods for the rest of us. This brings me to tamarind.What’s with stocking the tamarind root, but not tamarind paste (used frequently in Thai cooking)? I have no idea what to do with the actual root, which is why I need things like that pre-processed.
A certain less-ornery person visited a local Asian grocery to pick up some tamarind paste for a signature cocktail sure to blow my socks off.
I heard on The Food Network today that margaritas are the No. 1 mixed drink in the United States. So it’s safe to say most of us like a good margarita – fresh lime, a little orange sweetness, clear tequila and a dab of salt. Adding tamarind gives it that savory touch that salt can’t. It is subtle, but special.
I recommend making this before the summer slips away (I’m looking at you, Northwesterners!)…
Monolith Tamarind Margaritas
Ingredients (makes one cocktail, so multiply like crazy!)
1 1/2 ounces tequila
1 ounce triple sec (Cointreau)
2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice
0.4 ounces orange juice
0.4 ounces simple syrup (1 c. water simmered with 1 c. sugar)
0.2 ounces tamarind paste
Shake tamarind paste with tequila and triple sec until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients. Shake well and pour into a salt-rimmed glass over ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Enjoy, friends! xoxo
Seasoned to Taste 