THIS ROCKET MARTINI WILL LEAVE YOU SHAKEN.

Who knew that rocket’s best life was as a cocktail? (Apart from me)

So I heard tell on the interweb about a tomato martini, and my brain sent urgent messages to my body to say that this could be a very good idea. Imagine the acidity, the colour, the brightness the gin, the vermouth… hot damn.

I then stumbled across a Garden Gimlet in the famous Difford’s Guide that shakes Bacardi, red capsicum puree, lime juice, rocket and caraway into a very shady sort of cocktail that should surely be taken while wearing a bonnet on a terrace overlooking the parterre garden as the stable hands feed the wild deer.

Then my brain turned to green, as it often does. How do I make it green? More rocket, of course, known elsewhere as arugula. Could we play with the idea of a little green rocket martini, strained into a chic little coupette glass?

You’re on.

I remember a rocket aperitif served to me by chef Heinz Beck, then at La Pergola in Rome, sometime last century. He gave me the recipe, which was just a blend of rocket leaves, dry ginger ale and lemon sorbet, done at high speed. It was amazing, but without the right tech, it separated a little in the glass when done at home.

In those days, I didn’t know about aquafaba, the magical liquid from a can of chickpeas, and how it can thicken and emulsify a cocktail without being too pushy in itself. Chickpea ‘brine’, as it is known, is also used as a foaming agent in lieu of egg whites, which is smart. Tip: Keep it in the fridge, as it works better when cold.

What else do we need? Not much. You could add black pepper, or a dash of olive brine. But there’s a reason the martini is the best three-ingredient recipe in the whole entire world. (Three? Gin, vermouth and icy coldness, an ingredient in itself).

All I’ve done is muddle some fresh rocket into the mix, which gives it a lightly peppery kick and an all-round herbaceousness that Terry calls “vegetabley”. It’s one of those moves that looks so simple - shake a martini with rocket leaves - and yet can be so momentous, changing the direction of your summer drinking overnight.

Add 40 ml cold aquafaba if you also want it velvety. The foam (shown below) will settle and firm up further if you leave it for a minute or two; it’s remarkably stable.

ROCKET MARTINI

• Good handful of rocket leaves, around 50 g

• 120ml London dry gin

• 30 ml dry vermouth

Chill two martini glasses or coupettes.

Push the rocket leaves into your cocktail shaker and bash them with a rounded rolling pin or muddling stick until they pack down a bit.

Pile ice cubes on top, then add the gin and dry vermouth, and shake vigorously for 20 seconds.

Strain immediately into the glasses, and serve cold; don’t wait. Makes 2.

Tip: Double-strain through your finest strainer, or you’ll get little floaty bits of rocket suspended in the glass. And then in your teeth.

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Now, not everybody is up for a dry martini - it can be a bit brutal - so let’s work with the idea of a Gimlet. The classic started life as one part gin, one part lime cordial, but the contemporary Gimlet has a more subtle sweet-and-sour quality, with most bartenders using fresh lime juice and simple syrup (sugar dissolved in water), or their own house-made cordial. 

Here’s a bright, lively, lime-forward cocktail from a silky muddle of rocket, spiked with gin, lime juice and simple syrup, emulsified with aqua faba, because aqua faba is so much fun.

ROCKET GIMLET

• Good handful of rocket leaves, around 50 g

• 120 ml London dry gin

• 30 ml lime juice

• 30 ml simple syrup

• 50 ml chilled aquafaba

Chill two martini glasses or coupettes.

Push the rocket leaves down into your cocktail shaker and bash them with a rounded rolling pin or muddling stick until they pack down a bit.

Pile ice cubes on top, then add the gin, lime juice, simple syrup and aquafaba.

Shake vigorously for 20 seconds, and strain through a fine strainer into the glasses.

Serve cold; don’t wait. Makes 2.

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You may be reading this at an hour that is not conducive to making a cocktail. Sorry. But what you could do now is make your simple (sugar) syrup, so it’s cold and ready to go.

SIMPLE SYRUP

Combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a pan and slowly heat, stirring, until the sugar is completely melted. Cool, strain and store in a covered jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Use for cocktails, iced tea, iced coffee, iced matcha lattes and more.

YOU MAY ALSO WANT A SNACK.

Some chic little tomato toasts perhaps? But you have all those chickpeas languishing away, so throw together a little hummus and serve with rice crackers.

I also had a go at doing salt-and-vinegar chickpeas, which were very cute. They went a bit soft afterwards, but were still very moreish. And I totally forgot to shoot them, which may have had something to do with all those rocket martinis; hard to say.

SALT AND VINEGAR CHICKPEAS

• 300 g cooked or canned chickpeas, drained

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• Half tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp sugar

• Few grinds of black pepper

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Soak the chickpeas in the vinegar for one hour, then drain and dry by rolling in a clean cloth.

Heat the oven to 190C, and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Mix the paprika, sea salt, sugar and black pepper in a small bowl.

Toss the chickpeas in olive oil until coated, then toss in the spice mix.

Arrange on baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, shaking occasionally.

Take out and set aside to cool for 20 minutes, then return to the oven for a further 15 minutes (this should stop them softening later).

Keep an eye out for burning, and turn the tray around once or twice.

Serve warm or allow to cool.

Thanks for dropping by! And as always, thanks for your comments and suggestions. Special thanks to Terry for donating his London Dry Gin to the cause.

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I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which I work, live, cook and play; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to Elders past and present, and to the continuing strength and resilience of First Nations people, communities and cultures.