Biblical mineral to Bloody Mary topper

When Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt, she couldn’t have known her her final resting state would be featured in a Bloody Mary.

That’s one of the ways Dead Sea salt is being served at Meshek Barzilay, an organic vegetarian restaurant in Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek neighborhood.

As part of a recent event featuring Salt 424, a local company that hand-collects Dead Sea salts and then allows it to dry through evaporation, the restaurant featured 10 naturally flavored salts on its menu, including seaweed flavor to edible gold.

The most potent salts were the red-pepper infusion and rosemary salt. They tasted fresh and added a punch of flavor to the Vietnamese rice rolls filled with avocado, ginger, garlic and tofu.

Diners also sprinkled the various salts on pickled vegetables, homemade herbed focaccia and a savory-sweet tortellini infused with beets and cream.

Meshek Barzilay’s salt-infused Bloody Mary, a flavorful feat (photo credit: Rebecca Wojno/Times of Israel)

Salt 424, named for its location 424 meters (about 1,400 feet) below sea level, is partnered with West Bank Salt Works, a Palestinian-run factory. The West Bank company is subsidized by the USAID and has been harvesting salt for nearly 50 years.

The salts are available throughout Israel in health food stores, tourist shops, organic markets and select Shufersal supermarkets.

One of the best uses of the salts was in a Bloody Mary cocktail, a spicy concoction of tomato juice, horseradish, vodka and hot pepper flakes. Although Meshek Barzilay wouldn’t divulge its Bloody Mary recipe, we’re sharing one from food blog FOOD52.

Spicy Basil Bloody Mary Mix by Phoebe Lapine (makes about 5 cups)

• 3 medium celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1 large shallot, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• 3 pounds tomatoes (about 10), quartered
• 1 cup tightly packed basil leaves, chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon celery seed
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1½ teaspoons sriracha

1. In a food processor or blender, pulse the celery, shallot, and garlic, until finely chopped. Alternatively, you can do this by hand.
2. Add the celery mixture along with the tomatoes, basil, salt, and celery seed to a large, non-reactive saucepan and set it over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, then cover, turn the heat to low, and cook until the tomatoes have begun releasing their juices, about 20 minutes.
3. Crush the tomatoes with a potato masher, fork, or ladle to break them apart. Cook for another 20 minutes, until very soft and soupy.
4. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve or food mill.
5. Stir in the lemon juice and sriracha. Taste for seasoning. Chill in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to use.
6. To make Bloody Marys, combine 1 cup of mix with ¼ cup of vodka and garnish with celery sticks, lemon slivers, and plenty of basil leaves.

Recipe notes: This mix is endlessly variable. If you don’t have sriracha on hand, you can use regular hot sauce. You can also swap out the lemon for lime and basil for cilantro. Vibrant summertime tomatoes work best in this recipe.