Chef Dave Martin had lost weight by switching his evening drink from wine to tequila, and that was the genesis for his cookbook, The Tequila Diet (self-published, $40), which I accepted an offer to review.
This makes sense, as I know tequila is considered a keto-friendly drink. While The Tequila Diet has cocktail recipes, it’s meant to be a lifestyle cookbook based on the cuisine of Mexico.
Martin covers a wide array of dishes–some with tequila, some without–including breakfast items (e.g., French toast, p. 35), meats (e.g., birria, p. 128) and desserts (e.g., hatch green chile truffles, p. 154). I like the short anecdote he includes with each recipe, which adds a personal touch.
Of note, Martin made a name for himself in the inaugural season of “Top Chef.” According to his bio, he is proud to be “Fast Food Sober” for 17 years now and is an avid promoter, supporter and advocate for a healthier lifestyle through cooking with fresh, real ingredients.
Now, onto the cocktails. First, I had to make the required cocktail syrups–in my case, the vanilla & cider syrup (p. 29), the cinnamon & agave syrup (p. 30) and the cucumber emulsion (p. 31). Fortunately, all of them required only a handful of ingredients, most of which I already had, and they didn’t took too long to make.
The Oaxacan Old Fashioned (p. 15) was a delight, as the cinnamon and bitters meshed well with the lemon juice. I used anejo tequila for this drink.
The Manzanillo Manhattan (p. 17) called for extra anejo, but I used anejo tequila and thought it worked well. To my pleasant surprise, this drink, which was served up, wasn’t too vinegar-y from the apple cider vinegar used in the syrup.
I’m glad I tried the very unique Reynosa Ranch Water (p. 14), but I don’t think I would make it again. It’s a thick and spicy cocktail from the cucumber emulsion and the minced serrano pepper, respectively. It also has silver tequila, agave nectar, salt and lime juice, making for one robust drink.
You can purchase The Tequila Diet from its website and on Amazon.com.
Tags: tequila
