"Salt Air" by Martha

Had an amazing meal the other night hosted by friend and member, Eliza Gonzales at Jose Andres' PennQuarter restaurant Oyamel. Susan insisted that we had eaten at Oyamel when it was in Crystal City, but I just didn't remember it, which tells you maybe why that location closed. But Oyamel downtown is hip, fun, lively and the food is delicious. This meal was to celebrate the fact that Eliza's going to be teaching at the new 14th Street cooking school, CulinAire along with our pal and current Top Chef contestant, Carla Hall.

One of the things that we really liked were the pomagranete margaritas. Well, hard not to like any kind of margarita .... but these were special. Andres serves them not in a salt rimmed glass, but rather topped with a foam which he calls "salt air". We were amazed that the foam was stable enough to last for the whole cocktail. I know what you're thinking, maybe we drank them too fast? Seriously, though, the salt air added a distinct salty taste to the drink, but no way as overwhelming as salt rimming. Susan was brave enough to approach the chef of the night and he gave her the ingredients. He suggested using an immersion blender or foamer to skim the surface of the liquid to create the foam. You're on your own for the ingredients of the margarita. (By the way, the foam also appeared atop the ceviche.)

2 c. water
1 c. fresh lime juice
1/4 c. mezcal
2 tsp. soy lecithin (can be found at health food stores)
Salt to taste (use anything but iodized salt)