Asparagus dishes for the taste of spring
4.5.2011From the beginning of May, every menu offers dishes featuring asparagus. For this is asparagus season and these vegetables must be used to their best advantage while the season lasts. Head chef, Michael Schwarzenbacher from the Restaurant Mangold, has created a special dish using asparagus. Carpe Diem Kombucha Cranberry is the perfect non-alcoholic accompaniment to this dish.
Cultivated by the Romans over 2000 years ago, asparagus is no longer the exclusive reserve of gourmets but is for many the culinary highlight of spring. It has a light, delicate taste and is very versatile. The traditional way to serve it is with browned butter or hollandaise sauce with potatoes and ham. Those wishing to experience something new should try the recipe devised by head chef and member of the Jeunes Restaurateurs d'Europe, Michael Schwarzenbacher, who works at the Restaurant Mangold in Lochau. He combines white and green asparagus with raw marinated fillet of beef and goat's quark to create a fresh, easy-to-prepare dish that is ideal for warmer days.
Since asparagus is difficult to combine with a suitable wine on account of its bitterness, our qualified sommelière, Annemarie Foidl, recommends Carpe Diem Kombucha Cranberry as an ideal yet non-alcoholic accompaniment. "The delicate fruity tartness of cranberry softens the bitterness of the asparagus and underlines the balance between the meat and the goat's quark. All the components of the dish fuse beautifully together."
Recipe:
White and green asparagus with raw marinated fillet of beef with goat's quark and raspberry almond oil dressing
Ingredients (serves 4)
8 stalks of white asparagus
4 stalks of green asparagus
100g fresh peas
Salt, a little sugar
4 slices of beef fillet, 30g each
80g goat's quark
Salt, freshly ground pepper
Lime oil
Fresh, coarsely chopped herbs
For the raspberry marinade
3 dessert spoons of raspberry vinegar
3 dessert spoons of Kombucha Cranberry
Salt, freshly ground pepper
6 dessert spoons of almond oil
Method:
Peel the white asparagus, chop of the ends and cook in salted boiling water with a little sugar for 10-12 minutes. Rinse with cold water and place on kitchen paper. Cut the asparagus tips from the green asparagus and finely slice the stems. Cook the asparagus tips and slices in salted water until al dente, then rinse with cold water and drain. Do the same with the fresh peas.
Mix the goat's quark with salt, pepper, lime oil and herbs until smooth. Place the fillet of beef between two sheets of plastic wrap, cut into quarters, add the goat's quark on top and then form them into a round shape.
For the raspberry marinade
Season the raspberry vinegar and Kombucha Cranberry with salt and pepper and froth up with the almond oil. Marinate the white and green asparagus and the peas in the mixture and serve with the beef fillet "pralines" and fresh herbs.
Carpe Diem Kombucha Cranberry is the perfect accompaniment.
