Issue 4 / 2018

Recipe from the Viamala Fokus issue 4 / 2018.

Especially now that the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder, soups are becoming more important in home cooking. Culinary history shows that man's first cooking experience was with the preparation of soups.

It allowed him to survive famines and stimulated his imagination to come up with ever new creations. 1 n all cultures and peoples, soups have always been an integral part of the culinary tradition. Soups are starters, quick and inexpensive fillers, healthy snacks, ideal "leftovers" and do not require many cooking pots or serving utensils to prepare.

I have fond memories of my youth, when my mother used to prepare a delicious soup for us almost every day using local produce. It was experiences like these that later inspired me to learn what I consider to be my favorite profession. Whether in a 3-star Michelin restaurant, in an Alpine hut, in a hotel or in communal catering, soups reflect the passion and love of a chef for his vocation - the so-called "feu sacré" - in a pleasurable and tasty way.

Cut the onions, leek and celeriac into matignon and sauté in butter. Add the pumpkin and chestnuts and sauté briefly. Braise in the oven at iS0°C until soft and add to the soup before blending. Grate the ginger into the above ingredients using a Bircher grater. Dust the ingredients with the white flour.
Add the vegetable stock, cover and simmer gently for approx. 30 minutes. Then blend and pass through a sieve. Grate the ginger root into the soup and season to taste. Cool the basic soup immediately, label, date and store in the fridge.

Garnish/insert

Cut the ginger into thin slices using a slicer. Pour 2 to 3 cm of peanut oil into a frying pan, heat and deep-fry the ginger slices like chips or marinate the ginger slices in sugar syrup and then dry on a plate in a microwave.

Completion (per portion)

Heat 1.6 dl basic cream soup and thicken with 20 g whipped cream, serve, add deep-fried ginger potato chips and garnish with chervil leaves or fresh coriander leaves.

Cut the Bündnerfleisch into thin slices and place on cling film. Place the mascarpone in a bowl.
Cut the dried fruit into 1 mm cubes and add to the mascarpone. Season with salt and pepper and finally add the chives. Spread the mixture thinly over the Bündnerfleisch (up to 1 cm from the edge) and roll up tightly in cling film. Chill and cut into rounds or wedges before serving.