Charlottenburg Cuisine Episode 10 - avocados, spaghetti a la 'Charlottenburg', bananas in red wine

APPETIZER - SUNCHOKE SOUP WITH WILD-BOAR SMOKED HAM

Ingredients for 4 servings:
200g wild-boar smoked ham
8 sunchoke roots
1 stick of leek
¼ of a celery root
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 cups of beef stock
1 cup of creme fraiche
1 tbs of sunchoke schnaps
1 Schnapsglas Topinamburschnaps

Sunchoke also known as jerusalem artichoke is cut in thin slices. Cut leeks, onions and celery in thin strips and chop the garlic. Sautee the vegetables in olive oil then stir in the beef stock and let it cook for 30 minutes.

Then puree it with a hand blender.

Stir in the creme fraiche and the sunchoke schnaps. Chop the wild boar smoked ham in small pieces and garnish the soup with it.

MAIN COURSE - SLOW COOKED BEEFSHOULDER WITH POTATO-TRUFFLE MASH

Ingredients for 4 servings:
3,5 pound beefshoulder
4 bottles of dry red wine
1 quart of veal or beef stock
2 carrots
1 onion
3 schallots
4 cloves of garlic
2 stick of celery
fresh thyme
2 Lorbeerblätter
a few parsley stems
8 firm potatoes
15 starchy potatoes
20-30g truffles
1 cup of chicken stock
olive oil
12 pepper seeds
seasalt
Fleur de Sel

For the mirepoix we cut the onions, shallots, celery and the carrots in small pieces.

Create a bouquet garni, meaning: tie bay leaves, thyme and parsley stems in a bundle.

Fry bacon in a casserole and sautee the vegetables in it. Add the crushed garlic cloves and the bouquet garni. Add a bottle of dry red wine, the beef stock and the pepper. Close the lid and let it simmer for 1 and a half hours.

Sieve the stock from the vegetables. Cut fat and sinews off the beef shoulder, rub fleur de sel on it then sear the beef on all sides. Place the beef and the stock in vacuum freezer bags.
Seal them and place them - first in boiling water - then in iced water.

With water in a casserole we cook the beef in the oven for an entire 3 days.

Place the bags with the beef for a short moment in iced water.

Cut waxy or firm potatoes in thin slices and put them in water so it can pull out the starch.

Heat butteroil or resolidified butter in a pan. Do the wooden spoon test to see if the oil is hot enough. Fry the potato slices golden-brown, salt them and keep them warm in the oven.

Cook starchy potatoes in water then peel them. Mash them by hand and stir in the chicken stock. Crush the truffles with a fork, mix them with the potatoes and stir in the olive oil. Keep it warm until serving.

By and by reduce three bottles of wine in a large pan until it is a thick and heavy sirup.

Very carefully warm up the beef in a pan at a low temperature.

Take the beef out - reduce the stock - then add the wine reduction. Season the sauce with honey, salt and pepper.

DESSERT - MANGOPARFAIT

Ingredients for 4 servings:
6 sliced fresh Mangos (canned mango will be okay as well)
1 cup of cream
2 cups of raspberries
1 cup of creme fraiche
1 cup of sugar
half a cup of water
5 eggs (4 egg yolks and 1 whole egg)

Puree mango slices. Mix four eggyolks and a whole egg. Heat sugar with water then add the eggs while constantly stirring til it becomes light and viscid.
Add it to the mango purree. Wisk the cream stiff and fold it under the egg mass and mango purree. Fill it in cups.

Before serving, purree the raspberries and decorate it with creme fraiche and mango slices.

The parfait goes on top and - voila – ready to enjoy.