Tanja Grandits: My most important ingredients
Alan Parker's film "Big Night" closes with a scene in which two brothers, who together operate an Italian restaurant in the USA, reconcile themselves after a catastrophic evening. Without words. One makes a scrambled egg for the other. There is a kind of secret passage between successful food and successful life. And often it is the simple things that make this secret connection evident: the comforting taste of a honey-milk, the blissful fragrance of cinnamon-stars, the conciliatory sweetness of scrambled eggs. The Swiss top chef Tanja Grandits, 37, is convinced of this power of simple things. Of the moments of happiness that can be combined in a single flavor like in a burning glass. And she made a cookbook about it. "My Happy World Kitchen" contains 15 chapters, and each chapter is dedicated to one of their favorite flavors.
Tanja Grandits: the unusual cook
The roses enrich the smoked halibut.
Their favorite aromas are because they, each in his own way, tell of the impressions that accompanied her life: honey, vanilla and cinnamon remind her of her youth in the Swabian Alb, of the mother's heavenly Christmas bakery, her grandmother's caring home remedies Tanja's early taste for scented candles and perfumes. Basil, rose and lavender grow today in their garden in the idyllic Swiss village Eschikofen. And when she opens the window on balmy summer nights, she can smell the scent of the plants. Intensified by the humid night air from nearby Lake Constance. The taste of coriander, cumin, ginger and lemongrass is related to her so far only, but extremely happy trip to Vietnam with husband and baby Emma.
Now the life of every great chef is accompanied by spices and aromas. But those who visit Tanja Grandits and her husband René Graf in the Voralpenkanton Thurgau, understand the special. The native Swabian, who has cooked 16 out of 20 Gault Millau points in her restaurant "Thurtal", looks like an Asian woman with her delicate figure, almond eyes, jet-black hair and cheerful serenity. That is coincidence. But a suitable one. For she not only cooks, she also lives as if she had invented the Far Eastern doctrine of the unity of all earthly being. In her kitchen, she interweaves Asian and European influences, harmonizing contrasts with almost Buddhist serenity, such as spicy and mild, sweet and sour, and setting agreeable counterpoints with aromas.
For example, in her tomato vanilla cassata or the lavender smoked duck breast. Seemingly trivial flavors get their uniqueness back? and at the same time a worthy place in the culinary cosmos. Simply by love and precision. And so does Tanja Grandits with everything. With her husband René, who is responsible for the organization and the meat dishes as sous-head of the restaurant, and his longtime friend and colleague Stefan Pfanzelt, who runs the service, she runs her restaurant, which connects directly to the family's home.
A book about the essentials of life
Tanja Grandits in her element
From birth on is the three-year-old daughter, alternately cared for by mother, father, friend, aupair or the restaurant staff. Yes, that works. Because there is no competition between work and private life, no separation of friendship and collegiality, no jealous defense of free time against working hours. There is only dedication to what you are doing right now. The rest is self-evident. She has new recipes in her head all day, says Tanja Grandits. She thinks about when she gets up and before she goes to bed. Not because she can not switch off. But because she loves to think about it. "Pure Aroma - My Happy World Kitchen" is therefore not a book about herbs and spices that a cook works with. But a book about the essentials of life. And one thing about the most important ingredient: love.
Recipe honey tomatoes and fennel herb
4 servings of tomatoes: 6 tomatoes, 2 tablespoons wildflower honey, salt, freshly ground pepper, 2 tablespoons olive oil; Fennel sauerkraut: 2 fennel tubers, 1 clove of garlic, 1 onion, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 teaspoon coriander and cumin seed, 1 bay leaf, 2 juniper berries, 5 tbsp lemon juice, 150 ml vegetable stock; Char fillets: 4 char fillets of about 150 g, 100 ml of olive oil, 4 sprigs of lemon thyme; Sauce: 2 shallots, 1? 2 bunch chives, fleur de sel, sugar, 6 tablespoons lemon juice? For the tomatoes: Preheat the oven to 100 degrees, convection 80 degrees, gas level 1? 2. Carve the tomatoes crosswise, place in the boiling water for 20 seconds and rinse off with cold water. Peel off the skin. Cut off the lid of 4 tomatoes and spoon out the pulp.? Spread 4 tomatoes with honey, season with salt and pepper and place with the opening down on a baking sheet. Drizzle tomatoes with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and leave to soak in the oven for about 3 hours. ? For the Fennelsauerkraut: Rinse the fennel tubers and cut out the wedge in a wedge shape. Finely starting fennel on a stalk. Remove garlic and onion and finely dice. ? Heat olive oil in a pot. Add the fennel, onion, garlic and the spices and simmer for a few minutes. Add lemon juice and vegetable stock and cook for about 20 minutes over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.
? For the char fillets: Preheat the oven to 80 degrees, convection 60 degrees, gas level 1? 2. Rinse filet fillets, pat dry, cut in half and place in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with olive oil and top with thyme sprigs. Cook in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove char. ? For the sauce: dice the remaining tomatoes. Remove shallots and dice finely. Rinse chives and cut into fine rolls. Stir the tomato and shallot cubes with the olive oil of the char and the chives. Season with fleur de sel, sugar, freshly ground pepper and lemon juice. ? Fill the fennel herb with the tomatoes. Serve with the char filets and gravy. Approx. 580 kcal per serving, E 31 g, F 42 g, KH 20 g
Recipe Lavender-smoked duck breast with glass noodle salad and cassis coulis
6 portions of duck breast: 2 duck breasts of about 350 g, 1 tbsp coarse sea salt, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp dried lavender flowers, 1 tbsp black tea leaves, 1 tbsp basmati rice; Glass noodle salad: 1 beetroot (180 g), 20 g fresh ginger, 1 stalk of lemon grass, 100 ml rice vinegar, 100 g sugar, salt, 100 g glass noodles, 1 lime, 1? 2 organic orange, 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce (Asia - load), 1 tablespoon of roasted sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon of black sesame seeds, 3 stalks of coriander; Coulis: 500 g blackcurrants, 3 tbsp sugar, 30 g butter, salt? For the duck breast: rinse duck breasts, pat dry and cut off fat. Scrape the skin crosswise with a sharp knife. Mix sea salt, sugar and lavender flowers and rub in the duck breasts. Cover and leave in the fridge for about 24 hours. ? Rinse duck breasts, pat dry and sauté in a non-stick pan over low heat on the skin side for about 6 minutes. Turn meat over and fry for another 6 minutes. ? Put the tea leaves and rice into a wok and place the duck breasts with the skin side down on a grid. Close wok and heat. As soon as smoke develops, reduce the temperature and smoke for about 8 minutes. Remove the meat and allow to cool. ? For the glass noodle salad: peel beetroot and cut into thin strips. Clean and slice ginger and lemongrass. Boil beetroot, lemongrass and ginger slices, rice vinegar, sugar and 100 ml of water and allow to cool. ? Bring salted water to the boil, remove from heat and let the glass noodles soak in for about 3 minutes. Drain the glass noodles in a sieve and add to the beetroot brew. Rinse lime and orange hot, dab dry and finely rub the skin. Squeeze fruit out. Mix glass noodles with lime and orange juice and peel, fish sauce, sesame sorts and coriander leaves and season to taste.
? For the coulis: rinse the redcurrants. Stir berries from the stems and cook with 3 tablespoons water and 3 tablespoons sugar for about 15 minutes. Puree with the hand blender. Brush currant puree through a sieve, warm and stir in the butter. Season with salt. ? Slice the duck breasts and serve with the glass noodle salad and blackcurrant coulis. Approx. 500 kcal per serving, E 23 g, F 26 g, KH 41 g Tip: This is how coulis is made easier: heat 200 g red currant jelly, stir in butter and season to taste.
Recipe strawberry rose sorbet
6 servings 200 g sugar, 8 tablespoons lemon juice, about 8 red organic rose petals; 300 g strawberries, 60 ml rose water? Boil 200 ml of water and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Add 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. Peel off the rose petals and add them to the sugar water (possibly put aside some for garnish). Boil briefly and pass the syrup through a sieve. Let cool down. ? Rinse the strawberries, remove the stem and halve the fruits. Puree strawberries, 300 ml of rose syrup, 4 tablespoons of lemon juice and rose water with the cutting stick. ? Sorbet mass into the ice cream maker and let it freeze. ? For serving, garnish with rose petals. 165 kcal per serving, E 0 g, F 0 g, KH 39 g Tips: ? Easier goes with ready rose syrup. Tanja Grandits reaches for her strawberry rose sorbet rose marshmellows and lasi.
