Marinated rhubarb juniper - saffron chicken and Fluère Dark Cane alcohol-free Old Fashioned.

Recipe, Food, Styling & Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald

The more the better..

Well, that's almost never true. In this case plenty of juniper gives the raw marinated rhubarb the desired tartness. As long as fresh rhubarb is on offer, you should definitely try this great pairing. Frozen rhubarb is not suitable for this recipe. For the meat I use the leg of the chicken because it stays juicy. To prevent the skin from becoming flabby, remove it to make a chip. This keeps it crispy and gives the snack a little crunch. The drink is an Old Fashioned, a classic cocktail with the basic ingredients whisky, orange syrup and chocolate bitters. An interesting base for a non-alcoholic version. For this, I replaced the whiskey with a non-alcoholic botanical from Fluére. Dark Cane is the name of the variety and is very aromatic with a fine smoky note. Surprisingly good and a clear recommendation. I replace the orange syrup with tangerine syrup. In combination with the Dark Cane, I find it fresher and also more fitting with saffron, rosemary and chicken. So we have: the sweet and sour rhubarb with a strong juniper flavour plus saffron and rosemary notes in the chicken. The drink with mandarin and chocolate bitters rounds it off perfectly. 

Styling & Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald

The drink:

60 ml FLUÈRE Spiced Cane Dark Roast

10 ml orange syrup 

4 dashes Feebrothers Chocolate Bitters

Cocktail Cherries

Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass. Stir for 10 seconds. Rub the glass with orange peel and put a large ice cube in the glass. Pour the cocktail over the ice cube. Garnish with orange peel and cocktail cherry.

Raw marinated rhubarb:

1 stick of rhubarb

15 juniper berries

1 tablespoon sugar

1 pinch of salt

Cut the rhubarb into thin slices. Grind the sugar with the salt and juniper berries in a herb mill. Marinate the rhubarb with the mixture for about 20 minutes until it absorbs water and the sugar mixture is completely dissolved.

Chicken skin chip: 

Skin from the leg

Fleur de sel

Preheat the oven to 180 °C top/bottom heat.

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread out the chicken skin, skin side down, and season with fleur de sel. Cover with a second sheet of baking paper and weigh down with another baking tray.

Chicken leg:

For 4 people as a starter

1 boneless chicken leg

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary 

1/2 tsp sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp boiling water

Remove the skin from the chicken leg. This is actually quite easy if you carefully and slowly run your finger between the skin and the meat to loosen it from the meat.

Grind the saffron threads and soak them with 2 tablespoons of boiling water for at least 20 minutes until the water has cooled down.

Place the chicken in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, rosemary, salt, black pepper and the saffron water and mix well. Place in a vacuum and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours. 

Pre-cook at 60 degrees for 60 minutes in a water bath (sous vide). 

Remove from the bag, rinse and fry in a hot grill pan until done. 

Garnish with a little rhubarb in a dish or on the plate. Cut the chicken leg into strips and serve with a piece of skin chip and the drink.

Styling & Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald