Pastrami Bread with Celery Shrub
Recipe, Food, Styling & Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald
Simple Pairings:
Dry January, and it's already half-time. Maybe you feel the same way, I always need a bit of a run-up to start the new year. The seasonal holidays are still having an effect and I don't have the drive to cook yet. That's why I'm continuing the series today: How easy is that! On the one hand, because it's really quick and on the other, because I like to think that shrubs also have a cleansing effect. And who doesn't need that? In addition, I elegantly avoid the topic of "triggering". For some who are perhaps struggling through their first dry January, a sparkling, although non-alcoholic, or a non-alcoholic rum, gin etc. can already be a challenge. It's close in taste to the "original" and if it's only been a few days since your last drink, it's easy to fall back into old habits. I speak from many years of experience. This January, for the first time, it's easy for me to do without alcohol. I have already had numerous extremely short dry Januarys... .
I got the tip for pairing from Nicole Klauss. Nicole is an impressive author and has been working with non-alcoholic alternatives for many years, the first mover, so to speak. If you want to know more about shrubs, teas and other fine alternatives, I recommend her book "Die Neue Trinkkultur".
In her and other recipes, the celery is first mixed in a blender and then pressed through a cloth. This is a good way to get the juice. If you have a juicer, it's quicker. I have the impression that the juice is more aromatic. Well, in any case, it's quicker. To give it more complexity, I add fennel seeds, mustard seeds and mint. Blueberries give the shrub a nice reddish colour. I find the pure celery juice a little hard to get used to visually. It takes just a few minutes to prepare, then the shrub only needs 2-3 days in the fridge for the flavours to develop. The drink replaces the sour note that goes well with beef. This is why pickles are often served with pastrami. This simple pairing does not require much preparation, but care is needed when selecting the products. The celery should be organic. After numerous trials, I have found that organic quality is unbeatable in terms of taste. No surprise really. Likewise, you should buy the pastrami from the butcher you trust. I Not least the bread. Baking it myself is too time-consuming for me. Besides, the sourdough hype has completely passed me by. Fortunately, there are more and more good bakeries that have dedicated themselves to sourdough. Let´s go!
Styling & Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald
The Shrub:
500 gr.celery
150 gr. blueberries
250 gr. sugar
250 gr. apple vinegar
1.5 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. fennel seeds
1 tbsp. mustard seeds
4 sprigs of mint
Roast the spices briefly in a pan and then crush them coarsely in a mortar. Wash and juice the celery and blueberries. Place the juice, sugar, vinegar, salt, spices and mint in a jar and refrigerate for at least 48 hours. Shake several times that the sugar dissolves completely. Pour everything through a sieve and store in the fridge for the next 2-3 weeks.
For the drink, fill up 1/3 - ½ shrub with soda. I consider tonic too bitter and dominant over the celery in this pairing.
The bread:
For approx. 8 "cubes".
2 slices of crusty sourdough bread
16 slices of pastrami
6 slices of cheddar
8 white cabbage leaves
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Vinegar
Oil
Preheat the oven to 230°.
Tear the white cabbage leaves into walnut-sized pieces. Mix with a little oil, salt and vinegar and knead vigorously. Set aside. Cut the sourdough bread first into slices and then into bite-sized squares.
Spread with butter, and top twice with cheddar. Bake briefly in the oven until the cheese melts. Remove bread from oven and top with pastrami. Place white cabbage on top.