Cucumber and Tartare - Zeronimo - Alcohol-Free Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc

Recipe, Food-Styling, Photo & Styling:Oliver Schwarzwald

Crisp sparkling wine and three kinds of cucumber

Sebastian Frank serves vegetarian specialities in his two-star restaurant Horváth. Often referred to as emancipated vegetable cuisine, it is mainly inspired by Sebastian's personal memories and flavours of his homeland in Austria. On my last visit, as part of a tasting of two non-alcoholic wines, I was particularly impressed by one combination: the dish "Kreation Populaire". Onion lard, dried zucchini and cucumber salad.

The combination with the non-alcoholic Zeronimo Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc from Heribert Bayer was a real discovery. Dry and with a clear Sauvignon Blanc character. The winemakers have not only used a high-quality base wine, but have also taken great care in the dealcoholisation and aroma recovery process. The result is a wine that is well worth the price of €18.90! The alcohol-free wine can be purchased from alkoholfrei-vom-winzer.de, for example.

As I said, the combination with cucumber really appealed to me. I put it down to the fact that grassy notes can also appear in Sauvginon Blanc. This non-alcoholic sparkling wine impresses with its pleasant acidity and crisp, green, almost grassy notes. The latter came across well in the pairing. What's more, this non-alcoholic alternative also convinces with a very strong perlage.

I have tried to translate the Horváth spirit into a more "everyday" cuisine. Vegetarian dishes at this level, especially with the depth of flavour, need a lot of preparation, so I take a shortcut and achieve more "volume" by using fish. The cucumber appears three times. Pickled for the acidity, with a little smoky flavour for the woodiness and as a granita to neutralise it, which I really liked in Sebastian Frank's recipe.

In my search for all these components, I was lucky enough to find Alexandre Alves Pereira, who combines a cucumber granita with salted cod. But don't worry, anyone who doesn't like raw fish can also serve a fried fillet of rockfish, for example, and I've simplified Alexandre Alves Pereira's recipe a little by using smoked sea salt from Ingo Holland instead of smoking the cucumber. The sauce is also simpler, we use fish stock. But whether as a granita, in pickled form or with smoked salt, the non-alcoholic Zeronimo Sparkling Sauvignon Bland is a very good accompaniment to all three versions of the cucumber.

The preparation of the dish is no longer too complicated and the great alcohol-free alternative only needs to be chilled. Be sure to try it!

Easy! Cheers sober buddies!

PS: The non-alcoholic Sauvignon Blanc is very close to the alcoholic original. So here's a trigger warning to anyone who has had a complicated relationship with Cremant, sparkling wine and other sparkling wines.

Recipe, Food-Styling, Photo & Styling:Oliver Schwarzwald

Pickled Cucumbers

• 1 cucumber

• 100g white cooking vinegar

• 200g water

• 50g fine sugar

• 1 sprig of mint

• Salt

Cucumber Granita

• Remaining cucumber

• Salt

• Smoked cucumber

• 2 snack cucumbers

• 1-2 tsp smoked salt

Salted Cod Tartare

• Cod, approx. 200g, preferably boneless

• 250ml water

• 75g salt

• 4 sprigs of dill, finely plucked

• Approx. 3 tbsp finely chopped cucumber

Alternatively

• Approx. 80g per portion of stone bass fillet fried in oil.

For the sauce

• 1 shallot

• 2 tbsp butter

• 250ml cream

• 250ml fish stock

• 1 sprig of thyme

• 1 garlic clove

• 5 peppercorns

Preparation:

Pickled Cucumbers

1. Bring water, vinegar, and sugar to a boil. Then add the mint.

2. Shape cucumber balls with a melon baller, place them in the syrup, and chill in the refrigerator.

Cucumber Granita

1. Grate the remaining cucumber and season with salt.

2. Freeze and crush with a fork every hour until the granita consistency is achieved.

Smoked Cucumbers

1. Cut snack cucumbers lengthwise into eighths and sprinkle gently with smoked salt. Caution! Approach slowly.

Salted Cod

1. Warm water and dissolve salt in it, then let it cool.

2. Soak the fish for 15 minutes in cold salted water, rinse, and store in the refrigerator.

Fish Stock

1. Finely dice shallot and sauté in 2 tbsp butter, then add thyme, garlic, peppercorns, cream, and fish stock.

2. Simmer for about 25 minutes, then strain through a sieve.

Fish Preparation

1. Dice the fish and mix with cucumber and dill to prepare the tartare.

Plating

1. Remove the granita from the freezer and let it thaw slightly.

2. Plate the tartare in a ring on the plate.

3. Place the pickled cucumber balls beside it.

4. Serve the granita on a spoon.

5. Serve the "smoked cucumbers" alongside.

Photo & Styling:Oliver Schwarzwald

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