0.0% Whiskey Sour served with caramelized onion and parmesan sauce

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

Trigger? Yes, No, Maybe

Non-alcoholic versions of classic spirits are definitely "thin ice." While for some it is simply kiddie crap, for others it can be an extremely strong trigger. In talking to "sober people" I always notice how individual the experiences and opinions are on this. Opinions vary widely and there is definitely no universal recommendation. Everyone should find out for themselves what is personally acceptable. For me, alcohol-free alternatives, up to 0.5%, are a great invention. I can devote myself to my favorite topic without having to deal with alcohol. There are many opportunities to experiment with drinks that either existed only as alcoholic beverages or that didn't exist yet. With whiskey, for example, I've always liked the scent, the woody aromas, the vanilla, the grape. But in the "original" I always found the hard alcohol unpleasant. Whiskey Sour was definitely not my favorite drink. Here in the 0.0% version, I like the combination of acidity and the slightly woody flavors with vanilla and some grape. For me, that's good to enough. In addition, a sour cocktail is fairly simple to prepare and visually always makes a good impression with its whitecap. For a hangover free experience, I'm happy to make a few sacrifices in the "complexity". And in this pairing it works very well. The sour is accompanied by a sweet onion with a hearty Parmesan sauce. The entire dish can also be served with small onions as a "finger food" in bar snack style. Here it is meant as a savory appetizer. In a vegetarian menu, a light soup would follow, such as Cold Cucumber Soup, to lighten the acidity of the drink and the weighty Parmesan sauce. Whether served as a snack, full meal, or just as an appetizer, this is a great pairing. Cheers!

Food-Styling: Mattia Risalti, Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald

Caramelized onions

4 small casserole dishes ø 10 cm , e.g. crème brûlée

Ingredients:

2 peeled and halved onions

85 g sweet cream butter

125 g fine sugar

50 g fresh milk

20 g grated Parmesan cheese

8 g fine salt

4 g Maldon salt (flake salt)

Optional some leek greens sautéed

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180° C

Steam the halved onions in a saucepan with a steamer insert or in a steamer for 25 minutes.

Melt the butter with the sugar, cook for 5 minutes, remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Then remove the whey and cool completely.

Bring the milk and salt to the boil, remove from the heat and gradually add the cheese. Melt well, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve and keep warm.

Divide the cold butter-sugar mixture evenly between all 4 moulds and put in the half onion, cut side down. Cover with aluminium foil and bake in a hot oven at 180 °C for 25 minutes. Cut some leek into strips and fry briefly with some butter in a pan. Pour the sauce onto a plate, place the onion on top, salt flakes and sprinkle some leek on top.

The Drink:

6 cl Lyre's American Malt

3 cl lemon juice

1,5 cl sugar syrup

1 egg white or 1.5 cl aquafaba OR 4 drops of foaming agent

Two dashes of Oldfashioned bitters

Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker without ice and dry shake. Add ice, shake vigorously again. Fill an Old Fashioned glass (or other small glass) with ice and strain the drink over it.

GARNISH: Silver onion (Sauté silver onion briefly and hotly in a pan) and some lemon zest or the classic way Orange wedge and maraschino cherry.