Sparkling Pink - Pickled Pumpkin with Grape and coriander
Recipe, Food-Styling, Photo & Styling:Oliver Schwarzwald Props: FreudeHamburg
Pumpkin as a highlight
In a nutshell: By popular demand, I am finally presenting the vegetarian alternative to our chicken and veal roast in vinegar. These dishes harmonise perfectly with our Sparkling Pink and non-alcoholic Vermouth. But a worthy vegetarian alternative is also missing.
This question also arose during my book presentation. I planned to serve Sparkling Pink with Vermouth and a matching snack. In order to appeal to all guests equally, I opted for a vegetarian dish. Just as it makes sense to offer a good non-alcoholic alternative, as not everyone drinks alcohol, it also makes sense to serve a meat-free dish.
After much deliberation, I found butternut squash a little boring at first, but there are many things in its favour: the consistency is firm and the cooking point is easy to control, which is important as we pickle the vegetables in vinegar. Pumpkin remains firm to the bite and has a subtle flavour of its own, which combines perfectly with vinegar stock. That's nothing new, but it's still convincing.
In terms of flavour, I love the combination with celery and roasted grapes. If the grapes are sweet, they can be sautéed first and then left in the vinegar; if they are a little more sour, it is better to sauté them just before serving.
This "nibble" complements my favourite aperitif, made from sparkling pink and non-alcoholic vermouth, perfectly. The acidity in the pumpkin harmonises with the subtle acidity in the verjus. The sweetness of the grapes also emphasises the grape notes in Sparkling Pink and my tip: fresh coriander, which adds a subtly contrasting herbal note. It doesn't get any better than this!
Cheers!
Recipe, Food-Styling, Photo & Styling:Oliver Schwarzwald Props: FreudeHamburg
The pumpkin:
Ingredients for 4-6 people
Medium sized butternut squash approx. 400-500 gr.
2 stalks of celery
2 red onions
2-3 tbsp sugar
1 bay leaf
1 clove of garlic
1/ tsp peppercorns
salt
100 ml water
300 ml white basil
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 220 °C top/bottom heat
Peel the pumpkin and cut into approx. 2 cm x 2 cm cubes.
Place in a bowl. Season with salt and mix with olive oil.
Spread on a baking tray.
Cook in the oven for approx. 15-20 mins. Test for doneness with a sharp knife. The knife should slide into the pumpkin with some resistance. The pumpkin should still be firm, but not raw.
In the meantime, wash the celery and peel the onion.
Cut the celery crosswise into "rings" that are not too thin.
Halve the onion and also cut into rings that are not too thin.
Sauté the onion with the olive oil in a pan. Add the sugar and allow to caramelise. The sugar and onions should have a thick consistency.
Now add the celery, bay leaf, pepper and garlic and fry briefly.
Deglaze with the vinegar and water and leave to simmer.
Place the pumpkin in a casserole dish.
Now pour the stock over it.
Preheat the pan.
Add the grapes and sear. They may have black spots.
Now add the grapes to the pumpkin in the vinegar.
Allow everything to steep well. The dish can also be prepared a day in advance.
Serve the pumpkin with the celery, onion, grapes and fresh coriander.
Recipe, Food-Styling, Photo & Styling:Oliver Schwarzwald Props: FreudeHamburg
The drink :
Ingredients for 1 drink
5 CL non-alcoholic vermouth alternative
150 - 200 ml Strictly Verjus Sparkling Pink
ice
Lemon zest
Preparation:
Place ice cubes in a glass.
Add the Vermouth Alternative
Top up with sparkling pink.
Garnish with lemon zest
Recipe, Food-Styling, Photo & Styling:Oliver Schwarzwald