 Last Sunday I was invited to a blogger dinner at Brasserie Colette. I was super excited because most of the guests were my friends; like Maria and Sophia from IN SEARCH OF, Maria and Philipp from Herz & Blut and Sissi from Eating in Berlin. I was so happy to finally try more of this restaurant. Last year at Berlin Food Week´s Food Clash Canteen, I got to try the Salad Nizza made by Dominik Obermeier from Colette...So I was very curious about the rest of the menu.  Raue´s Cornichons We started with Tim Raue´s pickled cornichons, Bread with 2 different kinds of butter and a delicious Bouvet-Ladubay Cremant De Loire - blanc de blancs. Our table was very fun and cozy as we all knew each other. And we were all looking forward to try the food.  Tim Raue has not only a 2 Michelin Star Restaurant, but is the creator of the concept of the restaurant chain: Brasserie Colette. And funny wise, they are all in the first floor of the retirement houses Tertianum. You can find them in Berlin, Munich and Konstanz. They have 14 Gault Millau points and they are in the Bib Gourmand Guide Michelin 2017... bravo!  Bloggers and Cremant The starters arrived to the table. My favorite was the Stewed artichoke served with a strong vinaigrette based on parsley puree, rice casserole and green chili oil, a Safran mayonnaise, and Crème fraîche This dish took me right back to my childhood in Peru were we ate this in summer, A whole artichoke for each person but ours was dipped in lime juice and oil with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Artischoke  Maria Instagramming We had some other tapa-like starters like a Tuna Tartar of North Pacific bluefin fish tuned with a sauce of pickled chili and lots of lime, with cucumber caviar and dried powder of salad cucumbers. and a mouth-watering cucumber sorbet. Besides the Tartare, a salami arrived: Jesus Basque, this is a salami from the French part of the Basque country, which is bound with 3 strings to its traditional 3-star form like the three-star form of the 3 Stigmata of Jesus Christ.  Tomatensalat The salad was a cherry tomatoes without skin inserted in passion fruit vinaigrette with basil cress and roasted sour dough bread from Maitre Philippe. I loved it. As a super fan off oysters, I was glowing when I saw them coming. Gillardeau Oysters!!! Heaven! Some of us havent had oysters before, so it was exciting to see that "first time" reaction.  Gillardeau Austern The salmon was espectacular. And red.. but after asking why was it red, I got the answer: The Ikarimi salmon was stained in salt, sugar, star anise and red berry juice. This gives it the light red berry flavor and the strong red color. This was by far the best starter!  Thunfischtatar  Maria & Sophia The main dishes started to arrive. We all ordered different dishes. Some ordered the Icelandic cod, steamed and covered with a jelly from Dashi. Dashi is the Japanese counterpart to the Consommée, which has a similar spicy-salty taste, but consists only of water and bonito-tuna and it was served in bacon potato foam.  Kabeljau For the vegans, the Wild herbs Beignet. The wild herbs are made in the same way as classic potatoes, with a puree of pimpinelle, borretsch, sorrel and young garlic blossom. The donuts/beignet are served on a horseradish potato and leek sauce together with a red beet salad, which is sweetish-ly spicy with currant jam and red chilies.  Wildkräuterbeignet  Cordon Bleu I asked the waiter which dish was the best. She told me that the Cordon Bleu was. I was very sceptic as Cordon bleu is a very traditional and "boring" dish. But this version surprised me. The cordon bleu in the Colette is strongly reminiscent of the classic one, but differs significantly in most points: It consists of 2 days of marinated maize chicken skewer, unrolled with grated 14- month old Gouda and Chaumes cheese. The panade of dried pork skin, which bounces crisply during the subsequent baking. There was a carrot, which was braised in apple juice and then glazed in apple-butter sauce. This is on a fine chilli pea puree, which was unexpected good.  Philipp, Maria and Sissi We were eating and having a blast...sipping wine and talking about the food. The restaurant has 2 different areas, a bar and a super fun toilette (you have to go there to see it, or just check this picture showing a golden hand seat) Another vegan dish was the Ragout marocain, where chickpeas are cooked in apple juice with the Arabian curry "raz el hanout". Finally, pomegranate kernels, date cubes and finely chopped coriander stems are added.  Ragout Marocain In between laughs, selfies and instagram postings; the desserts emerged served with egg nog. Like a Bourbon vanilla Creme brulee with caramelised with brown sugar, with a ball sorbet of red currants  Crème Brûlée These were followed by Le Croque en bouche which is a traditional French wedding bouquet, which consists of filled small wind bags. These are filled with a honey mousse au chocolate and are attached to it a sail of caramelised honey.  Le Croque en Bouche Madeleines, Madeleines! These are a traditional French pastry dough baked in a mussle-shape and served with vanilla liqueur and a ball Valrhona chocolate ice cream. These Madeleines were laying on a mango butter pudding... yummy!!!!  Madeleines Overall the food was great and it was impossible not to have fun with such a great bunch, thanks Brasserie for such a lovely event. Cheers!! to more Sundays like this to come!  Maria and Sissi <3
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 I try to reduce my dairy intake as much as i can, I love ice cream and that can be a problem. I thought vegan ice couldn't be as good as regular one until I went with Ailine to the new vegan ice cream place in Kollwitzkiez called Tribeca, and they convinced me. I had a lucuma quinoa ice cream and I loved it. I thought maybe I can recreate that at home and it wasnt so easy. After 4 batches, I finally got the perfect ingredients and amounts. I have no churn at home, so that was the tricky part. Be creamy without having that machine. (And don't taste like coconut) So at the end, I decided on Cashews for the base of it.  Ingredients 150 gr raw cashews 500 ml Soy milk 3 tbsp Vegetable Shortening or fat 4 tbsp Lucuma powder 1/2 cup agave nectar 1 tsp vanilla extract pinch sea salt A hanfull of quinoa pops  First of all, soak the cashews for a night or a day. Drain them and then you can start. Simmer the milk until it has reduced to the half and let it cool. Add cashews, milk, melted fat, agave syrup, vanilla, lucuma powder and sea salt to a high speed blender and blend until creamy and smooth, you want it to be completely creamy and blended.  Lucuma is a peruvian super food. It is my favorite one. sadly I dont think you can eat it raw, so mostly it is use for desserts, smoothies, ice creams... you name it. It contains beta carotene, iron, zinc, vitamin B3, calcium, and protein. Its maple-like taste makes it a sweet addition without increasing your blood sugar levels, unlike many sweeteners that offer empty calories. Besides all that, it keeps you young, Ladies! Lucuma has an anti-inflammatory, anti-aging and skin-repair effects on human skin! So just order a bag at amazon and lets start the lucuma eating bonanza.  Returning to the recipe, put the creamy mixture into a bowl and cover it with plastic foil. Freeze it for one or 2 hours. Take it out of the freezer and mix it in a kitchen machine for 15 minutes on high speed. It will be hard but creamy. What we are trying to do here is to break the ice pieces so it stays creamy instead of hard and ice-y.  Add a piece of parchment in a freezer friendly form. And like a lasagna, alternate ice cream mix and quinoa pops. If you can find them, here is how you can make them. Freeze for a couple of hours or until it is hard.  As any ice cream, before eating, take it out of the freezer some minutes before eating. But with this ice cream, make it for longer time. about 15 to 20 minutes. That is the only "con" of my recipe. Using an ice crem scoop, or a tablespoon, serve it in a waffle cone, waffle, brownie... you name it! and enjoy!  |
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June 2021
AuthorsI am Andrea, or as my friends call me, Jinx. I am a foodie living in Berlin, eating my way through life. Here are my recipes, cooking events, dining experiences and more... |
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