International cuisine

Food from around the world

1. Australia

Australian cooking uses many ingredients that most people would not think of as food at all: from kangaroo, crocodile and emu meat through bush tomatoes to hijiki (seaweed) – Australia is a country full of culinary surprises!

Recipe: crocodile steak with lemongrass

Ingredients (for 5 servings)

• 2 carrots
• 1 stick of celery
• 2.5 cm ginger root
• 2 stalks of lemongrass
• 6 crocodile steaks
• 75 ml fish sauce
• 1 tbsp soya oil
• 6 lemon slices
• 1 bunch of coriander (freshly chopped)
• 1 tbsp mint (freshly chopped)
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds (toasted)

Method

1. First preheat the grill. Then wash the celery, peel the carrots and cut both into thin strips. Finely chop the lemongrass (the tender parts only). Peel the ginger and grate it finely.
2. Then prepare six 30 x 30 cm squares of foil. Divide the vegetables (carrots, celery, lemongrass and ginger) between them. Wash the crocodile steaks and place one on each piece of foil. Mix the fish sauce with the soya oil and drizzle it over the meat. Top each with a slice of lemon.
3. Now place the foil parcels on the grill rack (important: they must be tightly sealed!) and grill for 6 to 8 minutes until done. Once they are cooked to your liking, scatter the crocodile steaks with the coriander, mint and sesame seeds and serve warm.

Wine recommendation: E. Triebaumer Blaufränkisch Oberer Wald 2018

2. France

Coq au vin, onion soup, crêpes and crème brûlée – good food is part of the French way of life. Equally typically French is the croissant , which goes perfectly with café au lait

.

Recipe: coq au vin

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

• 2 chickens, 1 kg each
• 100 g lean bacon
• 150 g small button mushrooms
• 10 small fresh onions
• 4 shallots
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 5 tbsp flour
• 1 l Burgundy red wine
• 1 bunch of herbs (bay, rosemary, thyme, parsley)
• 5 tbsp flour
• 6 tbsp cognac
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Method

1. Wash the mushrooms and trim the stalks. Peel the onions and cut them in half. Then dice the bacon finely and chop the shallots finely. Rinse the chicken well and cut it into the following pieces: 4 breasts (off the bone), 4 legs and 4 wings. Turn all the pieces in salt and flour.
2. Fry the bacon, mushrooms, onions and shallots in a pan with a little olive oil, then remove them. In the same pan, brown the chicken pieces for about 15 minutes, pour over the cognac and flambé. Only add the red wine once the flames have died down. Add the herbs, chopped garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes. Then add the vegetables and bacon and simmer for a further hour.
3. Finally remove the herbs, arrange the chicken with the vegetable mixture on a platter and pour the reheated wine over the chicken pieces. Bon appétit!

Wine recommendation: Heiss Blanc de Noir Zweigelt gleich gepresst 2021

3. Poland

Have you ever heard of “ bigos ”? It is a braised dish made with pork, sauerkraut and mushrooms, and it is regarded as the Polish national dish.

Recipe: bigos

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

• 400 g sauerkraut
• 280 g white cabbage
• 400 g mixed beef, pork and poultry
• 120 g sausage: Krakauer, Silesian sausage or kabanos
• 1/2 slice of smoked bacon
• 4 dried plums
• 2 g dried mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 200 ml water
• 1/5 stock cube
• 60 ml red wine
• 4 allspice berries
• 1 bay leaf
• Juniper berries
• 1 tbsp lard
• 1 apple
• Tomato purée
• Caraway
• Marjoram
• Pepper
• Salt

Method

1. Soak the dried mushrooms (forest mushrooms are best) and the dried plums in separate bowls one to two hours before you start cooking.
2. Preheat the oven to 150°C conventional.
3. Cut the sauerkraut and white cabbage into pieces about 5 cm long and drain well.
4. Cut the meat into 1–2 cm pieces and brown it in the lard.
5. Cut the bacon into strips, peel and dice the onion and apple. Sweat all three in a pan in the meat juices.
6. Take the soaked mushrooms and plums out of the water, cut them into small pieces and add them, together with the sauerkraut and white cabbage, to the pan with the bacon, onion and apple.
7. Only once the cabbage has collapsed, add the red wine, allspice, bay leaf, juniper berries, caraway and marjoram.
8. Then continue cooking the pan (important: with a lid on) in the preheated oven for a further 2 to 2.5 hours. When the meat is completely tender, take the pan out and simmer it on the hob for another half hour (without a lid) so that the remaining liquid can cook off.
9. Finally add the sausage and serve.

Wine recommendation: A Nobis Champagner Norbert Deux Coeurs Brut

4. Mexico

Fiesta, fiesta mexicana! Mexican cooking is a feast for the senses: colourful and full of interesting contrasts. From tortillas through guacamole to the nachos that are popular in Austria too – Mexico has something for everyone.

Recipe: guacamole

Ingredients (for 16 servings)

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1 tomato
• 1 small red onion
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 lime (2 halves)
• 1/2 small jalapeño
• Sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Halve the avocados, remove the stone and scoop the flesh into a bowl with a spoon.
2. Squeeze half a lime over the avocado and mash both together with a fork.
3. Then wash the tomato, red onion, jalapeño (deseeded) and coriander and dice them finely.
4. Mix all the ingredients into the avocado purée, crush in the clove of garlic and add it together with the juice from the second half of the lime.
5. Serve the guacamole in a bowl as a dip or a side dish.

Wine recommendation: Gritsch-Mauritiushof Riesling Reserve Vision Wachau 2007

5. Japan

Seasonal ingredients, the best quality and a love of tradition – Japanese home cooking enchants with sushi, sashimi, ramen and many other delicacies.

Recipe: ramen

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

• 4 chicken thighs (boned)
• 200 g ramen noodles
• 3 spring onions
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 115 g ginger
• 1 leek
• 2 l chicken stock
• 1 sheet of kombu seaweed
• 125 ml light soy sauce
• 50 ml sake
• 50 ml mirin
• 2 eggs
• 20 g bean sprouts
• Shichimi togarashi spice mix (to serve)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C conventional.
2. Cut the spring onions into thin slices and set them aside for now. Roughly chop two thirds of the garlic and two thirds of the ginger. Slice the leek as well. Cook the chicken stock, leek, ginger, garlic and chicken thighs (boned!) in a pan for about 15 minutes. Then take the chicken out of the pan and set it aside. Add the kombu to the stock, cook for a further 15 minutes and then strain through a sieve.
3. For the sauce: peel and roughly chop the remaining garlic and ginger. Heat the soy sauce, sake, mirin, garlic and ginger in a pan over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile slice the chicken and spread it on a baking tray. Mix it with the sauce (use only half of it) and roast for 8 minutes in the oven at 200°C.
4. Boil the eggs for about 7 minutes, then peel and halve them. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Put a little sauce in a bowl. Add the cooked noodles, pour in the stock, place the chicken on top and garnish with bean sprouts, half an egg and spring onions.

Wine recommendation: Aigner Grüner Veltliner Kremstal DAC Reserve Ried Obere Sandgrube Privat 2018

6. Arabia

The harmony between choice spices and typically oriental ingredients makes Arabic dishes an explosion of the senses on the palate. The most popular

dish on the Arabic menu is without doubt the falafel .

Recipe: air fryer falafel in pitta bread with tomato spread

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

• 200 g chickpeas, tinned or from a jar
• 1 onion
• 20 g fresh parsley
• 2 pitta breads
• 30 g breadcrumbs
• 40 g walnuts
• 1/2 cucumber
• 40 g rocket
• 60 g sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp cumin
• 60 g wheat flour
• 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp sweet mustard
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of pepper

Method

1. Blend the chickpeas, onion, parsley, cumin, coriander, paprika, flour and half a clove of garlic in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Divide the mixture into walnut-sized pieces and roll them into balls.
3. Then bake the falafel in the air fryer at 180°C for about 15 minutes until golden brown.
4. Meanwhile blend the sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, olive oil, breadcrumbs and the remaining garlic in the blender until creamy. Season generously!
5. For the dressing, mix the lemon juice, sweet mustard and olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
6. Mix the sliced cucumber and rocket with the dressing.
7. Spread the pitta bread with the sun-dried tomato sauce and serve with the falafel balls and the rocket salad.

Wine recommendation: Machater Schilerol