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A step-by-step guide to culinary bliss

For over 18 years Heinrich Gasteiger, Gerhard Wieser and Helmut Bachmann have been forming the “So kocht Südtirol“ team. The three chefs are the most successful bestselling authors of the alpine region: They sold over 1,2 million copies of their cookbooks …and for good reason! Before any recipe makes it into one of their books, it is very thoroughly researched and triple checked. They would like to dedicate their new book (Die große “So kocht Südtirol” Kochschule) to everyone who is just beginning to explore their cooking skills, or would like to try new and more complicated recipes. It’s full of very useful base recipes and techniques: how to make pasta dough, Knödel (bread dumplings) and how to cut Speck…

Cooking eggplants – the easy way

Eggplant salad on Speck
Serves 4

Eggplants (Aubergines)

  • 600 g eggplants
  • 2 Tbsp of flour, for dusting
  • Salt

Dressing

  • 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
  • 30 g onions, sliced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • 50 ml olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp oregano, finely chopped
  • 2 Tbsps parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 peperoncino chili, finely grated
  • Pepper from the peppermill
  • Salt

Other 

  • 8 slices “Oltspeck” from Recla
  • Chervil for garnish
  • Baking fat

 

Preparation
Wash the eggplants (aubergines), then cut them into dices of about 2 x 2 cm. Salt them and then dust with flour. Fry them in hot fat. For the dressing: Mix the white wine vinegar, onions, garlic, salt, olive oil, oregano, parsley and peperoncino chili. Spread the eggplant over the Speck slices, add the dressing and then serve with a piece of chervil as garnish.

Tips
You can also use zucchini or bell peppers instead of eggplants. Serve the eggplant salad with Coppa, smoked beef, bresaola or carpaccio. You can also sear the eggplants in a pan with olive oil.

 

Wine suggestion Beer suggestion
“Fürst” A.A. Meranese DOC 2016

This noble wine is as red as a ruby. The bouquet reminds you of violets and almonds. The taste is soft and juicy, with a slight hint of wood and almost tangible tannins.

 FORST Felsenkeller

This beer is naturally cloudy because it is kegged directly from the maturation tank, unfiltered and unpasteurized. It will delight beer aficionados with its full-bodied flavour and smooth finish.

Cutting Speck: This is how it’s done!

Tip: Recla-Oltspeck from South Tyrol: The production of this Speck is still done with the old and traditional methods. The raw materials are of the highest quality and the spice mix is taken from an old family recipe. Add mild smoking over beech wood and a balanced maturing process and you’ll get a truly unique end product.