Four Recipes for Autumn

Recipe 1: Leg of Venison with Black Olives
Spice: Woodland Walk

Organic gourmet recipe by Konrad Geiger

Time: 25 mins / cooking time 1 hour / resting time: 40 mins

Ingredients for 4 people:
1.2 kg leg of venison, 50 g black olives halved and pitted, 2 tbsp Woodland Walk spice mix, 120 g butter, 10 ml port wine, 50 ml beef stock, 3 tbsp olive oil, 600 ml beef stock, 100 g coarse polenta, 2 g sliced porcini mushrooms dried, 1 tbsp crème fraîche, "Sicilian Rock Salt" from the mill, "Trio Noir" pepper from the mill, grated Herbaria nutmeg

Place the olive halves in small cuts made in the venison pieces and rub generously with "Woodland Walk" spice mix. Roast the meat on all sides in hot butter in a pan and bake for 20 minutes in a hot oven preheated to 185°C. Baste with the pan juices a few times. Take it out of the oven and transfer to a plate. Cover with aluminium foil and set aside.

For the sauce: skim off excess fat from the pan juices, add the port wine and 50ml beef stock and cook down until reduced to half. Finally, with a handheld blender whisk in the olive oil.

For the porcini polenta: bring 300 ml beef stock to the boil along with the porcini mushrooms. In a separate bowl, mix the polenta and the rest of the cold beef stock. Add this mixture to the boiling beef broth and stir it in well. Cover and simmer gently over low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with rock salt, pepper and nutmeg, then fold in the crème fraîche.

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Recipe 2: Delicious Rösti
Spice: Taste Buds

Ingredients for 1 large rösti (with salad, for 3-4 people)
1 kg waxy potatoes
2 tbsp "Taste Buds" spice mix
5-6 tbsp olive oil
200 g crème fraîche, sour cream or yoghurt
Salt, "Trio Noir" pepper to taste

Note - the potatoes should be boiled one day before.
Wash the potatoes thoroughly and cook them in salted water for 20-30 minutes depending on their size. Optionally, add a pinch of Herbaria caraway while boiling the potatoes for a wonderful flavour. Drain the potatoes, cool and leave overnight.
Grate the potatoes on the coarse side of a box grater - make sure the grated pieces do not get mashed or crushed. Season with the spice mix and mix it carefully.
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large, non-stick pan. Transfer the grated potatoes to the pan and pat gently to form an evenly thick layer. Cook on medium heat for 12 minutes until crispy - on a stovetop with heat settings from 1 to 9, setting 6 is usually best. Place a large plate or flat pot lid on the pan and flip it over in a quick motion to transfer the rösti neatly to the plate/lid. Place the empty pan back on the stovetop and add some more olive oil. Carefully slide the rösti back into the pan and cook for a further 12 minutes. Slide onto a cake platter or wooden serving board and cut into pieces.
Season the crème fraîche with salt and Trio Noir. Serve the rösti with the crème fraîche dip and a fresh green salad.

Tip: Rösti made with boiled, waxy potatoes grated with the skin on not only saves time but also tastes a whole lot better!

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Recipe 3: Pumpkin Soup
Spice: Pumpkin King
Organic gourmet recipe by Konrad Geiger

Time: 30 minutes / cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients for 4 people:
500 g ripe Hokkaido pumpkin, 2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter), 1 diced onion, 1 diced clove of garlic, 1 L vegetable stock, 250 ml coconut milk, 2 tbsp "Pumpkin King" spice mix, Sicilian rock salt from the mill

Wash the pumpkin, cut into quarters and remove the seeds and fibrous parts. Roast in a hot oven preheated to 170°C for 45 minutes. Cut into small pieces. Heat the ghee in a pan and sauté the onions and garlic for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the pumpkin pieces, sauté briefly and add the vegetable stock and coconut milk. Simmer for about 15 minutes and puree with a handheld blender. Season with "Pumpkin King" spice mix and add salt to taste.

Tip: Serve with freshly baked dark bread or grissini made with Herbaria's bread spice mix.

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Recipe 4: Ratatouille risotto with red wine and "Happy Truffle"
Spice: Happy Truffle
Organic gourmet recipe by Konrad Geiger

Time: 40 mins / Cooking time: 18 mins

Ingredients for 4 people:
Risotto: 1.5 L vegetable stock, 6 tbsp olive oil, 450 g Arborio rice, 0.5 L red wine (e.g. Barbera d'Alba), 1-2 tbsp "Happy Truffle" spice mix, 3 tbsp cold butter in pieces, 50 g Parmesan
Ratatouille: 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 red pepper, 1 courgette, 2 tomatoes, 1 aubergine, 1 teaspoon of Herbaria thyme, "Sicilian Rock Salt" from the mill, 1 bunch of parsley

For the ratatouille, cut all the ingredients into evenly sized pieces. Lightly salt the aubergine pieces, let stand briefly and drain the excess liquid.

Risotto: Bring the vegetable stock to a boil in a saucepan. In a separate pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and sauté the rice until translucent. Deglaze with the red wine. Pour in a third of the hot vegetable stock. Gradually add the remaining stock to the risotto in batches as it gets absorbed by the rice. Stir frequently. While the rice is cooking, heat 4 tbsp olive oil in a nonstick pan and briefly sauté the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and paprika and stir. After a minute add thyme, courgette and aubergine pieces and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the chopped parsley and stir into the vegetables along with the diced tomatoes. Season to taste. After about 18 minutes the risotto is ready. Take off the heat, season with "Happy Truffle" spice mix and stir in the cold butter pieces. Serve the risotto with ratatouille in deep plates. Sprinkle with grated parmesan and enjoy!