Русский
My mom professor came to visit from Moscow.
My usual measured casual lifestyle acquired new features. Kittens toe the line, wash paws before going to bed, they dare to step on the table only under the night cover, craw like true scouts behind the frontline under the tablecloth. On weekends, my mom and I are going out for a lunch to the exclusive top places that Vienna with great pleasure and love fostered and nurtured during its long history.
Palais Coburg in the old center is one of those special Viennese residences.
The building was erected in the first half – middle of the 19th century on the ruins of the Viennese fortification for the General of the Cavalry and the Cavalier of the St Alexander Nevsky Order, the St Andrew Order and the St George 4th Degree Order Ferdinand von Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.
The general was a member of that Coburg family, one of the richest and most powerful dynasties in Europe. Just a couple of famous names of these Coburgs are Prince Albert, husband of British Queen Victoria, the Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna, wife of the Russian Grand Duke Constantine, the grandson of Catherine II, the last tsar of Bulgaria Ferdinand, Belgian and Portuguese royal families.
Now the historical super five-star hotel is located the Palais. Its creative restaurant is one of the top just 3 restaurants in the town honoured with 2 Michelin stars.
The restaurant is open in the evening only, so we were invited to lunch in “Clementine” elegantly situated in the greenhouse in the Palais garden.
Princess Clementine of Orleans and her husband August von Coburg were the first occupants of the Palais since 1850.
“It is not easy to be a princess. But hey, if the crown fits. And at least, the food is great.”
There is no any special vegan menu in the restaurant yet, but the chef is always happy to come up with something special. And he succeeded perfectly this time too.
The mission of “Enjoyment” is accomplished.
The salad from the chef was truly a masterpiece. Clementine inspired me to make the salad myself to treat us haut cuisine home.
Princess Clementine’s winter salad recipe.
Ingredients (2 servings
- Chinese cabbage – 4-6 leaves
- Spinach – 75 g
- Walnuts – 75 g or 1/2 cup
- Pears – 2 pcs
- Avocado – 1/2 pcs
Sauce
- Orange juice – 1/3 cup
- Olive or sesame seeds oil – 1 Table spoon
- Pepper – 5-7 seeds
- Chili – 1 cm
- Mustard seeds – 5 pcs
- Ginger – 1 cm of root
- Sweet red pepper powder – 1/2 tea spoon
- Basil – 1 spring
- Balsamico or lemon juice (optional) – 1 tea spoon
- Sea veggie dulse (optional) – 1/2 tea spoon
- Lemon grass (optional)- 1 cm
- Wasabi powder (optional) – 1 pinch
Directions
- Rinse all vegetables and greens
- At your choice you can also pre-soak nuts for 30 + minutes. Or you can also fry for a less than a minute nuts on the hot skillet.
- Finely chop leaves of Chinese cabbage. If leaves are large, you can also half them lengthwise, especially parts that are at the base
- Cut pears into 4 pieces, remove middle part with the seeds and peel them off, cut the pears in smaller cubes.
- Scoop avocado out of the skin and cut it into cubes
- Sauce. Remove seeds from chili. Peel off ginger. Cut ginger, chili and lemon grass in smaller pieces. Place all sauce ingredients (excluding oil) into blender and mix them into the soft smooth texture. Add oil to the sauce and let it mix (just blend of a couple of seconds together).
- Put the salad ingredients into the bowl, mix lightly. Add the sauce and again gently mix all together.
The original sauce at Clementine was made in rather classical plain way. I decided to add some heat of spicy and hot Asian cuisine as the winter is still ruling outside.
