Here's an unusual cocktail and recipe duo to celebrate a new year, compliments of my pal Stefan Leis.

A creation by Stefan Leis: Salsify with Bread Cream, Goat Cheese Snow, Raspberry Reduction with Edible Moss and Sprouts.

The picture from this recipe looks so bizarre it's hard to believe that it's edible. You'd think we just scooped up a piece dirt outside from "Elfen Land" and photographed it. It's hard to believe this dish is edible, super tasty, and vegetarian. Stefan's methods are half mad-food-scientist, half genius. The bread cream with a Thermomixer. The raspberries spent six hours in a "Verdampfer".  And the salsify was prepared with calcium oxide. 

Hmmmm... How do you make this at home?

The main flavor components of this dish are: salsify, raspberry, goat cheese, dark bread, sprouts. Okay, now that the flavor elements in this dish are identifiable, we can make a recipe that can be prepared easily in an average home kitchen, like mine.  

But first things first, the cocktail: A gin cocktail with rose petals. Think this cocktail is for sissies? Well, think again, it takes a guy who is darn sure of himself to come up with an unusual concoction like this one. This creation of gin and rose petals is a sensory experience. Not a fan of gin? Maybe you haven't tried the right cocktail, yet.

A Rosey Gin Cocktail

50ml gin

50ml rose syrup (recipe follows)

50ml soda water

Splash of Rose flower water

Ice

Stir together the gin, rose syrup and rose water in a cocktail shaker. Pour over ice in a short glass and add soda. Super easy.

Rose Petal Syrup

250 ml water

225 g sugar


3.5 g fresh, organic or pesticide-free rose petals
   

1 tbsp lemon juice

Over medium to low heat, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan constantly stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the rose petals and simmer for five minutes, and add the lemon juice. Let everything steep together for an hour and pour the syrup through a strainer. Let the syrup cool completely before using. Now was that so hard?


Salsify

900g fresh salsify

1  lemon

3tbsp  olive oil

1tbsp  raspberry vinegar

1tsp  dijon mustard

3tbsp  fresh parsley, chopped

1/2tbsp fresh thyme

150g  crumbled goat cheese

1pkg  alfalfa sprouts

This scary looking white root vegetable looks like a long skinny parsnip covered in dirt. Some people call it the “oyster vegetable” although I think that it has more of an artichoke flavor. Just peel the skin away, like you would a carrot, and rinse it a bit to get the extra sand off. Salsify brown quickly when exposed to air, so if you aren’t cooking them immediately, place the salsify in a dish of water with a little bit of lemon juice. Toss the salsify in a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper and roast at 200° for about twenty minutes it in an oven proof dish. Combine the vinegar and mustard and slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking. Add the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the salsify and sprinkle with goat cheese. And serve with the bread pudding. Garnish with the sprouts.

For the Bread Pudding

4 large eggs


400ml  heavy cream

1tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 leek, chopped

250g Roggenmischbrot (or other dark bread), cubed

olive oil

salt and pepper


Here is a straightforward recipe for a savory bread pudding. Whisk eggs and cream in large bowl. Toss the bread with the egg mixture and leek and layer it evenly in an oven proof dish that has been coated with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand for about thirty minutes before putting it in the oven. Bake at 175° for about 45 minutes to one hour.

Now set yourself down, relax, enjoy your meal and raise your glass to Stefan Leis. He prefers it that way.