Thomas Penz has an affinity for producing flavourful seasonal dishes utilizing the highest quality ingredients and local produce—fresh from his own vegetable garden or from Innsbruck Markthalle. His cuisine is a reflection of the history of Tirolean cooking, infused with today’s culinary vision. The award-winning 22-year-old chef prepares fresh, locally sourced ingredients together skilfully at his parents’ hotel restaurant in Innsbruck. He has worked at „Noma“, the two-Michelin-star restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark, which was repeatedly ranked as the Best Restaurant in the World and at „Hangar 7“ restaurant in Salzburg, Austria. His thoughtfully crafted Tirol fare is rooted in tradition, but never typical. Try his recipes for Tirolean Grey Cheese Soup, Vegetable Groestl and Apple Fritters. Yummy!

Grey Cheese Soup to Start With

„Graukäse“ (Tirolean grey cheese) is a strongly flavoured, rennet-free cows-milk acid-curd cheese made in the Tirolean Alps. It owes its name to the grey mould that usually grows on its rind. It is extremely low in fat and it has a powerful penetrating smell.

• 150g „Graukäse“ Tirolean grey cheese
• 100ml cabbage juice
• 100ml vegetable broth
• 50g potatoes
• 1 shallot
• 20g butter
• 50ml white wine
• 90ml cream
• Salt
• Nutmeg

Garnish:

• Chives
• Rye bread
• Butter
• Radishes

The ingredients to view.

Cut the grey cheese into cubes. Peel the shallot and chop into small pieces. Heat butter and cook the shallot and the potatoes until golden. Add white wine and let simmer. Then, stir in cabbage juice, vegetable broth and cream and let reduce by one third. Lastly, pour in the grey cheese cubes, taste for salt and season with nutmeg. Mash with a hand blender to create a velvety soup.

Thomas is cutting the grey cheese. Tirolean grey cheese is extremely low in fat, but it has a powerful penetrating smell.

Garnish Suggestion: Top the soup with butter sautéed rye bread cubes, chopped chives and thin slices of radish.
Ladle the frothy soup into bowls, garnish if you like, and serve.

Garnish your grey cheese soup with thin slices of radish and sautéed rye bread cubes, if you like.

Vegetable Groestl for Main

“Groestl” is a Tirol staple made with onions, bacon and sliced pieces of meat. When finished, the Gröstl is served with a fried egg. Originally, a hearty sauté of all kinds of meat leftovers that were thrown into a skillet and mixed with herbs and potatoes, this traditional Tirol dish has experienced a makeover and is now extremely popular even with gourmets. Here’s a delightful vegetable version with poached egg:

• 100g cooked potatoes
• 100g peeled carrots
• 100g celeriac
• 50g onion
• 20g butter
• Salt
• Pepper
• Nutmeg
• Chives
• Beer vinegar
• 4 eggs

Wash the carrots and peel them. Juice two thirds of the carrots and bring the juice to the boil in a small saucepan, reducing to 50ml. Cut the remaining carrots with a vegetable peeler. Finally, slice potatoes and celeriac and chop the onion.

Thomas recommends to cut the vegetables into different shapes to add to the appearance of the dish.

In a large skillet, melt butter and cook potato slices at high temperature until golden brown, turning occasionally.

Heat butter in a second frying pan, then cook the chopped onion until translucent. Add beer vinegar and vegetables and roast over medium heat. In the end, add the roasted potatoes and stir well. Add the reduced carrot juice for a delicately fruity and sweet touch. Taste for salt and pepper and season with nutmeg and chives.

Use two skillets: One to fry the potatoes at high temperature while roasting the vegetables over medium heat in another pan.

Strongly recommended: For a more contemporary touch, serve your Vegetable Groestl with a poached egg. Poached eggs are cooked by slipping them into simmering water, and giving it a minute or so more to firm up. Poached eggs have a reputation for being difficult or finicky. Here’s how to poach an egg easily:

Line a cup or a small ramekin with cling film and crack the egg into it.

Gather the edges together and seal tightly. Tie a knot in the cling film to secure.

Remove the cling film ‘parcel’ from the ramekin and drop it carefully into the lightly simmering water. Cling film withstands hot temperatures up to 140 degrees Celsius.

Once cooked, remove from the water and snip off the top of the cling film. Open the top and let the egg slip out.

Serve the poached egg on your Vegetable Groestl.

Apple Fritters with Cinnamon Sugar for Dessert

Filling:

• 4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 100ml apple juice
• 30g sugar
• 15g butter
• Cinnamon sugar

Batter:

• 100g flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 50ml milk
• 400ml oil for deep-frying

Peel, core and chop your apples into small pieces. Caramelize sugar in a saucepan, add the apple juice, butter, and chopped apples. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender.
Fill the apple compote into silicone moulds and refrigerate it.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, milk and eggs until a smooth batter forms.

Dip the frozen apple compote in batter, drop into the hot oil and fry until golden on both sides. The result is delicious apple fritters with a liquid filling inside.

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish. Toss the apple fritters with cinnamon sugar and serve while still warm.

Sweeten up your life with these mouth-watering apple fritters. Be forewarned: They can be addictively delicious.

Photo Credits: W9 Studios, Stephan Elsler