Aqua Vitae

Last evening I crossed paths with another gazpacho soup, and in the process discovered new points on the international culinary map; this time it was from a Swedish-cuisine inspired tribute menu. The amuse bouche was a lobster gazpacho; the opener of a six-course wine pairing dinner; the second in a new series of monthly wine dinners at New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont.

It seems almost every culture has folklore about the age-old dream of finding an elixir that gives immortality from the magical spirit released by the distillation of grains. In Scandinavia, one of the most cherished traditions is making your own water of life, a flavor-infused vodka, called aquavit.

Aquavit is also the name of a highly-regarded restaurant in New York City that has specialized in fine Scandinavian cuisine since 1987 and served as a launch pad for Ethiopian-born and Swedish-trained  Marcus Samuelsson, who was one of the youngest restaurant chefs to achieve acclaim in the Big Apple during the 1990s.

The restaurant received two three-star reviews in The New York Times (1995 and 2001), and chef Marcus Samuelsson won the 1999 James Beard Foundation award for “Rising Star Chef” as well as its 2003 award for “Best Chef in New York City.”

Samuelsson has an interesting story. He was born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, educated in London, did his culinary training in Sweden, and is credited with helping to pioneer awareness of Scandinavian cuisine in the U.S. with a refreshing array of cooking techniques and exciting menu combinations that earned him worldwide recognition and placed Scandinavian cooking at the forefront of the international culinary scene.

"Chef Marcus Samuelson is someone who has been an inspiration to me," noted Chef Paul Sorgule, NECI VP of Culinary Affairs, during a moment in between courses while plating the dinner-menu tribute to Samuelsson, "and that's why I chose to honor him."



Chef Paul Sorgule created the dinner menu in tribute to Chef Marcus Samuelsson 

To make traditional aquavit, use any ingredients from fruit to vegetables and herbs, but the primary spice should be either caraway or dill. Let sit for a week or two to ferment and for the flavors of the ingredients to infuse the vodka. Turns out any time of year is a great time to make aquavit and enjoy it with family and friends.

A few images of some of the dinner courses:

The second course; a trio of cured fish, (paired with a 2004 Weingut Robert Weil Riesling)

 

The entree: Roast organic loin of pork, roasted plums, corn mashed potatoes, caramelized cipollini onions, apple brandy reduced pork demi-glace, (paired with a 2005 Trust Winery Australian Shiraz)



followed by a watermelon, cucumber and watercress salad, with watermelon broth and Bijou cheese



Wishing I had managed to get a photo of the dessert: a chocolate chili cake with apricots and candied beet glaze, paired with Eden Ice Cider. Oh well, next time!

I'm looking forward to the next wine-pairing dinner in September and for a reason to make a trip to New York, and check out Samuelsson's new restaurant serving Americana cuisine, Red Rooster in Harlem.