Restaurant 44
May 24, 2017
André Egger: "It makes me think that I would have wanted that as a kid."
André Egger has both Swiss and German citizenship, but in the kitchen, he is all Swiss. Since 2013, the hospitality expert has served as Executive Chef of Restaurant 44 at the Swissotel on Kurfürstendamm, becoming Head of Food & Beverage Swissotel in 2017. Before coming to Berlin, he cooked at The Langham Hilton in London, at the five-star Hotel Colombi in Freiburg, and at the Radisson Blu in Zürich. For Egger, Swiss cuisine means food that is honest, practical, fresh, and above all, regional. To that end, he works with specially selected farmers from Brandenburg who supply his kitchen with fresh ingredients sourced directly from their farms. One of the favorites on the menu at Restaurant 44 is the Zurich ragout, or Züri Gschnätzlets.
Restaurant 44 in Berlin's Charlottenburg district
In 2016, Restaurant 44 was awarded the Michelin guide's "Bib Gourmand" for high-quality food for decent money.
Zurich ragout with rösti
Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the rösti:
- 600 g potatoes, mostly waxy
- 20 g butter
- 6 g nutmeg, grated
- 15 g salt
- Oil
For the ragout:
- 480 g filet of veal
- 200 g mushrooms
- 60 g shallots
- 40 g butter
- 300 ml cream
- 100 ml veal stock
- 40 ml veal jus
- Splash of white wine
- 20 g chives
- 20 g salt
- 2 pinches grated black pepper or maggia valley pepper
For the vegetables:
- 280 g mixed vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, green asparagus, snow peas, broccolini)
- 20 g butter
- Oil
- Salt
Preparation:
To make rösti, boil potatoes with skin on for five minutes. It is important that the potatoes are still half raw after boiling. Cool potatoes, skin, and grate. Form into flat cakes and fry in oil until golden brown. After a few minutes, add butter. Finally, bake in 180°C oven for five minutes.
To make ragout, slice veal filet into strips, slice mushrooms, finely chop shallots, and slice chives into rings. Sear veal strips in pan, season, and remove from pan. Briefly sauté butter and shallots in pan, add mushrooms, and deglaze with white wine. Add cream and jus, and simmer until liquid is reduced by one half. Then add veal strips to pan and simmer together with sauce. Once sauce is finished, add chives and add salt and pepper to taste.
Wash and clean vegetables for side dish. Cook vegetables in salted water until they are soft. When vegetables are cooked, shock vegetables, chop into small pieces, and glaze with butter. This will allow the vegetables to retain their bright colors.
To serve, plate ragout and place vegetables on top. Garnish with a dollop of cream. Serve rösti on a separate plate.
Restaurant 44
Augsburger Str. 44
10789 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 220102288