In the first instalment of 50 Best’s Home Cooking series, presented by Miele, we are invited inside Ana Roš’s kitchen at her restaurant and home in Slovenia, Hiša Franko, to discover how she makes a hearty mussel broth with beef tongue for her family.
On a cold winter day in Kobarid, Slovenia, chef Ana Roš is pondering what she will make for dinner for her family and team at Hiša Franko. “Everyone is pretty cold, so I think I’ll make a broth from beef tongue and then serve the tongue with some sauerkraut and potatoes,” she says.
Roš says that not discarding any part of the animal is part of the DNA of those who live in the countryside in Slovenia, and the beef tongue epitomises this belief. “My children love to eat it, it’s their favourite meat,” she says. “Sometimes I’m like a mum not only to my children but also to my team. I take care that everybody eats enough and eats healthy.”
Living and working within Hiša Franko – a historical building that houses the restaurant, the chef’s home and her parents in law’s home – Roš says that she never has to shop for dinner, using instead what is available in the fridge or leftover at the restaurant.
To warm up her hungry diners, she prepares a stew with local products such as beef tongue, leeks, carrots, garlic, ginger, deer offcuts left over from Hiša Franko’s service and mussels from the coastal city of Marano Lagunare. It’s a dish that symbolises the diversity of the region, where you can drive from the Alps to a Mediterranean beach in 45 minutes.
“The meal is super high in vitamin C and very healthy,” says Roš. The vegetables in the soup supply minerals and fibres, while the deer offcuts add minerality and depth of flavour to the broth, and the slow-cooked beef tongue is high in protein, zinc and iron.
Follow the recipe below to make Roš’ home-cooked mussel stew and beef tongue with sauerkraut.
Beef tongue and sauerkraut
Ingredients and method
For the broth:
1 beef tongue
300g carrots
2 onions
1 leek
½ celeriac
½ green celery
30g black peppercorns
1. Halve and roast onions, simmer all ingredients for 3 hours
2. Remove and peel beef tongue, set aside
3. Strain broth for stew
For the stew:
2kg mussels
1kg clams
300g ginger
1 leek
2 carrots
3 sunchokes
½ romanesco
¼ cauliflower
100g garlic
30g fermented soybeans
30g dried black trumpets
½ Swiss chard
50g rice pasta
½ habanero
30g fish sauce
4. Julienne all vegetables
5. Clean mussels and clams
6. Boil mussels and clams in broth for 3 mins
7. Add vegetables and rice pasta, turn off heat, cover and let set for 10 mins
For the dressing:
100g soy sauce
30g honey
½ habanero
10g sesame oil
50g fish sauce
40g chopped garlic
30g chopped ginger
8. Mix all ingredients for the dressing
9. Serve mussel stew in warm bowls
10. Slice warm beef tongue and serve with dressing and sauerkraut
Watch the video with Roš and stay tuned for the next episode of the Home Cooking series, featuring Jorge Vallejo:
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