Oriental Vegetable Duo with Date Lamb

The day before, finely grind everything for the marinade (garlic, chilli, coriander, caraway seeds) in a mortar and rub the lamb salmon with it, vacuum seal and marinate for 24 hours. Then prepare a sous vide with a water temperature of 58 degrees and cook the lamb salmon in it for 35 minutes. Just before the time is up, preheat a cast iron grill pan to maximum heat and add some clarified butter. Take the lamb salmon out of the vacuum bags, roughly remove the marinade and briefly toast on both sides in the hot pan. Season with pepper and a little salt. Let it rest for a moment (ideally in a hot oven under aluminum foil) and then cut into finger-thick slices and serve with the date sauce.

Core and dice the dates, coarsely dice the shallots and garlic. Heat olive oil and butter in a small saucepan and sauté shallots, garlic and diced dates. Add the tomato paste and roast a little while stirring. Pour in the lamb stock and red wine, separate the rosemary and thyme leaves from the branches and put the leaves in the saucepan, then add the cinnamon stick. Let the sauce boil down to a good half for about 20 minutes, then puree it finely and strain it through a sieve, then season with salt and pepper.

In the baked potato nests, first peel all the potatoes and carrots, cut 2-3 potatoes into thin slices (approx. 6 x 12 cm). Place 4-5 such potato slices in a fan shape in a nest baking spoon and fry them in vegetable oil at 160 degrees for 5-6 minutes, then carefully remove the finished potato nest from the nest baking spoon. Repeat until there are 5 potato nests. Cut the remaining potatoes and carrots into medium-sized cubes and cook them in salted water until soft (takes about 20 minutes). Drain the water and puree the potato and carrot mixture with a hand blender. Add the sesame paste, garlic, milk and orange juice and stir well. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cumin. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, while filling the potato nests up to the top with the mashed potatoes. Bake the filled potato nests on a rack in the oven for about 20 minutes and then serve immediately hot.

Quarter the prunes and finely grate the ginger. Heat the butter in a small saucepan on a low setting and roast the spices in it. Add the grated ginger and honey, toast briefly, then add the vegetable stock and quartered prunes and simmer on a low heat. Cut eggplant, bell pepper and yellow zucchini (you can use the peeled one that is left over from the starter) into medium-sized cubes. Dice the onions, finely chop or press the garlic. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or pan, briefly roast the onions and garlic in it, then add the aubergine, bell pepper and courgette cubes, fry well. Add the chunky tomatoes and the plum-spice mixture, season with salt and pepper and simmer for at least 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees circulating air. During this time, cut off the upper third of the round zucchini and hollow out the remaining lower part, leaving a layer about 1 cm thick. Lightly salt the hollowed out zucchini, place on a rack in the preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes. Then fill the hollowed out zucchini up to the top with the hot ratatouille vegetables and serve immediately.