Take me to the Lake – Char Recipe from the Hotel Refugium in Lunz

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Think char, think lake. Think lake, think Lunz. Think Lunz, think Refugium. And suddenly we’re where we want to be: savouring char dishes at Refugium Lunz. Top gastronomy duo Fanny and Christian Metzger serve the native fish in a number of different ways: grilled whole in the traditional way, pickled, with dumplings or as Lunz rolls with rice flour dough, onion, lettuce, cucumber and a spicy dip. But it’s also
absolutely possible to prepare our freshwater friend in the same way as one of its saltwater cousins: Mediterranean style with gnocchi and rocket pesto. This version has been given below as a recipe you can make at home. Incidentally, because the char in the Lunzer See lake are now protected because of the increasing number of predators, the Metzgers get theirs from the Größbacher fishmongers in Lassing,
which is only ten kilometres away.

CHAR FILLET WITH RICOTTA GNOCCHI, PEPPER AND CABBAGE, AND ROCKET

FOR THE FISH:
2 char fillets (boned)
2 sprigs of herbs (e.g. rosemary or thyme)
2 tbsp butter - olive oil - 1 clove of garlic - salt

FOR THE RICOTTA GNOCCHI:
500 g ricotta
165 g Asmonte (alternatively: Parmesan)
250 g coarse-grained flour - 3 eggs - salt - pepper
Grated nutmeg -1 clove of garlic - Olive oil for drizzling

FOR THE PAPRIKA CABBAGE:
500 g sauerkraut
2 tbsp butter - 1 small onion -50 g bacon 1 red pepper - 1 clove garlic - 1 tbsp sweet paprika powder -1 tsp smoked paprika powder - a dash of wine vinegar
¼ litre chicken stock - a dash of water -1 bay leaf - cayenne pepper - granulated sugar - salt - pepper
2 tbsp sour cream - cornflour to thicken if required

FOR THE ROCKET PESTO:
100 g rocket
50 g Asmonte (Grana Padano) - 50 ml olive oil
50 ml sunflower oil - 1 clove of garlic - salt
Pepper - Granulated sugar - 50 g sunflower seeds

METHOD

1. For the fish, halve the char fillets, season with salt and sear them skin side down in a pan with
some butter and a drizzle of olive oil. Add the sprigs of herbs and a crushed garlic clove.

2. In the meantime, for the ricotta gnocchi, combine the ricotta, grated Asmonte, course flour,
eggs, a pinch each of salt and pepper, a little grated nutmeg and a small amount of finely
chopped garlic in the bowl of a food processor and leave to rest briefly. Then tip the mixture into
a piping bag and, using kitchen twine, squeeze portions into a pan of boiling, salted water. Strain
the gnocchi as soon as they float to the surface and drizzle with olive oil so they don’t stick
together.

3. For the rocket pesto, blitz the rocket, grated Asmonte, olive oil, sunflower oil, chopped garlic
clove, a pinch of salt and pepper and a sprinkle of granulated sugar in a blender until creamy.
Then add the sunflower seeds and blitz again until you achieve the desired consistency.

4. For the pepper and cabbage, rinse the sauerkraut and leave to drain in a sieve. Finely dice the
bacon, pepper and onion and soften in a pan with the butter. Add the paprika (both sweet and
smoked), deglaze with some wine vinegar and pour in the chicken stock and some water. Now
add the sauerkraut, bay leaf, a pinch of cayenne pepper, a sprinkle of granulated sugar, salt and
pepper and leave everything until soft. Finish off the pepper and cabbage with some sour cream
and taste again – thicken with some cornflour mixed into water if necessary.

5. Finally, serve the pepper and cabbage with the ricotta gnocchi and char fillet on a flat plate
and garnish with the rocket pesto

WINE PAIRING: WEINSCHLOSS THALLER / SAUVIGNON BLANC VULKANLAND STEIERMARK 2022