Today I am in the Zornheimer wine taverns with Lucas Christgen and his wife Marjana. Lucas Christgen is the owner and chef and his wife takes care of the service and the guests. The wine taverns are located right next to the Zornheim church on the hill. On the large terrace in front of the house, it is certainly wonderful to sit in the summer until late in the evening. Today, unfortunately, it is foggy and cold, so I prefer to go directly to Lucas Christgen in the warm room.
This is the ideal description for the restaurant. The old half-timbering with dark wooden beams stretches up several floors and is cozily decorated with small lights and accessories. Instead of a large guest room, you will find smaller rooms, niches and floors where you can enjoy the wine and delicious food all to yourself.
It's exactly because of the food that I'm here today. Lucas Christgen has prepared three typical Rhine-Hessian dishes for the cozy and colder seasons of fall and winter. The three dishes work wonderfully as a menu with three courses. But you can also prepare and serve them individually.
1. fried fillet of pike perch on lukewarm pretzel dumpling carpaccio
The connoisseurs among you will know it, in the Rhine, the pike perch can be fished wonderfully and so the regional Rhine pike perch is also on the table at Lucas Christgen. The chef has reinterpreted the classic pretzel and created not only a dumpling, but also a dumpling carpaccio. This is especially visually appealing on the plate. The pike-perch fillet is more of a lighter fall dish, so Lucas Christgen pours me a Selection Silvaner from the Münzenberger winery in Zornheim to go with it.
Are you already hungry and want to start cooking right away? Then you can download the recipe directly.
2. pork tongues on lukewarm lentil salad
It will be really wintry and warm with the next dish and also classic Rhine-Hessian. Schweinszüngchen are probably not for everyone, but in combination with the lukewarm lentil salad of small brown and pink lentils, you may discover them for yourself. Lucas Christgen recommends a Sauvignon Blanc from the Bischel winery in Appenheim, for example.
You can find the recipe under this link for download.
3. carthusian dumplings with wine sauce
Now it becomes sweet on my plate and it smells already wonderful aroma of Riesling wine sauce and cinnamon. Carthusian dumplings awaken childhood memories chef childhood memories, because now he serves me his favorite dish from childhood. The white wine sauce was added later as an ideal complement. Seasonally you can add fruits or like Lucas Christgen on my plate the my plate the glazed chestnuts typical for autumn. The white wine sauce was boiled up with the Riesling of the winery Fleischer and exactly that lands now also in my glass and rounds off this dish perfectly.
If you now also the water in the mouth together, then quickly download the recipe
With the three recipes you can conjure up the Rhine-Hessian cuisine at home and on your table. If you follow the instructions Lucas Christgen has assured me that "it will work". All recipes together can be downloaded here. (Link to the document with all recipes).
For the ultimate Rheinhessen experience you should check out the Zornheimer wine taverns take a look for yourself and let yourself be spoiled "in good Rheinhessian" with Mediterranean influence.
