Krug X Pepper
Once a year, the Krug Champagne seeks a unique, extraordinary and versatile dish that will spark the curiosity and talent of chefs at Krug Ambassades around the world. Cordeillan-Bages is one of the 20 Ambassades selected in France.
From 29 to 31 January 2019, Julien Lefebvre was invited to Mexico with 11 international chefs to work on a chilli pairing. They discovered the city of Oaxaca and its markets as well as the picturesque village of Teotitlán, which inspired their recipes. The champagne house used the opportunity to also publish an illustrated book, spotlighting each Ambassade and the art of living around the emblematic Krug Grande Cuvée.
Below is a sneak preview of the recipe imagined by Julien Lefebvre, Basque Tacos, in recognition of our beautiful region.
Like an Axoa with sweet peppers and Espelette chilli, and a pepper piperade with wild herbs
Tacos
175 g yellow corn flour
1 tablespoon salt
10 cl warm water
Axoa
800 g cushion of veal
2 onions
200 g dry-cured ham with the fat
2 cloves of garlic
6 green Anglet sweet peppers
Espelette chilli, to taste (red and hot)
Salt and pepper
Piperade
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 bunch of chervil
1 gem lettuce
10 cl olive oil
Prepare the Axoa
Cut the meat with a knife into small cubes of 1 cm maximum along each side. Peel and finely slice the onions. Cut the ham into very small cubes, placing the cubes of fat to one side.
Warm a thick frying pan over a medium heat and melt the ham fat, then add the onions and diced ham. Fry gently, then add the meat and the peeled and crushed garlic cloves. Brown for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
Remove the stalks and seeds from the green Anglet peppers, cut into thin strips, and add to the pan. Mix for a few minutes, then cover and steam for about 20 minutes.
Season only at the end of cooking, with salt and a pinch of Espelette chilli. Keep warm.
Prepare the tacos
Put the flour in a bowl and add some salt. Slowly pour in warm water while stirring. Work the dough with your hands until it is soft and no longer sticky. Cover and leave to stand for about 15 min.
Divide the dough into 8 identical portions. Roll each piece out into a pancake with a diameter of about 15 cm.
Preheat the pan, without adding any fat, and cook the tortillas for about 1 min at medium temperature. Flatten them as soon as they start to swell so that they cook evenly. They are ready when brown spots begin to appear.
Prepare the pepper piperade
Remove the stems and seeds from the various peppers. Dice them very finely and put them in a bowl. Coarsely chop the chervil and cut the gem lettuce very finely. Mix everything together and season with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Assemble
Place the tacos on a flat plate or rectangular wooden board. Place the piperade in the centre of the tacos, then add the veal Axoa on top. Fold the tacos and serve hot.
