Malling & Schmidt in the summer
I’m not particulary fond of travelling between Zealand and Jutland, but this summer afternoon was one of those days where you could nothing but love driving through the Danish country side. The wind made the wheat fields look velvety soft and in the fields were the occasional bright red poppy seed flower. Beautiful.
My good mood was of course heavily influenced by our destination: Malling & Schmidt. The restaurant had been on my wishlist for years. Malling & Schmidt recently relocated from central Aarhus to a huge renovated villa on the verge of the city.
The restaurant is at the back of the house. The “wall” between the dining area and the kitchen is made of glass allowing the dinners to enjoy the preparation of their meals.
The look of the restaurant is minimalistic and Scandinavian – no white table cloths, Arne Jacobsen chairs and tree stumps for the ladies’ purses.
Restaurant
Torsten Schmidt in the kitchen
Juniper smoked crisps
“Bakskuld” dip
Our first snack was amazing. Juniper smoked crisps with bakskuld dip. Bakskuld is a salted, dried and smoked dab.
Wood pigeon and egg
Next snack maintained the level. A poached quail egg infused with wood pigeon emulsion. Delicious and sophisticated.
Langoustine a la pres
The first course was langoustine a la pres with crisp vegetables, unripe goose berries, cucumber balls and lobster sauce. Perfect balance, light and fresh.
Hay baked potatoes
Then followed hay baked potatoes, hay smoked egg yolk, capers, brown butter and shredded parmesan-like Arla Unika cheese. Potatoes, egg and cheese – what a fantastic course! So simple, but so tasty.
Tatar of summer deer
Summer deer in disguise. Tatar, herbs from the forrest and sauce made from deer and black currant. Incredible deep flavour in the sauce, notes of liquorice and clean meaty tatar.
Pork
Taste of Danish summer nights bbq: Greens, pork tenderloin topped with spareribs, potatoes, pickled currant and sauce.
Cheeses
Asparagus
Another summer ingredient Malling & Schmidt style. Unripe strawberries, white asparagus foam, liquorice and tarragon. The asparagus actually tasted like white chocolate. It worked really well with the liqourice notes and the strawberries.
It was a fantastic meal from start to finish. The staff was dedicated, efficient and professional, the food was wonderfully well executed. Nordic cuisine at an amazingly high level.
Visited: June 2011
Estimated price: 995 DKK
