Travel Through Plates

When a plate of food is put before me, I photograph it immediately. This blog, decodes my favorite dishes. It's a happy blog, as I predominantly show you pictures of the winners, the ones I love,

My Greatest Plates!


Friday, June 4, 2010

Mirroir D'Argentine mind blowing dessert in a secret Swiss glade!

I have sat on this report for some months now! I am torn between revealing and keeping the secret, I choose to relent, in the gastronomic interest and the greater good of my followers.
The secret alpine vistas are taken from the restaurant pointing down the valley, a magical place of natural beauty, it never fails to send the hair up on the nape of my neck.


Here is my beloved Mirror D'Argentine.

Above the glorious Mountain called the Mirror D'Argentine, in Switzerland near Villars Sur Ollons, over looking an alpine cul de sac quaintly named SOLALEX.

The restaurant is named after the mountain that towers over it; when the sun angles catch the peak just right, this glacier carved rock shimmers in the bathed reflection. Nestled at the base: A wonderful gastronomic address, the restaurant called The Mirroir D'Argentine! It is owned and operated by  Lucien, Andre and Martine Jaggi, this is an address to note, recommend and lust over. On a personal note I have been coming here regularly for more than 15 years.

The menu changes daily and features local produce to such a degree that the board might say, salad of wild herbs I gathered this morning from just behind the restaurant, or sauteed wild mushrooms I just picked. On my last visit it was homemade large ravioli filled with nettles and wild roquette. The pasta pillows were opaque thin, and set off by a tomato sauce that was only part of the story. What I love is that these are one time only dishes, they will never be served again. Good for one night only! I will cover two other dishes but I want to stress above all that it is this dessert that makes this place legend and worthy of a serious drive to get there.... but I'm getting ahead of myself.



 Here fresh water perch are simply sauteed with new cabbage and roasted potatos
Rabbit with Polenta is tonight's other special.

As this place is about two hours drive from Geneva and one hour from Gstaad I may as well give you another picturesque reason to visit. Waterfalls anyone?


I travel for food, often I will travel for one dish in particular, last week I called ahead and said I'm coming tonight make sure you have the Mille-Feuille on the menu, verbatim it translates into a thousand layers!

The best I have ever tasted is not in France but here in Solalex! Without further delay let me show you what I'm talking about, here are  pictures of this pleasure, please click on the image to scrutinize up close. Let me take you through this major sweetie!
(please click on the first photo below to see the pastry up close)

 There are four ingredients, the pastry, the unsugared vanilla whipped cream, the creme patisiere and mara de bois strawberries!

I can reveal that the pastry has five turns and is sent through a special machine to work the dough and butter together.

 

The dough is also interweaved with icing sugar to caramelise the layers of cooked pastry. The dessert is put together on order, with the pastry meeting the wet ingredient and food as it leaves the kitchen. More than anything this keeps the whole shooting match crisp. This is a major foody address!

Restaurant



Miroir d'Argentine



Famille Jaggi



1882 Solalex - CH



Tél  024 498 14 46


Fax 024 498 41 20
http://www.solalex.ch/Anglais/index.htm