[Recipe] Perfect for Spring Sake! Spring Vegetable Sake Lees Gratin

The season has arrived when sake shelves are colored in pink!

Available from around February to April,"Spring Sake" often comes in pink labels that evoke cherry blossoms, making your evening drinks in spring even more enjoyable.

While there is no clear definition for "Spring Sake," many have lovely flavor profiles—fruity and sweet, cloudy (nigori), sediment-rich (origarami), sparkling, or sweet and sour. Some are even pink, made using red yeast or red or black rice.

And such spring sake pairs perfectly with the flavors of spring!

Although the flavor of spring sake varies greatly depending on the brand, it generally pairs very well with strawberries! Here is a pairing of the sweet and sour cloudy sake "Atagonomatsu Harukoi" (Niizawa Sake Brewery/Miyagi Prefecture) with a strawberry shira-ae (tofu salad).
I matched the sweet and sour notes of the sake with the strawberries, and paired the texture of the cloudy sake with the tofu dressing.

And, as an opposite approach, pairing it with the bitterness of wild mountain vegetables is also recommended.

The slight bitterness of wild mountain vegetables and canola blossoms goes well with sweet and fruity spring sake. It is a pairing where the sweetness and bitterness neutralize each other. Pairing is actually more fun when you combine contrasting elements rather than similar ones!

And this time, I will introduce a gratin recipe that is perfect for spring sake.

This is a recipe I introduced at a cooking class in April 2021. The sake lees gratin made with spring ingredients and the fruity, moderately sweet "Azumatsuru Mebuki Usunigori" (Azumatsuru Sake Brewery/Saga Prefecture) is a pairing I personally love!

Spring Vegetable Sake Lees Gratin

[Instructions]
1. Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Trim the tough ends of the asparagus, peel the bottom third of the stalks, and cut into thirds. Cut the bamboo shoots into bite-sized pieces.

2. Place 1L of water, 1 teaspoon of salt, sugar (not listed), and the potatoes in a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and simmer over low heat for 6-7 minutes. Once the potatoes are tender, drain them. Heat olive oil in a frying pan, add the potatoes, asparagus, and bamboo shoots, and sauté quickly over medium heat. Sprinkle with a little salt (not listed), cover, and steam over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Remove the lid, sauté briefly, and remove from heat.

3. Heat butter in a frying pan. Once melted, add the rice flour and sauté briefly, then add the sake lees and sauté. While stirring well with a wooden spatula, add the soy milk little by little. Add the white miso and dissolve. Once thickened, season with salt, add the ingredients from step 2, mix quickly, and remove from heat.

4. Sprinkle pizza cheese over the heat-resistant container from step 3, bake in a toaster oven until browned, and garnish with parsley.

Cooking Tips

・If you don't have white miso, you can substitute with 1/2 tablespoon of regular miso.
・Using canola blossoms instead of asparagus is also delicious!
・If using an oven, bake at 220°C for about 12-13 minutes.

Pairing Tips

With a refreshing, slightly sparkling sensation, a fruity aroma, and a sweet flavor, this sake is perfect for ingredients that sprout in spring. Because of the mellow creaminess of the cloudy sake, it pairs well with sake lees. If available, using fruity Daiginjo sake lees is even better.

This gratin goes well with all kinds of spring sake, so please give it a try!