What Would You Do With Lapsang Souchong?

We have already told you about Lapsang Souchong: it is a very special black tea with a strong smoky taste, which for this very reason is very popular with chefs, and is often used in the preparation of tasty and original savory recipes.

Curious to learn more about it? Here is our selection of Recipes with Tea – Lapsang Souchong Special Edition.

Potato, leek and Lapsang Souchong velouté

A warm dish ideal for cold winter evenings. Here is the recipe for 4 people:

• 600 g potatoes
• 1 leek
• 1 cup of Lapsang Souchong
• Olive oil to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Bread croutons

Prepare a cup of Lapsang Souchong tea and keep it aside (to do this, remember: 95° water, 2-3gr of tea infused for 3-4′).

Clean and wash the leek, then cut it into very thin slices. Put a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan and lightly brown the leek slices.

Boil the potatoes and then cut them into tiny cubes. Transfer them to the pan with the leeks and add the tea, about 3/4 cup, the rest you will add if necessary later. Let it cook for about 10 minutes.

Whisk everything together and add some or all of the remaining tea if the consistency is too firm.

Serve the velouté with croutons and, if you like, shred some Lapsang leaves as well to complete the garnish.

Porcini mushroom risotto with Lapsang Souchong tea

An aromatic and tasty first course. Here are the ingredients for 2 people:

• 180gr rice
• 2 cups of Lapsang Souchong tea (about 400ml)
• Dried porcini mushrooms to taste
• Salt to taste
• Garlic
• White wine for blending

Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes. Lightly brown a clove of garlic in a pan with a little olive oil, then add the mushrooms after draining them (don’t throw away the water just yet, you may need it later!).

Cook the mushrooms for about 5-10 minutes, then add the rice, saute and stir for a couple of minutes.

Deglaze with the white wine and, after it has evaporated completely, add the Lapsang Souchong and a pinch of salt.

Cook the risotto and, if necessary, add some of the water previously used to soak the mushrooms to finish cooking.

Finish cooking the risotto with a knob of butter and (if you like) a sprinkling of grated cheese.

Filet with Lapsang Souchong

Here is a second course that you absolutely must try. The ingredients in this recipe are for 4 people:

• 400gr tenderloin
• 4 tablespoons of Lapsang daughters for marinating
• 1 cup of Lapsang for cooking
• 5gr fresh grated ginger
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• coarse salt to taste
• black pepper to taste.

Mix salt, pepper and sugar together and massage the meat with the mixture for a few minutes.

Lay out a sheet of foil and spread the 4 tablespoons of Lapsang leaves on top. Wrap the tenderloin in the foil, making sure to cover it well with the tea leaves over the entire surface, then seal it and let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4-5 hours (longer if you like: the longer the marinating, the more intense the flavor will be).

Preheat the oven to 180°, unwrap the fillet and remove the tea leaves. Cook it on a non-stick pan 2 minutes per side to seal the meat and prevent liquid from leaking out during baking.

Transfer the tenderloin to an ovenproof dish, pour over the tea and grated ginger, and cover with aluminium foil.

For rare cooking, 10 to 15 minutes is sufficient (it will also depend on the diameter of the tenderloin). For medium-cooking, on the other hand, 15 to 20 minutes.

When the tenderloin is ready, slice it and place it on a serving tray, strain the cooking liquid and pour it off.

Blanched salmon with Lapsang Souchong

Salmon goes well with the smoky notes of Lapsang. Here are the ingredients for 2 people:

For the broth:

• 2 salmon fillets (at least 300gr per fillet) already cleaned
• About 1 liter of Lapsang Souchong
• 1 lemon
• Ginger to taste
• 85gr honey
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

For the dressing:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cuc.no of soy sauce
• 1 pinch of grated ginger

After preparing the tea, pour it into a saucepan along with the sliced lemon and ginger, honey and soy sauce. Put the salmon fillets in the saucepan and cook it over low heat for about 5-10 minutes (depends on the thickness of the fillet).

When cooked, dry the fillet with a piece of clean paper. Separately, mix the ingredients for the dressing and pour it over the fillet. Serve accompanied with steamed vegetables or a dressing of your choice.

What do you think of our recipes? Have you ever tried using tea leaves for cooking?

Let us know!