Taste This: Pairing Bar Bites with Cocktails at Spoonbar in Healdsburg

In our new episode of Taste This, Leslie Sbrocco is in the kitchen at Spoonbar with chef Patrick Van Voorhis pairing bar bites with cocktails.

Taste This is sharing Spoonbar's featured recipes for Pretzel Balls and Black Rice Chips with Tuna:

Recipe: Pretzel Balls

A new take on pretzels, crumbled, stuffed and fried to make a perfect pairing with Spoonbar's Jailbreak cocktail.
Makes 10 Portions
Ingredients:

Filling
• 1 cup cheese curds
• 1 4-ounce ball of burrata

Dough
• 5 soft pretzels
• 4 whole eggs
• 4 tablespoons butter (cold and diced small)
• 1/2 cup flour
• pinch of espelette pepper

Mustard Sauce
• 1 cup house made aioli
• 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon champagne vinegar
• 1 lemon juiced
• salt to taste

Garnish
• Thinly sliced fried prosciutto
• Finely minced chives

Instructions:
1. To make the filling: Blend the cheese curds in a food processor until crumbly, then add burrata and blend until homogeneous. Shape into small balls (about 1/4 inch in diameter) freeze until solid.
2. To make the dough: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pretzels to make fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, butter, flour and pepper and mix until it becomes one solid ball.
3. To shape the pretzel balls: Portion the dough into 3/4 inch diameter (slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball) Press the frozen cheese into the dough, then re-shape the dough around the cheese. Make sure there aren't any cracks or the cheese will leak out during frying.
4. To cook the pretzel balls: Heat a pan with vegetable oil to 350 degrees. Add the filled pretzel balls and fry until golden. Transfer to a paper lined plate.
5. To make the mustard sauce: In a medium bowl whisk together the aioli, mustard, vinegar and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt.
6. To serve: spoon mustard sauce onto a plate, arrange the pretzel balls on top and garnish with prosciutto and sprinkle with chives.

Recipe: Black Rice Chips with Tuna

A light, Asian influenced take on Tuna Tartare which nicely complements Spoonbar's Dark and Stormy cocktail.
Makes 10 Portions

Ingredients:
Black Rice Chips
• 2 cups forbidden black rice (not wild black rice)
• 6 cups water
• 1 tablespoon salt

Tuna
• 8 oz line caught ahi tuna diced into 1/4 inch pieces
• white soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon ginger juice
• 1 lime juiced
• 1 avocado
• 2 scallions

Instructions:

Rice Chips

1. Combine the rice, water and salt in a saucepan and cook, stirring, over low heat until a consistency similar to a porridge.
2. Constantly stirring will activate the starches until the grains begin to break open and all the water has cooked out (about 45 minutes to an hour).
3. Transfer to a food processor and blend until the rice becomes sticky and only small grains of rice remain.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Spread thinly on a silicone baking sheet and dehydrate at until dry. Allow to cool and break into 2 inch pieces.
5. Heat a pan with vegetable oil to 375 degrees. Add the rice chips and fry until they puff up. Transfer to a paper towel line plate to absorb excess oil. Allow to cool.

Tuna
1. Dice tuna with a very sharp knife.
2. In a small bowl combine the tuna with soy, ginger juice, lime juice and oil to taste.
3. Garnish with your choice of shaved radishes, sliced scallions or diced avocado.