French Revolution - RIP 12 January 2008

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Zucchini filled with peas, mint soaked prunes, paprika, ricotta and balsamic caramelised red onion.

Chef Notes
Everyone does stuffed zucchini and I don’t think I really differentiated this enough. The prunes, ricotta and mint combined well but I think the filling needed to be a bit firmer. It still tasted fine and looked good but I felt it was missing something – maybe some roasted seeds – and perhaps a bit more paprika – classic French(?)


S
Lemon roasted asparagus spears resting on a tarragon beetroot mash topped with grated macadamias.

Chef Notes
The taste of the mashed beetroot was so sweet but still had that root vegetable flavour. The tarragon and lemon lifted it from a being too heavy. The roasted asparagus turned out well and I think the grated macadamias were simply a visual addition. Could have almost turned this into a dessert...next time.


M
Nutmeg and coriander flavoured cauliflower and buckwheat fritters topped with a chive and goat cheese spread and served with red capsicum, rosemary and date relish.

Chef Notes
Interesting flavours... The cauliflower gave the fritters a creamy texture and the bite came from the coriander seeds and nutmeg. Perhaps a few more herbs would have freshened it up and also making the fritters a little thinner and crispier would have required less chew action and the toppings could have played a greater role.

D
(1) Figs stuffed with cinnamon ricotta, sage, walnuts and grilled with honey. (2) Fresh fig topped with vanilla creamed goats ricotta and served with frozen sweet and sour pistachio.

Chef Notes
Fresh figs – hard to mess these up and equally hard to improve them! The figs still had some bite so the sweetness of the vanilla cream combined well. It was definitely worth getting the vanilla beans – such a different flavour from the essence and with the lemon zest, honey and goats ricotta…This dish was lucky to make it to the table! Not so sure about the sweet (honey) and sour (balsamic vinegar) pistachios…maybe needed to be grilled instead of frozen? Or else served as a separate dish. The grilled figs were less spectacular but the walnut and sage worked well. Best served cold I think once everything is set.