Monday, March 17, 2008

Eating in Spanish















E
Gazpacho: tomatoes, red and yellow bell pepper, Spanish onion, cucumber, garlic, basil, mint, chives, flavoured with orange, red wine vinegar, lemon and olive oil served with walnut and rosemary buckwheat flat bread.

S
Orange flavoured rocket topped with crispy prosciutto, sliced figs, roasted almonds and mint then topped with manchego cheese and nutmeg

M
Baked tortilla of kipfler potato, fresh peas, black olives, caramelised red onion, paprika, lemon rind and basil cooked in a saffron aioli.

D
Frozen orange shell filled with chilled cinnamon, lemon zest and pine nut ricotta and served with basil and honey baked figs.

The guest for this menu has already been chosen - fitting that I repay my Spanish conversation partner with some food in exchange for her having to put up with my stunted and 'muy corta' attempts to converse... The review will be coming shortly - in Spanish I am told...

Don't despair though, another menu will be posted shortly. I am feeling some Asian inspiration on the way so email me globalgobbler@gmail.com with your name, age, favourite food and why I should cook for you and you may score an invite to the next Gobble.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Global Gobbler guest #5 - Remy-M

Name: Remy-M
Age: 31
Occupation: Teacher as well as a protector of Indonesian monkeys
Favourite food: Apples
Why she deserves the Global Gobbler experience: Well, i'm never going to get to Afghanistan to sample the produce so maybe this will make do?

The Verdict

The presentation was effective. The aromas were balanced and the plate was full of colour. I loved the merging of sweet corn and earthy parsnip and spicy cumin, almost too much (!) but saved by the fresh coriander – perfect balance on the palate! The condiments were not required but were perfect all the same – a tasty jam and thick sour cream.

The three citrus rinds gave this a marmalade-y flavour without the overpowering sweetness. And what a yummy salt! The almonds could have been a bit less finely chopped – and my first, and definitely not last, experience with metallic nigella seeds.

And this is where Remy's review ended...a combination of the hot sun and beverages consumed the evening prior were to blame - and not, I am promised, my cooking! My housemate enjoyed the toils of my hours in the kitchen but was hesitant in providing a photo.

So you will have to rely on my completely biased chef notes!

And the final comments from Remy: "When I asked Joel what they ate in Afghanistan he kept on telling me goat. There was no goat but I didn’t mind at all! Osama would be proud of you Joel. Thank you. Remy xo"