Casa Iberica - the review

It shouldn't have taken this long for me to put up the Casa Iberica review up...blame slow-moving old media.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/blind-date/story-e6frg8h6-1225872193871

Currently dreaming up the next Global Gobbler menu for a table which is quite quickly reaching capacity.

Casa Iberica - food from a dinner party that never ended

Olives baked in white wine, lemon, rosemary and thyme

Steamed carrots marinated in fennel seeds, coriander seeds, sherry vinegar, orange juice, toasted almonds and mint

Salt cod salad with peppers, tomato, oregano and lemon vinagrette

Patatas bravas - potatoes with ...

Chickpeas with salsa verde

Prawns fried in paprika and served with romesco sauce

Baby cos lettuce with allioli and toasted pine nuts

Chicken slow-cooked in sherry vinegar and brown onion

Almond tart with mascarpone and mandarins marinated in saffron syrup and served with toasted pine nuts

The pre-dessert scene

Guest numbered nine and empty bottles at the end of the evening numbered 11. Is that the verdict of the dinner party right there?

Religion may have featured in conversation...

It was a pleasure and a priviledge to host such a fine group of people.

Reviews of the food and the evening to follow.

Casa Iberica

A meal from Iberica.

There will be olive oil and sherry vinegar. Garlic and onions. Almonds and olives. Rosemary, thyme, parsley and oregano. Potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and greens. Sweet and smoked paprika, cumin, fennel seeds and saffron. Salt cod, chicken and prawns. Oranges and lemons.

Staples of every Casa Iberica.

Dinner will be held on Saturday 10th of April. At my house, which is sadly not on the Iberian coast.

There is limited space left at the table. Email me globalgobbler@gmail.com to reserve a seat.

Paella - the verdict

Yes, the book is called The Body is the Barometer of the Soul. It contains pearles of wisdom such as "Sore hips? Consider your relationship with your father" and "Sluggish digestion? Maybe you should be letting go of old regrets" and my personal favourite "Smelly feet? This may be due to lack of intimacy with your partner. Shower together as a way to grow closer and save water."

Yes, we all left dinner a little wiser.


The Review

I like food, a lot. And I've eaten quite a bit of it in my time. Most of it tastes good, but usually much like something I had last week/month/at an ethnic wedding. This was super yum, and unique. Smokey....tomatoey....not fishy but marinesque somehow. Great textures, popping peas, smooth rice and creamy onion-ness.

The biggest compliment I can give it is that I've never liked mussels before. ever. I ate them all. Plus prawns: heads, brains, shells, spindly legs included. Crunchy and aromatic and somehow disturbing, but fun. Queen of prawns indeed. Superb effort Joel.

Paella - farewell queen of prawns

A dinner to farewell a dear friend as she embarked on a future with no script.

Paella, a fitting farewell.

Oil and salt produced sweet, translucent diced onion and garlic. End of season de-seeded tomatoes were added together with smoky roasted red peppers and lemon wedges. Sweet paprika created a red background to which the real star of the dish was added, saffron, the stigmas of which had been infused in shellfish stock. Rice came next with more of the salty stock and parsley stalks offset the intense orange sunset filling the pan.

As the rice reached al-dente, fresh green peas bounced their way into the steaming pan. And then came the sea creatures: mussels, prawns and baby squid all played a part in lifting a pan of rice into a pièce de résistance.

Parsley to garnish and lemon wedges to serve.

At the table we had a iron woman with quads of steel, a Irish fly-in and out (four hours in Melbourne are always best spent eating in order to avoid 3,500 feet hunger pangs), a guy that can't be trusted in the presence of a smoke machine, a young lady with executive power and Jessamy, the original HLB.

Good luck with the horses, the grizzly bears, the maple syrup and the cowboys.

Verdict to follow.

Paella

Saffron.

Covered the streets of Rome to welcome the triumphant return of the Emperor Nero.

Enjoyed at Roman orgies as a broth to ensure Venus, the goddess of love, could be worshipped, energetically.

The colour of choice for Buddhas robes.

And most importantly, the founding flavour of the Paella.

A dinner party with only one course. Paella.

Sunday 30 March 2010. 7pm.

To reserve a seat at the table, email me globalgobbler@gmail.com