I had some leftover cucumbers this week and it was snack time. I whipped this up for me and my 3 year old... We both loved it and it was super easy!
The Ingredients:
1-½ whole Cucumbers
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, Chopped
1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
¼ cups Feta Cheese, Crumbled
¼ cups Nuts, Finely Chopped (I Used Walnuts & Pecans)
The Directions:
Cut cucumbers in half, lengthwise, then cut each half again to quarter. Then slice all of these into quarter-inch pieces and put in a large bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients
Sydney’s only sustainable steakhouse creates another food feasting night.
On the eve of Spring the chefs Craig Macindoe and Ben Cooperwho created Duckfest and Porkestrarejoined once again to create an extensive 7 course menu based all around one animal — this time it was lamb. The restaurant was very full showing it's popularity and the kitchen even managed to provide an al a carte menu to those customers dining outside. Apparently MUMU Grill only use Saltbush lamb because they believe that salt bush is a future driven way of farming Australia. It is a native perennial which is drought proof and removes saline from the water table. It adds great mineral complexities to the lamb due to the deep root system and for them creates lamb with a cleaner healthier fat. Lambs grazed on Old Man Saltbush require no drenching which means they are much healthier animals.
Thanks to Craig from MUMU Grill for inviting me to sample their $85 menu appropriately named Lambageddon. It started with the very tasty Lamb Mint and Pinenut Filo Beautiful at the bar which unfortunately I didn't get a chance to photograph but it's a SIMON FAVOURITE :-) — an excellent canape but I'm not sure what the 'beautiful' refers too? The Mezzettes of Lamb consisted of tender chunks of lambs, mild tasting meat balls and a very hot and spicy lamb sausage which would have been great with a beer. The Lamb and Fennel Dumplings with Green Pea Soup and Truffle Oil was a rather grainy textured style soup with a lovely lamb and fennel dumpling inside although I couldn't quite taste much of the truffle oil. I love lamb cutlets and the Mustard Crumbed Lamb Cutlet with Salsa Verde and Lamb Tongue was cooked to my liking and went really well with the tasty salsa verde. The lamb tongue listed wasn't actually a lambs tongue which I was expecting but the chefs tongue in cheek play on words and actually related to the Mache or Lamb's Lettuce used in the salad — these guys certainly have a good/wicked sense of humor.
Tender slices of Jumbuck Lamb Rump with Braised White Beans, Garlic Confit and Cavalo Nero was next followed by an oddly named dish called A "Brick" of Lamb Shank, Smoked Eggplant Puree with Cashew and Mint Relish. I think the previously advertised 'Pressed Lamb Shank' sounded a lot more appetising. It consisted of lovely moist and tender shreds of lamb shank with a slightly crispy cooked outer shell. Complemented well with the smooth eggplant puree and topped with a very refreshing cashew and mint relish with thin slices of green chilli which gave it that extra special nice warm after taste hit. All the flavours balanced so well together and it was definitely a highlight of the night for me — I'd happily have this again. To finish a shared plate of Sheeps' Milk Labna with Poached Fruit and Persian Fairy Floss looked amazing. The flavoursome fruit was poached in apple juice, cardamom, star anise and cinnamon and went well with the mixed nuts. I could see this as a popular breakfast menu item with perhaps some yoghurt and bircher muesli or granola.
Other visits to MUMU Grill: • 29 Mar 2011 - Porkestra The Encore
In place of the highly successful pop up restaurant The Pond now sits this cosy restaurant which thankfully still cooks up some reasonably priced comfort food. The black board specials menu seems to change daily depending on what's in season and much of the sustainable seating and decor has been retained. There's mixed reviews about the food and service on Eatability giving a low score of 6.5 after 10 reviews but my experience has been fairly good. A reasonably priced 2007 Chain of ponds Sangiovese Blend 'Novello' ($36/bottle) is easy to drink followed by a Seasonal produce plate ($20) which has a selection of organic looking carrots, battered zucchini flowers and a vegetarian tart. They're all quite tasty although I've enjoyed the zucchini flowers more at MUMU Grill.
There were no complaints with the Lasagne of Biodynamic veal and free range pork ($18) which seems to tick all the guilt free meat eating boxes and the side of green beans ($5) were nicely cooked. Quite a substantial looking Commons Chicken Parmagiana with fresh mozzarella ($22) went down well and I enjoyed my Pumpkin and pine nut ravioli with brown butter and sage ($20) which contained some of the largest homemade ravioli I've seen since the The Pond. The Crème brûlée ($9) was quite small but smooth and had a nice caramelised top although I wished there was more vanilla bean for extra flavour. Our service was pretty accommodating and down-to-earth. For drinks only head downstairs to the bar at the back but we found it had quite a musty and dusty smell so perhaps not too good for asthma sufferers.
SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Menu changes daily to use the freshest ingredients, Enjoyable dishes at reasonable prices, Quality ingredients, Cosy decor
CONS: Dishes tend to run out quickly during the night, Varying service experiences (see Eatability), Small stool seating quite uncomfortable over long periods of time, Can get busy
MUST TRY: Ravioli with brown butter and sage
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Seasonal produce plate ($20)
Lasagne of Biodynamic veal and free range pork ($18), side of green beans ($5)
Commons Chicken Parmagiana with fresh mozzarella ($22)
Pumpkin and pine nut ravioli with brown butter and sage ($20)
Crème brûlée ($9)
Chain of ponds Sangiovese Blend 'Novello' 2007 ($36/bottle)
Note: After 3.5 years Elysium Restaurant is moving to new premises at The Spot in Randwick around October 2010.
Nice meals and decor
'elysium' - taken from the adjective elysian, which relates to elysium or elysian fields, the place in greek mythology where heroes were conveyed after death; of or like paradise.
The advertised Plat du jour with a glass of house wine for only $20 on the outside chalkboard menu was a tempting enticement to come and check out this nice and comfy looking restaurant. Unfortunately I'd just had a pie previously that day for lunch so the bourguignonne style beef, mushroom and bacon pie with fat chips wasn't as tempting as all the other higher priced menu dishes on offer. The reasonably priced House red wine ($15/500ml) was very drinkable and served in it's own carafe. I really enjoyed the Seared sea scallops ($19) which came with an unusual but lovely tasting caperberry and tarragon salsa, although I felt the large saffron and chorizo risotto fritter sitting in the middle wasn't quite needed — perhaps some cauliflower puree instead would have been more preferred for me.
Crunchy pork crackling was thankfully found on the Twice cooked 'porchetta' style pork belly with honey roasted apple, celeriac puree and calvados sauce ($28). It was a tasty yet heavy dish which sadly left no room for dessert. The nicely cooked Roasted baby chicken breasts ($28) combined well with the sauteed greens, pancetta and chestnuts although I thought the pithivier of the leg meat and black truffle didn't really add anything to the dish. Service was friendly and the decor and seating was very pleasant. I'd be happy to visit again and try other dishes on the menu and hopefully leave room for dessert next time.
SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Nice decor, Friendly service, Reasonably priced plat du jour, Nicely cooked dishes, Reasonably priced house wines
CONS: Some dishes could be quite heavy due to the French cooking style, Menu changes regularly so your favourite dish might not be there the next time, No BYO on Saturdays
MUST TRY:Seared sea scallops with caperberry and tarragon salsa, Desserts next time
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Complimentary bread and butter
Seared sea scallops with a saffron and chorizo risotto fritter and a caperberry and tarragon salsa ($19)
Twice cooked 'porchetta' style pork belly with honey roasted apple, celeriac puree and calvados sauce ($28)
Roasted baby chicken breasts, pithivier of the leg meat and black truffle with sauteed greens, pancetta and chestnuts ($28)
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