In search of truffles, Daylesford

It was a crisp and windy Saturday morning as Mum and I drove out to Blakeville, about 10 minutes out of Daylesford, Victoria. Our mission: to witness the uncovering of the first truffles to be grown in the area. This is the second year this event has run, but this would be the first year to produce truffles.

As we listened intently to Tim Terry, pioneer Australian truffle grower from Truffles Australis in Tasmania, explain the process of growing truffles, our anticipation began to rise. 

The plantation we were fortunate to be visiting has been there about 4 years and rumour had it today was the day for finding their very first truffle. A few minutes later, with the help of a trusty canine, cheers erupted from the 50 or so of us present. They had found one!

The perfume of the truffle was instantly detectable. The earthy, smokey, unique aroma wafted around on the morning breeze, and became quite enticing.

Following our little truffle search, we headed in to 'Sault' restaurant in Daylesford. I have dined at 'Sault' before, so I knew the food would be incredible, and we were very excited for our first taste of truffle. One look at the menu was enough to know we were in for a treat.

My first taste of truffle left me wanting more. The perfume is so intense, that I was surprised by the subtly of the flavour. But despite being so subtle, there was a definite lingering of flavour on my palate long after I has finished each dish. The taste itself, is indescribable. Being so unique in flavour it is beyond comparison to anything I've tasted before. My favourite dish was the entree. Beautifully cooked scallops, complimented by the earthy truffles, and balanced with the sweetness of the pear and amazing creamy celeriac puree. Still makes my mouth water thinking of it.

This was a lovely way to spend a Saturday, particularly with the winter sun streaming in our corner window, the great company, and fabulous food. And what did Jen think...

Braised Lamb Shanks

This was my first attempt at Lamb shanks, and was meant to be the virgin voyage of my new slow cooker. You can imagine my dismay when I arose bright and early last Sunday morning, recipe in hand, only to find my sweet little slow cooker won't fit six lamb shanks. My poor husband has learned that I do not cope well with unexpected change, particularly in the kitchen. However, with the aid of Google, my trusty Scanpan, and the 'All Recipes' application on my I-phone, we managed to rustle up this dish.
Being that this was to be the birthday dinner for my new father-in-law, I wanted them to be great. I think the outcome was pretty successful. I cooked them at about 150 degrees (Celsius) for about 6 hours, and they resulted in juicy, tender meat that literally was falling off the bones. The gravy was not too rich, but really well flavoured with wine, tomato, stock, and fresh herbs. Served with creamy, buttery mash and steamed green beans, I will definitely be cooking these again.  

Dinner at 'Scorched', Torquay

I have been dying to go to 'Scorched' for months and, thanks to a very generous wedding gift, I finally got the chance last Friday night. This is a fab little restaurant overlooking the Torquay beach. The service was impeccable, friendly yet sophisticated, and thoroughly on the ball.
I think I have mentioned before my love of all foods shared, so the 'grazing' style menu was a perfect option for us. So while enjoying some delicious local sourdough bread sticks with olive oil and house-made dukkah we perused the menu.
Our final selections were as follows:

Grated beetroot, with pistachios and goats cheese - a really fresh dish, with hints of lemon juice and dill, and complimented beautifully by the creamy cheese.

Crispy fried school prawns with chilli salt and lemon (shown above) - we loved these little guys. Crispy and salty and just popped straight in your mouth... divine.

Salt cod fritters with aioli - always a hero, these were no exception.

Fried black pudding with orange and date salad - I was definitely dubious of this one, having the aversion to sweet with salty, and also having had some not so flash black pudding in the past, this one was a real surprise. The pudding was quite nice (not at all gritty), but when eaten with the date and orange salad it gave it a real subtlety, and the sweetness complemented the dish so well, I may be a changed woman.

Little rabbit pies with sweet cinnamon - again with the sweet and salty, these were really good. The meat was juicy and tender, and not that dissimilar form our guinea pig experience, but the cinnamon mix just lifted all the flavours and made these little filo parcels taste quite exotic.

Potatoes, chorizo and garlic - an old tapas faithful, but with some fabulous chorizo with just the right amount of spice to it.

While there were definitely a few challenges for my 'no sweet with salty' I have to admit everything was amazing, and I was really enlightened by some of the combinations.
Of course, what is a dinner out without dessert? Well, being both unbelievably indecisive we shared the dessert board: Chocolate and pear torte, baklava, Turkish delight, honeycomb ice-cream and Persian fairy floss - all good enough to almost put us into a diabetic coma.

'Scorched' has definitely lived up to my expectations; please go there if you get the chance xx

Persian orange syrup cake

I really needed a win in the baking stakes this week, something to lift me from the shame of the uncooked brownie fiasco of last Saturday, and I am quietly chuffed with this little beauty. This gluten free delight is all moist in the middle and covered in a sweet and zesty orange syrup. I should have read the recipe before starting this at 7.30pm last night, as I find it takes a while to boil whole oranges 3 times over, however following that it was a pretty nifty little recipe available here:

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/25079/gluten+free+persian+orange+and+almond+cake

Enjoy xx

Spiced chickpeas with haloumi...A little something of my own

I will whole heartedly admit that in the 4 weeks we've been home I have allowed myself to slip into a lazy post-holiday slump, completely neglecting my poor blog. Somewhere amongst all the friends having babies (all boys), getting back into work, and catching up with family and friends I have had plenty to relish, and selfishly shared nought with you. In the vain hope you won't abandon me completely, and so you know I like to cook as well as eat, here is a little something we rustled up last night. 

This was my first cooking experience with dried legumes (as we are trying to cut down on our rubbush following a film night put on by my ecowarrior husband's gang at Surf Coast Energy Group), and while they required a little more cooking than their tinned friends, I was pleasanlty surprised.

Here you see garlic and onion sauteed until soft, then mixed with cumin, turmeric, chopped tomato, chickpeas and some fresh spinach wilted in at the end. Served with pan fried haloumi, and some crusty Turkish bread it was a delish  and speedy little Tuesday night dinner.   

Ode to the empanada

The British have their pasties, the Italian's their calzones, and South America have the empanada. These tasty morsels have a thick, smooth, pastry wrapped around a variety of fillings. The pastry is quite dense, not flakey or crumbly, and works beautifully to absorb the juices and flavours from the ingredients within. Generally savoury, the selection of fillings is endless: traditional 'carne' (or meat), 'pollo' (chicken), 'queso' (cheese), seafood, crab, ham and cheese, the list goes on. Flavours vary slightly in different regions also. We had amazing prawn and tuna empanadas on Easter Island, an incredibly juicy chicken version in Bolivia (so good I had juice running down my arm), and a variety called Caprese in Argentina containing tomato, basil and mozzarella. Baked or fried, I adore these things. They are delicious, in a wicked way, and are largely responsible for the tightening I have noticed around the waist of my jeans of late. So naughty, but so irresistible.

Dulce de leche

This is just a jar of trouble. This little delight originated when a housemaid left sweetened milk heating on the stove, resulting in this gooey, caramel spread. Served with bread, pancakes, cookies, chocolates, ice cream and flan this is delicious at any time. I'm partial to a spoon or two straight from the jar.