Experimenting with the palate the Roman way was quite an experience in itself, says SHAlINI SAKSENA after attending a Chef’s Table
If you believe in extreme adventure, jump into the ongoing Roman Food Festival at Sevilla, The Claridges Hotels and Resorts, New Delhi. The Roman food festival that began on Independence Day and ends on August 29, is different, maybe too different for the Indian palate.
If you are not into experimenting too much, starting from the bottom of the menu — the dessert — would be a good idea.
The menu, curated by master chef Pierluigi Gallo who brings with him traditional Roman dishes, smacks of being done up by a maestro with generations of culinary expertise gathered through family-run restaurants. Gallo has put in all his experience to curate this special menu for patrons which starts off with a soup — green tomato extract served with roasted brinjal and lemon basil on the top.
We Indians love soups, especially vegetarians who don’t drink and want to give others at the table company. When we ask for soup, we expect it to be hot and thick. That’s the way we are. We have been brought up on soups where the ingredients used are very Indian — spices, some daal if cooking a veg soup and definitely a thickener, either cornflour or a root veggie that gives it texture. There are some who go for clear soups and even then, they need them to be spicy.
The green tomato extract is just the opposite — it is watery, room temperature and completely spiceless. A novel experience.
A bit of advise when it comes to starters though. The lamb tartare (raw) with truffle and grilled lamb mayonnaise maybe a delicacy in other parts of the world but here in India, we have just started to get used to sushi. So raw lamb, however, beautifully pounded and served with truffle doesn’t rate high on the menu. For the more arrived palate to get such good quality of meat in India may be a high. The more adventurous can go for octopus with beans and onion sorbet in a sweet and sour sauce.
The next on the menu was something that we are all familiar with — pasta. Go for the ricotta gnocchi with mint and cherry tomatoes confit instead of the spaghetti with green smoked anchovies and dehydrated olives. This is because the latter has a strong fishy smell due to the anchovies.
For the main course, you could go for the veg fair — pan fried Spanish crepes, or lamb chops. Try the Chilean sea bass. The Sous Vide duck breast has a more game-like texture which may not go down well with those who want their meats to fall off the bone.
But it is the desserts where Gallo has excelled. The ricotta creamy chocolate and raspberries was the best dessert on the table. The sourness from the fruit combined with the sweetness of chocolate and ricotta is a burst of flavours in the mouth. Then there is the coconut white chocolate served on a bed of passion fruit.
This dessert is another winner from the chef. The sweet white chocolate with deconstructed coconut macaroons on top makes for an excellent combination and not to be missed.