Archive for April, 2007This weekend I tried my hand at a recipe from World Vegetarian Food by Cecilia Brooks-Brown. It’s called Houby Paprikas, or Mushroom Paprika, and is originally from Hungary. The recipe caught my eye because it uses dill, which I have a major food crush on. I can’t get enough of its fresh, almost aniseed, fragrance or its delicate, beautiful fern-like leaves.
Unfortunately, I don’t have much of a dill repertoire. I either use it in potato salads or it wilts on my kitchen window sill. I’ve always known that such a beautiful herb could really make a dish, but its distinctive flavour and fiddly texture makes me chicken out of adding it to dishes on a whim. Ingredients 1 brown onion, diced Method Melt the margarine in a large saucepan over a low heat. Add the onion and cook until its translucent. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper to taste, then increase the heat and stir. The mushrooms will hiss and pop and lose their moisture. Let this moisture evaporate to concentrate the flavour. The speed at which this happens will depend on the mushrooms. Add the paprika and cayenne and fry briefly until the paprika change colour. Add the sour cream and dill, cook for about five minutes, then serve.
Notes on the recipe
Dill
Read more here, here and here.
V Rating: VVV On a recent Friday night, Andy, our visiting friend, Adam, and I were driving aimlessly between my work and the Eastern Suburbs in Sydney as I tried to think of a new Italian restaurant to try. Sensing that we were literally on the road to nowhere, Andy announced that he was taking us to one of his old haunts: Isabella’s in Randwick.
Isabella’s is a friendly, warm, characterful restaurant. It has the offbeat charm of a local, student-friendly restaurant (if not the prices). The walls are brightly painted, with large mirrors and low-hanging lights. Although the restaurant is in a single room, the area is broken up by sidings and high arrangements of flowers, so you feel like you’re eating in more intimate surrounds. There are even a few tables on the sidewalk outside, overlooking Alison Road and a park. Isabella’s offers six vegetarian starters and six vegetarian pasta dishes. I was impressed that the vegetarian dishes weren’t the standard ‘napolitana’ and ‘mushroom risotto’ options, and looked like some thought had gone into making them. Adam tried the verdura, a vegetable pasta with feta served in either a creamy tomato or basil sauce.
I had the creamy sundried tomato pesto sauce.
Andy tried the arrabiata, a tomato sauce with roasted eggplant and capsicum, chili and garlic. Unlike most of the Isabella dishes, this came without cheese or cream, so seemed suitable for vegans.
Our dishes were large and filling, if not exciting. I love broccoli so was very happy to find a pasta where it was the feature ingredient. I’m not a fan of cream sauces, but mine was light and moderated by the tomato base. I can’t review the seafood side of Isabella’s as none of our party eat creatures of the deep. However, it did occur to me that Isabella’s might be a good choice of venue for seafood-loving families stuck with a rogue vegetarian, given the menu caters well for both. Another bonus feature is that Isabella’s is BYO, and is right next door to a bottle shop with a great range of wines from Australia and overseas. I was really taken with Isabella’s friendly ambiance and left of centre charm. It felt like the kind of place you turn gratefully to on a weeknight or lazy Sunday evening, when you want a pleasant, homely, no strings attached experience.
V Rating: VVV Nothing is more synonymous with Bondi Beach than a sprawling blue sky, breaking surf, and a long stretch of white sand curving from cliff to cliff. But every time I walk by Le Paris-Go Cafe on Hall Street, it’s like a snapshot of a certain idly beautiful lifestyle that’s also contributed to Bondi’s fame. Perhaps that’s why Le-Paris Go has become something of a Bondi institution. On Saturday morning I wandered down for an early morning breakfast. It was already busy, but I spied a stool at bench at an open window and bumped my way through the throngs.
There were people squeezing onto couches, striped banquettes, outside benches and small wooden tables. Adding an appropriately Parisian touch were wall murals of the Palais Versailles and a cheeky looking gargoyle. Dogs waited outside, keeping an eye on their owners sitting barely a metre away. Best of all, two walls of the cafe had long windows that opened completely, filling the cafe with fresh air and letting the outside life in.
Despite the crowds, my coffee came quickly. There was a choice of ten vegetarian options, and plenty of ’sides’ if you preferred to make up your own meal. But I couldn’t go past the breakfast burrito with refried beans, guacamole, scrambled eggs and sour cream. It wasn’t the best breakfast burrito I’d had in my life. I liked the fact it came with a salad but the tortilla was a little greasy, and there was a slight vinegary taste to the refried bean and guacamole filling. But you know what? I didn’t care. With the wind quietly blowing in through the open window, a great soy cappucino under my belt, and soft guitar music playing over the sound system, I was happy. Seeing as Weekend Herb Blogging was so much fun last week, I thought I’d have another go this weekend. My aim was to use up some of the leftover veggies in my fridge. With a thunderstorm brewing outside, and a brown paper bag of sebago potatoes just asking to be eaten, I couldn’t go past a thick, hearty soup.
The question was what to pair with the potatoes. On a whim, I picked up After some quick Internet research I found out that fennel had an aniseed flavour (yum) and there was a strong tradition of combining it with potato to make soup (phew). So with thunder pounding over Bondi and rain streaming down my street I set about making what turned out to be a great dinner. Ingredients 1 fennel Method Cut the leaves and stems off the fennel, and the bottom off the bulb. Chop the fennel bulb into thin strips much like you would a leek. Finely chop the onion. Cut the potato into evenly sized cubes. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Saute the onion until it turns translucent. Add the caraway seeds. After a minute add the potato and fennel and cook for about five minutes. Add the stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer on a low heat until the potato has softened so that it breaks up easily when pushed with a spoon. Put the soup in a food blender and puree. When the consistency is smooth, transfer back to the saucepan. Add the chickpeas and a dash of lemon. Heat for a few minutes until the chickpeas are hot then serve immediately with a sprinkle of cracked pepper on top. Some notes on the recipe
Better the fennel you know So, if like me you’re not a fennel expert, here are some facts:
For more info, take a look at wikipedia, or learn about growing it here. V Rating: VVV This restaurant has a fabulous view over the Labrang Monastery and is right in the Tibetan part of Xiahe town. The food is predominantly Tibetan, but there are also Chinese dishes and western breakfast foods on offer. In terms of Tibetan foods, the options for mains are fairly limited. (However, there is a good range of vegetarian dishes in the chinese section of the menu) I had been hoping for some vegetarian momos (Tibetan dumplings) but they only had the yak variety.
The only vegetarian Tibetan main dish is thukpa, which is a soup with a slightly spicy broth, flat and long noodles, spring onions, green pepper and coriander. The soup was delicious and had a great flavour, although was pretty heavy on the noodles. There was also a range of traditional Tibetan foods made out of yaks cheese/butter, sugar, flour and spices. We tried two types: choozin and tsampa. I found the mix of sweet and salty to be initially a little off-putting. The choozin was served in thin slices and had a taste best described as a mix of milo and salty cheese. The tsampa had a more moderate flavour and was served as soft balls.
Tibetan breakfast foods are also on offer. The following morning I tried a mix of yaks butter, sugar and hot water to make a dipping sauce for thick white Tibetan bread. The bread was nice, but once again the contrast of sweet and salty and the overpowering taste of yak makes this perhaps an acquired taste. The best thing about the Nomad restaurant is really the experience, the ability to sit back whilst surrounded by colourfully attired locals, take in the view, and sip on bottomless cups of chinese or muslim tea (tea leaves with sugar and fruit).Tibetan breakfast foods are also on offer. - Anth from Temporary Dwellings V Rating: VVVVV Xu Xiang Zhai Vegetarian Restaurant is a great place for vegetarians to enjoy an all you can eat chinese buffet. An extensive range of foods are provided from soups, stir fries, casseroles, hot pots and sushi. Many of these incorporate faux-meat substitutes. The buffet also includes asian desserts, soft drink, ice tea, and coffee. It is best to arrive early, as we arrived around 7.30pm and found the selection to be a little luke warm and much picked over by the many chinese diners filling the restaurant. The restaurant itself is nicely set out, with small alcoves lining the side of the room and the buffet presented at the front. Individual dishes can be ordered, in particular cook-it-yourself vegetarian hot pots seemed to be very popular with the other customers. Downstairs from the restaurant, in the cafe, a small selection of vegetarian and organic ingredients are on sale. - Anth from Temporary Dwellings.
V Rating: VVV I didn’t have to be asked twice when some friends asked if we’d be interested in an Indian meal on Saturday night at Darbar on Glebe Point Road. However, I kept my excitement in check because Indian restaurants in Sydney have been one of the great disappointments of living here. I’m sure great places exist, but to date I’ve largely encountered places that have great food and no atmosphere, or lovely decor and unispiring food. That doesn’t stop me hoping to find Indian nirvana but after 3 plus years in sin city I prepare myself for disappointment before trying somewhere new. Despite my pessisism, my first impression of Darbar was positive. The restaurant has exposed sandstone walls and glass partitions, which evokes a sense of history without the dark, squashed interiors of many older buildings. At the sight of the menu, my lips began to smack. There are 13 vegetarian entrees (and the rest of the entree section which follows is just called ‘non-veg’), and nine vegetarian mains. Our friends were seasoned Indian travellers and so we took their advice when ordering. We ended up with a family-sized masala dosa for entree.
For mains, we had the Aloo Ghobi Methi Ka Tuk, Palak Paneer, Darbar Tadhka Daal, and the Gutti Vankai. We also ordered the Darbar Chaat, which is an entree, to accompany the mains. I judge all Indian restaurants by their palak paneer, and on this count Darbar stacked up. The spinach sauce was quite light, and the chunks of paneer were large and tasted fresh. The slices of fresh ginger as a garnish was a nice touch.
What made Darbar stand out from other Indian restuarants I’ve been to in Sydney is that they offer more than the standard Indian fare. I loved being able to have the masala dosa for entree, and the chaat, in addition the standard Indian curries.
Darbar isn’t quite Indian nirvana, but the food and atmosphere are a cut above the average Indian restaurant in Sydney. |
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