One of the premier events of the Truffle Festival for 2014 was the six-course degustation dinner at the Hyatt, matched with a range of Veuve Clicquot champagnes. It didn’t disappoint in any way shape or form.
The menu read like a wishful shopping list of luxurious ingredients:
Cream of Breton artichokes with truffles and fresh water marron
Pan seared Rannoch farm quail breast, Tarago truffle custard, macadamia and puffed quinoa, with foie terrine
Lightly smoked pig cheeks with marinated scallops, black truffle, Jerusalem artichoke, prune and cauliflower
Slow roast Rangers Valley wagyu eye fillet with black truffle celeriac puree and sautéed wild mushroom
King Island Triple cream brie with truffle honey and quince confit
Dessert selection:
Pepper ice cream
Molten chocolate cake
White truffle-pistachio caramel corn and strawberry jelly
The food was incredible and Hyatt’s executive chef Nitin Kumar was pleased with the night, ‘Truffles are very versatile; they combine and work with many different ingredients. The key is to match truffles with other flavours that are not over powering. For example I matched the truffles with artichokes in one of the dishes for the Champagne Truffle Dinner. Artichokes have subtle flavours, so this works well. Truffles can be likened to herbs (they contain glutamic acid, which is a flavour enhancer like herbs, hence they improve any food). They are there to add aroma and flavour, but the flavour combinations need to be carefully considered. For desserts, the truffle flavour can be infused with chocolate, or fruits. For me this is about having fun and being creative with sweet flavours.’
‘All of the Truffles we used for the dinner were sourced from the ACT and surrounding region, at the height of the season – there is no better time to experience truffles. The six courses were creatively designed around the matched Veuve Clicquot vintages and non–vintages,’ Mr Kumar said.
Have you sampled local truffles at the 2014 Truffle Festival yet? There are still plenty of events on and the Festival runs until the end of August.
Information on events can be found at www.trufflefestival.com.au
Loading ...
