Greek Flavours

Sometimes wanting to eat some vegetables can lead you down some wonderful paths. Alot of attention is shown to proteins, and the poor little veggies always seem to be sat beside like an after thought. I love the flavours, colours and textures that vegetables present. Treated with a little bit of respect and with a little bit of attention they can create a terrific dish all of their own. In this case I chose to make the protein play second fiddle and be the underlying flavour for the veg to shine. The flavours in this dish are largely Greek in nature, making it a great refreshing meal for a hot Australian night. Cauliflower florets, celery batons and diced onions were sweated in some garlic oil with ground coriander seed and finished with a touch of lemon juice. then tossed with spinach basil and mint. Cumin and confit garlic polenta helped to give body and richness and finally a few pieces of pan fried confit pork belly gave a nice crunch.

After such a wonderfully light but satisfying plate, I found myself wanting for something along the same path, so I decided to stay close to the Med and bring out a Zabaglione flavoured with cinnamon and lemon. Mango, apricots and blueberries were telling me they wanted to be under this blanket of Italian flavours, and who am I to argue with such knowledgeable fruits? So I happily obliged........