Glamorous Biteclub setting
I landed in Sydney and quickly made my way to the next Biteclub hosted by Mark, Maria and Sal. These guys always put on a fantastic spread. Just have a look here and you’ll see what I mean. As I walked into their cool digs, Mark was already being the perfect host and had everyone’s wine glass filled. Sal was busy making the last adjustments to the menu and Maria was finishing up with the table decorations. What a team!
A familiar, pungent aroma had saturated the dining and kitchen areas. Mmmm. What was it? Maria explained that she had purchased some Parmesan cheese that day and it would be featured in a few of the dishes. Folks this isn’t your regular store bought Parmesan. This was a Parmesan cheese made from Buffalo milk, similar to the Buffalo mozzarella. I had never heard of it before so was curious to see its appearance in some of the food. Maria had stylishly put together a tasting platter for all, as a bit of a starter. They had grissini, Ligurian olives and of course the Buffalo Parmesan. The cheese certainly lived up to its expectations. Costing nearly the same as a mortgage in Sydney you’d want it to be! Nutty and mellow and very suited with the olives and grissini.
Grissini, Buffalo Parmesan and Ligurian olives
Olives
After a good ol’ catch up we sat down for the first course. Sal had taken inspiration from his Italian aunties and delivered a traditional Italian style menu with a bit of a modern twist. First off, Linguine tossed with fried broccolini , garlic, extra virgin olive oil and finished off with shavings of Buffalo Parmesan.
Broccolini with Linguine
The simplicity of the above dish is phenomenal. I mean how easy is it to throw a few things together and deliver a taste sensation? And really its not that difficult.
Polpette with sugo
After a delicious start and another mini break we proceeded to get ready for the second course. Out came the polpette or meatballs for you non Italian speakers. They were cooked in a sugo, (a rich Italian tomato sauce). Sal had thrown together some veal and pork mince, a few eggs (remember there are 12 of us!), some breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and the star of the evening, the Buffalo Parmesan! Combining the ingredients together he formed the large polpette and cooked them in an Italian tomato sauce. I asked Sal if he fried them first and he said no. Hmmm…more Italian secrets! They were flavoursome, filling and the flavour of the Parmesan was strong with out it being too overbearing. Served with a crisp salad complete with a beautiful Balsamic vinegar form Modena.
Again, the Italians had shown us a thing or two at this Biteclub. I have often said it and I will repeat it again if necessary. Simplicity is really the only way to go with cooking. Too many combinations can spoil food. Relying on a few ingredients and using them wisely is the secret. As we saw, the buffalo Parmesan featured three times tonight and it worked beautifully with the presented menu.
Great job guys!
Pete
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