With so much focus by food writers,  be they bloggers or journalists,  on the latest food trends we tend to hear a lot about the  “it”  cuisines and restaurants.   In case you were wondering,  Mexican was the flavour of the month,  but it is now giving way to a slow but steadily growing love affair with a number of South American cuisines.  With all of this chatter going on it is easy to forget that really good Italian is exactly that -  really good.   A visit to Osteria La Passione will soon remind you why Italian food should still hold a place in our gastronomic hearts.  In the hierarchy of Italian eateries the osteria comes after the trattoria which comes after the ristorante.  Osterie are traditionally where one would go for a good cheap feed. Don’t be misled by the humble appearance of Osteria La Passione though,  there is some seriously good food being served in this tiny Richmond eatery.  It is the first venture of chef Carmine Constantini.  Born in Italy he worked at Caffe e Cucina,  Stefano’s and the Tea Rooms at Yarck before going it alone.

There is no menu for the six course dinner that changes daily which,  along with the simple fit out,  reminds me of Torrisi Italian Specialties in NoLita NY.    The guys behind Torrisi will be in Melbourne for the 2012 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and will be worth seeking out.   Don’t be surprised if the table next to you receives different dishes – each party’s six courses is personalised to accommodate any food preferences or dietary requirements.  At $75 per person,  it may challenge some people’s idea of cheap,  but not mine because the quality of the food is impeccable,  all meats are cured in house,  the olive oil is to die for,  the house-made bread is unlimited, the tables are well set with good drapery and cutlery,  and the service is effortlessly professional and thoughtful.   There is a small wine list of mostly Italian and Australian options,  but you can BYO for $20 corkage a bottle.   I suggest you dust off something good from home if you have it – it’s worth it.  Our red was expertly decanted and allowed to breathe until we were ready for it.

Our meal started with cured ocean trout with fennel, shallots and picked rocket leaves.  It was a simple elegant dish with perfectly balanced flavours.  All four plates on our table looked like they had been licked clean so good was the olive oil and blood orange dressing – perfect for being mopped up with the excellent house bread.

Next a sformattino with broccoli.  With a texture somewhere between a souffle and a quiche this was truly a sublime dish.  Richly flavoured and beautifully cheesey, it was still light and airy and offset well by the fresh tomato sauce.  More please.

A dish of house-made salsiccia with green lentils may not be overly pretty on the plate, but each mouthful was wonderful.  The lentils were perfectly cooked and the salsiccia is something I would go back for.

No Italian meal would be complete without a pasta course.    We had trofie al pesto.  I spied pappardelle with a rich ragu at a nearby table and almost had food envy,  until I tasted the pesto.  It was everything I hope mine is whenever I make it.   Vibrant green and packed full of flavour,  I really enjoyed the pesto but thought that the dish needed pepper.   I saw a grinder sitting atop the glass cabinet that housed the smallgoods and politely asked a waitress if I could have some pepper.   This small request certainly set the cat amongst the pigeons (so to speak).   The waitress I spoke to disappeared into the kitchen,  then reappeared flanked by other staff who were all looking at me anxiously.   Concerned that it may have been the waitress in question’s command of English that was causing confusion,  I repeated my request to another member of the floor staff.    No immediate response was given but the pepper grinder was fetched and I soon had some speckled on top of my trofie.   “We don’t normally do this”  I was told.    I respect a chef’s wishes to not have salt and pepper on the table,  many people thoughtlessly season the food presented to them without first tasting it.   However if I have tasted my food and then determine I want pepper and can see the grinder, it should not be too strange a request.    If you don’t want people to ask for it – put it out of sight!   It was the only hiccough of the night, and a minor one at that.

When you have really good quality ingredients, they should always be allowed to speak for themselves.  Such was the case for the roast pork belly that came out next.  It was unctuous, but in a good way, and I simply do not know how the skin could have been any crisper.   Accompanied only by a little cavolo nero, it was a dish that relied on flavour not pretension.

At this juncture we should have been served dessert, however, the staff recognised that we still had red wine and asked if we wished to have an additional course of cheese to go with the wine.  Turophiles that we are, the only answer was yes.   The cheese plate included; a taleggio, a semi-hard 24 moth aged cow’s milk cheese that was lovely but the name escapes me, a pecorino with truffle, another pecorino with honey and a hard goat’s cheese.   They were served with slightly charred bread and an assortment of condiments, including a fabulous home made quince paste.   For me the truffled pecorino with a drizzle of honey and some walnut was hard to beat.  If you have never tried cheese (best options are a hard cheese or a blue) with truffle and honey – do so the first chance you get, you will not be disappointed.

Now it was time for dessert,  and you do not get much more quintessentially Italian than tiramisu.   Not having a particularly sweet tooth I normally shy away from this page of the menu,  but I was pleasantly surprised by the light touch that this classic dessert had.   As with everything it is all about balance and it was spot on here – not dominated by sweetness,  or coffee, or alcohol it was luscious and light all at once.

Osteria La Passione is a delight to dine at.  The things it does well are the things that really matter – quality ingredients,  honest dishes with amazing flavour and good service.    If you go,  be prepared to be at the chef’s whim – the food isn’t rushed and the tables are not turned over,  so expect to savour things and take your time.   Which can be a little uncomfortable on the old church pews and hard back seats,  but I will happily forgive them this and look forward to turning to see what chef Carmine Constantini feels like cooking next.

Osteria La Passione

486 Bridge Road, ?Richmond
9428 2558
Tue – Sat 6pm-10pm

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One of the things I like most about food is the way it brings people together.  Food’s ability to be shared and form part of the social fabric of life is central to my ongoing passion for it.   Countless occasions and important events are marked and defined by what people eat and drink at them.    I am at my happiest when I cook.  It’s one of the ways I tell people they mean something to me.  Whether it’s a simple omelet for The Beloved on a Sunday morning,  a fresh and fast weeknight meal for a few friends or a carefully planned and balanced dinner party,  I am in my element in the kitchen;  chopping,  prepping,  cooking,  stirring,  tasting,  plating.  Give me a special occasion to cook for and,  well,  it just doesn’t get any better!

Last weekend I went to a birthday soiree for a friend.    It was one of those birthdays that end in a zero.   Quite the milestone.    An accomplished and adventurous cook,  she will be spending her actual birthday weekend dining in some rather fabulous restaurants in Sydney.    But her clever husband decided a milestone doesn’t really feel like a milestone unless the celebration is shared,  so he put the word out to her nearest and dearest and told her she was having a little party!   To help her acclimatise to the idea and stop her from doing too much at her own party,  I was asked if I would mind doing some finger food.  “Mind??!!”  I replied,   “I would love to”.    Here is what I made.

Smashed broadbean tartlets with ricotta and chorizo

Cook young broad beans and baby peas until just tender.   Roughly mash with a for,  season with lemon juice and pepper and stir through some ricotta.   Served in my rather rustic looking shortcrust tart shells and garnished with red garnet amaranth.  Doesn’t get much easier.

Mini papadums with tandoori chicken and mango

These use potato papad.  Still crispy and crunchy and wafer thin like pappadums made from rice or lentils or chickpeas,  but made from potato.  No messy deep frying,  the microwave works a treat to cook them and is obviously more health conscious.  Topped with some grilled chicken that I marinaded in tandoori paste and yoghurt and a mango,  coriander and chilli salsa and you have a mouthful of yum.

Goat’s cheese crostini with beetroot and blood orange marmalade

Lightly toasted sourdough,  a brush of extra virgin olive oil,  a smear of ashed goat’s chevre and a spoonful of beetroot marmalade.  It tasted surprisingly good for my maiden effort.  In a saucepan mix two medium beetroot finely diced,  one pink lady apple finely also finely diced,  a cup of fresh blood orange juice,  a generous tablespoon of honey,  about half a teaspoon of cinnamon,  some grated ginger and a few cloves.  Bring to a gentle boil then turn back down to a simmer and forget about it for an hour.  The liquid should almost be gone and the beetroot getting a slightly sticky consistency.   Not at all a fan of the tinned beets of my childhood,  when beetroot can taste as good as this,  I am an easy convert.

Red curry fish cakes with pineapple relish

I love these fish cakes.  A bung it all in the food processor recipe that is yet to fail me.  You can check it out here.   It evolves every so often,  this time with the accompaniment of a simple pineapple relish.  Quarter of a pineapple,  cored and chopped,  two red chillies,  1/4 cup each of rice wine vinegar,  water and white sugar.   Fifteen minutes on medium heat,  let cool, then pulse in the food processor until its chunky.   I served them with thick slices of cucumber.

Asparagus “cigars” with white anchovy cream and jamon

Fold a sheet of filo in half and brush one end with anchovy cream (made by combining 4 good quality anchovies,  1/4 cup cream, pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice in a mortar and pestle),  layer a piece of jamon or prosciutto – I halved my slices lengthwise,  place a blanched spear of asparagus on and wrap up.   I got two “cigars” from each sheet of filo and sealed the ends with a little brush of olive oil.  In a 200 degree oven for 8-10 minutes and you are done.

All in all,  not a bad offering.    The birthday girl followed my little starters up with a mouth watering pork curry.   The meat melted in your mouth,  there was just the right amount of heat and spice and the addition of Vietnamese and pea eggplants gave an extra burst of flavour.    I’m going to want to eat that one again.   To finish,  she recreated the mango meringue birthday cake from the cover of the 10th Birthday edition of Delicious Magazine.  She more than did it justice – it was delicious.   Happy Birthday Lan!

NN

Hobba Coffee and Kitchen has just opened in what was an old tyre store on Commercial Road in Prahran.  It is the newest venture from the team behind Willim – a very nice little espresso bar hidden just off Glenferrie Rd in Malvern.  Hobba is far more spacious and has clearly had a lot of thought go in to the design.  It all but screams cafe cool.  The wide glass concertina door opens into a vast semi-industrial looking space – brick walls, concrete floors, pale wooden benches and (replica?) Xavier Pouchard Tolix chairs and stools.  Whilst I could appreciate the look, the imbalanced heating and metal under the derriere meant it was not a comfortable place to be on a 7 degree Melbourne morning.

Hobba pitches itself as having a notable focus on coffee, understandable if you know anything about Gerrick Numan, but what lets them down is the delivery and knowledge of the floor staff.   They may need to address this before starting to roast in house (they currently use Five Senses).  On the morning we went there was an espresso  blend and a single origin to choose from for extraction from the Synesso, or three single origins if you wanted filter.   We started with a long black and a cafe latte.  The long black came out with a nice crema and balanced flavour, but it came out alone.  It is not that hard to serve a table of two their coffees at the same time.  Really it isn’t.  Even when you are busy.  The flavours that were well rounded in the long black unfortunately didn’t carry through the milk of the latte.

On the food front we ordered the Baked Eggs and scrambled eggs with sides of spinach, bacon and mushroom.  Both dishes were okay but disappointing.  The Baked Eggs (cooked with black beans, chopped tomato, red onion, bacon and Persian feta) came with one egg really runny, whilst the other had its yolk cooked all the way through.   It sounded promising on the menu, but lacked seasoning and was barely tepid.  Maybe that’s why it came with hot sauce.

Crusty Dench toast, well cooked spinach and nicely smoked bacon would have you think this simple dish was going to be a winner.  A lonely half a mushroom made for an expensive side, and scrambled eggs that you would be forgiven for thinking came from a hotel bain marie brought the dish back down.  More coffee was in order to pick things up a bit.  I was keen to try one of the suggested filter coffees but wanted to hear what the staff had to say about the various flavour profiles before making my choice.  Our original coffees had been finished and cleared long ago, but no-one thought to ask if we wanted another round.  The floor staff were friendly but did not seem to be coping with the pace of the morning, which was busy but not frantic.  When I finally caught someone’s attention and asked about the filter coffees, I got lots of “ums” and “ahs” and “that’s difficult to describe” and was eventually told to go and ask the barista.   Armed with the information I wanted I had to head back to the table to order and again struggled to get someone’s attention.  I finally did and ordered a strong latte and an Ethiopian Nekisse as a filter.  The obliging waitress, who had cleared our breakfast plates a little earlier, then asked us if we would like to see the breakfast menu.

The coffees came out individually again – at least five minutes apart.  They were good though.  The “strong” latte managed to cut through the milk and the Ethiopian Nekisse was lovely – blueberry notes dominate and there was a fresh citrus acidity to balance the well rounded sweetness.

I wanted to like Hobba.  I really did. But I left feeling let down.  It will no doubt do well – the location and style of the cafe will see to that, but it is somewhere that could be great – if it able to lift its game in a few areas.  Newly opened places always deserve time to settle in, so I won’t give up.  After some time has passed and they have had the opportunity to find their feet, I will venture back and see what they have become.

Hobba
428 Malvern Road, Prahran
(03) 9510 8336

Hours
Mon-Sun 7am–5pm

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She is the fourth generation of one of Spain’s premier food families and one of only three women at the helm in a Michelin three star restaurant.  She lives in a city famed for its innovative and avant garde cuisine and can transform cutting edge ideas into dishes that still impart a personal touch.  She is “…always thinking about food.  It’s always about the food.”  She is Elena Arzak.

In town for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Langham Masterclass (quite the coup for this year’s theme – Women of the Kitchen), Elena shared her thoughts, “inspirations, aspirations and restaurants” at an intimate evening at The Press Club.  Elena was not cooking, which was the only downside to what eventuated in a truly enjoyable evening.  The man who created the eight course menu and was at the pass for the night was George Calombaris.  Considerable thought and effort went into the dishes, with menu tasting happening for a full month leading up to the event according to Angie Giannakodakis (restaurant manager).  The “intimate” part of the evening referred to the conversation about food, family and being female with Elena led by Matt Preston and supplemented with input from Shannon Bennett and Phillippe Mouchel.  Elena was charming.  Her answers, thoughtful and relevant.  At times humourous and at others, humble.  I surreptitiously scribbled a few notes in the hope of remembering more than just a few words, but it was hard to tear myself away from the food.

I really enjoyed the menu, both for the individual dishes and the progression of each to other to form a well balanced degustation.  Some courses espoused the deconstruction of well known Greek dishes that has become Calombaris’ signature, but with others he took a different path and played more with influences from other cultures.  In a manner very similar to the Thorsten Schmidt dinner, we started with some snacks.  This time taramosalata potato crisps and anchovy paximathi.  The paximathi won me.  The crunch of what I would describe as the Hellenic version of grissini and the salty hit from the anchovies went beautifully with the Raventos i Blanc de Nit Cava Brut Rose.  This Catalonian wine is superb, I will be looking for it again.

The next course was my favourite for the evening.

TUNA – feta brined watermelon, white bait, wasabi

Itsas Mendi ‘Txakoli’ Hondarrabi Zuri 2009, D.O. Bizkaiko Txakolina, Gernika, Vizcaya Basque Country

I want to say it was a triumph of texture and taste, partly because I like the alliteration but mostly because it was true, but I fear it will sound altogether too pretentious, so let’s just pretend I didn’t!  The brining of the watermelon gave it a textural feel akin to that of the tuna, but it somehow retained the unmistakeable crunch of watermelon.  The two together worked brilliantly, and it a long time since I have had such perfect whitebait.  Sitting atop the watermelon was one of the more interesting flavours of icecream I have had.  Not quite as mind challenging as wood icecream, but no less fitting or flavourful.  It was wasabli and feta.  The wasabi was perfect for the tuna, and feta with watermelon has long been a favoured combination of mine.

On to one of the more playful presentations

SPAM – of pork, lettuces, white peach

Chateau Pierre-Bise ‘Roche aux Moines’ Chenin Blanc 2007, Savennieres A.O.C. Loire Valley, France

This reminded me of the SPAM fritters Heston Blumenthal made in his 1970s inspired Feast, but it looked nothing like his plate of school dinner, nor could I taste any truffles!  The little spheres of peach puree and balls of what I am fairly certainly were deep fried pork fat complemented what was essentially a type of terrine.  I am curious as to where the original contents of all the SPAM tins went…

RABBIT – dim sims, miso melizanosalata, toursi

Domaine de l’Arjolle ‘Sarabande’ Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2009, VdP Cotes de Thongue, Languedoc-Rousillon, France

These are certainly not the dim sims that the local fish and chips chop of my childhood made a living from.  Which is, quite frankly, a good thing.  Served in their own whimiscal Press Club dim sim bag and wrapped in pastry made using a recipe that George got courtesy of the Flower Drum, these moist rabbit morsels could have comprised the entire course but they didn’t and the rest was just as good.  The miso melizanosalata is the luscious looking puree at the bottom of the plate above.  Here, again, Mr Calombaris is playing with Asian flavours in traditional Greek dishes, and to stunning effect.  It was silky smooth and perfect against the pickled vege (toursi).  Accompanying this array was the loin, which I unfortunately found a little dry, and the mini crumbed bit, which was moreish.  Terrible description “crumbed bit” but schnitzel is German and cotoletta is Italian and I wasn’t sure of the Greek.

AVGOLEMONO – quail,crab, chicken and duck

Yarra Yering ‘Blanc de Noir” Pinot Noir 1996, Yarra Valley, VIC

You would be forgiven for thinking there was a lot going on in this dish.  I want to say it worked, but the jury is still out.  On the night Matt Preston sang it’s praises, but I think that some of the subtle flavours got lost amongst the fray.  Avgolemono is a traditional Greek egg and lemon soup.  This version had crab and tapioca pearls through the chicken broth and a slice of quail breast.  I barely noticed the crab and felt that the quail was out of place.   The duck was not in the actual soup.  It was presented, with appropriate theatricality, on a plate covered with a glass cloche swirling with smoke.  Cloche lifted, wafts of smoke filled the air and before us – duck crackling.  A bit like the pork crackling that is so very very bad for you.  The duck crackling was a nice textural contrast to the soup, and on the whole I didn’t dislike the dish,  but I didn’t love it.

The last of the savoury courses was

LAMB – bastouma, cherry, fennel, pollen

Domaine Mercouri ‘Antares’ Avgoustiatis Mouvedre 2006, Ilias, Peloponessos, Hellenic Republic

I have never left The Press Club Hungry and this night was certainly going to be no exception.  This “best end” lamb was deliciously tender, moist and really really filling.  Quite a rich dish, the fennel puree and cherry jam worked well together with the bastouma.  I couldn’t finish it, but that may have been because dessert was still to come.

SANDWICH – sesame seed, tahini, liquorice

Campbells ‘Liquid Gold Classic Rutherglen Toaque’ Muscadelle NV, Rutherglen, VIC

But before dessert, “pre-dessert”.  That decadent little something that is sent out to pamper you and tease your taste buds before the main sweet treat.  Perfectly matched to the accompanying muscadelle, these just bigger than bite size sandwiches of tahini semi-freddo between sesame crisps made me realise that for someone who claims not to have a sweet tooth, I do rather like luscious morsels such as these when done well.

FRUIT – variations & expressions, peppered yoghurt

Braida Brachetto d’Aqui D>O>C>G 2009, Piedmonte, Italy

If I was sufficiently sated before the lamb, by this stage I was all but done for.  Fortunately the different expressions and variations of fruit were exactly the light and refreshing end to the meal I needed.  I cannot remember all of the different treatments given to the array of fruit but I enjoyed all of them and the peppered yoghurt.

Throughout the evening the conversation with Elena and the other chefs elicited some wonderful insights and opinions.  There was a discussion on why Spain appears to be number one for food and whether France can come back or if Scandinavia is now the stronger contender.  Both Phillippe Mouche and Shannon Bennett were (unsurprisingly) firmly in France’s corner and believe there are good places in France unknown because they do not seek the tourist dollar and focus on Cuisine du Terroir (the direct translation of which is food of the earth but should be taken to mean cuisine covering regional specialties with a focus on local produce).  Fittingly there was also some time given to the subject of women in the kitchen.  Women are everything in the Basque country that Elena calls home and Restaurant Arzak is quite the matriarchy, yet here the story is different.  Shannon has 65 chefs and only 10 of them are female.  The why wasn’t really uncovered which suggests to me it is a topic deserving of more attention.

The “intimate” conversation only seemed really staged a few times and the flow of ideas, particularly from Elena definitely added to my experience of the evening.  They talked about running restaurants in a more intelligent way and agreed that there are similar qualities that make a top restaurant, a certain je ne c’est pas.  Ultimately though, food is still food.

“If you want to be really good at what you’re doing, do it with passion and love”  Phillippe Mouchel

“Food should be humble and relate to every single person”  Elena Arzak

“You can spend hours perfecting a dish in restaurant but everything is stripped back when your three year old refused to eat and throw their food at you”  Shannon Bennett

George mingled at the end of the evening chatting happily to the table I was on.  I can’t help but wonder if the smile would still be there had he known I was a food blogger!  As a final thought I will leave you with the responses from the three chefs to the question of what was the most important thing they learnt in the kitchen:

“Respect. And loving your work”  Elena Arzak

“To be patient”  Phillippe Mouchel

“Treasure every moment”  Shannon Bennett

And their thoughts on the future of food:

“You need to know where everything comes from”  Shannon Bennett

“Will depend on your staff”  Phillippe Mouchel

“..is about the product and it evolving all the time.  Everyone will still like to eat”  Elena Arzak