Last night's Formal Hall began with Tarte Fine of Aubergines and Mushrooms with crisp sorrel and Parmesan. The base for this starter is layers of filo pastry and fresh tyme that is gently baked until crisp.
The mushrooms, onions and aubergines are grilled with olive oil and then sat atop the filo pastry. The parmesan shavings are gently melted over the top and then we garnish with sorrel and garlic flavoured balsamic, yum!
The main course was red pepper crusted salmon with risotto. The rice was mixed with chorizo, paprika, red pepper, basil and creme fraiche- very Mediterranean and colourful.
Sorry, no photo of the veggie main course! I have asked so hopefully we'll see some shortly. It may have looked something like this...
Last night's sweet was Warm Chestnut Cake with Chocolate Sorbet and Butterscotch Sauce. I don't think it's necessary to say anything further as the picture says it all.
To finish the meal we served a cheese course featuring Brie de Meaux, the King of Brie. Brie de Meaux is originally from the Notre Dame de Jouarre Abbey. In 1793, Lavallée made his praise:
"The brie, loved by rich and poor, reached quality before we did not imagine possible."
All in all, a pretty decent Formal Hall!
On egin!
Reacted to by many as the finest formal hall this year at Pembroke, Last night's was an optimally-balanced, tastefully presented, and gastronomically-generous reward for the palate. The aubergine tartine started off the evening sumptuously, holding nothing back with its subtly melting tastes, held together beautifully by the classic Filo. The main-dish risotto complemented the king of dinner fishes with absolute magnificence, crafted together with sagacious hints of paprika and chorizo. Let's see if this fine Spanish embutido garners with time a bigger presence in Pembroke's cuisine! The sweet dish, as throughout the past week, proved elegant and sublime, yet nevertheless effortlessly consumable, as the drizzling butterscotch and the sumptuous sorbet paired together magnificently against the tender dryness of the chestnut torte. The Tellicherry pepper did the trick for the magnificent Brie de Meaux, seated royally upon the pedestal of perfect croutons...
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