We celebrated a special occasion at Scaramouche tonight and the food was certainly special. There were a few things I've not had before so it's worth talking about them.
I perked up when I saw Tempura Squash Blossoms on the menu. The first time I had zucchini flowers was in Tuscany a couple of years ago when the cooking class teacher showed us how to deep fry them. They were very flavourful then so I was eager to see how chef Carolyn Reid would prepare them. The zucchini flowers were stuffed with king crab meat and buffalo ricotta which contrasted nicely with the crunchy batter. Have to say that while the combination was delicious, the delicate flavour of the flowers was lost.
But all was redeemed by the Foie gras terrine with sea salt brioche, pickled grapes, maple jelly and sour cherry glaze. The terrine was melt in your mouth delicious.
Tonight's special was Muskovy duck breast from Quebec. The first time I saw a Muskovy duck was at Too Good Pond, spring of 2007 - never thought they could be eaten, or that they would be so delicious! It is a big bird so the breast meat was very thick. It was served medium rare with beluga lentils, crab apple puree, confit carrots, wild mushrooms and pistachio crumble (love the crunch). The beluga lentils was another first for me - looks like caviar but texture is crunchy.
Our other entree was stuffed partridge breast wrapped in bacon with crispy confit legs served with Italian farro, sweet corn and toasted hazelnuts, foie gras jus. This is another winner. The breast stuffed with chanterelles and herbs was tender and moist while the bacon wrap really gave it that extra oomph and crunch. The addition of the crispy and tasty leg confit made this generously portioned dish almost good enough for two. I've never had farro before until earlier this month and now it's the second time in two weeks - I like it. It matched perfectly with corn and nuts.
The raspberry tart with vanilla ganache, raspberry lychee sorbet and pistachio brittle was the perfect ending - simply delicious! Kudos to the pastry chef Lindsay Haddock.
