Thursday, September 13, 2012

Baked Mediterranean Vegetables - Chef's Signature recipe from Twenty.21

Baked Mediterranean vegetables with light tomato and cheese sauce- Mediterranean vegetables like olives, crougettes, peppers tossed in tomato sauce and topped with white sauce and aged cheddar cheese and gratinated in oven

Ingredients
For the Baked vegetables

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red capsicum, chopped
2 zucchinis, sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp tomato pasta sauce
2 tbsp white sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
¼ teaspoon salt
2 small aubergines, cut into 2.5cm chunks
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil (extra)
50g vegetarian Parmesan, finely grated

For the White sauce
2 cups milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp vegetarian Cheddar, coarsely grated
1/2 tsp white pepper powder

To make the white sauce, melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pan and stir in the flour.Cook for four to six
minutes over low heat till fragrant. Whisk in the milk till smooth. Cook for 4-5 minutes, Stirring
continuously, till the sauce thickens.Add salt and white pepper powder and mix well. Add grated cheese
and mix well. You can cool and store this too.


Preparation

Heat oil in a saucepan and sauté onion, capsicum, eggplant and zucchini until soft. Add mushrooms and sauté for 1 minute. Stir through pasta sauce, basil and salt. Heat through. Add 2-3 tbsp white sauce. Pour mixture into a oven proof casserole dish.  
Sprinkle it all with the Parmesan cheese and bake in a moderate oven, 180ºC, for 30 minutes or until
golden and bubbling. Serve with garlic bread and salad.

I was invited to review "Twenty.21" which is famous for its European and Mediterranean cuisine!

As the world grows more digital, borders blend, horizons flatten, degrees of separation become
tighter and we all see ourselves in a global melting pot. With experiences from the Spanish coast to
the Mediterranean seas, the European continent has some wonderful culinary traditions to offer our
palate. Twenty.21 brings you a veritable medley of European cuisine that transcends borders – all
thanks to the immense love that we have for continental food today.
From the smoked ham, to the use of organic vegetables, to stuffed poultry, to melting mozzarella
pizzas and finally to mouth-watering fresh pasta, They offer everything your taste buds could
desire.

Parveen Kumar - Executive Chef - Continental Kitchen (Twenty.21)


Chef Parveen Kumar started his promising career with the Oberoi Group of Hotels. His career
spanned 4 years of working under the supervision of a Michelin-star awarded English chef.
He then moved to London to work as sous chef in a top seafood restaurant within Sheraton Hotel.
He also worked with the legendary Chef Pascal Proyart – listed as one of the top 10 chefs in the U.K.
– specializing in contemporary French fine dining and seafood. Chef Parveen then tried his hand at
molecular gastronomy as well before finally zeroing in on his skills as a continental food specialist.
He is truly the master of his culinary domain.

These are some of his other Signature recipes which he had prepared for us with lots of care!

Watermelon and feta cheese salad-Chilled slices of watermelon layered with feta cheese, mint and extra virgin olive oil and finished with balsamic treacle



Apple and beetroot salad with rucola and goat cheese-Roasted beetroot, green apple and goat cheese tossed in redwine vinegar dressing and topped with rocket lettuce and balsamic reduction


Roasted pumpkin and rosemary soup with crème fraiche-Soup made with oven roasted pumpkin and rosemary and finished with sour cream. This soup have very little amount of cream unlike other soup.
 
 
Cream of broccoli with toasted almond-Fresh broccoli soup has a good flavor of broccoli which is well complimented with the nutty flavor of almonds
 

Assorted bread basket

Starters I picked up from the Buffet table for my daughter- Corn fritters!

Mushroom and Risotto croquettes with creamy tomato dip


Mushroom duxelle with garlic bread-Chopped mushroom cooked in white wine, cream and Parmesan cheese served with garlic bread

Med platter veg-Assorted dips from Mediterranean region (hummus, babaganoush, tomato onion relish, guacamole) served with freshly made pita bread

Gnocchi with sun dried tomatoes, pesto and cream-Freshly made potato gnocchi tossed in pesto sauce, sun dried tomatoes and olives

Baked cheese cake with fig compote-Cream cheese cake baked in oven and flavoured with lemon zest (slightly) and served with fig compote

Tiramisu-Classic Italian dessert which is layered with mascarpone cheese, khalua and coffee.
 
These desserts are served during lunch buffet !

Treat to the eyes:)
 
This one is for me and my daughter:) 

The Decor and Ambiance is kept simple and elegant.


Twenty.21 has Awesome food  which one should definitely try. The prices are very reasonable and the best part is the food right from breads, salads, to soups everything is served very fresh. Being a vegan I had many choices and did not feel like I was compromising.  For more details on the restaurant visit http://www.orangetomato.net/