Changing the seasonal style of your food can be just as fun as updating your fall wardrobe. While I was browsing on OTTE I was inspired to create a dish that complemented the tones of the upcoming fall collection.

I channeled my recent visit to the organic farm to create a dish that really showcased the raw colors and flavors of local produce. I thought it would be fitting to make a warm antipasti bruschetta that is a contrast to its summery, raw tomato version.

I used a mixture of roasted, sun-dried and raw tomatoes to create a melange of textures, the grilled Italian vegetables slightly charred for that smokiness, the rich purple waxy potatoes for depth, the creamy mustard mayonnaise to bind everything together, scooped onto crusty bread.

As a fun presentation while entertaining guests, I laid out the ingredients “deconstructed” so my guests can mix and match their own bruschetta.

Ingredients:
Multigrain Baguette, toasted
Italian Grilled Aubergines, marinated in garlic olive oil
Italian Grilled Peppers, marinated in garlic olive oil
Italian Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Pitted Moroccan Oil-Cured Olives, sliced
Roasted Tomatoes in olive oil
Satur Farms Purple Basil
Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, diced
Purple Baby Creamer Potato (baked)

Dressing:
3 tbsp Mayonnaise
2 tsp Seeded mustard
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt and Pepper

Garnish:
Aged Reggiano cheese, shaved

For the carnivores, these would go wonderfully with prosciutto. Serve warm on freshly grilled bread, spread with mustard dressing, combine all chopped ingredients and layer on top.

In the mood to shop for a fall wardrobe? Join me at www.otteny.com/fno !

They bake twice a day, so if you buy bread home after work, it would be fresh out of the oven. Opens til 6pm!

Hearty beef pie (with soft chunks of braised meat) in a flakey pie pastry ($4); Lamb, harissa and almond sausage roll – sensational mix of flavours ($4). Chocolate meringue with a soft gooey centre that my entire office went ga-ga for ($2.20); Chocolate poppyseed stick – two long strips of croissant pastry sandwiched with chocolate sauce, and baked in a crispy poppyseed shell ($3).

Talk about a carb overload for lunch in the office! I think I’m in heaven…

A low fat, low carb meal that tastes so good, for only around 500 calories! Great for serving guests as a sharing plate, because prep time is under 10 minutes.

2/5 pack of Haloumi cheese, sliced in .5cm thickness
100ml organic tomato puree (the chunky kind)
dried oregano
1 clove garlic, grated
1 piece of pancetta

Ronny’s haloumi (garlic reduced to please your loverrrr)

In a small saucepan, add extra virgin olive oil, half of the grated garlic, pancetta and cook til brown. Add tomato puree and dried oregano, simmer until reduced. Season with salt, pepper and a hint of chilli oil. Set aside.
Pan fry haloumi until both sides are golden brown with EVO and the rest of the garlic.
Top with tomato sauce, garnish with basil leaf, serve immediately. ( I removed the pancetta after cooking to reduce calorie count, but you are most welcomed to eat it!)

Mountain bread chips with hommus dip

Cut Mountain bread rice wraps into small triangles, place under grill in oven for 2 minutes. They become crispy chips, which you can serve with hommus dressed with paprika powder and EVO.

Drinks to compliment? Bloody Marys!

Highly recommended! 24 Hickson Road, Sydney (02) 9252 6285 (approx $100 per head including wine)

3 fillets of tuna (I love the Italian variety from Callipo)
Ox heart tomatos, sliced diagonally
1 boiled egg
Purple Shiso leaves, finely shreaded
Mesculin Salad Leaves
Wafu style Japanese salad dressing (Goma flavoured)

Carbohydrates: 8g

Mountain bread rice wrap (awesome stuff) with turkey, salad, hommus and small amounts of avocado spread
Sprinkle the hommus with paprika and a dash of olive oil for much better flavour!

Stay Tuned! We will be right back with the following non-diet messages:

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[edit] Went back for breakfast – Toby’s Estate Coffee (sooo good) and a baguette toast with jam and butter: only $4! Tick again. I LOVE this place. It’s my new favorite place… everytime I imagine opening my own restaurant, it is EXACTLY a concept like this. Get there early to see the dough rising in the oven, and the pastry chefs piping cream onto delectable pastries…

but WOW!

Everything is freshly prepared upon order, the sandwiches are grilled open (I’ve never been a big fan of ’squished’ sandwiches’), with a good variety of bread choices including soft wholemeal foccacia. All the meats are non processed – shaved leg ham, fresh chicken…

I had a chicken, avocado, tomato, mayo, lettuce and cheese sandwich on wholemeal foccacia. It looked like any other sandwich until I bit in. Highly recommended – and you know what? Nothing more than $7… considering the prices that other sandwcih joints charge in the CBD for a hopeless soggy sandwich, for such good quality ingredients – this one is a winner!

Just across the road from the Observatory Hotel:

Splendid Sandwiches

Phone: (02) 9247 2862 (photo source) Check it out

This year’s dinner will reunite four of Banc brightest stars – Justin North (Becasse), Matthew Kemp (Restaurant Balzac), Warren Turnbull (Assiette) and Colin Fassnidge (Four in Hand). Food Hall of Fame winners will receive their awards and their produce will feature in a spectacular six-course dinner that will include two of Banc best-loved dishes.

no menu is complete without autographs from Warren, Colin, Justin and Matthew

the amuse bouche

sweet corn soup with basil veloute

terrine of smoked salmon with pickled cucumber – one of my favorites from the BANC days, but sadly it’s not the same…

Bangalow Pork ‘nose to tail’

Slow roast bavette of Blackmore Wagyu

Apple Jelly with granny smith sorbet (That used to be one of my favorites at BANC too – they got this one right!)

Bread and Butter pudding – not something I usually like, but this one was a winner

The ‘donuts’ have a pippette through them, so that when you eat it, you can squeeze the fruit puree in your mouth. Very cute.

I MISS BANC…

My version of a sausage mcmuffin:

Fresh organic sourdough bread from La Tartine, Beef chevap (Serbian skinless sausages), and one egg – easy over. Best thing? All ingredients totalled under $2.?/EM>鉅iscovered when I couldn’t afford the ingredients to make smoked salmon eggs benedict with a side of avocado.