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Beetroot Deviled Eggs: Recipe

Lauren
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0
Beetroot Deviled Eggs: Recipe

We love devilled eggs and have tried a few versions recently. The most popular of these has been this beetroot deviled eggs recipe, which adds sharp tang and subtle sweetness to the egg whites. The vibrant purple colour makes for an eye catching twist too.

beetroot deviled eggs recipe

Preparation Time: 20 minutes, plus 8 hours standing         /          Cooking Time: 15 minutes         /          Makes 12 halves

Ingredients

  • skin of 1 beetroot
  • 30g brown sugar
  • 30ml brown vinegar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 60g whole egg mayonnaise
  • 4 whole black peppercorns
  • 1/4tsp (2.5g) dijon mustard
  • 1/4tsp (2.5ml) aged balsamic vinegar
  • 1g sweet paprika
  • 6 large (56g) eggs
  • 100ml water
  • salt & pepper to taste

 

Method

  1. Put the brown vinegar, brown sugar, water, beetroot skin, bay lead into a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then immediately move from the heat and allow to cool.
  2. Pour the cooled liquid into a jar, add the peppercorns and put aside.
  3. Cook the eggs until had boiled, about 5 minutes. Let the eggs cool, then peel off the shells.
  4. Put all of the eggs into the beetroot liquid. Ensure they are fully submerged a refrigerate for 8 hours.
  5. Take the eggs out of the liquid. They should be a nice shade of purple.
  6. Carefully cut each of the eggs in half with a sharp knife. Remove the egg yolks and place them in a bowl.
  7. Add to the eggs yolks the mayonnaise, mustard, balsamic vinegar, paprika and salt & pepper. Mix well.
  8. Scoop even amounts of the egg yolk mixture back into the egg whites.
  9. Top with a parsley leaf for presentation and serve.

 

Notes

If you want some more acidity in the beetroot liquid for a more pickled taste, double the amount of brown vinegar used.

Siren Craft Brew: Soundwave

Chris
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Siren Craft Brew: Soundwave

From Siren Craft Brew comes the Soundwave, a west coast IPA clocking in at an ABV of 5.6%. This was found by Paul while in London, United Kingdom.

It’s interesting. It’s definitely got that flatness you would expect from a cask ale. But it’s quite tasty. I think the hoppiness is less pronounced than when it’s out of the bottle or it’s got its usual carbonation, and the flavours are actually more pronounced. I really like it.

– Paul

The Soundwave from Siren Craft Brew was featured in Season One, Episode Nine.

Wiper & True: Triptych #7

Chris
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0
Wiper & True: Triptych #7

From Wiper & True in Bristol in the United Kingdom is the Triptych #7, an American Pale Ale.

It’s very very flavoursome and you can definitely taste those hops there. It packs a punch, but it’s not particularly boozy tasting. Really nice one. Really unique floral flavours.

– Paul

The Triptych #7 from Wiper & True was featured in Season One, Episode Nine.

Moon Dog Brewery: Bad Boy Bubbly

Chris
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Moon Dog Brewery: Bad Boy Bubbly

From one of Melbourne’s most innovative breweries Moon Dog Brewing comes Bad Boy Bubbly, Champagne Barley Wine, although even the brewer acknowledges that this is probably on the edge of what could be called a barley wine. With an ABV of 13.1%, this is the beer that ends most nights. It’s the beer that everyone regrets having, but everyone keeps having on it. On review, this the first time any of us had had it while relatively sober.

It’s like smoking. You know it’s a bad idea, but then you see it and you think, “I’ve got to have one, I’ve got to have one … It tastes the same sober. On the nose, it actually smells quite grapey, but when you drink it, you definitely get that beery flavour. But there are other barley wines I would prefer to this.

– Gareth

Gosh … It’s a cult beer.

– Chris

If you’re having a wedding or something, and champagne is the tradition, I think someone should totally sub this in for champagne and see what the reaction is.

– Jeff

The Bad Boy Bubbly from Moon Dog Brewing was featured in Season One, Episode Nine.

Moon Dog Brewing: Breakfast Of Champions

Chris
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Moon Dog Brewing: Breakfast Of Champions

We are big fans of Moon Dog, and we think they are really one of the most innovative breweries in Victoria. The Moon Dog Breakfast of Champions originated as a brewery bar single keg, however its popularity meant that it wasn’t long until it was more widely available.

Untappd classifies this as an other, but Moon Dog calls it a Bloody Mary Red. Indeed, this is exactly what the beer is – a red ale that contains actual tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, celery, salt & a combination of pequin, birdseye and chipotle chillis. Intense!

It has that tang that you would get from a Bloody Mary.

– Chris

I quite like it. It’s interesting, it’s different… but I won’t feel the need to get another one immediately.

– Jeff

It’s one of those beers where, you taste it and you think: How have they made this?

– Gareth

 

The Moon Dog Brewing Breakfast of Champions featured in Season One, Episode Nine.

S01E09 – Season 1, Episode 9

Chris
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S01E09 – Season 1, Episode 9

PODCAST | In this enormous and unintentionally Moon Dog Brewing-centric episode, Chris finds the best ‘gold’ beer available in a train dining cart, Jeff crashes a birthday party, and guest host Gareth finds a very unique way to describe a barley wine. Paul also calls in from London; as you would expect, he was drinking.

On top of all that we discuss the happy and tempting extremes of hangover food and fearfully try and end-of-night beer at the start of the night.

Featured Beers: Sound Wave by Siren Craft Brew (drank by Paul, live from London), ‘Breakfast of Champions’ Bloody Mary Red Ale by Moon Dog Brewing, Triptych #7 by Wiper and True (also by Paul, still in London), and ‘Bad Boy Bubbly’ Champagne Barley Wine by Moon Dog Brewing.

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Touche Hombre New Menu Launch: Event

Paul
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Touche Hombre New Menu Launch: Event

Touche Hombre Melbourne is one of the established members of the Melbourne Mexican food scene, having survived the passing of the wave of Mexican food that passed through Melbourne to recently celebrate its 3rd birthday. To coincide with the anniversary, the menu was relaunced, with a number of favourties remaining, some old favourites returning and some new options making their first appearance.

The City Lane was invited by Touche Hombre to sample some highlights from the new menu and, seing as it was Cinco de Mayo, to have a few drinks. Despite having been in Melbourne for as long as we have, Touche Hombre is actually one of those places that’s always been on our list but we’ve never tried so we were happy to visit and see what the venue was all about.

touche hombre melbourne review

The interior is fitting for the CBD, laneway corner location of Touche Hombre. Exposed brick and concrete, Mexican inspired street art, and a very decent old school hip-hop playlist combine to make for a funky venue. With all of the exposed brick and concrete and quite loud music you’d think having a conversation would be a problem but surprisingly Lauren and I were able to speak to each other quite easily from across the table.

We noticed some quite thick layers of foam beneath the table and asked restaurant manager Rich Hands if this was for soundproofing. He told us that indeed it was, as when he first took over as restaurant manager the place was far too noisy – between the tables, roof insulation and a few other improvements they were able to get things to the stage where the music could be played loud but people could still hold conversations.

touche hombre melbourne review

Drinks wise things are as you would expect. A range of Mexican beers, tequilas and mezcals along with the usual range of spirits and wines for those so inclined. While the range of tequilas and mezcals isn’t as extensive as that of the other main Mexican restaurant in the CBD, Mamasita, there’s still a lot to satisfy those who fancy a drink.

There are a variety of Mexican cocktails on offer – I went for the Tommy’s Margarita and also tried the horchata cocktail. Both were nice, but the Margarita was my favourite.

touche hombre melbourne review

I also tried a tequila, the Cabo Wabo which, as the waitress (who had a good knowledge of the tequilas on offer for someone who had just started working at Touche Hombre) explained to me, was actually owned by Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar.

It was nice and light and not too boozy tasting, a long way away from the cheap tequila that many drink in their teens and then forever associate with the spirit.

touche hombre melbourne review

Attention has also been given to those who don’t want to drink on the night, with a range of mocktails on offer. Lauren tried and thoroughly enjoyed the Tropical Punch Mocktail – Pineapple, Grapefruit, Citrus, Cranberry & Passion Fruit.

touche hombre melbourne review

The menu contains a range of favourites – the tacos and tostadas that you’d expect for example plus some interesting not strictly Mexican dishes but rather Mexican inspired dishes. As long as it’s tasty, we say experimentation is all good.

Spicy Lamb Ribs With Merquin, Coriander & Honey

The lamb ribs were one of our favourite dishes of the night. They were spicy, but not overly so and the honey was really apparent but not to the extent that it overpowered any of the other ingredients. The lamb was really tender and the fat melted in our mouths. A must try.

touche hombre melbourne review

Fried Chicken With Habanero Cream & Lime

The fried chicken was another winner. This was actually gluten free, as the coating made use of maize flour instead of wheat flour. What this meant was that the super crispy coating had a noticeable corn flavour to it, almost popcorn like. The habanero cream added a subtle kick to each bite and the lime finished things off nicely. A great take on a simple dish.

touche hombre melbourne review

Tacos

The first of the tacos, the Chimichurri chicken with Egmont cheese, toasted pepitas, coriander aioli was our favourite of the two. The chicken was nice and tender and the flavours combined well together. The toasted pepitas added a nice textural element to the taco. There were quite mild however there was a nice range of hot sauces on the table for those so inclined.

touche hombre melbourne review

The second taco was called Mejilla, which literally translates as “cheek”. Accordingly, it was comprised of slow cooked pork cheek, habanero cream and BBQ corn salsa. We were told that this is one of the favourites on the menu. While the flavours were spot on, the pork cheek was quite fatty and, unlike the lamb ribs it wasn’t the melt in your mouth kind of fat. I’d have to go back and try again to confirm if it was just the ones we ate – I’m thinking that the pork that we got wasn’t cooked as slowly as it might usually be.

touche hombre melbourne review

Tostaditos

We were given one of each of the tostaditos on the menu to try:

  • Blue crab / pickled chilli, lime, basil aioli
  • Chicken tinga / mango jam, coriander, chipotle mayo
  • Tuna / candied peanuts, soy, black sesame
  • Pumpkin / cashews, pepitas, jalapeño

We were 50/50 on these. The blue crab and the pumpkin were outstanding however the tuna and chicken tinga didn’t really do anything for us. Probably just a matter of personal taste where the tuna is concerned as neither of us are big fans of cooked tuns however where the chicken is concerned, I think some tweaking is still required to get it right.

touche hombre melbourne review

Strawberry Parfait Sandwich

The dessert featured on the sample menu was the next one however because of Lauren’s nut allergy she was served the strawberry parfait sandwich with dulce de leche. Usually I give her a little “sucks to be you” and proceed to enjoy my superior nut based dessert but in this case, and to my surprise, I actually preferred her dessert.

The strawberry parfait was a kind of light and airy ice cream that somehow didn’t melt at all for the entire time it was on the plate. It wasn’t overly sweet and it was evident that real strawberries had been used. The biscuit was soft, almost cake like and the whole thing really came together nicely.

touche hombre melbourne review

Chocolate, Chilli & Peanut Butter Parfait

While very nice, I was not as impressed by this one. The chilli was not noticeable in the slightest and the biscuit, while tasty, was very crunchy which made it a difficult dessert to eat. There was also something not quite right about the texture of the parfait. Given I’ve just made 3 criticisms of the dessert you might jump to the conclusion that I didn’t like this dessert. Actually, it tasted quite nice it was just the textures that we off. A softer biscuit and a denser parfait would be what’s required for this dessert to hit all the high notes.

touche hombre melbourne review

touche hombre melbourne review

touche hombre melbourne review

On a whole I was glad that I finally made it to Touche Hombre. The space is brilliant and fun, and the service was great (for the first 15 minutes our waitress wasn’t aware that we were there as invited guests so we had the chance to judge service as if we had just walked in). The food contained both hits and missed but the hits were excellent and the misses, apart from the pork cheek, weren’t fatal. I’d be keen to go in again and try a few more of the things on the menu, which says all that needs to be said really.

Touche Hombre

233 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Telephone: (03) 9663 0811
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://touchehombre.com.au/

Open
Mon – Sat: 12:00pm to late

Touché Hombre on Urbanspoon

Creamy Preserved Lemon Pasta: Recipe

Lauren
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Creamy Preserved Lemon Pasta: Recipe

This creamy preserved lemon pasta recipe was something that I created on a Sunday night after neglecting the usual weekly grocery shop. I needed to come up with something quick and easy using only the basic ingredients that I keep in the pantry and fridge. After running through a few flavour combinations in my head, I came up with this tasty dish which I’ll definitely be whipping up again.

creamy preserved lemon pasta recipe

Preparation Time: 5 minutes          /          Cooking Time: 20 minutes         /          Serves 3-4

Ingredients

  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 head bok choy
  • 1/4 brown onion
  • 50g pumpkin seeds
  • 250g fusilli pasta
  • 1 preserved lemon, diced
  • 60ml cream
  • 125ml white wine

 

Method

  1. Boil a pot of water, add a dash of oil and a pinch of salt. Once the pot reaches boiling point add the pasta and cook as per the instructions on the packet.
  2. Add the onion, garlic and bok choy to a frying pan and cook until they become transparent.
  3. Add the preserved lemon, cream and white wine to the frying pan. Bring to the boil then decrease to a simmer.
  4. Once the pasta has finished cooking, add the pasta to the frying pan.
  5. Coat the pasta thoroughly in the sauce then remove from the heat.
  6. Top with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and serve.

 

Notes

You can substitute the pumpkin seeds for pine nuts or toasted almonds if you prefer. It’s the  subtle crunch that you want to add some textural variation.

You don’t need to use fusilli, but you want to be using a pasta shape that holds sauce well.

Longhorn Saloon / 5 Points Deli, Carlton

Paul
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2
Longhorn Saloon / 5 Points Deli, Carlton

Longhorn Saloon Carlton is the newest venture from brothers Will and Mick Balleau, owners of Collingwood’s Le Bon Ton and Richomond’s Chingon. Spread across 2 levels of the space that used to house German restaurant Mutti’s, is actually 2 venues – 5 Points Deli downstairs and Longhorn Saloon upstairs. When the venues first opened an effort was made to keep the menus quite distinct however this resulted in confusion, as what you could order depended on where you were sitting in the venue.

Today, there’s one menu for the whole venue which for the sake of simplicity, I’ll refer to as Longhorn Saloon only. The only real difference now is that the upstairs doesn’t open until the evening.

5 points deli longhorn saloon carlton review

The fit out is reminiscent of Le Bon Ton with good use being made of affordable materials in way that comes together as a cohesive whole. Exposed brick and wood, pressed tin which looks like copper and lights with exposed filaments. It’s both on trend and has the requisite American influences without feeling like it’s trying too hard. Quite simply, the place has character.

5 points deli longhorn saloon carlton review

5 points deli longhorn saloon carlton review

5 points deli longhorn saloon carlton review

The drinks list contains a very decent selection of whiskey and bourbon, along with the usual range of spirits, beer and wine. The wine list was what surprised us the most. It’s very focused and contains only a small number wines, each good quality selections of the style they represent. This approach means you spend less time messing about trying to decide what to have – as you’ve chosen a style of wine that you like, you’re going to get a good one.

5 points deli longhorn saloon carlton review

Moving back to the menu, it’s a sort of steakhouse meets New York style deli meets American comfort food greatest hits. The influences of the Balleau’s 2 venues is immediately apparent when looking at the menu, with a Southern flavour winding its way throughout the menu. In fact, the Le Bon Ton cheeseburger is on the menu and is called just that. The fried chicken tenders from Le Bon Ton also make an appearance on the menu, and of course, there are the steaks.

Fried Soft Shell Crab Po’ Boy ($16.00)

The fried soft shell crab po’ boy contains Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Fresh Dill & Cucumber Tartar Sauce. A good amount of crab is in the sandwich and the ingredients are proportioned well so that nothing overpowers anything else. Held together by a soft roll, it’s comfort food done right.

5 points deli longhorn saloon carlton review

Five Points Deli Corned Brisket Reuben ($16.00)

The rather sizeable Rueben is one of the highlights of the lunchtime menu and is a classic Reuben – Dark Rye, 5 Points Corned Brisket, Sauerkraut, Swiss Cheese, Russian Dressing. There’s no doubting the quality of the ingredients here – the corned brisket is brilliant and I enjoyed the sandwich but I think the proportions could be played around with a bit. Perhaps a bit more dressing or a more pickled sauerkraut. Get that right and this has the potential to be Melbourne’s best Rueben but at the moment I’d say the Rueben from Bowery To Williamsburg has the edge.

5 points deli longhorn saloon carlton review

Spicy Hot Jerk Chicken Wingettes ($12.00 for 12)

These spicy hot jerk chicken wingettes were served with a side of Green Goddess Dressing, the 1970s favourite that seems to be experiencing a comeback of sorts in 2015. The “spicy” in the description is no joke and these things pack quite a bit of heat so the emulsifying properties of the avocado in the dressing are appreciated once your mouth starts to burn. They’re not “oh the pain, I’m dying!” hot but yeah, you get the idea.

5 points deli longhorn saloon carlton review

Creamed Corn & Bacon Grits ($9.00)

This dish was the surprise package of the night. We ordered it without really knowing what to expect and it turned out to be a very good choice. The creamed corn had just the right texture to it – very creamy and full of substance and the bacon grits were nice and smoky, adding a nice taste and textural variety to each mouthful.

5 points deli longhorn saloon carlton review

Smoked Pastrami Poutine ($16.00)

It’s really hard to find proper poutine in Melbourne. In fact, I’ve yet to find poutine that uses ? curd as the best in Canada do. In Melbourne cheese itself is used which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because let’s be honest, cheese is great. The best poutine I’ve had in Melbourne is from Fitzroy’s Kodiak Club and I have to say that the Longhorn Saloon version matches, and perhaps even eclipses that version.

It contains pit smoked pastrami, grilled onions, stringy mozzarella and brown gravy. It’s a ridiculously unhealthy, ugly looking thing that tastes absolutely divine.

5 points deli longhorn saloon carlton review

5 points deli longhorn saloon carlton review

5 points deli longhorn saloon carlton review

It’s impossible to visit Longhorn Saloon and not make comparison to Le Bon Ton. This is not a bad thing as the elements that have come across from ?’s sister venue are the ones that work. Food wise, my comment from the Le Bon Ton review also holds true for Longhorn Saloon. Apart from the Pastrami there wasn’t anything on the menu that I’d say was the best version of that item that I’ve had in Melbourne but all of us at the table thoroughly enjoyed everything that we ate. It’s a space with character, tasty food and drinks, and staff who are are friendly and manage to walk the line between professionalism and fun with ease.

Longhorn Saloon / 5 Points Deli

118 Elgin Street
Carlton
Victoria 3053
Australia

Telephone: (03) 9348 4794
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.longhornsaloon.com.au/

Open
Tue – Sun: 11:30am to 4:30pm; 5:30pm to late

Longhorn Saloon on Urbanspoon

Saint John Craft Beer Bar: Review

Jeff
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0
Saint John Craft Beer Bar: Review

Melbourne is generally recognised as the standard bearer for the craft beer movement in Australia, with an ever increasing range of venues becoming available for the beer nerd in all of us ranging from small bars dedicated to craft beer, to microbreweries serving their own beers, bottle shops with a few taps and large pubs with a strong tap list. However, this does not mean that our brethren from the other states have been standing still, and in fact a side benefit of the proliferation of craft beer venues in Melbourne, combined with our already strong small bar culture, has been its clear influence on the evolution of the scene in the other major cities.

Whilst the list of microbreweries hailing from Tasmania is relatively short, the level of quality has always been good, with Moo Brew having some of my personal favourite beers in all of the categories that they brew in (their seasonal imperial stout is particularly special) and less well-known breweries such as Morrisons and Seven Sheds also producing some tasty brews. However, it has often been lamented that the quality of establishments serving craft beer in the Apple Isle has not been at a commensurate level. In order to challenge this perception I took the opportunity on a recent work trip to Launceston to fire up the Now Tapped app and see what the city had to offer which showed up one venue just south of the main drag, the Saint John Craft Beer Bar.

20150319 - Image 1 (resized)

My first impression was of a very “Melbourne” craft beer bar – the closest comparative would be the recently opened Beer Mash, with beer taps on the wall and a very impressive selection of bottled beers available for consumption in the venue or for takeaway.

saint john craft beer bar launceston

Being 12:30pm on a Thursday the bar was empty besides my colleague and myself so I struck up a conversation with the bartender (Luke Dempsey, co-owner) and on explaining to him by initial impression of the place he took it as a compliment! It turns out that they have taken a lot of their inspiration from the Melbourne scene, having made trips across the strait to Good Beer Week for events at venues such as Atticus Finch and the The Alehouse Project. On this front I would take my hat off to Luke, Ryan and Tim for a job well done – the bar has an excellent vibe with the pipe construction of both the bar and the high benches giving a hip-industrial feel and the set up with beer taps on the other side of the wall from the beer cool room ensuring that the drafts are served fresh from the keg with minimum chance of being affected by travelling through the lines.

A “cool” space is all well and good, but what really matters is the beer right? Well on this front Saint John Craft Beer bar did not disappoint either with the tap list when I was there comprising a solid selection covering a range of styles and nationalities – when the Stone & Wood Pacific Ale is the “stock” beer it is going to be a good day.

20150319 - Image 3 (resized)

No review of a craft beer bar would be complete without a short review of the craft beers themselves – I didn’t have a lot of time to kill before I had to get back to the airport but I did manage to have two beers (having not swotted up on by Taswegian beer terminology I had to sheepishly order a “small” when getting my first beer). It was a somewhat miserable day outside so dark beers seemed called for.

Beer #1 – Dark Hops, by Beer Here

At 8.5% ABV and 85 IBUs this was probably not the right beer to start with having not eaten anything since the night before, but when there is a dark beer by the Danish legends Beer Here on tap it is hard to say no. A black IPA that pours with a light brown head, it had a lovely malty/chocolaty taste that offsets the bitterness quite nicely (as opposed to the very smoky taste of other black IPAs, e.g. the Kooinda Black IPA) resulting in an easy drinking beer that could fool you into thinking it is sessionable – which would probably have been dangerous if I had time to drink a few more of them. Have had before and will definitely have again – 4/5

Beer #2 – Irish Stout, by Morrison Brewery

Morrisons is a local brewery, located just 3km north of Launceston. Their Irish stout was very true to style, dark with a light coloured head, some malt notes and a bitter finish. I must say that I’m not a massive fan of this category of beer (my palate much prefers the American style stouts that have coffee and/or chocolate flavours) so I wasn’t overly impressed. I found this one a bit watery and oddly more bitter than the Dark Hops. Wouldn’t go rushing back – 2.5/5

There is no a kitchen however a local food truck called Eats with Beats turns up on Tuesday to Saturday evenings to provide both food and tunes. They also have a private room called the Barrel Room which can be hired for private functions and also plays host to the regular special events that are held at the bar such as whisky tastings and mini-beer festivals.

The bar has been open a bit over a year now and Luke tells me that the locals have been very supportive of the new venture which gives much hope for the development of the scene in Launceston and Tasmania more generally. If you are either a resident of or visiting Launceston I would definitely recommend giving Saint John Craft Beer Bar a visit, sampling some of their beers on side, and grabbing a few takeaways to enjoy at home.

Saint John Craft Beer Bar

133 St John Street
Launceston
Tasmania 7250
Australia

Telephone: 0424 175 147
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Website: http://saintjohncraftbeer.com.au/

Open
Mon – Sat: 12:00pm to late
Sun: 2pm to late

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