The Hindu Business Line : Eclectically Mediterranean

I find myself mooning over a chunk of Feta and before I know it, I’m forking out a large amount of money to possess what suddenly seems a small lump of cheese.

It’s easily one of the tastiest cheeses I’ve sampled so far, and the thought of recreating the sharp and salty salads I’ve had in several restaurants serving Mediterranean cuisine contribute to my recklessness.

The most recent such meal is at Azulia in Chennai’s GRT Grand hotel, where Lebanon-born Chef Joseph presides over the kitchen, dishing out a wide assortment of recipes from several countries in the Mediterranean region.

The eclectic, and hefty, menu traverses Italy, Greece, Spain, Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon, and while it doesn’t leave out familiar favourites such as pasta, they’re rather different from what most Italian restaurants in the city offer.

My picks, however, from two visits there, are the Risotto Tortufo Fungi (“wild Italian porcini mushroom and arborio rice with creamy parmesan sauce drizzled with truffle oil”), a most filling Syadyah (fish cooked in brown sauce, rice and nuts and garnished with fried onion) and a zesty dish of tiger prawns.

From the list of starters, I’d recommend the Kibbe Shamieh, where the pine nuts add texture to a blend of minced lamb and spices, Soujok (a recipe from Turkey of sausages spiked with garlic and other spices), and Hummus Azulia with pita bread (an enhanced hummus flavoured with pimentos, chopped parsley, basil, lemon juice and olive oil) for the vegetarians.

The Aish al Saraya is a supremely gratifying confection of ricotta cheese with banana, pistachio and honey but the Fruity Tiramisu left us lukewarm. Probably because tiramisu is no longer an exotic dessert in the metros, and topping it with fruit didn’t seem to make it any more special.

A meal for three, with three starters, three main courses, two desserts and ice-cream, comes to well over Rs 3,000 but then that’s the price one pays for a taste of authentic ingredients and the plush environs that contribute to the experience.

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Eclectically Mediterranean