Complaining about the heat and the need to constantly hydrate ourselves is common when the temperatures soar. Looking for coolers and food that soothe the summer irritation? Tuscany, the Italian restaurant at Trident has a new trick to show summer’s bounty and how to make more than one meal or drink out of what we have at our disposal.
The menu as I went through, was all about fruits, vegetables and leaves as far as I could see. Worried about a meatless menu, I asked chef Ameya if Tuscany was going vegetarian. He said, “not at all. There is a lot of non-vegetarian food to eat. However, this menu is in appreciation of all the citrus fruits, the melons and other fruits that nature has gifted us.”
Saying so, he disappeared and I got busy appreciating the fresh melon juice (nothing Italian about it).
In a few minutes came a bed of Rucola leaves with pieces of chicken playing hide-n-seek with saffron and cheese spheres. At first the saffron and cheese spheres resembled coloured water bubbles. The crunchy Rucola leaves with the moist pieces of chicken and the cheese spheres worked amazingly well on the palate. The dressing was light and paired to perfection with the ingredients. As a meal by itself it would be a wonderful idea.
That apparently was an appetiser and was followed by grapefruit, toasted hazel nut along with valencia orange salad. The perfectly appealing-to-the-eye salad in a combination of yellow with fine strands of chilli curls came with a lemon grass dressing. Lemon grass can be pungent but this combination and quantity is sure to hit the right notes. This can be quite a filling appetiser. With the hint of chilli from the strands makes it far more interesting.
By now, Ameya’s explanation of a menu to appreciate nature’s bounty becomes clearer. The chefs are constantly looking at presenting flavours which are closer to our palate and markets to be able to offer the best in its freshest form. This means even making a soup out of freshly squeezed orange juice in the form of sorbet and combined with carrot and fennel puree. No prizes for guessing on this being a cold soup. The menu has other choice to pick if cold soups are not to your liking.
The Fettuccini which was served for main course, with lemon, thyme and gorgonzola cheese would have made me fallen in love with it had it not been slightly bitter. The bitterness isn’t over powering but lasts for a few seconds and leaves no after taste.
For Gnocchi, the plum gnocchi with carrot, asparagus and butter sauce should be a winner, but I loved the toasted sesame risotto with compressed apple, grano padano and microgreens.
The menu as one proceeds to read in details has a variety of fruits in many different ways.
