James Kidman’s Renaissance Table

2011 Nick O’Leary Riesling – Canberra District

Pesci

Mulloway with bottle squid

2010 Mac Forbes Gruyere Chardonnay – Yarra Valley

Carne

Rolled leg of lamb with spinach and pear puree

2008 Antinori Tignanello  Toscana IGT (Cabernet Sauvignon Sangiovese Merlot) – Tuscany, Italy

Contorni

Buckwheat polenta with burnt sage butter
Snow pea tendril and orange salad

Dolci

Dark chocolate semifreddo with peanut icecream

2003 lsole e Olena Vin Santo dei Chianti Classico DOC (Malvasia Trebbiano)  – Tuscany, Italy

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It was a divine menu – the lamb beautifully cooked, the polenta deliciously buttery and, well, what can I say about the yummy semifreddo. It’s definitely worth trying at home. The recipe is reproduced below.

The Sculpture Garden restaurant is a “pop-up” restaurant that operates in conjunction with major exhibitions at the Gallery, and for special functions. It provided a glorious backdrop for Kidman’s beautiful food.

Renaissance closes on April 9, 2012.

For Renaissance tickets and dinner bookings: 132 849 or www.ticketek.com.au

Information about the Enlighten festival: www.enlightencanberra.com

Related blogposts:

Renaissance exhibition, National Gallery of Australia

More recipes from James Kidman’s Renaissance Table

DARK CHOCOLATE SEMIFREDDO WITH PEANUT ICECREAM
Serves 6
Step 1
450 g dark chocolate
95 g butter
Step 2
100 g egg yolks (about 5 yolks)
50 g sugar
Step 3
500 ml thickened cream
Step 4
180 g egg whites (about 5 whites)
350 g sugar
80 ml water
1 tablespoon glucose
Chocolate coating
100 g dark chocolate, chopped
100 g cocoa butter
To garnish
1 sheet gold leaf
To serve
peanut icecream (see below)

To create the frosted chocolate effect you will need a paint spray gun, available from hardware stores.

For the semifreddo:
Step 1: Melt the chocolate and the butter over a simmering water bath.
Step 2: Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until light and pale.
Step 3: Whisk the cream until soft peaks form.
Step 4: Whisk the egg whites until firm peaks form; meanwhile place the sugar, water and glucose in a saucepan and cook on a high heat until it reaches 114°C. Allow the sugar mixture to cool slightly, then
pour into the egg whites and allow them to incorporate. Divide the mixture between six 8 cm moulds and freeze.

For the chocolate coating:
Remove the frozen semifreddos from their moulds. Melt the dark chocolate with the cocoa butter in a bowl over simmering water. Place the mixture in a paint spray gun and from approximately 50 cm
distance spray the semifreddos until completely covered. This will create a lovely outer texture. Return to the freezer until ready to serve.

To serve:
Place each semifreddo on a plate, put a little gold leaf on top of each, using a palette knife or tweezers to give a touch of added elegance.
Serve with peanut icecream.

VANILLA ICECREAM
Serves 6
500 ml milk
500 ml cream
2 vanilla pods, split
12 egg yolks
300 g sugar
Heat the milk, cream, vanilla pods and half the sugar in a saucepan to just below boiling. Stir continuously until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove  from the heat.
Whisk the egg yolks and the remaining sugar together until pale. Slowly pour in the milk and cream mixture and incorporate fully. Allow to cool and churn in an icecream machine.

PEANUT ICECREAM
Serves 6
The crunchy peanut butter gives a delightful texture to this dessert.
1 litre vanilla icecream mixture, unchurned
4 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
Combine the ingredients and churn in an icecream machine.

Recipes from James Kidman’s Renaissance Table. Published by National Gallery of Australia, 2012.