April Dinner - Share plates inspired by Ottolenghi

Gastronauts' April dinner was all about share plates, with inspiration drawn from the food served at Ottolenghi restaurant in the UK. Ottolenghi's driving philosophy is that everything is hand-crafted with care and attention, from basic raw ingredients. With 11 people attending, it was our most ambitious dinner yet, but Richard V managed to handle it with casual aplomb.

We all enjoyed the following terrific food through the course of the night:

Aubergine-wrapped gnocchi with sage butter

Broccoli with tofu, sesame and coriander

Okra with tomato and ginger

Cauliflower and cumin fritters with lime yoghurt

Mushrooms with cinnamon and lemon

Grilled barramundi with green olive salsa

Beef and lamb meatballs in tahini

Slow roasted pork belly

Caramel and macadamia cheesecake

Lemon meringue pie

I'd have to say that my favourites were the pork belly, gnocchi and the meatballs, which were a fantastic match with a punchy, flavoursome tahini. As much as those dishes stood out for me, it was brilliant to have such a variety of food on the table.

After all that savoury food, the caramel and macadamia cheesecake was a winner with pretty much everyone. As full as we all were by that stage, it was too good to pass up. Showing no mercy on our stomachs, a cheese plate then meandered around, just in case none of us needed to eat for the next week.

This was also Gastronomy Gal's first trip to a Gastronauts' Supper Club dinner, and you can read her post on the night here.

It was great to see four new faces at this dinner, and we look forward to meeting some new Gastronauts at our next dinner on 28 May 2011.