Our first official Seasonal Sunday Lunch!

A beautiful autumn day, sun warming our backs and faces. An eclectic group of guests, never running out of things to talk about. A seasonal feast, stretched out from early afternoon well into the evening.

Sunday 21 April the co-founders held their first official Seasonal Sunday Lunch – it was all we could have hoped for.

The menu swung this way and that up until the evening before, the final product showcasing a fish caught a day earlier and produce from local markets. There was no theme at the start but in hindsight was heavily influenced by the simplicity of the Mediterranean coast and a good dose of fanciful decadence.

We’ll be linking up the recipes at the bottom of this post as they are shared but in the meantime a bit of a peek into our afternoon…

A simple table setting bringing the indoors out to take full advantage of the stunning Sydney afternoon. The elephant quickly lost his spot to make room for the food.

The backyard kitchen garden and roaming chickens reminded us about why Seasonal Sunday Lunch was created in the first place. The wistful look on the dog’s face in no way accurately portrays his ‘toss-the-ball-kick-the-ball-play-with-meeeee’ desperation. Better luck next time puppy!

The meal began with roasted capsicum and red onions, warm olives and carpaccio of the aforementioned fish – all doused with a healthy glug of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and plenty of fresh herbs.

A sliced baguette toasted in the outdoor wood-burning pizza oven served as the perfect base for the antipasti treats.

Course one was a roasted pumpkin soup, plated up production-line style in the kitchen.

The thick, velvety soup was topped with creme fraiche, fresh snipped chives and crisp rounds of pancetta.

The pizza oven was put to work once more to toast up a hearty loaf of sourdough bread drizzled with the ever present olive oil, lemon juice, garlic & herb dressing.

There was lots of this happening throughout the afternoon!

For the main course we enjoyed hand-made gnocchi, half with potato, half with sweet potato. The pillow-y dumplings were prepared earlier that morning and cooked in moments, simply dropped into boiling water, just before serving.

The gnocchi were layered with soft, sauteed leeks, drizzled with olive oil and topped with shards of prosciutto and Parmesan cheese. Two platters on the table allowed everyone to serve themselves – and pick indiscriminately at any orphans left behind.

Sides of broccolini and a fresh watercress and orange salad did the rounds to add a bit of colour to our plates.

And then came dessert. A slab of halva and almond crisps sat along side a ridiculously rich chocolate, pear and red wine tart.

In the midst of final slivers of dessert and sips of sticky the sun set, taking the afternoon warmth with it, but we still managed to decide who would be holding our next two lunches.

To say we rolled home is an understatement, I can’t wait to do it all again… maybe even next month!

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Recipes

• Antipasto: kingfish carpaccio; roasted capsicum & onions; warm herbed olives
• Starter: pumpkin soup; herb & garlic sourdough loaf
• Main: sweet potato gnocchi & sauteed leeks; watercress & orange salad
• Dessert: chocolate, pear & red wine tart

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Let us know when you hold your Seasonal Sunday Lunch we’d love to share it.

 

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