Fresh from the Greenhouse

Organic produce and slow food define the new restaurant,Green House on the Ridge.

Inside the main Olive Bar and Kitchen restaurant in Mehrauli,has been carved out a restaurant within a restaurant that seats 20 people. An open kitchen in this rustic Tuscan set-up (read,dim lighting,wooden furniture and warm ambience) follows the latest international food trend fresh ingredients,organic produce and slow foods. This alcove-like restaurant,called Green House on the Ridge,is managed by chefs Alice Helme and Flora Hilleary,both trained at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland,which emphasises on fresh and organic produce and slow cooking.

This is apparent when one browses through Green Houses menu,which is changed almost daily depending on the ingredients the chefs manage to pick up each day. Even as we ponder over what to order,we are served the amuse-bouche,a tomato-and-pesto soup. This is rather sweet,perhaps excessively so for the beginning of a meal. Though this is a testament to the freshness of the basil,it probably wont agree with the typical Delhi diners palate.

For starters,we order a salad of poached pear and Manchego cheese and a slow-roasted pork belly. The salad is excellent,with the mustard vinaigrette binding together the saltiness of the cheese,the tarty sweetness of the pears and the crispness of the assorted lettuce into a single cohesive dish. The slow-roasted pork belly is accompanied by braised red cabbage and apple sauce. The pork is well-roasted,the meat well-layered with melting pork fat,and the apple sauce illustrates why pork and apples are such a great natural pairing. The cabbage is a disappointment as we were expecting a sort of sauerkraut,whose sourness would have really complemented the dish. Unfortunately it was rather bland and characterless.

After the starters,there is a brief pause while we are served an apple sorbet to cleanse the palate. While an excellent idea and execution,one wonders at the advisability of serving a freezing cold item in the middle of winter,no matter how refreshing it is to the taste buds.

For our main course,we have a rosemary-spiked leg of lamb accompanied by ratatouille and red wine gravy with a side order of Green House chips (essentially potato wedges). While my companion thinks that it is rather sour,for me it is the piece de resistance,though that might be due to my partiality for all things bovine and ovine. A word of caution though,all the dishes have very little amount of salt. While this might be welcome for the health-conscious,the absence of good ol sodium chloride definitely detracts from the over-all flavour of all the dishes. On the plus side,both chefs prove very warm hosts,clearly enjoying their work and eager to share their experiences and knowledege.

Address: One Style Mile,Haveli No. 6,Kalka Das Marg,Mehrauli Contact: 29574444,Meal for two: Rs 3,000 (including tax)

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