Mudbrick Restaurant lives on a gorgeous vineyard of the same name in Waiheke Island, New Zealand. Overlooking rows of gnarled, green grapevines, full, fragrant bushes of lavender, and a glittering bay, the rustic, brick dining room really gets you in the mood for food.
Allow me to introduce the Taste of Waiheke Lamb, served with Lemon Thyme Polenta, with a saffron fennel rouille, and spring onions. Clearly, our little lamb was a former neighbor, and I'm guessing the same goes for most of the herbs and veggies, which also included baby carrots, roasted cherry tomatoes and sprouts. A "rouille" is a traditional French sauce meaning "rust," a nod to its color, with a mayonnaise-type consistency. It's typically made with olive oil, egg yolks, bread crumbs, garlic, saffron and chili peppers, and usually accompanies fish. Here, the chefs at Mudbrick have once again put a new twist on an old classic, and traded the chili peppers for the more anise-flavored fennel, and paired it with meat as opposed to something fishy. It worked! The lamb was pink, rosy and perfect, married well with the rouille and the veggies, and of course the dollop of foam that adorned it.