This autumn enjoy Mediterranean flavours with Mövenpick Resort Kuredhivaru Maldives’ innovative menu ‘Pesto, Pistou’

With the launch of Mövenpick Resort Kuredhivaru Maldives’ latest global menu – ‘Pesto, Pistou’, international guests and local residents are invited to savour the flavours of the Mediterranean, this autumn.

For a brand synonymous with culinary excellence for over seventy years, the expert chefs at Mövenpick have perfected a new and innovative variety of pesto’s (Italian) and pisto’s (French) to create seven experimental dishes, available at Latitude 5.5 throughout October 2019, marking yet another gastronomic triumph.

Head of the culinary team at Mövenpick Resort Kuredhivaru Maldives, Chef Deden Permana will lead the kitchen in the preparation of the Pesto, Pistou-based dishes. Both of these two classic European sauces are based on the late summer harvested aromatic herb, basil. Seared Ahi Tuna with olive and eggplant pesto and seafood soup with tarragon pistou will be savoury favourites. For dessert, served alongside a frothy Mövenpick Espresso, a sweet treat with a true difference – Bundt cake with chocolate mint pesto.

“We are excited to work with these luscious basil-based sauces, introducing them to guests in ways they have not likely experienced before,” said Chef Deden, Executive Sous Chef, Mövenpick Resort Kuredhivaru Maldives. “The seasonality of using pesto and pistou is important to us, as basil is traditionally harvested in late summer and preserved into these rich, oil-based sauces that are full of colour, flavour, and healthy omega-3s – perfect for brightening up our cuisine, and our spirits, amid the cooling weather.” 

Maciej Gruszecki, General Manager, added: “While our guests and our local fans love to return for their favourite classic Mövenpick dishes, we always seek to surprise and delight with innovative seasonal offerings, or special food-related events. We are certain that our Pesto, Pistou menu will excite the palates of even the most experimental foodies while providing a fitting send-off to summer with a tribute to the flavours that conjure up the Mediterranean sun and sea.” 

Pesto and pistou are two versions of a flavourful sauce based on basil, olive oil and cheese. Italian pesto, which originates in Genoa, the capital city of Liguria, Italy, is blended from garlic, basil, pine nuts, grated pecorino cheese (or sometimes parmesan) and olive oil while its French cousin, pistou, is a Provençal cold sauce with similar ingredients, but without the pine nuts and with or without cheese.

Mövenpick’s versions add new surprising ingredients to the blend while preserving the essence of both Mediterranean speciality sauces to create seven pesto, pistou-inspired dishes: 

• Ahi tuna with olive and eggplant pesto: pan-seared yellowfin tuna fillet with a modern interpretation of ratatouille, pine nuts and black tapenade; 

• Seafood soup with tarragon pistou: a touch of tarragon and a unique blend of sweet aniseed and mild vanilla bring this   seafood dish to life; 

• Tagliolini with walnut-basil pesto: walnuts replace pine nuts to create an imitable new pesto blend that is smooth, sweet and deliciously buttery; 

• Black cod with pesto rosso: accompanied by risotto, made from aged Acquerello rice to absorb every ingredient and flavour in full; 

• Beef fillet with red cabbage pesto: a traditional winter vegetable, with a sweet edge gives this pesto dish punch; 

• Corn-fed chicken breast with bell pepper pesto: with peas, snow peas, egg, a basmati rice galette and sublime bitter-sweet yellow-red pesto; 

• Bundt cake with chocolate-mint pesto: a timeless German cake with a cool mint and rich chocolate pesto twist, served with a Mövenpick Espresso. 

For more information on Mövenpick’s Pesto, Pistou menu, available throughout October 2019, please visit movenpick.com/pesto.