ArchiveAugust 2008

In the words of Lady Eve Balfour “Food is my subject so it concerns everyone”. Even those people who profess to have absolutely no interest in food have to eat.  Food is the fuel that nourishes our bodies, gives us strength and keeps us well. So the quality of the food ought to be of interest to each and everyone of us.  In an ideal world our food should be our medicine, providing the essential minerals and trace elements that our systems need for energy, vitality and the ability to concentrate.

For millions of people food is also their livelihood, over a third of the population are involved in primary or secondary food production, farmers, fishermen, restaurateurs, butchers, and marketers are all a vital part of the food chain.

At this point in history food production is at a cross-roads, the cost of fossil fuels is rising, there are food riots in over 30 countries world wide, the Word Trade Organisation policy has a major impact on how we proceed.

Despite our favourable growing conditions in Ireland, a small island off Europe can’t hope to compete on economies of scale with rising production costs.  The future prosperity of our farmers and food producers lies in producing the finest quality food that can guarantee a premium price.

Food with a story, we need to identify the breed, the feed, the variety, the pasture, the whole provenance.

Irish food will need a USP (Unique Selling Point) to compete. In a country that exports over 80% of its beef we need to ask ourselves, why should a consumer pay more for Irish beef .  The confident answer will need to be ‘because it tastes much, much better’, there will need to be a guaranteed ‘wow factor’ so we can justify a premium price.

I’m convinced we can do it but it may mean evaluating some of our present systems, flavour comes from breed and feed but that’s just part of the picture.  The slaughter process, the method of hanging and ageing are crucial to the quality of the finished product.

It all costs money. I like the system used by Tim Wilson at the Ginger Pig butchers shop in Borough Market and Moxton St in London.  All meat is dry aged and customers can choose whether they would like their rib of beef, for example, hung for 2,3,4 or 5 weeks and pay accordingly.  The customer is being educated to realize that ageing enhances both flavour and texture, but the extra time involved costs the butcher money so they need to pay more. When the end result really delivers flavour Ginger Pig customers are more than happy to pay for the oomph.

Tim Wilson is just one of the many delegates who think outside the box and will be in Waterford contributing to a work shop at Terra Madre on Friday 5th September 2008 in Waterford.

Terra Madre, a ground breaking event, will explore the future of sustainable food production in Ireland.  Terra Madre, hosted by Slow Food Ireland is predicted to be the most important food policy event in Ireland in 2008.   It is a gathering of food producers, together with chefs, scientists, academics, medics, policy-makers, writers, manufacturers, food enthusiasts and the general public from the 32 counties and a variety of world-class keynote speakers.

Slow Food Ireland is part of the Slow Food international movement which was set up in 1989 to help local producers compete with the mass advertising of processed foods by the major multinationals.  It promotes good, clean, fair, food, locally produced where possible. www.slowfoodireland.com  Terra Madre is an event none of us can afford to miss, we all need to make our voices heard.  Mark September 5th in your diary right away

Meanwhile visit the Terra Madre website and contribute your opinion to the blogs on over 50 food-related topics. www.terramadreireland.com 

Hot Tips

Sweet Corn

This is the time of year when Catherine and Vincent O’Donovan set up stall on the side of the main Cork to Innishannon road to sell juicy sweetcorn.   They are open every day and hope to have sweetcorn for the next two months.  Also available in Super-Valu in Bantry, Clonakilty, Carrigaline, Kinsale and Midleton, Superfruit in English Market and some farmers markets around Cork. Freezer orders also taken, contact 087-2486031

 

Castlefarm Cheese –

Congratulations to Peter and Jenny Young on the launch of the first Kildare Farmhouse Cheese – Castlefarm Cheese is Gouda type cheese – Castlefarm Natural is a plain milky cheese and Castlefarm Shamrock is a nutty flavoured cheese made with Fenugreek, both are covered in a distinctive green wax.  Available at Castlefarm Shop and Jenny’s stall at Athy Farmers Market on Sundays – www.castlefarmshop Tel 059-8636948 jenny@castlefarmshop.ie

Irish Seed Saver Association, Capparoe, Scariff, Co Clare

Forthcoming courses – Making Herbal preparations – Saturday 6th September. Introduction to Beekeeping – Saturday 13 & Sunday 14th September, Commercial Orchards – Wed 17th  September .For More Courses/Workshops 2008 click http://www.irishseedsavers.ie/course.php  Tel 061-921866

 

2nd Annual Harvest Festival in Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim 13 & 14th September

Email:harvestfeast@googlemail.com  www.harvestfeast.ie   www.greenbox.ie 

 

 

Pasta with Chanterelles, Tapenade and Flat Parsley
 

I just got a basket of freshly picked chanterelles – delicious

 

Serves 4-6
 

225g (1/2 lb) Penne, Conchiglie or Farfalle

4.5L (8 pints) water

1 tablespoon salt

25g (1oz) butter

225-450g (1/2 -1lb) chanterelles or a mixture of wild mushrooms

Salt and freshly ground pepper

120ml /4fl oz double cream

2-3 tablespoons Tapenade – see recipe

4 tablespoons snipped flat parsley

 

 

Bring a large saucepan of water to a fast rolling boil, add salt and pasta.  Stir and cook until al dente.  Meanwhile, gently wash the chanterelles under cold running water.  Trim the base of the stalks and discard.  Slice the mushrooms thickly.

 

Melt the butter in a frying pan on a high heat.  When it foams add the mushrooms.  Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Cook on a high heat, the juice will exude at first, but continue to cook until the chanterelles reabsorb the juices.  Add the cream and bubble for a few minutes.  Stir in the Tapenade.  Strain the penne and drain well, put back into the saucepan, add the sauce.  Sprinkle on the flat parsley, toss gently, turn into a hot bowl and serve immediately.

 

Tapenade

2 ozs (55g) anchovy fillets

3½ ozs (100g) stoned black olives

1 tablespoon capers

1 teaspoon mustard

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Freshly ground pepper

2-3 tablespoons (37ml) olive oil 

Whizz up the anchovy fillets (preferably in a food processor) with the stoned black olives, capers, mustard, lemon juice, and pepper.

Alternatively, use a pestle and mortar. Add the olive oil as you whisk and process to a course or smooth puree as you prefer.

Serve with: Cruditees or Bruschetta or Crostini with Lamb, Pasta..
Shanagarry Beef Stew

A good gutsy stew which can be made in large quantities – it reheats and freezes brilliantly.

Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1.35kg (3 lb) well hung stewing beef or lean flank

2 large carrots cut into 1/2 inch (1cm) slices

285g (10 oz) sliced onions

1 heaped tablespoon flour

150ml (5fl oz) red wine

150ml (5fl oz) brown beef stock

250ml (8fl oz) homemade Tomato Purée, otherwise use best quality tinned tomato -pureed and sieved

175g (6 oz) sliced mushrooms

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

salt and freshly ground pepper

Trim the meat of any excess fat, then prepare the vegetables. Cut the meat into 4cm

(1 1/2 inch) cubes. Heat the olive oil in a casserole; sweat the sliced onions and carrots on a gentle heat with a lid on for 10 minutes. Heat a little more olive oil in a frying pan until almost smoking.  Sear the pieces of meat on all sides, reduce the heat, stir in flour, cook for 1 minutes, mix the wine, stock and tomato puree together and add gradually to the casserole. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and cook gently. Cook gently for 2 1/2-3 hours in a low oven, depending on the cut of meat, 160C/325F/gas mark 3. Meanwhile sauté the mushrooms and add with the parsley to the casserole, 30 minutes approx. before the end of cooking.  Serve with Polenta, mashed potatoes or noodles and a good green salad.

Foolproof Food

Tomato Purée
 

We make lots of homemade tomato puree at the end of the Summer when the tomatoes are really ripe – it’s brilliant to have in the freezer for tomato soup, stews, casseroles etc.

 

900g (2 lb) very ripe tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

a good pinch of salt and a few twists of black pepper

Cut the tomatoes into quarters, put into a stainless steel saucepan with the onion, salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar. Cook on a gentle heat until the tomatoes are soft (no water needed). Put through the fine blade of the Mouli-legume or a nylon sieve. Allow to get cold then refrigerate or freeze.

Note: Tomato Purée is one of the very best ways of preserving the flavour of ripe, summer tomatoes for winter. Use for soups, stews, casseroles etc.

 

Fresh Sweetcorn with Marjoram
 

Fresh sweetcorn just quickly cooked and served with butter and sea salt is hard to beat, or try this delicious variation with marjoram.

 

Serves 6
 

 

6 ears of corn, preferable freshly picked!

salt and freshly ground pepper

30-50g (1-2oz) butter

1-2 tablespoons annual marjoram freshly chopped

 

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add salt.

Peel the ears of corn, trim both ends, drop into the water.  Cover the saucepan and bring back to the boil, cook for just three minutes.  You can just eat if straight off the cob with butter and sea salt at this stage if you prefer – children love it this way

Drain, allow to cool, then slice the kernels off the cob, melt a little butter in a saucepan, add the corn.  Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, add the marjoram, stir once or twice.  Taste, correct the seasoning.  Serve immediately.

 

Apple and Cinnamon Fritters

Serves 6

Apple Fritters have been one of my absolutely favourite puddings since I was a child – nothing changed, I still love them.  Try them with the new season’s Grenadier cooking apples.

 

4 cooking apples, Bramley Seedling or Grenadier

4 ozs (110g) plain white flour

pinch of salt

1 egg, free range if possible

5fl.oz (150ml) milk

sunflower or peanut oil for frying

8 ozs (225g) castor sugar

1 teasp. cinnamon

 

Sieve the flour into a bowl, add a pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre, whisk the egg slightly, pour into the centre slowly add the milk whisking in a full circle, gradually bring in the flour from the outside. Continue to whisk until the batter is light and bubbly. Peel and core the apples, cut into ¼ inch (5mm) thick slices. Heat about 1½ inches (4cm) of oil in a frying pan. Dip a few slices of apple into the batter one by one. Fry on both sides until crisp and golden, drain well. Add cinnamon to the castor sugar, toss each fritter in and serve immediately with softly whipped cream.

Banana Fritters

Bananas also make great fritters. Split in half lengthways and then in half again if you would like shorter pieces. Omit the cinnamon from the castor sugar if you want them unadulterated.

 

Blackberry and Apple Sponge Pudding

 

The blackberries seem to be late ripening this year due to the lack of sunshine, but feast on them when they do appear in pies, puddings, jam or just as they are.

 

Serves 4-6

 

1½lbs (675g) new season’s cooking apples

4-6ozs (110-175g) blackberries

1 tablesp. water

3-4ozs (85-110g) approx. sugar

2 sweet geranium leaves

For the topping:

2ozs (55g) butter

2ozs (55g) sugar

1 beaten egg, preferably free range

3ozs (85g) self raising flour, sieved

1-2 tablesp. milk

 

1 pie dish 1½ pint (900ml) capacity

 

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/regulo 6.

 

Peel, core and slice the apples and put them in a heavy saucepan with the water, sugar and sweet geranium leaves. Cover and stew them gently until just half-cooked, then add the blackberries at the last minute.  Allow to cool a little, then tip into a buttered pie dish.

 

Cream the butter until soft, add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Add the beaten egg by degrees and beat well until completely incorporated. Sieve the flour and fold into the butter and egg mixture.  Add about 1 tablespoon of milk or enough to bring the mixture to dropping consistency.  Spread this mixture gently over the fruit.

Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the sponge mixture is firm to the touch in the centre.  Sprinkle with castor sugar.  Serve warm with home made custard or lightly whipped cream

Florence is hot in the summer, in fact on one day during a recent visit it was the hottest place in the whole of Europe, 39 degrees centigrade.  That sort of temperature renders most of us unable to function. Sight seeing becomes hard labour, even shopping seems too much of an effort.  Nothing for it but to follow the Florentine tradition and indulge in a long lunch followed by a siesta.

 

Many tourist spots especially places like Florence and Venice which have so many breath-taking artworks and masterpieces of architectural brilliance are sitting on an absolute goldmine, with an estimated 7 million tourists a year it is a sellers market, consequently, restaurant standards are not always what they should be.  If like me, food is an important part of your holiday experience it pays to do a bit of research and I am happy to pass on the results of mine.

 

Overall, Florentines themselves are still very traditional in their eating habits so the gastronomic scene is dominated by homely osterie and trattorie offering hearty cucina casalinga (home style cooking), prices are reasonable and food authentic.  If you have any interest in food, avoid menu tourismo like the plague and remember Florentines only eat pizza in the evening.  It only tends to be tourist joints that serve them at lunch time, always choose a Pizzeria with a wood-fired oven and ask for a  Florentine pizza with a thin crisp crust as oppose to the puffier Neopolitan style pizza.  Good options are Vico del Carmine, Via Pisana , Santa Lucia or La Poule Alle Mosse.

 

A full blown Italian meal will start with an Antipasto – a selection of hors d’oeuvre followed by Primo – a pasta, soup or risotto, Seconda is the main course, meat or fish with or without contorno, vegetables, formaggio (cheese) and dolce (dessert) will round off the meal.

 

Dolce tend to be fairly simple, the ubiquitous tiramisu, a chocolate cake or torta di nona or of course gelata. Ice cream lovers will be in heaven in Florence. There are old favourite haunts to choose from, but there are now some exciting new kids on the block threatening to knock local institutions like Vivoli and Perché No!  off their perch.  You must not miss Grom (via Del Campanile), Vesti, Albizi and Granita.

 

People watching on warm balmy evenings is of the greatest pleasures of a trip to Tuscany.  Choose one of the many cafes with tables outside to sip an aperitivo, Gilli with its belle époque interior, and Rivoire must not be missed.  Florian of San Marco Square, Venice fame, has just opened in Florence also.

 

My best new find on this trip was a classy contemporary sandwich bar calle ‘Ino’. Superb quality produce and just around the corner from the must see Uffizi and Palazzo Vecchio. Great place to buy a picnic for the plane if you can’t make it to the San Lorenzo market (open daily).
We also made a pilgrimage to two of my favourite Florentine haunts, Osteria di Benci which does the best Bistecca alla Fiorentina, a pan grilled but still bloody T-bone steak cut from the famous Chianina beef.  Follow it with a Rucola salad dressed with a few drops of local extra virgin olive oi and Tuscan white beans anointed with the same.  There will also be tripe and ribollita.  My second favourite Ils Zibbibo is owned by a woman chef Benedetta Vitali, this simple neighbourhood restaurant with its fresh unfussy food is in Via di Tersollena about 10 minutes from the centre.  Benedetta was co-founder of Cibreo another Florentine institution.  If your budget cannot quite stretch to its steep prices, Ciberino around the corner in Via de Macci also serves great food with many tasty morsels of offal, certainly not for the faint hearted.  There’s lots more, Nerbone in Greve for cows udder and spleen sandwiches and the best pot au feu you’ll find in many a long day. 

 

For lovers of Tuscan salami famous Falori butchers are just across the Piazza.  I could go on, but you’ll need some time for sight-seeing and sampling the local wines – lots of more information in local guides.  Here are some simple recipes I enjoyed.

 

Chickpea Purée with Shrimp

From Adventures of an Italian Food Lover by Faith Heller Willinger

Published by Clarkson Potter Publishers, New York

 

Serves 4

 

1 cup dried chickpeas

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 garlic clove

1 sprig fresh rosemary

16-20ozs (450g-600g) fresh shrimp, in shells

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

 

Put the chickpeas in a large pot, cover with about an inch of water, mix in 3 tablespoons sea salt, and soak for at least 12 hours.

Drain the chickpeas, rinse them, and put them in a 3-quart pot.  Cover with water by about 3 inches, then add the garlic and rosemary.  Over low heat, bring the water to a boil and simmer at least 1 hour, until the chickpeas are tender.  Add ½ cup boiling water if the liquid gets too low.

Purée the chickpeas with your method of choice.  You can rub through a sieve, but the fine disk of a food mill works well, too.  Puréeing with a processor or an immersion mixer grinds up all the skins and produces a less refined soup).  Thin the soup to desired consistency (a little thicker than heavy cream is ideal) with some of the chickpea broth; add boiling water if there’s no enough broth.  Season with salt and pepper , and serve warm.

Remove the shells and black veins from the shrimp.  Put them in a streamer basket over ½ cup of boiling water in a pot, cover, and steam for 2-3 minutes, until they turn pink.

Put one-fourth of the chickpea purée in each soup bowl, top each with 4 or 5 shrimp, then add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper. Serve

 

 

Ricotta-Stuffed Zucchini Flowers – Faith Heller Willinger

 

Serves 4-6

 

1cup ricotta, fresh, if possible, or sheep’s milk ricotta

12-16 fresh zucchini flowers

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Fine sea salt

1 tablespoon minced fresh basil

 

If your ricotta is watery, drain it in a sieve to remove excess whey. Soak the zucchini flowers in cool water, then spin-dry in a salad spinner. Removing the stamens is unnecessary.

Pack the ricotta into a pastry bag – I use a disposable one and simply cut the tip off the end.  Insert the end of the pastry bag into the zucchini flowers and pipe one or two spoonfuls of ricotta into each.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a large non-stick skillet.  Place the stuffed flowers in the skillet in a single layer and place pan over the highest heat.  When the pan heats and the oil  begins to sizzle, cover and cook for 4 to 6 minutes or until the flowers are hot, steamed by the moisture of the ricotta.  Transfer to a serving dish and top with pepper and salt, minced basil, and the remaining extra virgin olive oil.

 

 

Melon Proscuitto

Serves 4-6

 

Eat as part of Antipasto

 

One ripe and juicy melon

Sea Salt

Cracked Pepper

 

Peel, deseed and slice the ripe melon

Arrange on a plate, Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper.

Delicious, refreshing and so easy.

 

 

Smoked Gubbeen Crostata

 

Faith Willinger made these crostata for us in Florence with smoked mozzarella, but they are also delish with smoked Gubbeen.

 

Serves 4

 

Extra virgin olive oil

4ozs (110g) of coarse white bread crumbs

4ozs (110g) grated smoked Gubbeen

1 non stick pan

 

Optional Extras

Chopped zucchini blossom

Chopped parsley or marjoram

A little chilli pepper

 

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and toss in the bread crumbs and cook for 3-4 minutes or until starting to crisp. Grate the cheese into a bowl add the cooled breadcrumbs. This is delicious on its own but, if you want to add extra seasoning this is the moment.

Spread in a thin layer not more than ¾” (2cm) thick on the base of a non stick pan. Cook until pale golden on one side and flip over and continue to cook on the other side.

Cut into small wedges and serve as a nibbles with a drink or with a salad of mixed leaves and summer tomatoes.

Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli
 

Makes about 36, serve 6 as a starter, 4 as a main course

 

Ravioli, those tiny stuffed pockets of pasta, may be made ahead and kept covered for up to 3 days in the refrigerator, depending on the filling, or may be frozen.  Make sure you defrost it thoroughly before cooking.

 

225g (8oz) fresh pasta dough – home made or good quality bought fresh pasta

 

Spinach and ricotta filling

225g (8oz) fresh spinach, without stems

110g (4oz) fresh ricotta

3 teasp. freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

 

110g (4oz) grated parmesan cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano (for serving)

 

First make the filling. 

Wash the spinach and cook in a covered saucepan on a low heat until the leaves wilt. Drain the spinach thoroughly and squeeze it dry. Allow it to cool, then chop it and mix with ricotta cheese, freshly grated nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.

 

Roll out the dough until paper thin and divide in half. Brush one piece of dough lightly with water and put out teaspoons of filling at 4cm (1½inch) intervals. Cover with the remaining sheet of dough, press the top piece down gently to seal each mound of filling, making sure the all the air is released.

Cut into squares with a fluted pastry wheel or stamp out squares with a ravioli cutter. Cook immediately, or if they are not being cooked the same day, transfer to floured greaseproof paper and leave for 5-6 hours to dry, depending on the filling.

Poach the ravioli in a large saucepan of gently boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes, or ‘al dente’ and drain. Serve the grated Parmesan separately.

 

Tuscan Brownies

We have adapted Faith Willinger’s recipe slightly

 

Makes 16 squares

 

110g (4 oz) finest quality (70 percent) bittersweet chocolate

2fl oz (50ml/ â…“ cup) extra virgin olive oil, plus more for preparing the pan

55g (good 2oz) plain flour, plus more for dusting the parchment

⅛  teaspoon of salt

2 eggs, at room temperature

175g (6oz/¾ cup) of castor sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

50g (2oz/½ cup) chopped walnuts (optional)

1 cup unsweetened whipped cream (optional)

 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC/Gas4.  Line an 8-inch (20.5cm) square baking pan with a lightly oiled and floured piece of parchment paper that’s larger than the pan by 2 inches (5cm).

Melt the chocolate over hot water or in a microwave and whisk in the extra virgin olive oil.  Cool the mixture.

Mix the flour with the salt.  Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and thickened, around 5 minutes.  Add the vanilla and chocolate mixture, and combine well.  Fold in the flour and optional walnuts, then, pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 22 to 26 minutes.  The top will be dry, though a toothpick inserted in the centre will be wet. Cool completely, then, cut into squares, using a knife with a serrated blade.  Serve with whipped cream.

 

Hot Tips

Youghal Medieval Weekend Family Festival– this Saturday and Sunday in the grounds of  St Mary’s College Gardens 4-8pm Saturday and 12-6 Sunday

Includes live music, family entertainment and a market – 024-20745

Congratulations to West Cork Producers Gubbeen and Ummera for winning awards in the prestigious Great Taste Awards in London –

Ummera Smoked Products from Timoleague won a much coveted Gold Great Taste Award in London for its Smoked Chicken and Organic Gravdlax.

Gubbeen Farmhouse Products were presented with four awards for their Gubbeen Cheese Oat Cakes, Smoked Streaky Bacon, Wild Venison Ham and their Unsmoked Ham which won a very prized 3 star which is through to the finals for Supreme Champion

www.ummera.com  Tel 023-46644   cheese@gubbeen.com  Tel 028-28231

 

2 day Gardening Course with Brian Cross at Ballymaloe House August 31st – September 2nd – www.ballymaloe.ie  res@ballymaloe.ie  021-4652531

Special packages available

 

Soil Association Organic Food Festival, Bristol 6-7 September 2008

www.soilassociation.org/festival