Archive2010

Cornwall

It’s an ill wind that doesn’t blow someone some good. Even the volcanic ash has benefitted some people – The mâitre d’hotel at Rick Stein’s seafood restaurant in Padstow was beaming from ear to ear when I was there recently. Although they are virtually always full anyway, they have experienced a definite increase in business over the past few weeks as many British people decided to holiday at home rather than risk the hassle of cancelled flights. Let’s hope for the sake of the beleaguered Irish tourism industry the same sentiment prevails here.

We were in Cornwall for a few days to trace some ancient ancestors. Like Ireland Cornwall is utterly beautiful at this time of the year. Lots of gorse lighting up the countryside, hedgerows illuminated with pink and white campion, wild garlic, Queen Anne’s lace, forget-me-nots, buttercups, bluebells… As one drives through the Cornish lanes there are lots of signs for home baking and preserves. Little farm stands selling farm produce with honesty boxes for locals to pop in the money and of course signs for Cornish cream teas. I still dream about those delicious scones topped with homemade jam and clotted cream.

We booked out the super little pub with rooms at Gurnards Head, south of New Quay, and used that as a base for lots of cliff walks and expeditions to local villages and the Quaker graveyard in St Just where Nicholas Jose, tenth great grandfather of our grandchildren was buried. We couldn’t have found a better base for a family gathering; the extra bonus was the delicious breakfast and dinner menus of local food and cracking good soda bread. Walking gives one a terrific appetite and a virtuous feeling so one can tuck into beautiful meals without having a conscience. After a long walk to Landsend we had a smashing lunch at the Beach Restaurant overlooking the brilliant surfing beach at Sennen Cove. Roast fish and chips and homemade tartare sauce, a fritto misto of squid salted mackerel and gurnard with aioli and piperonata, a towering salad of local crab and fresh organic leaves, some lovely thin crust pizzas – compensation for the grim café and tourist centre at Landsend.

Rick Stein’s latest venture is a Fish and Chip restaurant in Falmouth beside the Maritime Museum. Seven different types of fish, battered and cooked in beef dripping, served with chips – cod, haddock, sea bream, lemon sole, ray, plaice and monkfish – grilled fish and charcoal roasted and fried fish galore – you can’t book so it works on a first come first served basis and there is a take-away next door.

Down in the Penzance area we also had a delicious pub lunch in the Victoria Inn. I particularly remember the faggots with swede turnips, not everyone’s cups of tea but I loved them. The little café out at the Tresco gardens on the Scilly Isles was also delightful and the gardens worth the effort – my third attempt to see them.

It’s easy peasy to get to Cornwall, there are regular daily flights to New Quay, so don’t miss Jamie Oliver’s 15 Restaurant at Watergate Bay, just 5 minutes drive from the airport, I didn’t make it on this trip but have had several excellent meals there on other occasions. For a treat check out the designer hotel, everyone is talking about; the Scarlet Hotel is again in a breathtakingly beautiful location on a cliff top site, over looking Mawgan Porth and very good food from Chef Ben Tunnicliffe.

If you get ‘ashed’ you’re not too far from the car ferries back to Ireland – we came back on the Julia from Swansea into Cork, perfect.

 

Gurnards Head Chicken Liver Pate

350g chicken livers, de-veined

225g unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 onion, peeled and diced

15ml Marsala

Chopped parsley

Salt and pepper

Melt 25g of the butter in a frying pan and cook the livers with a little salt and the garlic until they firm up but remain pink in the centre. Put the chicken livers into a food processor. Deglaze the pan with the Marsala and add the pan-juices to the food processor. Melt another 25g of the butter in the pan and gently cook the onions with a pinch of salt until they are translucent and soft but without colouring them. Add the onions to the food processor along with the remaining butter and chopped parsley and blend the ingredients until they are smooth. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Put the pate into suitable containers or dishes and put them into the fridge to set completely.

 

Gurnards Head Presse Of Tomato, Spider Crab, Haas Avocado

Tomato Presse

1kg vine tomatoes

500ml water

8 basil leaves

1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced

½ tsp celery salt

Tabasco to taste

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tbsp caster sugar

Lemon juice to taste

Salt to taste

Put the vinegar and sugar into a pan and heat it gently to dissolve the sugar. Allow it to cool, this is the ‘gastric’. Halve the tomatoes, remove the seeds and place the rest into a blender. Add the basil, garlic, water, salt and celery salt to the blender along with the water. Blend the ingredients together lightly so the mix remains chunky.

Add the Tabasco, lemon, juice and gastric to taste and pulse it again quickly.

Transfer the contents of the blender into a cloth suspended over a clean bowl to catch the clear liquid that runs out. Allow the cloth to hang until all of the liquid has drained from the pulp in the cloth. Chill the consommé well before serving it.

To finish

300g picked white crab meat

2 lemons

4 tablespoons of olive oil

Maldon sea salt

A selection of mixed salad leaves

2 Haas avocadoes

6 tsp chopped fresh coriander

Remove the skin from the avocadoes and cut the flesh into 1cm dice. Put the avocado dice into a bowl and season it with a little salt, coriander and a little lemon juice to taste and mix it well together. Spoon a little of the avocado into a ring mould onto each plate. Remove any visible pieces of crab shell from the meat. Season the crab with the salt and lemon juice and stir in the olive oil. Spoon the crab into the rings on top of the avocado mix on the plates. Dress some mixed leaves with a little olive oil and lemon juice and season with little Maldon Salt. Place the salad on top of the crab.

 

Gurnards Head Squid Braised In Red Wine and Tomato

1kg whole squid

1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely diced

500ml red wine

250ml good quality tomato juice

800ml fresh chicken stock

I tsp salt

100 g unsalted butter

1 handful fresh curly parsley, finely chopped

Cut the squid into slices as thin as possible. Melt 50g of the butter in a wide pan and cook the onions and garlic gently for 5 minutes without colouring. Add the squid to the pan, season with a little salt, and continue to cook for a further 3-4mins. Add 1/3 of the red wine and turn the heat to full, reducing the wine to almost a glaze. Repeat this until all of the wine has been added, reducing the wine by ¾ only on the final turn. Add the tomato juice and mix well with the squid.

Pour in the chicken stock, bring to the boil and turn down the heat so the squid is barely simmering. Cover the pan with a round piece of greaseproof paper and leave to cook for 60-90 minutes or until the squid becomes very tender.

 

NOTE: (if the stock reduces to much before the squid has cooked then add a little water)

Serving

When the squid is cooked and the sauce is thick stir in the rest of the butter and the chopped parsley. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve.

Smoked Eel Salad with Dandelion Leaves and Crispy Capers

Serves 4

6ozs (170g) or more, smoked eel

a selection of salad leaves

dandelion leaves

preferably blanched frisee

chervil leaves

capers

Dressing

3 tablesp. extra virgin Olive oil

1 tablesp. Forum Chardonnay vinegar

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

Skin the eel and discard the skin. Cut down towards the bone and then into thin slivers horizontally about 1 1/2inches long.

Heat ½ inch of Extra virgin olive oil in a deep fry or frying pan. Dry the capers, fry for 3 or 4 minutes until they fluff out and crisp up.

Dry on kitchen paper. Whisk the ingredients for the dressing together.

To Serve:

Sprinkle a little dressing over the salad leaves and toss gently.

Divide between four plates, piling the leaves in a little pyramid. Lay 2 or 3 pieces of smoked eel on top. Scatter each salad with crispy capers and serve as soon as possible.

 

Cornish Cream Tea

Scones with homemade jam and lots of clotted cream – bliss.

Makes 18-20 scones using a 7 1/2 cm (3inch) cutter

900g (2lb) plain white flour

175g (6oz) butter

3 free-range eggs

pinch of salt

50g (2oz) castor sugar

3 heaped teaspoons baking powder

450ml (15floz) approx. milk to mix

Glaze

egg wash (see below)

granulated sugar for sprinkling on top of the scones

First preheat the oven to 250°C/475°F/gas mark 9.

Sieve all the dry ingredients together in a large wide bowl. Cut the butter into cubes, toss in the flour and rub in the butter. Make a well in the centre. Whisk the eggs with the milk, add to the dry ingredients and mix to a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured board. Don’t knead but shape just enough to make a round. Roll out to about 21/2cm (1inch) thick and cut or stamp into scones. Put onto a baking sheet – no need to grease. Brush the tops with egg wash and dip each one in granulated sugar. Bake in a hot oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown on top. Cool on a wire rack.

Serve split in half with home made jam and a blob of clotted cream.

Egg Wash

Whisk 1 egg with a pinch of salt. This is brushed over the scones and pastry to help them to brown in the oven.

 

Hottips

If you would like to try the smoked eel salad contact Frank Hederman’s Belvelly Smokehouse – on the way to Cobh – or visit his stall at the Cobh Farmer’s Market every Friday morning and the Midleton Farmer’s Market every Saturday. My brother Rory O’ Connell also folds smoked eel through soft scrambled eggs, adds a pinch of chopped chives and serves on Melba toast. Yum. Phone 021 4811089.

If you’re peckish in Cork in the morning, Kay Harte serves a terrific breakfast at the Farmgate Cafe in the Market from 9:00am to 11:00am Monday to Saturday. All the ingredients come from the market downstairs, bacon from Tom Durcan butchers, apple and pork sausages from Catherine O’Mahony and Son butchers, and black puddings from Jack and Tim McCarthy in Kanturk and free range eggs from Gerry Moynihan. Start with a bowl of organic oats porridge and freshly squeezed oranges to order or Paddy O’s Granola and lots of fresh fruit and hot buttery toast made with bread from Sheila Fitzpatrick from ABC Breadshop and Arbutus Bakery. The Farmgate Café caters brilliantly for coeliacs. Phone 021 4278134.

Taste of Dublin restaurant festival is back from Thursday 10th to Sunday 13th June in Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens – dine your way around Dublin’s top restaurants, for a full program of events visit www.tasteofdublin.ie

Nuala Kenny from Ballydehob in West Cork has produced a Seasonal Food Calendar that lists, season by season, the foods we should be eating with a shopping guide to help you choose foods from each of the food groups.

Phone 087 9719174 email: core-nutrition@hotmail.com

Scarlet Hotel 0044 1637 861 800 www.scarlethotel.co.uk

The Victoria Inn 0044 1736 710 309 www.victoriainn-penzance.co.uk

The Gurnard’s Head 0044 1736 796928 www.gurnardshead.co.uk

Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant Padstow 0044 1841532700 www.rickstein.com

Beach Restaurant 0044 1736871191 www.thebeachrestaurant.com

A Berry Nice Treat

I’m not sure why gooseberries haven’t had quite the same revival and surge of popularity in recent times that rhubarb has, but I totally love them.

Everyone should have a couple of gooseberry and black currant bushes in their garden as well as a few rhubarb stools. They are all perennial so once you’ve chosen good varieties and planted them; they will delight you year after year.

In this article I’ll concentrate on green gooseberries, which although later than usual this year are now perfect for tarts, pie, fools and sauces. By a fortuitous coincidence in nature, elderflowers bloom in the hedgerows all over the country just at the time the green gooseberries are best for cooking – mind you it takes an act of faith to pick the green under ripe berries at present they are still hard as hailstone – surely they can’t palatable and trust me, they make the best desserts and are even more delicious if you add a couple of those elderflowers while they are bubbling away in the pot or oven.

Compote of green gooseberries flavoured with these wild blossoms is delicious alone, with carrageen moss pudding or panna cotta. It’s vital that the berries burst in the elderflower flavoured syrup otherwise they will be too tart, so don’t worry about the appearance, it should look like stewed gooseberries This compote is good served warm with rice pudding or chilled and also lasts in the fridge for a week or more.

Green gooseberry sauce (really just stewed gooseberries) makes a delicious alternative to Bramley apple sauce with roast pork and the combination of grilled mackerel with green gooseberry sauce is a marriage made in heaven.

These tart green gooseberries also make the most delicious jam but there is just a brief window of opportunity to make this each year because the berries swell and sweeten by the day.

The old fashioned gooseberry sponge pudding is as yummy as ever it was; you might want to serve it with a big jug of Birds custard for old times sake but I have to say a drizzle of Jersey cream also makes it into a feast.

The best early variety is Careless but it’s also worth planting a few dessert gooseberries like Invicta, Sulphur and Black Velvet to enjoy when they are plump and ripe in June. Meanwhile rush to your garden or to your local Farmers Market and enjoy the green gooseberries in every way possible while they are in season.

Pan Grilled Mackerel with Green Gooseberry Sauce

 

 

This is a master recipe for pan grilling fish.

The simplest and possibly the most delicious way to cook really fresh mackerel. Use the tart hard green gooseberries on the bushes at the moment, they make a delicious sauce.

 

 

Serves 1 or 2

 

2-4 fillets of very fresh mackerel (allow 6 ozs (170g) fish for main course, 3 ozs (85g) for a starter)

seasoned flour

small knob of butter

 

First make the green gooseberry sauce.

 

Dip the fish fillets in flour which has been seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper. Shake off the excess flour and then spread a little butter with a knife on the flesh side, as though you were buttering a slice of bread rather meanly. When the grill is quite hot but not smoking, place the fish fillets butter side down on the grill; the fish should sizzle as soon as they touch the pan. Turn down the heat slightly and let them cook for 4 or 5 minutes on that side before you turn them over. Continue to cook on the other side until crisp and golden. Serve on a hot plate with some gooseberry sauce.

 

 

Green Gooseberry Sauce

 

 

10 ozs (285g) fresh green gooseberries

stock syrup to cover (see below) – 6 fl.ozs (175 ml) approx.

a knob of butter (optional)

 

Top and tail the gooseberries, put into a stainless steel saucepan, barely cover with stock syrup, bring to the boil and simmer until the fruit bursts. Taste. Stir in a small knob of butter if you like but it is very good without it.

 

Stock Syrup

 

4 fl ozs (120ml) water

4 ozs (110g) sugar

 

Dissolve the sugar in the water and boil together for 2 minutes. Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator until needed. Stock syrup can also be used for sorbets, fruit salads or as a sweetener in homemade lemonades.

 

 

Gooseberry Sponge Pudding

 

Serves 4-6

 

1lbs (450g) green gooseberries

1 tablesp. water

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

 

For the Topping

 

2 ozs (55g) butter

2 ozs (55g) sugar

1 beaten egg, preferably free range

3 ozs (85g) self raising flour, sieved

1-2 tablesp. milk

 

1 pie dish 1½ pint (900m) capacity

 

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

Top and tail the gooseberries and put them in a heavy saucepan with the water and sugar, cover. Stew them gently until just soft, them 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 milk or enough to bring the mixture to dropping consistency. Spread this mixture gently over the apple.

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.

This comforting dessert – sometimes called Eve’s Pudding – can also be made with rhubarb, cooking apples or a mixture of blackberry and apples or rhubarb and strawberries.

 

Green Gooseberry and Elderflower Compote

When the elderflowers come into bloom, then I know it’s time to pick green gooseberries. They feel as hard as hailstones, but for cooking it’s the perfect time. Enlist the help of little ones to top and tail the elderflowers.

 

900g (2lb) green gooseberries

2 or 3 elderflower heads

600ml (1 pint) cold water

450g (1lb) sugar

First, top and tail the gooseberries.

Tie the elderflower heads in a little square of muslin, put the bag in a stainless-steel or enameled saucepan, add the sugar and cover with cold water. Bring slowly to the

boil and continue to boil for 2 minutes. Add the gooseberries and simmer just until the fruit bursts. Allow to get cold.

Serve in a pretty bowl and decorate with fresh elderflowers.

Elderflower and Green Gooseberry Jam

Makes 6 x 450g (1 lb) pots

In season: late spring

The gooseberries should be tart and green and hard as hail stones – as soon as the

elderflowers are in bloom in the hedgerows search for the gooseberries under the prickly bushes or seek them out in your local greengrocer or farmers market.

1.6kg (3 ½ lb) green gooseberries

5-6 elderflower heads

600ml (1pint) water

1.57kg (3½ lb) sugar

Wash the gooseberries if necessary. Top and tail them and put into a wide stainless steel preserving pan with the water and elderflowers tied in muslin. Simmer until the gooseberries are soft and the contents of the pan are reduced by one third, approx. 2 hour. Remove the elderflowers and add the warm sugar, stirring until it has completely dissolved. Boil rapidly for about 10 minutes until setting point is reached (220F on a jam thermometer). Pour into hot clean jars, cover and store in a dry airy cupboard.

This jam should be a fresh colour, so be careful not to overcook it.

Gooseberry and Elderflower Fool

Serves 6 approx.

450g (1lb) gooseberries

3-4 elderflower heads, tied in muslin

225g (8ozs) sugar

300ml (1/2 pint) water

whipped cream

As the Summer goes on and the gooseberries mature, less sugar is needed for this fool.

Barely cover the green gooseberries with the elderflower heads tied in muslin with the stock syrup.

Bring to the boil and cook until the fruit bursts, about 5 – 6 minutes.

Liquidise, puree or mash the fruit and syrup and measure. When the puree has cooled completely, add 1/3 – 1/2 of its volume of softly whipped cream according to taste.

 

Note:

If you want to make the fool a little less rich, use less cream, and fold in one stiffly beaten egg white instead.Gooseberry Frangipane Tart with Elderflower Cream

Serves 8

200 g (7 oz) plain flour

pinch salt

100 g (3 1/2 oz) butter

2 tablespoons natural yoghurt or water

400 g (14 oz) gooseberries

2 tablespoons sugar

100 g (3 1/2 oz) ground almonds

50 g (2 ozs) caster sugar

2 eggs

Elderflower Cream

600ml (1 pint) cream

2 tablespoons elderflower cordial

To Serve

soft brown sugar

8 inch (20.5cm) tart tin

Preheat the oven to 100°C/215°F/Gas Mark 1/4.

Rub the flour and butter together until it resembles bread crumbs. Add the sugar and the beaten egg. Mix until it comes together. Wrap in cling film and chill.

Line an 8 inch (20.5cm) tart tin with 2/3 of the pastry. Bake blind in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Brush with egg wash (beaten egg with a pinch of salt). Turn up the oven to 175°C/330°F/Gas Mark 3. Add the gooseberries and elderflowers to the tart shell. Sprinkle with the sugar and lemon zest. Roll the leftover pastry and cover the top of the tart. Seal the edges and brush with egg wash – make a hole in the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cook in the preheated oven for 30-45 minutes. Serve with elderflower cream and soft brown sugar.

Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas 5.

Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl (or the bowl of your food processor). Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour. Either quickly rub the butter into the flour until it resembles damp breadcrumbs or pulse in the food processor. Stir or briefly pulse the yoghurt into the mixture, until the dough seems to want to cling together. Form into a ball; dust with extra flour if it seems too wet, adding a little extra yoghurt or water if it seems too dry. To avoid shrinkage when the pastry is cooked, cover and leave for 30 minutes before rolling. Butter a 20 cm (8 inch) loose-bottomed flan tin and roll out the pastry to fit. Cover with tinfoil and weight it with rice. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, top and tail the gooseberries and place in a saucepan with the 2 tablespoons of sugar and not quite enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat immediately and cook for 1 minute. Drain the gooseberries and leave to cool. Blitz the ground almonds, butter and caster sugar in a food processor for 1 minute. Add the eggs and pulse briefly until blended. Arrange the gooseberries in the prebaked pastry case pour over the frangipane and bake until the top is firm, risen and golden, checking after 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before removing the collar.

To make the elderflower cream.

Add the elderflower cordial to the cream and whisk lightly, should be very softly whipped.

Serve the tart in wedges with a blob of elderflower cream.

WildFood

Elder Flowers (Sambucus nigra)

The common or black elder grows in profusion around the Irish countryside and is in full bloom at presents. It’s really easy to grow – even a twig pushed into the ground will root. If you have the space, it’s really worth considering so you can have an elderflower tree of your very own. The low growing, bushy tree with it’s greyish-brown bark smells musty and unappealing, but it’s tiny white flower heads, hanging on reddish stems, are transformed on cooking and impart a delicious Muscat-like flavour to syrups, lemonades, cordials, tarts, sorbets, and compotes and more. The fact that elderflower tastes delicious and is so versatile is reason enough to gather it, but it is also known to contain antioxidants and is commonly used in remedies against hay fever, rheumatism and the common cold. The elder tree was traditionally known as the ‘village pharmacy’ and people were reluctant to cut it down. The roots, bark, leaves and berries were all used medicinally and recent studies have shown that elderflowers have the ability to inactivate viruses. We’ve noticed a growing demand for organic elderflowers at our local farmers’ market.

 

 

Hottips

Big excitement at Midleton Farmers Market as today they celebrate their 10th anniversary. Look out for green gooseberries and elderflowers as well as lots of fresh gorgeous local produce, artisan bread, fish, free range pork, farmhouse cheese…Saturdays 9:00am to 1:30pm.

Brown Envelope Seeds are having an open day at their farm in Ardagh, Skibbereen in West Cork on Sunday 6th June with a walk around the farm and a cup of tea. Contact Madeline McKeever 028 38184.

Good reports about O’Carroll’s, beach bar and restaurant in Caherdaniel, Co Kerry. Maria a graduate of the Ballymaloe Cookery School sources most of her ingredients for the restaurant locally. Lobsters, crab, oysters, mussels and lots of fresh fish come from local fishermen. They also serve really good pizzas, make all their own dressings and sauces and bake fresh bread everyday. O’Carroll’s is nestled in a sub tropical cove, with rare wild flowers and plants that don’t occur anywhere else in Ireland. Open Monday to Sunday 11am to 9pm. 0669475151.

It Will Suit you to a Tea

We love our cuppa in Ireland and are still drinking more tea per head than any other country in the world, sadly nowadays most cups of tea are made from teabags rather than good loose tea which I am totally convinced makes a far superior brew. On a recent trip to Sri Lanka I visited Handunugoda Tea Estate only a few miles from Galle, Mr Gunaratne whose family have been tea planters for 400 years, proudly showed us around.

In 2008 Sri Lanka overtook Kenya as the second most important tea producing nation after India.

Annual production of Ceylon Tea as Sri Lankan tea is called is about 330 million kilograms and enjoys premium prices at the tea auctions in Colombo.

Tea has been grown in Sri Lanka since 1869 shortly after the coffee crop was decimated by disease. The industry employs 3.5 million people and is the largest foreign income earner and the largest employer.

As a cook I am always fascinated to learn how our food is grown. I’m particularly intrigued to learn about foods not grown in our climate so part of my holidays will invariably be spent learning about spices, exotic fruit, street food, wine… depending on the part of the world. Not everyone’s idea of a fun holiday but I find it fascinating. Tea grows in altitudes between 100 and 5000ft. The gardens I visited were at just 100ft (30 meters) and specialised in white tea camillia sevensis. The tea bushes look like a green waist-high lawn. Tea in its natural state grows in the shade so the tea gardens are punctuated by tall Ghrisidia trees which provide shade and attract birds to eat the unwanted insects. Rubber trees grow where tea doesn’t.

The brightly dressed tea pickers were already in the gardens when we arrived, all women, working at lightning speed, expertly plucking the tender leaf tips with their finger tips and flicking them into the basket strapped to their backs. The Tamil Plantation workers are contracted to pick a minimum of 20 kilograms a day and receive a bonus for any extra picked. The tea bushes are pruned to one meter in height every five weeks for ease of picking. The freshly picked leaves are first withered by blowing air through them sometimes on hessian mats or on modern mechanical troughs. The partly dried leaves are then crushed which starts a fermentation process – the skill is to know when to stop this process. The technology and machinery is largely unchanged since the 19th Century, the crusher at Handunugoda Tea Estate had a brass plate Siroco Davidson and Co Ltd Belfast Ireland. www.manorparkrestaurant.co.uk www.peppermintfarm.com 028 31869www.fruithillfarm.com www.cullyandsully.com

The leaves for white tea are not picked but snipped with golden scissors so they are untouched by hand. Mr Gunaratne explained that originally in China the Mandarins insisted that the leaves for white tea were snipped by virgins with gold scissors into a gold bowl. Body sweat contaminates the flavour.

The Mandarins were convinced that white tea had extra attributes. More recently their white tea has been scientifically analysed by SGS The Swiss Company and was found to have 10% to 11% more antioxidants than any other tea and in white tea the caffeine content is very low. It also boosts the body’s immune system and is an anti carcinogenic.

Virtually the entire crop is snapped up by the posh French tea house Mariage Freres. After we walked through the tea gardens, Mr Gunaratne invited us into his bungalow to taste his tea. I inadvertently got brownie points by telling him that we drink leaf and that teabags were banned from our country house hotel restaurant, café and cookery school.

He confirmed what I already knew that teabags are the best thing that ever happened to tea companies. According to Mr Gunaratne, teabags consist of 10% excellent tea, 60% percent neutral tea and 10% is dust. Then there is the paper which is 70% of the cost of the teabag and affects the taste of the tea and according to Mr Gunaratne drinking teabag tea is akin to drinking vintage wine in a paper cup!

Since there was just one type of tea available and it was part of every occasion, every celebration from dawn till dusk – from weddings to funerals, it cheered and comforted. Now tea is the new coffee and specialist cafes are offering not just tea and sympathy but a tea menu with everything from Lapsang Souchong (also called Russian Caravan tea) to Gunpowder tea, silver needle to oolong.

In Morocco you’ll be offered mint tea at every turn in pretty little gold patterned glasses. In India spicy chai refreshes from morning until night, and is the shopkeepers’ favourite bribe to entice you to buy their tempting wares.

Moroccan Mint Tea

Serves 4

2 teaspoons Chinese green tea

4 tablespoons chopped mint, preferably spearmint

900ml (1½pints) water

sugar, to taste

To decorate

4 lemon slices, (optional)

4 small mint sprigs

Heat a teapot with boiling water. Add the tea and mint to the pot. Fill with boiling water. Allow to infuse and stand for 5 minutes.

Pour the tea through a strainer into warmed glasses or small cups. Add sugar to taste (remember, in Morocco tea is supposed to be very sweet) and decorate each glass or cup with a lemon slice, if liked, and a sprig of mint.

Spicy Indian Chai

250ml (9fl oz) full fat milk

2-3 cardamom pods

2.5cm (1inch) piece of cinnamon

3 peppercorns

3 teaspoons loose tea leaves

500ml (18fl oz) boiling water

sugar

Put all the ingredients except the tea leaves and the sugar into a saucepan, bring slowly to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. Bring back to the boil, add the tea leaves, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer for 1-2 mins. Turn off the heat and allow the leaves to settle. Serve in tea cups.

Agen Stuffed Prunes with Rosewater Cream

 

This ancient Arab Recipe from the Middle East will change your opinion of prunes – a pretty and delicious dish.

 

Serves 6

 

450g (1 lb) Agen prunes, pitted

Same number of fresh walnut halves

150ml (1/4 pint) tea

300ml (1/2 pint) cream

2 tablespoons castor sugar

1 tablespoon rose blossom water

 

Decoration

a few chopped walnuts

rose petals – optional

 

We’ve experimented with taking out the stones from both soaked and dry prunes, unsoaked worked best. Use a small knife to cut out the stones and then stuff each with half a walnut. Arrange in a single layer in a sauté pan. Cover with hot tea. Put the lid on the pan and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add more liquid if they become a little dry. They should be plump and soft. Lift them gently onto a serving plate in a single layer and let them cool. .

 

Whip the cream to soft peaks; add the castor sugar and rose blossom water. Spoon blobs over the prunes and chill well. Just before serving sprinkle with rose petals and a few chopped walnuts.

 

Just before serving, scatter a few chopped walnuts over each blob of cream, sprinkle with rose petals and serve well chilled.

 

This dessert tastes even better next day.

 

Irish Tea Barmbrack

This is a more modern version of barmbrack, now commonly called a ‘tea brack’ because the dried fruit is soaked in tea overnight to plump it up (rather than boiled as in the recipes above).

Even though it is a very rich bread, in Ireland it is traditionally served sliced and buttered.

Yields about 12 slices (eat the crusts, too!)

110g (4oz) sultanas

110g (4oz) raisins

110g (4oz) currants

50g (2oz) natural glace cherries, halved or quartered

300ml (10fl oz) hot tea

1 organic egg, whisked

200g (7oz) soft brown sugar

225g (8oz) self-raising flour

1 level teaspoon mixed spice

50g (2oz) homemade candied peel (see recipe)

450g (1lb) loaf tin – 12.5 x 20cm (5 x 8in) OR 3 small loaf tins 15 x 7.5cm (6 x 3in)

Put the dried fruit and cherries into a bowl. Cover with hot tea and leave to plump up overnight.

Next day

, line the loaf tin with silicone paper.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Add the whisked egg, soft brown sugar, flour and mixed spice to the fruit and tea mixture. Stir well. Put the mixture into the lined loaf tin.

Cook in for about 1 1/2hours or until a skewer comes out clean.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Keeps very well in an airtight tin.

Homemade Candied Peel

Fruit should be organic if possible, otherwise scrub the peel well.

5 organic unwaxed oranges

5 organic unwaxed lemons

5 organic unwaxed grapefruit (or all of one fruit)

water

1 teaspoon salt

3 lbs (1.35kg) sugar

Cut the fruit in half and squeeze out the juice. Reserve the juice for another use, perhaps homemade lemonade. Put the peel into a large bowl (not aluminium), add salt and cover with cold water. Leave to soak for 24 hours. Next day throw away the soaking water, put the peel in a saucepan and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to the boil cover and simmer very gently until the peel is soft, 3 hours approx. Remove the peel and discard the water. Scrape out any remaining flesh and membranes from inside the cut fruit, leaving the white pith and rind intact. (You could do the next step next day if that was more convenient).

Slice the peel into nice long strips. Alternatively cut each half in half.

Dissolve the sugar in 1 1/4 pints (750ml) water, bring it to the boil, add the peel and simmer gently until it looks translucent, 30 – 60 minutes and the syrup forms a thread when the last drop falls off a metal spoon. Remove the peel with a slotted spoon, fill the candied peel into sterilised glass jars and pour the syrup over, cover and store in a cold place or in a fridge. It should keep for 6-8 weeks or longer under refrigeration.

Alternatively spread on a baking tray or trays and allow to sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour to cool. Toss in castor sugar and store in covered glass jars until needed.

 

Wildfood

Wild garlic has been used in Ireland as a condiment or as part of a relish since earliest times. In the heyday of many large Irish estates it was apparently quite common to plant it on the edges of woodland and pasture. In late spring when the cattle and sheep were put out to grass after the long winter indoors, the garlic was thought to have a beneficial effect on them.

There are two types, Wild garlic (Allium ursinum), which grows in shady places along the banks of streams and in undisturbed mossy woodland, and Snowbells (Allium triquetrum), these resemble white bluebells and usually grow along the sides of country lanes. Hurry the season is almost over, its delicious in salad, pasta, sauces, soups, stews and this yummy pesto.

Wild Garlic Pesto

2oz (50g) wild garlic leaves (Allium ursinum or Allium triquetrum)

1oz (25g) pinenuts

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

6-8 fl ozs (170-225ml) olive oil

1½ oz (40g) freshly grated Parmesan, (Parmigiano Reggiano)

salt and sugar to taste

 

Whizz the wild garlic leaves, pine kernels, garlic and olive oil in a food processor or pound in a pestle and mortar. Remove to a bowl and fold in the finely grated Parmesan cheese. Taste and season. Store in a sterilized covered jar in the fridge.

 

Note:

Clean the top and sides of the jar each time you dip in. Cover with a layer of extra virgin olive oil and the lid of the jar. 

 

Hottips

On a recent trip to Armagh I had a delicious dinner at Manor Park Restaurant, known as ‘The French Restaurant’ to the locals.

Head chef James Neilly – who trained with Paul Rankin – takes classical French recipes and reinvents them using local produce. He was recently awarded Irish Best Restaurants 2010 awards, Best Restaurant for County Armagh. 0044 (0) 28 37 515535

Those of you who have caught the grow-your-own bug should know about Peppermint Farm and Garden in Toughraheen near Bantry. They grow an extensive range of herbs, organic vegetable and flower plants including some extremely rare varieties. Their plants are healthy and robust and can be purchased by mail order catalogue or direct from Bantry, Schull or Skibbereen Farmers Markets.

Fruithill Farm in West Cork stocks a range of utensils, tools and equipment suitable for small holders and small scale production. They also have a range of organic fertilizers and organic seed potatoes. All their products are available by mailorder. Contact them on 027 50710 or

Cully and Sully have done it again – they have just launched a range of delicious new puddings. Their chocolate, toffee and lemon sponges are made in small batches with ingredients you would normally have in your own kitchen. They come in handy little packs for two – just heat and eat with a dollop of fresh cream. You could make a meal of it and get one of their award winning tasty soups, pies or hot pots too and take the night off. Cully’s Mobile Number is 086 6076030 Sully’s Mobile Number is 086 6058471

Join Philip Dennhardt – of ‘Saturday Pizzas’ fame – for his class in making the perfect pizza – Friday 28th May 2010 at 2:00pm at Ballymaloe Cookery School – 021 4646785.

Capital Choices from London

At last, restaurants are reporting an increased appetite for eating out; perhaps those green shoots really are sprouting. I’ve had several requests from readers for an update on the London food scene. Lots of good things are happening over there – despite the cautious atmosphere, many young people are ‘chomping at the bit’ to open cafes, restaurants and gastro pubs. There’s also a new semi underground movement that’s gathering momentum. ‘Pop-up’ restaurants and Secret Suppers are spreading ‘virally’. Word of their location spreads among friends through Facebook, Twitter and by text. There are lots of variations but it works something like this, young cooks and chefs who often can’t afford to open a restaurant, find a vacant premises, maybe a daytime restaurant that’s closed in evening or a rowing club premises or even a warehouse. They decide on a menu, or a theme, send word to their circle of friends who pass it onto friends of friends. Each guest pays a set price and usually brings their own wine. The idea is spreading like wildfire, and many already have a cult following. Stevie Parle lives on a barge on the River Thames and was one of the first young chefs to have a ‘moveable kitchen’. Stevie did a 12 week course here at Ballymaloe Cookery School in 2002 with Clodagh McKenna and Thomasina Miers of Wahaca fame. They were all totally passionate about food. Stevie went on to work with Sam Clarke at Moro, the River Café with Rose Grey and Ruth Rodgers and then onto Petersham Nurseries to work with Skye Gyngell. A stint with April Bloomfield at the Spotted Dog in New York followed – all of these restaurants are on my ‘favourite list’

Stevie soaked up their words of wisdom and philosophy, travelled and cooked and experimented and organised many ‘pop-up’ dinners. His fan base grew and grew and now at last he’s in an ‘immoveable kitchen’, a great space next door to furniture designer Tom Dixon in what used to be the Virgin Headquarters in Portobello Dock hence the name The Dock Kitchen. A class mate Lughan Carr came from Petersham Nursery Café to work with Stevie. I had lunch there just before Easter and I loved it. When I arrived Lughan was boning a milk-fed kid for dinner, outside fresh herbs were growing, fenugreek, borage, sage…in an old builder’s bag and there was a tiny vegetable garden in a great big furniture crate. Stevie was inside the open kitchen preparing some beautiful Agretti or Barbe de Fratti. It is a type of sea weed called ‘monks beard’ that I’d never tasted before, so Stevie explained how to cook it – just boil for a couple of minutes, drain and then toss in extra virgin olive oil, he served it with a generous grating of bottargo, it was exquisite. I followed that little feast with the first of this years broad beans from the Scilly Isles with cous cous, cumin, coriander and seasoned yoghurt – also totally delicious.

For main course I chose the juicy Suffolk Spring lamb chops with smoked green wheat, turnip leaves and tahini sauce – an inspired combination. For pudding I had to make another impossible choice between roasted almond ice-cream, plum jam and hazelnut tart or a piece of Folores from the Portuguese Bakery but I passed all of that up and chose a new seasons Alphonso mango from Maharashtra with a blob of fresh yoghurt. Altogether the best lunch I’d had for a many a long day. At present Dock Kitchen is open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and Wednesday to Saturday for secret suppers.

A few other finds on the London café scene. The coffee everyone is talking about is from Square Mile coffee roasters in Hackney, this is the coffee served by Flat White Espresso on Berwick Street in Soho, a tiny café run by a couple of New Zealanders, tiny but great.

Leila’s Café and Shop on Calvert Avenue in Bethnal Green is another high street gem, simple timber tables, open kitchen and black boards – the butter is in enamel pie dishes, the sugar in white pudding bowls. They serve great toast and jam, Robert Wilson’s teas and a short seasonal menu – I loved the fried eggs with sage. Then there’s the beautiful old fashioned grocery shop next door slate tables, huge galvanise containers for rice and beans and old crates full of freshly picked organic vegetables and herbs.

Cocomaya on Connaught Street in Paddington was also charming, stacks of gorgeous wee buns, brownies, cute little short bread bunnies and chicks with pastel icing and irresistible éclairs. Teeny poppy seed cakes with lemon icing drizzled and flower petals sprinkled over the tops, choccie mousse confections, single muffins in cellophane bags, good bread, little quiches, honey cakes…

There is just one table to enjoy the treat of your choice and a cup of coffee in the brilliantly bling gold cups and saucers.

My favourite new discovery is Towpath, the teeniest café you can imagine, owned by Italian-American food writer Lori di Mori and her photographer husband Jason Lowe. It’s at the end of Regent Canal and is literally four and half feet deep with a seat by the wall covered with hessian sacks as cushions and just a few carefully chosen treats on the menu. Already the toasted Montgomery Cheddar cheese and spring onion sandwich on bread from St John Bakery has become a legend, as has Cappezanna Olive Oil Cake.

Lori doesn’t do take-away coffee so punters have an excuse to sit a while to watch the dab chicks and swans glide by. As I sat there, a river barge puttered by and the captain shouted out a compliment to Lori ‘great frittata we had at lunch time today!’

Towpath is open from 8am for breakfast, people queue up for pinhead oatmeal porridge and homemade granola. Another little gem, I can’t imagine how people find it but it’s worth the effort.

Stevie Parle from Dock Kitchen’s new book My Kitchen – Real Food from Near and Far will be published by Quadrille early July. Stevie kindly gave us a sneak preview with these delicious recipes.

Cous Cous with Broad Beans

Serves 4

Try to pick your broad beans when they are small and tender, do not peel off the skin unless they have grown too large. Often raw beans are smashed in a pestle and mortar with a little garlic, mint, basil, pecorino, olive oil and lemon juice – an excellent antipasto on bruschetta with crudo ham.

Different broad beans deserve different treatment. The first of the season’s beans should be eaten raw, even with the pods, and then as the novelty wears off and the skins thicken other dishes can be tried. Large end-of-season beans can be slow-cooked with milk and sage as they do in Italy (the milk softens the tough skins) or with off-cuts of strong ham or sausage as they do in Spain. One of the best dishes is the Roman vignole, a stew of artichokes, peas and broad beans with ham, mint and parsley, so named because it is from the crops that grow beside the vines.

At this time of year in Morocco a delicious dish of cous cous with yogurt, coriander, cumin, and broad beans is served by the side of the road. When we were driving through the mountains, I kept pestering our driver to stop to eat this most delicious of dishes one more time.

 

1 cup of fine cous cous (not the coarse precooked stuff)
1 cup of small podded broad beans
1 very small clove of spring garlic
1 tsp cumin
5 tablespoons of yoghurt – preferably home made
2 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves
Olive oil

Briefly boil the broad beans in unsalted water (salt toughens the skins) then place in a bowl with the couscous. Sprinkle with salt and a tablespoon of olive oil. Rub the couscous and beans between your hands to make sure everything is well coated in olive oil. Pour hot water over the mixture, just enough to cover and leave unti the water is absorbed.

Crush the garlic in a pestle and mortar with a little salt to a fine paste. Toast the cumin until it crackles and then grind with the garlic, add the yoghurt and black pepper.
Chop the coriander leaves.

Mix the cous cous mixture with the seasoned yoghurt, check the seasoning and serve with a little olive oil. Delicious as part of a larger mezze style lunch for a picnic, or as a starter, snack or eccentric breakfast (with less garlic and cumin perhaps) on its own.

Tlacolula Slow-Cooked Pork

Serves 6

This is a recipe from Oaxaca in Mexico. If you can’t find smoked or sun-dried Mexican chillies you can use dried Spanish ones instead, though the smoked ones are so good it is probably worth buying some from coolchile.co.uk.

8 sun-dried or smoked Mexican chillies,

1/2 pork shoulder, about 2kg (4lb 8oz)

1 whole head of garlic

200ml (7fl oz) cider vinegar

1 tbsp dried oregano,

1 tin tomatoes, drained,

6 bay leaves,

1 tbsp allspice, crushed

Break the stems off the chillies, shake out some of the seeds and discard. Soak the chillies in 300ml (10floz) boiling water. Drain off the water and briefly whizz the peppers in a food processor.

Put the pork in a big pan with all the other ingredients. Pour in enough water almost to cover and season well with salt. Cover and set over a medium heat. Bring to the boil then turn down the heat as low as possible, and let the pork cook gently until really soft – about 2 hours.

Eat with some greens and salad of radish, celery, coriander and lime, plus crusty bread or corn tortillas.

Rhubarb and Brown Butter Tart

Serves 6

This is based on a delicious plum tart from Chez Panisse in California:

For the pastry

180g (6 1/4oz) plain flour

110g (4oz) unsalted butter

50g (1 3/4) icing sugar

2 egg yolks

For the Filling

350g 12oz (¾lb) of young rhubarb

100g (3½oz) sugar

180g (6 1/4oz) butter

juice of 1 juicy lemon or 2 not so juicy ones

2 eggs

160g (5 3/4oz) sugar

1 tbsp brandy (optional)

few drops of vanilla extract

pinch of salt

2 tbsp double cream

3 tbsp plain flour

Whizz the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor then add the egg yolks. Whizz a bit more then turn out on to an un-floured work surface and bring it together with your hands. Wrap in Clingfilm and leave in the fridge for a few hours.

Wash and slice the rhubarb into 5cm pieces and roll in 100g of sugar and roast in the oven at 160ºC until just tender. Allow to cool and drain off the syrup.

Grate the pastry on the course part of a grater into a 10in (25cm) loose-bottomed tart shell. Push down the grated pastry to cover the base and sides reasonably well. You can leave it a bit rough – try not to work the pastry too much. Put the shell in the freezer, and, after a few minutes when it is hard, put in the oven and bake until pale brown – about 15 minutes. Set the pastry case aside and turn up the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4.

Put the butter in a small pan over a moderate heat. Once it has melted, let it bubble and go slightly brown. When it has reached the desired nuttiness, take off the heat; squeeze in the lemon and leave to cool.

Beat the eggs and sugar together in an electric mixer until thick and fluffy – about 5 minutes. Add the (optional) brandy, vanilla, salt, cream and flour and cooled butter. Mix with a spoon until everything is incorporated.

Arrange the drained rhubarb in the pastry case and pour over the egg mixture. Bake for about 35 minutes or until light brown and set. The tart can be eaten warm or cold, and is nice with crème fraiche.Wildfood

Nettles (Urtica dioica)

Nettles are growing in great profusion around the countryside at the moment particularly on nitrate-rich soil. Gather them while they are young and tender and not too strongly flavoured. You’ll need gloves to protect your hands. With their high iron and vitamin C content, nettles were prominent in folk medicine and, like many other wild foods, they helped in some small measure to alleviate hunger during the Irish famine. Older people knew their value and made sure to eat a feed of nettles 4 times during the month of May to clear the blood. In fact, herbalists confirm that nettles contain iron, formic acid, histamine, ammonia, silica acid and potassium. These minerals are known to help rheumatism, sciatica and other pains. They lower blood pressure and blood sugar levels to increase the haemoglobin in the blood, improve circulation and purify the system, so our ancestors weren’t far wrong. In more recent times, nettles have also become a much sought-after ingredient for trendy chefs.

Roger’s Nettle Beer

My research assistant for my Forgotten Skills book Nathalie found this recipe in Roger Phillips’ book, Wild Food. It makes delicious beer – sweet, fizzy, perfect for summertime. But she bottled it before it had finished fermenting, and one night, the glass bottles exploded. Oh well, practice makes perfect!

Makes 12 litres

100 nettle stalks, with leaves

11 litres (3 gallons) water

1.3kg (3lb) granulated sugar

50g (2oz) cream of tartar

10g (1⁄2 oz) live yeast

Boil the nettles in the water for 10 minutes. Strain, and add the sugar and the cream of tartar. Heat and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave until tepid, then add the yeast and stir well. Cover with muslin and leave for several days.

Remove the scum and decant without disturbing the sediment. Bottle, cork and tie down.

Hottips

To celebrate the revamp of their dining room, The Crawford Gallery Cafe is launching their One a Month Dinner Nights starting on Thursday May 20th. A six course tasting menu of local, seasonal food will be on offer for €50.00 a head Reservations only, to book, phone 021 4274415 crawfordcafe@gmail.com

 

Are you thinking of re-skilling? Would you like to own/operate a food business with passion and professionalism – while making a profit? Consider the 12 Week course at ‘The Restaurant Advisor’ Blathnaid Bergin’s new School of Restaurant and Kitchen Management in Abbeyleix, Co. Laois. For more information on the course that starts on 23rd August visit http://www.therestaurantadvisor.ie/restaurant-mangement or telephone +353 (0) 87 679 0854 info@therestaurantadvisor.ie

Truly Tasty – the brainchild of Valerie Twomey – is a cookery book especially for adults living with kidney disease. Some of Ireland’s top chefs including Rachel Allen, Rory O’Connell, Neven Maguire, Paul Flynn and Clodagh McKenna have contributed to this book and each recipe has been analysed by dieticians and the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute. Published by Atrium with beautiful images by photographer Hugh McElveen.

 

Dock Kitchen www.dockkitchen.co.uk 0044 2089621610

Towpath Café by Regents Canal 42 De Beauvoir Crescent, N1 5SB London

Square Mile Coffee Roasters www.squaremilecoffee.com

Thomasina Miers Wahaca www.wahaca.com

Moro Restaurant www.moro.co.uk

The River Café www.rivercafe.co.uk

The Café Restaurant Petersham Nurseries www.petershamnurseries.com

Cocomaya Restaurant: www.cocomaya.co.uk

Brooklyn USA

In New York, I lost track of the number of people who told me that the most exciting and diverse food scene was out in Brooklyn, so needless to say I sped over the bridge in search of the super cool foodie set. Brooklyn is all about graffiti, galvanise, peeling paint, iron grills and salvaged furnishings. Everyone seems to be 150% into food in that brilliant intense American way. Real estate is less expensive than in Manhattan so many creative young cooks and chefs can get started over there.

I’ve been a fan of Franny’s in Prospect Heights in Brooklyn for some time now. It’s always packed and noisy, a simple neighbourhood restaurant where the most irresistible pizza comes out of their brick wood oven topped with the freshest local and seasonal ingredients – one can’t book but while you wait you can sip a couple of their sophisticated cocktails to while the time deliciously away.

On this trip I concentrated on the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn which is completely choc a bloc with restaurants and food shops – I particularly wanted to see Marlow and Son and its sister shop and butchery down the road called Marlow and Daughter. This is one of the much hyped new retro butcher shops with an intense commitment to sell only sustainable grass fed meats – no feed lot-beef here – all the meat is from heritage breeds and small scale local farmers. There is also a strong and refreshing ‘waste not’ philosophy so every scrap from the nose to the tail is used, the dry aged meat is respectfully displayed, not a scrap of sweet sour sauce in sight – just superb quality well hung meat, home made sausages, terrines. At the back of the shop two young men were deep in discussion about how to get the best use out of the carcass of Gloucester Old Spot pork they had on the butchers block in front of them. Butchers are the new food heroes in New York at present. There is a sudden surge in the number of young people trying to get into Butcher School and all the top chefs are making their own in-house charcuterie as well as pickles and preserves.

It’s all about meat, even three star restaurants are doing burgers and there seems to be ‘burger mania’ among the blogging set, but of course these are no ordinary burgers, it must be grass fed beef, great buns, organic tomatoes and salad leaves, farmstead cheese and in some cases a slab of foie gras on top.

Back to Brooklyn, I popped into Diner as well, a tiny restaurant right next door to Marlow and Son and with the same owner. People flock to this ‘box car diner’ (circa 1927) for breakfast lunch and dinner to eat New American seasonal food. Up the road we found Saltie, one of the newest additions to the Brooklyn food scene owned by three women chefs, Caroline Fidadza, Rebecca Collerton, and Elizabeth Schula.

A tiny blue and white sandwich shop with a nautical theme. News has spread and people come all the way from Manhattan for their buckwheat olive bars – this buttery salty buckwheat shortbread with chunks of Kalamata olives – a new take on a ships biscuit. The menu is small but well chosen. Just a few perfectly composed sandwiches on great bread and 2 or 3 cakes. I chose the ‘Captain’s Daughter’ a thick wedge of Focaccia stuffed with sardines, pickled eggs, a tangle of coriander and rocket leaves with a few capers and radish julienne to perk it up, a perfect picnic for the plane with a slice of their olive oil and caraway seed cake.

For cheese lovers, Bedford cheese shop a few blocks away has a fantastic selection of cheese and really knowledgeable staff.

It goes on and on, Brooklyn Star is also close by, here the food is Southern and also terrific.

All of this is just the tip of the iceberg; eleven new restaurants have also opened in Williamsburg in the last few months, mostly small places but so happening. There’s great coffee, ice cream, fish, offal, vegetables, charcuterie and ethnic food. Locals keep hens.

Try to get over on your next trip to New York, it’s less than 30 minutes from mid-town by cab and possibly even less time on the underground.

Websites to visit…

www.frannysbrooklyn.com

 
 

 

www.marlowandsons.com

 
 

 

www.saltieny.com

 
 

 

www.bedfordcheeseshop.com

www.thebrooklynstar.com

 
 

 

Homemade Burgers

 
 

 

The top US chefs insist on grass fed beef, dry-aged and freshly minced with at least 25% fat for succulence. Try to find Hereford, Aberdeen Angus or Pol Angus beef for extra flavour. The ‘haute burger’ has no internal seasoning just the flavour of good quality beef. Instead of buying mincemeat choose a cut of meat from your butcher and ask them to mince it for you.

 

Serves 4-6 depending on size

1 lb (450g) best quality freshly minced beef – flank, chump or shin would be perfect

Maldon sea salt and freshly ground pepper

pork caul fat, optional

olive oil

hamburger buns (see recipe)

Put the fresh mince into a chilled bowl, season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fry off a tiny bit on the pan to check the seasoning, correct if necessary. Then shape into burgers, 4-6 depending on the size you require. Wrap each one loosely in pork caul fat if using. Cook to your taste on a medium-hot grill pan in a little oil, turning once.

Little tip…If the hamburgers are being cooked in batches make sure to wash and dry the pan between batches.

The Great American Hamburger

 

 

 

The Great American Hamburger is served in a bun with lettuce, sliced onions and tomato, gherkins, a dill pickle, mayonnaise and tomato sauce and of course lots of crispy chips (French fries).

Evie Lanitis Hamburger Buns

 

 

 

Makes about 20 buns large buns

2 1/2 lbs (1.1kg) strong white Bakers flour

1 1/2 oz (35g) fresh yeast

2 level teaspoons salt

2 1/2 level tablespoons sugar

500ml (18 fl ozs) tepid milk

200ml (7 fl ozs) organic yogurt

1 beaten egg

3 1/2 ozs (100g) butter

Glaze
 

 

1 free-range egg beaten with 3fl ozs (75ml) water

water sprayer

Cookie cutter (size 2 – 2 1/2 inch/6cm)

Conventional oven 230°C/450°F/gas mark 8.

Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the sugar. Rub in the butter. Dissolve the yeast in the tepid milk. Add the beaten egg to the yoghurt. Pour the milk, then the yoghurt into the flour; knead in the food mixer with the dough hook fitted for 5-6 minutes. Cover and leave to rise until the dough doubles in size – this takes about 1 hour. Knock back, divide the dough into 4 pieces, shape each into a roll and divide each into 6 pieces about 3ozs (75g) each.

Roll each piece in a ball, and then flatten with the heel of your hand. Put 6 buns on a baking tray. Cover and allow to rise about 1 1/2 hours (they don’t rise too much). Brush them gently with egg wash.

Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/gas 8, open quickly and spray the inside of the oven well with water, close the door then put tray in at once.

Spray with water twice more during baking – around oven, bottom, sides and over the buns. They will take about 10-15 minutes to cook.

Cool on wire tray.

 

Pickled Eggs

 

 

Pickled eggs are a living tradition still served in many country pubs. Originally, pickling would’ve been yet another way of preserving the eggs in times of glut, but the pickle added interest and flavour, so just because we have fridges now doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pickle eggs any more.

850ml (11⁄2 pints) white wine vinegar

10g (1⁄2oz) fresh root ginger

7g (1⁄4oz) white peppercorns

7g (1⁄4oz) black peppercorns

1 tablespoon turmeric (optional)

1 chilli

12 organic free range eggs, hard-boiled

Put the vinegar and spices, including turmeric if using, into a stainless-steel saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, sieve and leave to cool.

Peel the eggs, run under a cold tap to remove any traces of shell and put into a sterilised Kilner jar. Pour in the spiced vinegar. The eggs must be completely covered; otherwise they won’t keep. Seal the jar with the clip and keep for 3–4 weeks before using. These are great eaten in the traditional way with a beer, but I like them on a salad of organic leaves or watercress, mint, cherry tomatoes and batons of cucumber.

Olive Oil Cake

 

 

 

This olive oil cake was all the rage in cafes and tea shops – I adored the Saltie version which included caraway seeds but omit them if you don’t love them as much as I do! I use Primo or Mani extra virgin olive oil. Also great for those who want a dairy free cake.

Serves 8 – 10
 

 

165g (6oz) 1 ½ cups all purpose white flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

3 large free range organic eggs

225g (8oz) 1 cup sugar

175ml (6fl oz) ¾ cup plain full fat yoghurt

3 lemons, the finely grated zest

175ml (6 fl oz) ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for greasing the dish

23cm (9 inch) springform tin

Pre-heat the oven 170°C/325°F/ Mark 3. Lightly oil the base and sides of the tin.

Mix all the dry ingredients together including the caraway seeds in a medium sized mixing bowl.

Preferably in a food mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar on high speed for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is pale and voluminous.

Add the natural yoghurt and lemon zest, continue to whisk for a minute or two more. Add the extra virgin olive oil all at once and reduce speed to low. Gradually fold the flour mixture into the mousse gently but thoroughly.

Pour the cake mixture into the oiled tin and put into the oven. Transfer to the centre of the preheated oven and cook until the cake is golden – about 40 minutes. A tester should come out clean when inserted into the centre. The edges will have shrunk away from the tin slightly.

Allow to cool in the tin for 5 – 10 minutes. Remove and transfer to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.

Serve with a coffee or with a blob of crème fraiche and some summer berries.

Oatmeal Biscuit Sandwich

 

 

 

I tasted a cookie similar to this at the little coffee shop beside the restaurant Locanda Verde in Manhattan.

 

Makes 22 – approx

1 lb (450g) butter

8ozs (225g) castor sugar

8ozs (225g) plain white flour

¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1lb 4ozs (560g) organic porridge oats

egg wash and granulated sugar

Coffee filling

 
3

ozs (85g) butter

6 ozs (190g) icing sugar

coffee essence – 2 teaspoon approx.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Sieve the flour and bread soda together and gradually add into the creamed mixture with the porridge oats.

Turn onto a board sprinkled with oatmeal and roll out to a thickness of 1/3 inch (1cm). Cut into 3″ round biscuits with a sharp cutter. Glaze with egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake in a preheated moderate oven at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 until pale and golden, about 20 – 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile make the coffee filling, cream the butter and add in the sieved icing sugar, beat until light and fluffy and then add the coffee essence.

Spread a little on each biscuit and sandwich two together and enjoy.

Fool Proof Food

Captain’s Daughter

 

 

 

This is my version of the super sandwich I picked up at Saltie in Brooklyn.

a piece of Focaccia approximately 4 ½ inches (11 ½ cm) square

fresh rocket and coriander leaves

extra virgin olive oil

sardines

pickled eggs (see recipe)

1 teaspoon tiny capers

4 radishes cut into julienne

Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Split the Focaccia in half horizontally. Put the base on a plate, drizzle the rocket and coriander leaves in extra virgin olive oil and pile on the bread base, arrange the sardines side by side on the leaves. Top with slices of pickled egg. Sprinkle capers and julienne of radish on top. Season with Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top with rocket and the other slice of Focaccia.

Hottips
Interior Living – 11 McCurtain Street in Cork city – has a little pantry at the

back of their shop that stocks Primo Olive oil. This award winning extra virgin olive oil is harvested by hand and extracted by the continuous cold cycle method from using only early green harvest Tonda Iblea olives that produce an intense, fresh tasting, totally delicious oil – 021 4505819 – info@interiorliving.ie.

Discover the truth behind unhealthy food addictions
and learn how to break the cycle. David Kessler delves into the psychology and neuroscience of our junk-food cravings in his book – The End of Overeating – Taking control of our Insatiable Appetite, published by Penguin. Available in the Ballymaloe Cookery School farm shop and in most good book shops.

 

Shape up for Summer with Lucy
Hyland’s healthy cookery classes at Brennan’s in Cork city over two evenings – Thursday 20th May and Thursday 27th May 6:45pm to 9:30pm €95.00 for both classes – 0868179964 or lucy@foodforliving.ie.

 

Feel Good Food

For years now we’ve been getting conflicting messages about what’s good for us nutritionally and three quarters of it I disagree with totally. For a start I avoid all low fat or ‘lite’ products. For me low fat or ‘lite’ means less flavour, less nutrients, less real value, every bite of food we eat should nourish us rather than just fill us with empty calories and fill the pockets of the multinationals. So how do we find nourishing food? Look out for and eat as much fresh, preferably home-grown local food in season as you can lay your hands on. Not always possible but ideally start to grow something yourself even if it’s only a few salad leaves in a pot or box on your window or balcony, it’ll taste a million times better. I know that sounds like a cliché but it’s totally true. Freshness is everything in most vegetables, herbs and fruit.

Involve the children as well in the growing – you’ll be astonished how they eat everything, spinach, broccoli, radishes, broad-beans, leeks… I’m convinced the reason why it’s so difficult to get children to eat vegetables is that their fresh palate can pick up chemical flavours and distinguish the difference between freshly picked vegetables that are full of natural sugars which quickly turn to less appealing starches as the vegetable ages.

Children and indeed all of us love the natural sugars so freshness is a key. If you are trying to make sense of the plethora of conflicting advice you would do well to be guided by Michael Pollen – who wrote the Omnivores Dilemma published by Puffin – in his book Food Rules – An Eaters Manual.

Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognise as food.

Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry.

Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup

Avoid food that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients.

Avoid food products containing ingredients that an eight year old child cannot pronounce.

Avoid food products that make health claims.

Avoid food products with wordoid ‘lite’ or the ‘low-fat’ or ’non-fat’ in their names.

Avoid foods you see advertised on television.

Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle

Eat only foods that will eventually rot.

Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature.

Buy your snacks at the farmer’s market.

Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans.

Don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap.

If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.

It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.

It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language… (think Big Mac or Pringles)

It’s unquestionably a good idea to eat lots of vegetables and fruit but do your utmost to find produce that is chemical free.

One of our teachers at the Cookery School – Debbie Shaw who is a fully trained nutritionist gave me some of her delicious healthy recipes and tips to share with you.

Debbie Shaw’s Humus in a Hurry

Humus is a delicious, highly nutritious and versatile Middle Eastern dish.

 

1 x 400g can of cooked chickpeas (“Suma”, organic, salt & sugar free beans), drained
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
Juice of ½ a large lemon
2 tablespoons of dark tahini paste (Meridian brand)

½ teaspoon of salt 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika

N.B. Tahini paste is made of ground sesame seeds. The light Tahini is not lower in calories, the sesame seeds have been hulled and are thus less nutritious!

To make it, drain and rinse the chickpeas. Cover in fresh cold water, place in a saucepan and boil for 2 minutes. Drain them holding back some of the cooking water. The chickpeas absorb all the flavours better when they are warm. Add the tahini paste, garlic, lemon juice, cumin and salt and blend with a hand blender to a puree. It should be soft. If it is too stiff add some of the reserved hot cooking water. Place the humus in a bowl, drizzle with a little cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the paprika.

 

 

 

 

 

Serving Suggestions

Crisp Crudités  

 

Humus is delicious as a starter with fresh crudités (raw vegetables), including baby spring onions, French beans, asparagus, celery sticks, carrot sticks, courgette sticks, sweet pepper strips, cherry tomatoes, and broccoli or cauliflower florets. Pop the humus in a tub and bring it to work with a bag of veggie sticks.Wholewheat Pittabread Sticks

 

 

Mix 2 teaspoon of extra virgin olive with a pinch of coarsely ground cumin seeds, a pinch of smoked paprika and a pinch of sea salt. Cut the pitta bread into long strips and toss in the oil mixture. Cook in a hot oven or under a grill until crisp. Use them to dip into the humus.

Humus is also great in sandwiches instead of mayonnaise.

 

Debbie Shaw’s Seared Organic Salmon with Baby Spinach, Wild Garlic
and Watercress Pesto & Brown Rice Tagliatelle

This delicious light summer recipe is packed with nutrients offering maximum energy for minimum effort.

Serves 4

1lb 4oz (510g) of dried brown rice tagliatelle or spaghetti
1 lb (400g) Fresh Organic Salmon, skinned and cut into 1″ cubes
Salt & freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons of pine nuts, toasted in a dry frying pan with no oil
2 oz (50g) baby spinach

 

For the Pesto

 

1 oz (25g) wild garlic, long stalks removed
2 oz (50g) baby spinach
1 oz (25g) watercress, leafs only
1 clove of garlic, finely crushed
1 oz (25g) of walnuts
2 ½ – 3 floz (75–90 mls) of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
1 oz (25g) parmesan cheese, grated on a medium-sized grater, hold back 2 tblsp for sprinkling

First make the pesto. Ensure the greens are totally dry before blending. Place the first 5 ingredients in a blender (or use a hand blender or pestle and mortar). Blend briefly on pulse until the greens and walnuts are chopped. Whiz again briefly, pouring in the olive oil. Remove to a bowl and fold in most of the parmesan cheese, keeping a little for sprinkling. If you cannot pick wild garlic or watercress, use 4oz of baby spinach.

To cook the pasta, bring 8 pints of water to a fast rolling boil and add 2 teaspoon of salt. I have chosen brown rice pasta because it is delicious, highly nutritious and gluten-free. This dish could equally be made with other wholegrain pastas (high in B vitamins for energy) such as quinoa or buckwheat, which are also gluten-free, or whole wheat or wholegrain spelt pasta. They take a bit longer to cook than white pasta. Follow the cooking directions on the packet.

Place the brown rice tagliatelle in the vigorously boiling water and stir immediately to separate the strands. The pasta will take 6-8 minutes to cook. While the pasta is cooking, heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the salmon cubes and season with salt and pepper. Cook over a low to medium heat until the salmon is cooked through.

When the pasta is cooked, leaving a slight bite (“al dente”), drain it, reserving some of the pasta cooking water. Rinse the pasta under hot water to remove excess starch. Mix 4 tablespoons of the pasta water into the pesto to thin it out (this allows you to use less oil when making the pesto). Place the pasta in a large warm bowl and coat evenly with the pesto. Finally add the cooked salmon cubes and the uncooked baby spinach leaves. Toss gently without breaking up the salmon. Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts, grated parmesan and wild garlic flowers on top. Voilá, you have a delicious, highly nutritious, energy-giving meal. Bon appetite.

 

Debbie’s Energising, Revitalising Homemade Herbal Teas

Grow some herbs and try making your own fresh herbal teas to energise and revitalise your body and mind. They are easy to make and less expensive than herbal teabags.

To make rosemary or mint or lemon balm tea:

 

Place 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary or 4 large sprigs of fresh lemon balm or 4 large sprigs of fresh mint in a small flask and cover in 400ml boiling water (this is enough for two cups of tea) Put the lid on the flask and allow to infuse for 10 minutes. I like to use a flask to keep the teas hot while they are infusing, but you can also use a teapot and tea cosy. Pour and enjoy.

Rosemary Tea

Stimulates circulation, releases energy

Improves memory

Lifts the spirits

Lemon Balm TeaInvigorates the body,

Relieves stress/anxiety,

Settles the stomach


Mint Tea

Refreshes body and mind

Aids digestion

Aids memory

Mild aphrodisiac

 

 

 

Cinnamon Tea
To make cinnamon tea, break 1 large cinnamon stick in half. Add the cinnamon pieces to a flask and cover with 400mls boiling water. Put on the lid and infuse for 10 minutes. Sometimes I also pop a star anise in as well. Serve with a teaspoon of Manuka honey and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

 

Balances blood sugar and relieves sweet cravings

Warms the body

Lifts the spirits

Helps lower cholesterol

 


Root Ginger and Fresh Lemongrass Tea

 

 

To prepare the tea, slice a 1 inch piece of fresh unpeeled root ginger and bruise a stalk of fresh lemongrass with a rolling pin. Place the ginger pieces and lemon grass in a flask and cover with 400mls boiling water. Cover with the lid and allow to infuse for 20 minutes. Pour and enjoy.

 

Energises the body

Stimulates circulation

Aids digestion, relieves headaches and nausea

 

 

 

 

Debbie’s Eat for Energy Tips

Where do we get our Energy from?

We get our energy from what we eat and our bodies convert it into useable fuel. Here comes the science bit. In every cell in your body there is a little “power house” called the Mitochondria, which makes your energy. In order for this power house to function well it needs key vitamins and minerals, from food.

Introducing the high energy vitamins: B vitamins (B1-B3, B5, B6), EFA’s (essential fatty acids), iron, magnesium and vitamin C.

For B-Vitamins Eat More

– wholegrains (wholewheat, quinoa, buckwheat, brown rice, wholegrain spelt), wheat germ, bran, brewers yeast, dried & sprouted beans, nuts & seeds (walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds), eggs, fish, game, asparagus, avocados, broccoli & carrots. B vitamins also help us distress. 

For EFA’s Eat More

– fresh oily fish such as salmon, herrings, sardines, trout and seabass; flaxseeds, nuts and seeds, nut and vegetables oils. EFA’s are also essential for good brain function and promote serotonin production. Serotonin is the brain’s “happy” chemical.

For Magnesium Eat More – leafy green vegetables including spinach and watercress; wheatgerm & bran, brewers yeast, walnuts, almonds, cashews, soyabeans and seafood. Magnesium is also essential for heart health and restful sleep. For Vitamin C Eat More

– fresh fruits and vegetables, in particular kiwis, blackcurrants, strawberries, green vegetables (including watercress & broccoli) and sweet peppers. Vitamin C is also essential for immune health, dental health and helps relieve hay fever (it is a natural anti-histamine). For Iron Eat More

– green leafy vegetables (including spinach & nettles), parsley, avocados, kelp, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pine nuts. Hottips

Join Debbie Shaw on her “Feel Good Food Course” on Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 at the Ballymaloe Cookery School and learn how to cook more delicious recipes to energise your life. Her recipes are inspired by the fresh, healthy flavours of the Mediterranean, Asia and the Middle East, and will include superfood salads, fabulous fish, family favourites and tasty treats. Book online

 

www.cookingisfun.ie or phone 021 4646785. 

Gorta Soup for Life

Help make hunger history by gathering friends and colleagues for a fun get together over a cup, bowl or pot of soup (or any other meal that takes your fancy!) and making a contribution to gorta’s work aimed at eliminating hunger and malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa.

 

www.gorta.org/soup  

 

Mustard Seed Limerick Celebrates their 25th Anniversary this year

Dan Mullane’s

The Mustard Seed opened its doors in a cottage in the centre of Adare village 25 years ago. From small beginnings with 5 staff members, a basic herb garden and lots of good will, the Mustard Seed has grown to a four star country house that was awarded the Georgina Campbell Country House of the Year 2008. It’s worth taking a trip just to try head chef David Rice’s pan fried turbot with potato fennel salad, charred asparagus and rocket aioli, it’s really really good. To book 06968508 –

 

mustard@indigo.ie www.themustardseed.ie

Spice it up with Cinnamon

I’m not quite sure what’s going on but it’s becoming more difficult to find really good cinnamon—frequently what is sold as cinnamon is its coarser cousin cassia. Most of the real cinnamon comes not from India but from Sri Lanka. The latter is the biggest exporter of cinnamon in the world by far. Cinnamon trees grow happily in the same kind of tropical climates as tea and rubber. They can grow to a height of 20-30ft but are carefully pruned to a height of 6 ft so the branches grow in a spindly fashion. These are cut when they are about the thickness of a brush handle and 6-8ft long.

I visited a cinnamon plantation in Sri Lanka some time ago, the grower explained that one can start to harvest the cinnamon after 3 ½ years. In December and January and then again in August. The art of peeling the bark is very specialized and done by a people from a particular caste called Salagama. The cinnamon peelers sit side-by-side, cross-legged in a shed. It is fascinating to watch, one person peels off the outer bark, then the next carefully slits the inner layer with a short knife and lifts it off in long pieces. This will curl up as it dries and then be sold in cinnamon quills or sticks for use in sweet and savory dishes and medicines. Cinnamon is now known to be a cure for type 2 diabetes. It brings blood sugar levels down naturally and mimics the action of insulin. In Sri Lanka people also drink cinnamon tea to help reduce cholesterol—just add a ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground cinnamon to a cup of weak tea. Omit the milk.

From the cook’s point of view, good cinnamon is a beautiful flavour enhancer however the majority of ground cinnamon is now adulterated with the cheaper and more acrid cassia. You will notice that it is darker in colour than it used to be and has a much less appealing aroma so it’s best to buy whole cinnamon sticks or quills and grind them yourself in a coffee or spice grinder.

Cinnamon and Orange Cake

 

Serves 8

 

45g/ 1 ½ oz slightly stale white breadcrumbs (yeast or soda bread)

200g/ 7 oz caster sugar

100g/ 3 1/2 ozs ground almonds

7 fl ozs / 200ml oil

4 eggs

finely grated zest of 1 large orange

finely grated zest 1/2 lemon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

 

Cinnamon Syrup

juice of 1 orange

juice of 1/2 lemon

85g /3 ozs sugar

2 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

crème fraiche or Greek yoghurt

 

8 inch x 2 1/2 inch deep (20.5cm x 6.5cm deep) tin OR 4 small loaf tins 5.75 inches (14.6cm) x 3 inches (7.62cm) lined with greaseproof or silicone paper.

 

Mix the breadcrumbs with the sugar, almonds, and baking powder. Whisk the oil with the eggs, pour into the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the orange and lemon zest. Pour the mixture into a greased and lined tin.

 

Put into a cold oven, and set the heat to 180C/350F/regulo 4.

 

Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the cake looks a rich golden brown. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a plate.

 

Meanwhile make the syrup

 

 

Put all the ingredients into a stainless steel saucepan, bring gently to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely. Simmer for 3 minutes. While it is still warm,

pierce holes in the cake with a skewer and pour over the syrup. Leave to cool. Spoon excess syrup back over the cake every now and then until it is all soaked up.

One can remove the cinnamon sticks but I like to leave them on top of the cake.

Serve with crème fraiche or thick Greek yoghurt.

Cinnamon & Marzipan Apples

A Swedish friend called Bo Hermansson gave me this mouth-watering recipe for baked apples. The centre is filled with homemade marzipan and then the apples are rolled in cinnamon-flavoured sugar.

Serves 12, 1 per person

12 medium eating apples, eg. Worcester Pearmain, Golden Delicious or Cox’s Orange Pippin

Marzipan

175g / 6 oz ground almonds

225g / 8ozs sugar

4 fl ozs /110ml water

1 egg white

natural almond extract to taste (beware, 1 drop only)

Coating

4 ozs /110g melted butter

8ozs /225g castor sugar mixed with 4 rounded teaspoons ground cinnamon. (This is approximate: the amount of the mixture depends on the size of the apples.)

To Make the Marzipan

Put the sugar and water into a deep saucepan. Stir over a medium heat to dissolve the sugar in the water. Bring to the boil. Cover the pan for 2 minutes to steam any sugar from saucepan sides. Remove cover and boil rapidly just to thread stage -106-113°C (236°F).

Remove from the heat. Stir the syrup for a second or two until cloudy. Stir in almonds. Set aside to cool briefly.

Lightly whisk egg white, add the almond extract and stir into the almond mixture. Transfer the paste from the saucepan to pyrex plate. Cool. The cool marzipan should feel like moulding clay.

Meanwhile, peel and core the apples. Stuff the cavities with the marzipan filling. Roll the apples first in melted butter and then in the castor sugar and cinnamon. Arrange side by side in an ovenproof dish and bake in a moderate oven 180°C/350°F/regulo 4, for 1 hour approx. The apples need to be very soft and almost bursting.

Serve warm with a bowl of softly-whipped cream.

(Marzipan will keep for 2-3 months in a fridge).

Note

Apples may take less/more time to cook depending on the variety and time of the year.

 

Cinnamon Scones

 

Makes 18-20 scones using a 7 1/2 cm (3inch) cutter

 

In season: all year

 

900g / 2lb plain white flour

175g / 6oz butter

3-4 teaspoons cinnamon

3 free-range eggs

pinch of salt

50g /2oz castor sugar

3 heaped teaspoons baking powder

450ml /15floz approx. milk to mix

 

Glaze

egg wash (see below)

granulated sugar mixed with one teaspoon cinnamon

 

First preheat the oven to 250°C/475°F/gas mark 9.

 

Sieve all the dry ingredients together in a large wide bowl. Cut the butter into cubes, toss in the flour and rub in the butter. Make a well in the centre. Whisk the eggs with the milk, add to the dry ingredients and mix to a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured board. Don’t knead but shape just enough to make a round. Roll out to about 21/2cm (1inch) thick and cut or stamp into scones.* Put onto a baking sheet – no need to grease. Brush the tops with egg wash and dip each one in the cinnamon. Bake in a hot oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown on top. Cool on a wire rack.

Serve split in half with good Irish butter.

Egg Wash

Whisk 1 egg with a pinch of salt. This is brushed over the scones and pastry to help them to brown in the oven.

 

Top Tip

– Stamp them out with as little waste as possible, the first scones will be lighter than the second rolling.

 

 

 

Apple, Walnut and Cinnamon Tart

A yummy pud to share with family and friends. Pecans and hazelnuts are also delicious.

 

Serves 8-10

 

225g/ 8oz self raising flour ½ teasp. baking powder

75g/ 3oz butter

150g /5oz castor sugar

freshly grated zest from ½ lemon or lime

1 free range egg

5 fl.ozs /150ml milk

Topping:

500g/18ozs cooking apples – we use Grenadier or Bramley Seedling

25g/1oz butter, melted

25g/1oz chopped walnuts or pecans

50g/2oz granulated sugar

1 teasp. freshly ground cinnamon

1 rectangular tin 30x20x2.5cm (12x8x1 inch)

Line the tin with parchment paper (Bakewell)

Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ regulo 4

 

Sieve the flour and baking powder in a wide bowl, cut the butter into cubes, and toss in the flour. Rub in the butter until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the castor sugar and freshly grated lemon or lime rind.

Whisk the egg and milk together. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add the liquid and mix well with a wooden spoon. The mixture should be soft and smooth.

Spoon the mixture into the lined tin and spread evenly.

Brush the top with melted butter; arrange the apple slices in overlapping layers. Sprinkle the roughly chopped walnuts or pecans evenly over the top. Mix the cinnamon with the sugar and sprinkle evenly over the entire surface.

Bake for 40 minutes approx. or until puffed and golden. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

Serve with softly whipped cream or crème fraiche.

Variations; substitute mixed spice for cinnamon.

Fool Proof Food

 

Apple and Cinnamon Fritters

Apple Fritters have been one of my absolutely favourite puddings since I was a child – nothing changed I still love them.

4 cooking apples, Brambly, Seedling or Grenadier

110g / 4 ozs plain white flour

pinch of salt

1 egg, free range if possible

150ml/ ¼ pint milk

sunflower or peanut oil for frying

8 ozs (225g) castor sugar

1 teasp. cinnamon

Serves 6 approx.

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 5mm thick slices. Heat about 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.

Hot Tips

Michael Brenock, known to home gardeners and self sufficiency buffs throughout the country and a regular on ‘Ask about gardening’ on RTE radio has just published ‘The Irish Gardeners Handbook’ (O’Brien Press) a brilliant, simple guide for those of us who want to grow their own. Michael also provides weekly classes to allotment growers.

(021) 4631369.

Cork Free Choice Consumer Group presents ‘How to make your own Compost’. Donal O’Leary from Wastedown will explain how to make compost at home. Billy Wigham will talk about how he produces ‘Gee-Up’ compost and Caroline Robinson will demonstrate how to make compost teas. Crawford Art Gallery Café, Thursday 29th April at 7.30pm. The entrance fee of €6.00 includes tea/coffee

When you’re next in Cloyne, East Cork, it’s worth going to Cuddigan’s Bakery run by Siobhan Cronin – she stocks all sorts of delicious goodies. She sources most of her stuff locally – fresh fish from Ballycotton Seafood , meat from Kevin Day and Cormac O’Connor, potatoes from Ballycotton, smoked fish from Frank Hederman and goats cheese from Ardsallagh. Her salmon and potato cakes are yummy and her pear and almond tarts a treat. 021 4652762.

Contact Green Saffron to get fresh cinnamon quills – 021 4637960. Also try your local health food shop.

New York New York

A few days in New York leaves you wondering what recession? No point in chipping up to one of the hot restaurants without a reservation. Many don’t take bookings anyway so you just resign yourself to queuing – could be half an hour or longer but you might as well chill out and accept the inevitable wait. One can enjoy the camaraderie and cheery banter between fellow ‘hopefuls’.

This time, I stayed in a newish boutique hotel down-town in the Meat Packing district in Greenwich Village. The uber-cool Standard Hotel has a procession of gorgeous young people in the edgiest new gear traipsing in and out all the time.

Hunter Wellies seem to be the hippest footwear just now; I was feeling totally frumpy having left my wellies on the back porch in Shanagarry. As ever, I ate for Ireland – all in the way of research! It was over the St Patricks Day holiday so the food and kitchen shops from posh Dean and Delucca, to the farmer’s market were selling shamrock cookies edged with glitter, scary green cup cakes and gateaux covered in Kelly-green shamrocks and cheeky leprechauns. Many sold soda bread and spotted dog. The US version of Irish soda bread usually includes dried fruit and caraway seeds as well – very delicious.

The food scene in New York is brilliantly exciting; some of the best food is found in tiny restaurants where hungry young chefs and cooks, passionate about fresh, local straight from the farm or farmer’s market are doing simple creative food that knocks your socks off. This was typified in Aldea where George Mendes daily menu has a Portuguese influence.

I had a particularly delicious lunch at Locanda Verde a new ‘haut-casual’ neighbourhood restaurant in Tribeca’s Green Hotel where chef Andrew Carmellini is making waves. People are flocking for garlic encrusted chicken for two; I didn’t try that but I loved the sheep’s milk ricotta with cracked pepper and fresh thyme leaves and a good gloop of really beautiful extra virgin olive oil. This was served with a few slices of char-grilled focaccia. There was also a slice of duck and pistachio terrine with a frisée salad, roast pumpkin and pomegranate seeds. We also tasted delicious little meat balls rolled in fresh tomato sauce tucked inside a tiny brioche bun with a little goat cheese and pickled cucumber. But the most mind blowing of all was steak tartare with truffle oil and was it gherkin? The beef was hand cut into minute 1/8 inch cubes and exquisitely seasoned. A little strip of crisp guanciale propped up against the side and a fried poached quail egg sat on the top – much of the food is served on slate or timber boards and like many New York restaurant now there’s a little café at the side of restaurant with tempting goodies to take home.

 Mario Batali’s Casa Mona in Irving Place is still pulling in the adventurous eaters with its sublime tapas and small plates which might include duck hearts, cocks combs, pig’s ear, or tripe.

It’s all about meat in New York at present; chefs are going crazy doing cured meats, homemade sausages, salami… Some of the hottest new places like Minetta Tavern are leading the way. Artisan Butchers are the new heroes, cool young people are vying with each other to sign up for Butchers School and apparently most classes are over subscribed. The cool crowd and it seems everyone else as well, are on a stampede in search of the ‘smash’ burger. Can you imagine, there are blogs about burgers where people reveal their newest find and affionados are forking out up $28.00 for trendy – piled high burgers in throbbing faux ‘speak-easys’. Try the iconic Shake Shack, there are now three in town. Zaitzelf in the East Village is getting rave reviews for their glamburgers make of Kobe beef, sirloin, turkey, veggies…

BD Bistro Moderne – David Bouloud’s superbistro also serves a delish enriched burger if you have a mind to pay $32.00 for the fashionista’s favourite.

When I’m in New York if I have a craving for a burger I head to Le Parker Meridian Hotel in Midtown and slink in behind the crumby velour curtain off the lobby, there’s a  ‘caf’ with Formica tables where you can tuck into maybe the best but not the most expensive burger in town. The Breslin Bar and Dining Room is another place to add to your list. April Bloomfield of Spotted Pig fame has opened a new flagship gastropub there, great lamb burgers, tongue sandwiches and onion soup laced with bone marrow. Love nor money couldn’t get me into Maialino, Danny Meyer’s classic new Roman trattoria – there are rave reviews for the food so it may be worth booking on line before you leave home and while you’re at it, book Momofuku KO – they only have 12 seats – a brilliant experience – there’s also Momofuku Ssam and Momofuku Noodle Bar – all David Chang’s brainchild.

There is so much more, Sorella, Emma Hearst’s small seasonal restaurant and winebar serves exceptional Austrian Farmers market cooking at good prices and is again in mid-town.

I haven’t even mentioned breakfast at Ino or the Grey Dog. Pack a skirt with an elasticated waist band, buy a Time Out and a Zagat’s guide to New York dining and have fun. 

 

French Onion Soup with Gruyére Toasts

 

Serves 6

 

French onion soup is probably the best known and loved of all French soups and is still an enduring favourite from Paris to New York. It was a must for breakfast in the cafes beside the old markets at Les Halles in Paris and is still a feature on bistro menus at Rungis market.  Traditionally this soup is served in special white porcelain tureens. 

 

Serve with a glass of gutsy French vin de table.

 

1.35kg (3 lb) onions

50g (2 ozs) butter

1.7Litre (3 pints) good homemade beef or chicken stock or vegetable stock

salt and freshly ground pepper

 

To Finish

6 slices of baguette (French bread), 1/2 inch (1cm) thick toasted

75g (3oz) grated Gruyére cheese

 

Peel the onions and slice thinly. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion and cook on a low heat for about 40-60 minutes with the lid off, stirring frequently – the onions should be dark and well caramelised but not burnt.

 

Add the stock, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, bring to the boil and cook for a further 10 minutes.  Taste and correct seasoning.

 

Ladle into deep soup bowls; put a piece of toasted baguette covered with grated cheese on top of each one. Pop under the grill until the cheese melts and turns golden. Serve immediately but beware – it will be very hot.  Bon appetit!

 

Useful Tip

Hold your nerve: – The onions must be very well caramelized otherwise the soup will be too weak and sweet.  

 

American Irish Soda Bread with Caraway Seeds and Sultanas

 

Try this Irish American version of soda bread the caraway seeds give a delicious flavour and its made in minutes.

 

1 lb (450g) white flour, preferably unbleached

1 level teaspoon salt

1 level teaspoon breadsoda

3 oz (75g) sultanas

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

sour milk or buttermilk to mix – 12-14 fl ozs (350-400 ml) approx.

 

First fully preheat your oven to 230ºC/450ºF/regulo 8.

 

Sieve the dry ingredients. Add the sultanas and caraway seeds. Make a well in the centre.  Pour most of the milk in at once. Using one hand, mix in the flour from the sides of the bowl, adding more milk if necessary. The dough should be softish, not too wet and sticky. When it all comes together, turn it out onto a well floured worked surface.  WASH AND DRY YOUR HANDS.  Tidy it up and flip over gently.  Pat the dough into a round about 1 1/2 inches (2.5cm) deep and cut a cross on it to let the fairies out! Let the cuts go over the sides of the bread to make sure of this. Bake in a hot oven, 230ºC/450ºF/regulo 8 for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/regulo 6 for 30 minutes or until cooked. If you are in doubt, tap the bottom of the bread: if it is cooked it will sound hollow.

Cool on a wire rack , break in half and cut in thickish slices from the end. Slather with good Irish butter and enjoy.

 

Duck and Pistachio Terrine

 

 

 

Serves 10

 

8 ozs (225g) fresh duck livers

2 tablespoons) brandy

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (yes, put it all in!)

8 ozs (225g) very thinly sliced, rindless streaky rashers (you may need more if they are not very thinly sliced) or better still, barding fat*.

1/2 oz (15g) butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 lb (450g) streaky pork, minced

8 ozs (225g) duck leg, minced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (Pimento or Jamaican Pepper)

a good pinch of ground cloves

1 tablespoon freshly chopped annual marjoram

2 small eggs, beaten

salt, freshly ground pepper and nutmeg

2 ozs (50g) shelled pistachios

6-8 ozs (170-225g) piece of cooked ham, cut in thick strips

bay leaf

sprig of thyme

 

Luting paste or tinfoil

3 pint (1.7 L/7 1/2 cups) capacity terrine or casserole with tight fitting lid

 

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

 

Wash the duck livers, separate the lobes and remove any trace of green.  Marinade in the brandy and 1/2 teaspoon of ground white pepper for 2 hours.   Line a terrine or casserole with very thinly sliced bacon or barding fat, keeping a few slices for the top.

 

Sweat the onion gently in the butter until soft but not coloured.  In a bowl mix the sweated onion with the pork, duck, garlic, allspice, ground cloves, chopped marjoram, beaten eggs and the brandy from the duck livers.  Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and lots of grated nutmeg.  Mix very thoroughly.  Fry a little piece and taste for seasoning – it should taste quite spicy and highly seasoned.  Add the pistachios and beat until the mixture holds together.

 

 

Spread a third of the farce in the lined terrine, add a layer of half the ham strips interspersed with half the duck livers, and then cover with another third of the pork mixture.  Add the remaining ham and livers and cover with the last third.  Lay the reserved barding fat or bacon slices on top, trimming the edges if necessary.  Set the bay leaf and sprig of thyme on top of the bacon or barding fat and cover with the lid.  Seal the lid with a sheet of tinfoil under the lid.

 

Cook in a ban-Marie in a preheated oven, 180C/350F/regulo4, for 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours or until a skewer inserted for 1/2 minute into the mixture is hot to the touch when taken out.  If you are still in doubt remove the lid and check: the pate should also have shrunk in from the sides of the terrine and the juices should be clear. 

 

Cool until tepid, remove the luting paste or tinfoil and lid and press the terrine with a board and a 2 lb (900g) weight until cold.  This helps to compact the layers so that it will cut more easily.  Keep for 2-3 days before serving to allow the terrine to mature.  It can be frozen for up to 2 months.

 

To Serve: Unmould the terrine, cut into thick slices and serve with some crusty bread. Andrew Carmellini served it with a little frisée salad with a few chunks of roast pumpkin and some pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top.

 

Coffee Crème Brulee

 

Serves 4

 

200ml (7oz) milk

200ml (7oz) cream

4 large or 5 small organic egg yolks

40g (1 ½ oz) sugar

1 ½ tablespoons Irel Coffee Essence

 

4 ramekins

 

Preheat the oven to 150ºC / 300°F / Gas 2

 

Put the milk and cream into a heavy bottomed saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, gradually pour the boiling liquid over the egg yolks whisking all the time. Add the coffee and whisk again.

Pour the mixture through the sieve into 4 ramekins. Bake in a bain maire in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until just set but slightly wobbly in the centre. Shallow wide dishes cook faster, 20 minutes approximately.

Cool, cover with cling film and chill. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar – it should be a thin layer, tip off excess if necessary. Glaze with a blow torch. Café crème brulee is already very rich but serve with a little pouring cream if you must.

 

Fool Proof Food

 

Confiture D’Oignons  

 

Makes 450ml (3/4pint)

 

This superb recipe has become very popular in recent years and I always have some made up. It is wonderful warm also, particularly with pan-grilled monkfish or even a lamb chop. This recipe will keep for months and is especially delicious with pâtés and terrines of meat, game and poultry.

 

 

1 1/2 lbs (675g) onions

3ozs (75g) butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground

5ozs (150g) castor sugar

7 tablespoons sherry vinegar

9fl ozs (250ml) full-bodied red wine

2 tablespoons cassis

 

Peel and slice the onions thinly.  Melt the butter in the saucepan and hold your nerve until it becomes a deep nut brown colour – this will give the onions a delicious rich flavour but be careful not to let it burn. Toss in the onions and sugar, add the salt and freshly ground pepper and stir well. Cover the saucepan and cook for 30 minutes over a gentle heat, keeping an eye on the onions and stirring from time to time with a wooden spatula.

 

Add the sherry vinegar, red wine and cassis. Cook for a further 30 minutes uncovered, stirring regularly. This onion jam must cook very gently (but don’t let it reduce too much). When it is cold, skim off any butter which rises to the top and discard.

 

 

Hottips

 

Don’t miss the Waterford Festival of Food in Dungarvan from Friday 16th to Sunday 18th April. To get a taster of the exciting program of events and to book online go to www.waterfordfestivaloffood.com or phone (058) 22000 for more information.

 

Eat your own honey… learn how to get started on keeping your own bees, buying a hive and colony, necessary equipment, feeding and management on ‘Beekeeping an Introduction’ with Pat Finnegan on Sunday 18th April at the Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim. To book this course and to see their full course schedule visit www.theorganiccentre.ie or phone (071) 9854338

 

 

 

 

Easter

On Easter Sunday our clever hens lay beautiful coloured eggs with the children and grandchildren’s names on them. In late morning we have an Easter egg hunt in the Palais des Poulets. When the children have found their very own eggs and deposited them carefully in the basket, there’s a stampede to the garden where they run hither and thither looking for their chocolate eggs which the Easter Bunny might have hidden in the beech hedge, tucked into flowering shrubs or into a clump of daffodils. The excitement is off the radar. Later those who can bear to eat their precious eggs have boiled egg soldiers.

Later we tuck into our Spring lamb and a juicy rhubarb tart. There is lots of Wild Garlic at present so I plan to serve Wild Garlic Champ with my roast Spring lamb this year.

Our Rhubarb is later than usual this year, the first new spears are just ready now – I get such a thrill picking rhubarb, it reminds me of when I was little. We used to sneak into the kitchen garden with a cup of sugar and a pen knife to trim the rhubarb stalks, then we’d dip the end into sugar and eat it raw – I’m not sure I’d enjoy it now but I loved it then. By the way a simple rhubarb sauce is absolutely delicious with roast pork or a pork chop instead of the conventional apple sauce. The acidity cuts the richness in an appetising way. Happy Easter.

Roast Spring Lamb with Wild Garlic Champ

 

The flesh of young spring lamb is sweet and succulent and needs virtually no embellishment apart from a dusting of sea salt and freshly ground pepper and a little fresh Mint Sauce – made from the first tender sprigs of mint from a cold frame in the garden.

I have a standing order with my butcher from one year to the next for Spring lamb.

For me this is the quintessential taste of Easter. Spring lambs will have been born before Christmas so they are ready for the Easter market. As Easter is a movable feast they vary in age but are most delicious when they are about 3-4 months old weighing approximately 9-10kgs. They will have mainly been milk fed with a little grass. Older lamb between Easter and Christmas takes longer to cook and benefits from some additional herbs and spices, little sprigs or rosemary and garlic inserted into the lamb, or freshly roasted coriander or cumin seeds rubbed into the scored surface with some Maldon sea salt is also delicious. After Christmas, the flavour of Hogget is stronger and the flesh a little tougher so we love to braise it slowly and serve it with a bean stew or poached vegetables.

Serves 6-8

1 leg of Spring lamb – about 2.7kgs

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Gravy

 

1 pint (600ml) lamb or chicken stock

a little roux (see recipe)

salt and freshly ground pepper

Wild Garlic Champ (see recipe)

Remove the aitch bone from the top of the leg of lamb or ask your butcher to do it for you. This makes it so much easier to carve later, then saw off the knuckle from the end of the leg. Season the skin with salt and freshly ground pepper. Transfer into a roasting tin.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/regulo 4. Roast for 1-1 1/4 hours approx. for rare, 1 1/4 -1 1/2 hours for medium and 1 1/2-1 3/4 hours for well done, depending on size. When the lamb is cooked to your taste, remove the joint to a hot carving dish. Rest the lamb in a low oven at 50-100°C for 10 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile make the gravy. Degrease the meat juices in the roasting tin (* see note), add the stock. Bring to the boil and whisk in a little roux, just enough to thicken slightly. Taste and allow it to bubble up until the flavour is rich enough. Correct the seasoning and serve hot with the lamb, roast spring vegetables and lots of crusty roast potatoes.

 

 

Roux

 

4oz (110g) butter

4oz (110g) flour

Melt the butter and cook the flour in it for 2 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally. Use as required. Roux can be stored in a cool place and used as required or it can be made up on the spot if preferred. It will keep at least a fortnight in a refrigerator.

How Do I Degrease the Juices?

 

The gravy should be made in the roasting tin because that is where the flavour is. Usually there is not a great deal of juice in the roasting pan, there will be some caramelised meat juices and lamb fat. This is precious because it is the basis of the gravy. Tilt the roasting tin so the fat collects in one corner. Spoon off as much fat as possible. Then pour icy cold stock into the roasting tin, this will cause the last few globules of fat to solidify so they can be quickly skimmed off the top with a perforated spoon. Then continue to make gravy as in the recipe.

 

Wild Garlic Champ

 

Wild Garlic Allium Ursinum is in season now and will be for another few weeks. Use copiously in salads, pesto, soups and gratin. It’s particularly delicious with Spring lamb.

Serves 4-6

A bowl of mashed potatoes flecked with wild garlic and a blob of butter melting in the centre is ‘comfort’ food at its best.

1.5kg (3lb) 6-8 unpeeled ‘old’ potatoes e.g. Golden Wonders or Kerrs Pinks

350ml (10-12fl oz) milk

50-110g (2-4oz) butter

salt and freshly ground pepper

85g (2-3oz) roughly chopped wild garlic leaves

Scrub the potatoes and boil them in their jackets.

Chop finely the wild garlic leaves. Cover with cold milk and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat and leave to infuse. Peel and mash the freshly boiled potatoes and while hot, mix with the boiling milk and onions, beat in the butter. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Serve in 1 large or 6 individual bowls with a knob of butter melting in the centre. Wild garlic champ may be put aside and reheated later in a moderate oven, 180°C/350°F/regulo 4. Cover with tin foil while it reheats so that it doesn’t get a skin.

 

Scallion Champ

 

In season: spring

Add 110g (4oz) chopped scallions or spring onions (use the bulb and green stem) or 45g

chopped chives to the milk just as it comes to the boil. Continue as above.

 

 

Cauliflower Cheese

 

 

 

There are lots of lovely cauliflowers in the green grocers at present. A bubbly cheese would be delicious and easy to serve with lamb.

Serves 6-8

1 medium sized cauliflower with green leaves

salt

 

Mornay Sauce

600ml (1 pint) milk with a dash of cream

a slice of onion

3-4 slices of carrot

6 peppercorns

sprig of thyme or parsley

roux (see recipe)

salt and freshly ground pepper

150g (5oz) grated cheese, e.g. cheddar or a mixture of Gruyére, Parmesan and Cheddar

1/2 teaspoon mustard

 

 

Garnish

Chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/gas mark 8.

Prepare and cook the cauliflower (see recipe).

Meanwhile make the Mornay Sauce. Put the cold milk into a saucepan with the onion, carrot, peppercorns and herb. Bring to the boil, simmer for 3-4 minutes, remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.

Strain out the vegetables, bring the milk back to the boil and thicken with roux to a light coating consistency. Add most of the grated cheese (reserving enough to sprinkle over the dish) and a little mustard. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, taste and correct the seasoning if necessary. Spoon the sauce over the cauliflower and sprinkle with the remainder of the grated cheese. The dish may be prepared ahead to this point.

Put into the preheated oven or under the grill to brown. If the cauliflower cheese is allowed to get completely cold, it will take 20-25 minutes to reheat in a moderate oven. 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.

 

How to Cook Cauliflower

 

1 medium-sized cauliflower with lots of fresh green leaves

salt

Remove the outer leaves and wash both the cauliflower and the leaves well. Put not more than 1 inch (2.5cm) water in a saucepan just large enough to take the cauliflower; add a little salt. Chop the leaves into small pieces and cut the cauliflower in quarters or eighths; place the cauliflower on top of the green leaves in the saucepan, cover and simmer until cooked, 10-15 minutes approx. Test by piercing the stalk with a knife, there should be just a little resistance.

 

New Season’s Rhubarb Tart

 

Serves 8-12

This is such a terrific pastry. If I’m in a mad rush I make it in a food processor – it’s a little more difficult to handle if you use it right away but works fine even if you have to patch it a bit. It’s fun to do an Easter Bunny on the tart.

 

Pastry

 

225g (8 oz) butter

55g (2 oz) caster sugar

2 eggs free-range and organic if possible

350g (12 oz) flour

 

Filling

 

450g (1 lb) red rhubarb

175g (6 1/2 oz) sugar

Egg Wash

1 beaten free-range organic egg with a little milk, to glaze

1 x 23cm (9 inch) tin with 4cm (1 ½ inch) sides

First make the pastry. Cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer, add the eggs and beat for several minutes. Reduce the speed and add in the flour, little by little, to form a stiff dough. Flatten into a round, cover with cling film and chill for at least 1 hour, this makes the pastry much easier to handle. Otherwise just put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until just combined.

Roll out half the pastry to about 3mm(c inch) thick and line a round tin measuring 20.5 x 30.5cm (8 x 11.5 inches).

Slice the rhubarb into 1 cm (22 inch) rounds, fill the tart and sprinkle with the sugar.

Roll the remaining pastry, cover the rhubarb and seal the edges. Decorate with pastry bunnies. Paint with egg wash and bake in a preheated oven 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4 until the tart is golden and the rhubarb is soft (45 minutes to 1 hour). When cooked, sprinkle lightly with caster sugar and serve with softly whipped cream and Barbados sugar.

Note:

This tart can also be filled with, gooseberries and elderflower, Worcesterberries, Bramley apples, damsons, plums, blackberry and apples, peaches and raspberries, rhubarb and strawberries.

 

Easter Bunny Biscuits

 

Makes 25 approximately

These are rather fun to make for Easter – the kids can make them too.

6 oz (170g) plain white flour

4 oz (110g) butter

2 oz (55g) castor sugar

Decoration:

 

icing, raisins, tiny speckled eggs

rabbit or chick shaped biscuit cutter

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/regulo 4.

Mix the flour and castor sugar in a bowl, rub in the butter and continue to work until the mixture comes together in a firm dough. Roll into a quarter inch (6mm) thick sheet on a floured board.

Stamp into ‘bunny’ shapes with a cutter. Bake in the preheated moderate oven for 8 -15 minutes or until pale and golden in colour. Cool on a wire rack.

Decorate with icing, raisins or speckled tiny chocolate eggs where appropriate.

 

Note:

Watch these biscuits really carefully in the oven, because of the high sugar content they burn easily. They should be a pale golden colour – darker will be more bitter.

Food Proof Food

Rhubarb Sauce

 

450g (1lb) red rhubarb cut into 2.5cm (1in) pieces

110g (4oz) sugar

Put the rhubarb in a stainless-steel saucepan, add the sugar and cook over a low heat until soft. Taste and add more sugar if necessary.

 

Thrifty Tip

 

 

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

 

Follow the master recipe for Cauliflower Cheese but instead of browning in the oven or under the grill, liquidise the lot with any left over cauliflower cooking water and enough light chicken stock, about 850ml (11/2 pints) to make a nice consistency. Taste and correct the seasoning. Serve with croutons, cubes of diced cheddar cheese and parsley.

Hottips

 

Stock up for the week at Listowel Farmers Market, Co Kerry, every Friday from 9:00am to 2:00pm. Get some of Caroline Rigney’s award winning Curraghchase Free Range Pork (087 2834754) and to accompany your roast pork, some delicious organic veggies from Manna Organic Store 066 7118501. Why not pick up a treat for Coeliacs from Maurice Hannon’s gorgeous gluten free cakes and biscuits 087 6260157. www.kerryfarmersmarkets.com/ListowelFarmersMarket.html

Sophie Maill breeds traditional, rare breed chickens and also sells hybrid laying hens in various colours. She is based in Skibbereen, West Cork and sells hatching eggs, day old chicks, hens and ducks. Phone 086 0839569.

Baking for Easter

This week its back into the kitchen to cook up some Easter treats. First I’ll make a Simnel Cake with a fat juicy layer of almond paste in the centre and another layer on top – I’ll decorate the top with balls of almond paste to represent eleven of the 12 apostles. Judas doesn’t make it to the top of the cake because he betrayed Jesus.

The marzipan enrobed cake will then be toasted in the oven. It’s a gorgeous cake with a long tradition. I’ve also experimented with cooking the mixture in muffin tins and putting just one marzipan apostle on top – also delicious. If the children are around they love helping to roll the marzipan.

Hot cross buns are our other Easter favourite – it’s not difficult to make your own, it takes time but not too much of your time. Much of the time the dough is quietly rising, there’s a little kneading involved but look on it as a mini-workout. It’s also wonderfully therapeutic when you get into the spirit of it.

Hot cross buns are best freshly baked but they also freeze perfectly so if you make a biggish batch, you can pop a few back into the oven to reheat over a few days. Buttered eggs are another Easter treat but for perfection you’ll need to have your own hens because the eggs need to be warm from the nest to properly absorb the butter. This was originally a way of preserving the eggs in the short term but it’s worth doing because it also preserves the curdy texture of a freshly laid egg. Another special treat for Easter tea are crystallised primrose cupcakes, there are a real labour of love but so so pretty. First there is the joy of picking the primroses (only when they are plentiful). Then paint each one with a fine paintbrush dipped in slightly beaten egg white, when the entire surface and the stem is covered sprinkle it all over with sieved castor sugar. Arrange a sheet of silicone paper on a baking tray – I put them near my ancient Aga to dry out but anywhere warm will do – near a radiator or in a hot cupboard. They will keep for months and are irresistible on cakes or desserts.

Buttered Eggs

This ancient Irish way of preserving eggs in times of glut deserves to be more widely practised, not just for preservation, but actually for the gorgeous flavour and texture the cooked eggs produce. If you’ve got access to really fresh, still-warm eggs, you can try it yourself.

Gerry Moynihan, who still sells buttered eggs in the English Market in Cork, told me that the whole secret is that the shells must be sealed with butter while the egg is still warm or, as he puts it, ‘before the hen misses the egg’. The warm egg and your warm hands will cause the butter to form a coating around the egg. The freshness is sealed in and the albumen stays soft and curdy when boiled or poached.

Buttered eggs can be kept up to two months, but now that we all have constant access to eggs, the reason people still continue this tradition is for the flavour and texture it produces. I’ve also heard of people dipping eggs in lard, melted wax or flaxseed oil.

Crystallised Primrose Cupcakes for Easter

If you have just one oven you may need to make the cupcakes in three separate batches.

Makes 36

450g (1lb) butter (at room temperature)

450g (1lb) caster sugar

450g (1lb) self-raising flour

6 large eggs preferably free-range and organic

6 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.

Icing

350g (12 oz) Icing sugar

finely grated rind of two small lemons

3 to 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Crystallised Primroses (See Recipe)

3 muffin trays lined with 12 muffin cases each.

Preheat oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas mark 5. First make the crystallised primroses and allow to dry. See recipe. Put all ingredients except milk into a food processor and whizz until smooth. Scrape down sides, then add milk and whizz again.

Divide mixture between the cases in the muffin tins.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 –20 minutes or until risen and golden. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

Next make the icing. Sieved the icing sugar into a bowl add the finely grated lemon rind and enough freshly squeezed lemon juice to make a softish icing.

Ice each cupcake with a small palette knife and arrange a crystallised primrose on top.

 

Crystallized Flowers

 

 

Guidelines

1.

Use fairly strong textured leaves, the smaller the flowers the more attractive they are when crystallized eg. Primroses, violets.

 

2

. The castor sugar must be absolutely dry; one could dry it in a low oven for about 2 hours approx.

 

3

. Break up the egg white slightly with a fork. Using a child’s paint brush, brush it very carefully over each petal and into every crevice. Pour the castor sugar over the flower with a teaspoon; arrange the flower carefully on Bakewell paper so that it has a good shape. Allow to dry overnight in a warm dry place, e.g. close to an Aga or over a radiator. If properly crystallized these flowers will last for months, even years, provided they are kept dry. We store them in a pottery jar or a tin box.

 

 

4

.When you are crystallizing flowers remember to do lots of leaves also so one can make attractive arrangements – e.g. mint, lemon balm, wild strawberry, salad burnet or marguerite daisy leaves etc.

 

 

Simnel Cake

 

8 ozs (225g) butter

8 ozs (225g) pale, soft brown sugar

6 eggs, preferably free range

10 ozs (275g) white flour

1 teaspoon mixed spice

2 1/2 fl ozs (35ml) Irish whiskey

12 ozs (350g) best quality sultanas

12 ozs (350g) best quality currants

12 ozs (350g) best quality raisins

4 ozs (110g) cherries

4 ozs (110g) home made candied peel

2 ozs (50g) whole almonds

2 ozs (50g) ground almonds

rind of 1 lemon

rind of 1 orange

1 large or 2 small Bramley Seedling apples, grated

 

Almond Paste

 

1 lb (450g) ground almonds

1 lb (450g) castor sugar

2 small eggs

a drop of pure almond extract

2 tablespoons Irish whiskey

 

Line the base and sides of a 9 inch (23cm) round, or an 8 inch (20.5cm) square tin with brown paper and greaseproof paper.

 

Wash the cherries and dry them. Cut in two or four as desired. Blanch the almonds in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, rub off the skins and chop them finely. Mix the dried fruit, nuts, ground almonds and grated orange and lemon rind. Add about half of the whiskey and leave for 1 hour to macerate.

 

Next make the almond paste.

 

Sieve the castor sugar and mix with the ground almonds. Beat the eggs, add the whiskey and 1 drop of pure almond essence, then add to the other ingredients and mix to a stiff paste. (You may not need all the egg). Sprinkle the work top with icing sugar, turn out the almond paste and work lightly until smooth.

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/regulo 4.

 

Cream the butter until very soft, add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Whisk the eggs and add in bit by bit, beating well between each addition so that the mixture doesn’t curdle. Mix the spice with the flour and stir in gently. Add the grated apple to the fruit and mix in gently but thoroughly (don’t beat the mixture again or you will toughen the cake).

Put half of the cake mixture into the prepared tin, roll about half of the almond paste into an 8 1/2 inch (21.5cm) round. Place this on top of the cake mixture in the tin and cover with the remaining mixture. Make a slight hollow in the centre, dip you hand in water and pat it over the surface of the cake: this will ensure that the top is smooth when cooked. Cover the top with a single sheet of brown paper.

 

Put into the preheated oven; reduce the heat to 160°C/325°F/regulo 3 after 1 hour. Bake until cooked, 3 – 3 1/2 hours approx., test in the centre with a skewer – it should come out completely clean. Pour the rest of the whiskey over the cake and leave to cool in the tin.

 

NOTE

: When you are testing do so at an angle because the almond paste can give a false reading.

 

Next day remove the cake from the tin. Do not remove the lining paper but wrap in some extra greaseproof paper and tin foil until required.

 

When you wish to ice the cake, roll the remainder of the almond paste into a 9 inch (23cm) round. Brush the cake with a little lightly beaten egg white and top with the almond paste. Roll the remainder of the paste into 11 balls. Score the top of the cake in 1 1/2 inch (4cm) squares or diamonds. Brush with beaten egg yolk; stick the ‘apostles’ around the outer edge of the top, brush with beaten egg. Toast in a preheated oven 220°C/425°F/regulo 7, for 15-20 minutes or until slightly golden. Decorate with an Easter Chicken. Cut while warm or store for several weeks when cold.

 

NB

: Almond paste may also be used to ice the side of the cake. You will need half the almond paste again.

 

This cake keeps for weeks or even months, but while still delicious it changes both in texture and flavour as it matures.

 

Names of the Apostles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1).

Simon (also known as Peter)

(2).

Andrew (Simon Peter’s brother)

(3).

James

(4)

John (James’s brother)

(5).

Philip

(6).

Bartholomew

(7).

Thomas

(8).

Matthew (tax collector)

(9).

James

(10).

Thaddaeus

(11).

Simon the Cananaean

(12).

Matthias

 

 

 

Hot Cross Buns

 

 

Nowadays Hot Cross Buns are traditionally eaten in Ireland on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday. This practice would have been frowned on in the past when these were black fast days and the people would scarcely have had enough to eat, not to mention spicy fruit filled buns.

 

Makes 16

 

25g (1oz) fresh yeast

75-110g (3-4oz) castor sugar

450g (1lb) baker’s flour

75g (3oz) butter

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2-3 teaspoons mixed spice, depending how fresh it is

pinch of salt

2 organic eggs

225-300ml (8-10 fl oz) tepid milk

75g (3oz) currants

50g (2oz) sultanas

25g (1oz) candied peel, chopped

egg wash made with milk, sugar, 1 organic egg yolk, whisked together

 

shortcrust pastry

 

OR

 

Liquid Cross

50g (2oz) white flour

1 tablespoon melted butter

4-5 tablespoons cold water

 

To Make the Hot Cross Buns.

 

Dissolve the yeast with 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a little tepid milk.

Put the flour into a bowl, rub in the butter, add the cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice, a pinch of salt and the remainder of the sugar. Mix well. Whisk the eggs and add to the milk. Make a well in the centre of the flour, add the yeast and most of the liquid and mix to a soft dough, adding a little more milk if necessary.

 

Cover and leave to rest for 2 or 3 minutes then knead by hand or in a food processor until smooth. Add the currants, sultanas and mixed peel and continue to knead until the dough is shiny. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in size.

 

“Knock back”, by kneading for 3 or 4 minutes, rest for a few minutes. Divide the mixture into 14 balls, each weighing about 50g (2oz). Knead each slightly and shape into buns. Place on a lightly floured tray. Egg wash and leave to rise.

 

If using shortcrust, arrange a cross of pastry on each one. Leave to rise until double in size. Then egg wash a second time carefully.

 

We tend to decorate with what we call a “liquid cross”. To make this, mix the flour, melted butter and water together to form a thick liquid. Fill into a paper piping bag and pipe a liquid cross on top of each bun.

 

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas mark 6.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes then reduce the heat to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6 for a further 10 minutes or until golden. Brush again with egg wash. Leave to cool on a wire rack. Split in two and serve with butter.

Fool Proof Food

Easter Egg Nests

Makes 24

4ozs (110g) Rice Krispies

6ozs (175g) Chocolate

72 mini eggs

cup cake papers or ring moulds

Put the chocolate in a Pyrex bowl over a saucepan of hot water. Bring just to the boil, turn off the heat and allow to melt in the bowl. Stir in the rice krispies.

Spoon into cup cake cases. Flatten a little and make a well in the centre. Fill with three speckled chocolate mini eggs. Allow to set.

 

Hottips

Moynihan’s stall in the English Market in Cork city still sell buttered eggs.

If crystallising primroses is not your idea of fun, call to the café at the end of the shop beside Ballymaloe House, Alison Henderson’s primrose cupcakes are totally irresistible 021 4652531.

Lots of great short courses coming up at the Ballymaloe Cookery School but I’ll mention just two. Julia Child’s fans may like to join us for a hands-on 2 ½ day course on Wednesday 7th to Friday 9th April – ‘A Homage to Julia Child’ – you’ll master some of our favourite recipes from her repertoire. ‘Start or transform your own teashop’

from is another12th-14th April. Another hands- on course which includes an afternoon on ‘How to stay in business and make money’ with Blathnaid Bergin. Check out www.cookingisfun.ie for more details.

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