Archive2024

Ottolenghi  fans of which there are millions around the world will be thrilled to hear that Yotam and his brilliant team of ‘hungries’ have done it again.
Comfort food Ottolenghi style, jumps off the shelf with an eye popping cover in a rich melange of oranges, reds, pinks, yellows, and greens designed by Gaz Hildebrand.
A team of three, Verena Lochmuller, Helen Goh and Tara Wigley worked together with Yotam each bringing their very own personal memories of childhood, their travels and their individual interpretation of comfort food.
Between the four of them, they cover quite a bit of global ground. Yotam takes in Italy and Germany (from his parents), Jerusalem to Amsterdam where he lived and “ate his body weight in croquettes” to London. Helen’s stretches from China from her grandparents to Malaysia then on to Melbourne where she was raised.
Verena’s experience takes in Germany and Scotland, to New York where she trained. Tara from London is an alumna of the Ballymaloe Cookery School and has been a longtime collaborator of Yotam’s
So what’s comfort food for you? It’s definitely true to say that no one size fits all.
It’s probably food we grew up with as children, entangled with happy memories of family, home, warm kitchens, Mum or Gran in their aprons…
Could be mac and cheese, spaghetti Bolognese, a bowl of slithery noodles. For me, it’s the smell of a tray of Mummy’s sweet scones coming out of the Aga as I rushed in from school, a pot of scalloped potato dotted with little pieces of beef kidney, or the inherently soothing nature of a bowl of chunky vegetable soup in Winter.
So of course, it depends on where you come from, those who have been misplaced or travelled and lived around the globe will have very different cravings, ramen to borscht, dahl to dumplings…or it could be a sauce or condiment, Marmite, Coleman’s mustard, Tabasco, Ballymaloe Relish that brings memories flooding back of happy times around the kitchen table or sitting on the sofa in front of the fire.
But back to Comfort, this gorgeous new book, full of recipes that celebrate the joy of comfort food. As ever, there are so many delicious riffs – a bowl of pasta becomes caramelised onion orecchiette which with hazelnuts and crispy sage, a warming soup is cheesy bread soup with Savoy cabbage and cavolo Nero and a plate of mash transformed into garlic, aligot potato with leeks and thyme.
The authors explore four elements of comfort in the book,  Who to eat with, What we eat and finally How we eat – as important as what we are eating in the first place. Ottolenghi says ‘this book is full of dishes which feel familiar yet fresh. It is also very much about our personal journeys and all the stories these journeys contain. Food and words have an incredible power to connect. I hope that these recipes become for you what they are for us, reassuring on one hand and eye opening on the other.’
What’s not to like about that?
All Recipes are extracted from Ottolenghi COMFORT by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh published by Ebury Press.

Chicken with Steph’s Spice

1 tsp whole allspice berries

(aka pimento)

2 bay leaves, roughly torn

1½ tsp hot chilli powder

1½ tsp paprika

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp mixed spice (the sweet one,

like pumpkin spice)

25g light soft brown sugar

1½ tbsp runny honey

1-2 green jalapeño chillies, finely

chopped

1-2 red Scotch bonnet (habanero)

chillies, finely chopped

1 small red onion, cut into 1cm

dice (100g)

2 spring onions, finely

chopped (30g)

50ml olive oil

1kg chicken thighs, bone in, skin on 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

salt

Steph was a Jamaican chef Helen worked with many years ago in Melbourne. A lot of time has passed since the recipe for Steph’s roasted jerk-spiced meats was handed on – passed around the kitchen, scribbled down on a scrap of paper – but it’s been with Helen ever since. Recipes, like postcards, flying around the world with the scent of a place on one side, scribbled greetings on the other.

We served the chicken with a simple slaw made with half a small cabbage and a quarter of a pineapple, both thinly sliced, some freshly flaked coconut, sliced jalapeño, spring onion, coriander and mint. It’s dressed with olive oil, lime juice and maple syrup.

Serves 4, with rice and salad

Put the allspice and bay leaves into a dry pan and toast them for 1-2 minutes, until the bay leaves have blistered. Using a pestle and mortar, crush to a powder, then tip into a large bowl along with all the remaining ingredients apart from the chicken and vinegar. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, mix well to combine, then add the chicken. Massage well, so that all the thighs are coated, then keep in the fridge, covered, for at least 6 hours (or overnight).

Half an hour before you are going to cook the chicken, take it out of the fridge, add the vinegar and toss to combine.

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.

Spread the chicken out on a large parchment-lined baking tray, skin side up. Bake for about 45 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through, until crisp and golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Verena’s Potato Salad

500g Pink Fir or Charlotte (or other waxy) potatoes

75ml olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped (125g) 1 garlic clove, crushed

175ml chicken stock

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

½ tsp black peppercorns, coarsely

crushed in a pestle and mortar 15g chives: 10g finely chopped and

5g cut into 1½cm lengths

75g pack of diced smoked pancetta 1 tsp paprika

¼ cucumber, sliced lengthways,

deseeded and cut into ½cm dice (100g)

salt

Growing up in Germany, Verena remembers two camps when it came to potato salad: camp mayo and camp oil/broth. This is an oil/broth-based version, more prevalent in the southern parts of Germany, specifically Swabia and Bavaria. It’s less heavy and claggy than the mayo variety and gets its creaminess from the starch released by the potatoes as they sit for a couple of hours in the warm broth.  We’ve strayed from tradition and added some pancetta (because, why not.) and a welcome freshness from some chopped cucumber.

Serves 4

Put the potatoes into a medium saucepan, for which you have a lid. Add just enough water to cover, salt generously and place on a medium-high heat. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 20-25 minutes, until just tender. Drain and once cool enough to handle, remove the skins from the potatoes and slice into ½cm-thick rounds. Set aside in a medium bowl.

Put 2 tablespoons of the oil into a medium sauté pan and place on a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring regularly, until caramelised. Add the garlic and stock, bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Add the mustard, vinegar, 1¼ teaspoons of salt, the pepper and another 2 tablespoons of oil. Whisk to combine, then pour the mixture over the potatoes. Mix gently but thoroughly: it will look wet (and some of the potatoes will break up), but this is normal. Set aside for about 2 hours, for the potatoes to soak up about half the broth, and then stir in the finely chopped chives.

Meanwhile, wipe clean the sauté pan and place on a medium-high heat. Add the pancetta, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta is crispy. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper – leave about 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan – and set aside. Once cool, finely chop the pancetta into crumbs.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the fat in the pan, along with the paprika. Stir for 30 seconds or so, until fragrant, then remove from the heat.

When ready to serve, fold the cucumber into the potato salad and transfer to a serving plate. Scatter over the pancetta crumbs, along with the cut chives. Spoon over the paprika oil and serve.

Butter Beans with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

500g cherry tomatoes

85ml olive oil

1 onion, finely diced (150g)

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp thyme leaves, roughly

chopped, plus a few whole thyme leaves to garnish

1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and

lightly crushed

1 fresh bay leaf

80ml dry white wine

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 x 700g jar of good-quality butter

bean, drained and rinsed

salt and black pepper

To serve

75g thick Greek-style yoghurt thick slices of sourdough (or any

crusty) bread, toasted (optional)

Source the larger butter beans, or judiones, for this, if you can. They’re softer, more buttery and much creamier than the smaller ones (which come in a tin). This dish works well as part of a mezze spread, or can be eaten as it is, with something like crumbled feta or olives on top.

Keeping notes: Once made, the beans keep for up to 3 days in the fridge: just bring them back to room temperature before serving.  The crispy tomato skins are a great thing to have around as well, to add to salads and pasta dishes. The recipe comes from a restaurant called Bar Rochford in Canberra, Australia, where they’re served with fresh green beans. They keep for a week in a sealed jar.

Serves 4

Preheat the oven to 210°C fan.

Toss the tomatoes with 2 teaspoons of the oil and spread them on 

a parchment-lined baking tray. Roast for 20 minutes, until the skins have loosened, and the tomatoes are soft and have shrunk a little. Remove from the oven and transfer the tomatoes, along with all their juices, to a shallow bowl to cool.

Re-line the baking tray with a fresh sheet of baking parchment and reduce the oven temperature to 100°C fan.

Once cool enough to handle, pinch the skins off the tomatoes and place the skins on the lined baking tray. Return the tray to the oven for about 45 minutes, until the skins are dry and crisp, giving them a good stir a couple of times during baking. Set the skinless tomatoes aside.

Put the remaining 75ml of oil into a medium saucepan and place on a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, fennel seeds and bay leaf and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the onion has softened but has not taken on too much colour. Add the wine, simmer for 2 minutes to reduce, then add the paprika. Cook for another minute, then add the reserved tomato flesh, along with 1 teaspoon of salt. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes, stirring often so that the tomatoes break down. Add the beans and a good grind of pepper and stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes, just to warm through, then remove from the heat. Spread the yoghurt over a serving plate and then pile the beans on top. Crumble over the dried tomato skins, finish with a sprinkling of thyme leaves and serve.

Not sure how many of you have been to Derry, I hadn’t been either but recently we went on a ‘wee dander’ around the walled city courtesy of Tourism Northern Ireland.
For me and other members of the Guild of Irish Food Writers, it was a deeply moving experience to walk around the city on top of the old walls, past the now peaceful Bogside and the Free Derry Wall. We had our photos taken in front of the wonderful Derry Girls mural, visited the Tower Museum, it was also full of memorabilia from the brilliant Channel 4 TV series of the same name. There was a replica of Mary’s beloved kitchen, the wire chip pan and deep fry, the sofa and cushions, a school uniform from Our Lady Immaculate College and a café actually serving the same cream horns made famous in one of the episodes when Grandpa Joe was busted after he was spied in Doherty’s bakery buying a cream horn when he only went in for an apple turnover!

We walked across the Peace Bridge, opened in 2011 over the River Foyle. We heard the story from Angela Heaney, our deeply knowledgeable guide of how for centuries, the river divided the communities who now, at last, walk freely backwards and forwards over the bridge.

Next day we were treated to a full-on Derry by Fork, food and drink tour. We met numerous chefs, restaurants and café owners and visited Brendan at the iconic Moore on the Quay fish stall and Pyke n Pommes Café tucked into an old double-decker bus on the riverbank. After delicious fish tacos, we had a selection of Asian fusion appetisers at Umi, and a taste of a delicious Austrian wine made by a young winemaker Andy.

Put it on your Derry list along with Phelim O’Hagan and Serina Macari, his lovely restaurant Artis where we tucked into dinner later. The tear and share brioche with whipped beef fat and marmite butter was worth the detour alone.

We had so many delicious tastes of local food but also exceptional local beverages – Rough Brothers Beer, Walled City Brewery and Gin School, Earhart Gin and the cult style Northland Beer.
Paula McIntyre, the entertaining and much loved radio, TV chef and food writer accompanied us on the tour. We met many farmers, artisans, and cheesemakers, including Kevin Hickey from Dart Cheese in the Sperrin mountains who supplied the memorable Sperrin Blue to accompany the Moyletra Moilie heritage beef cooked over fire at the long table dinner in the walled garden at Brooke Hall Estate. I also loved the nettle seed crisps from Noreen Vandervelde with ripe fig and cheese.
More good things at Browns in Town, little mini burgers and a juicy cube of streaky pork with burnt apple sauce. We popped into Yum, the multi award winning bakery close to the lovely Ebrington Hotel to sample their brownies and The Cottage Craft Gallery where we had tea and the famous scones. 

Bet you are feeling full even reading this, so were we but deliciously so and so looking forward to spreading the word about the cool culinary delights of Londonderry/Derry affectionately known as stroke city! Might just have to go back soon for the barbecue school at Brook Hall or another long table dinner in the walled garden….

‘Artis’ Brioche with Whipped Beef Fat and Marmite Butter

Thank you to Artis for sharing this super delicious recipe.

Although not a traditional bread recipe, this is our ‘quick’ brioche we use, as it doesn’t need to be made the evening before, and we use melted rather than cold butter.

A bread recipe from Martijn Kajuiter from my time at the Cliff House Hotel that we’ve made our own.

500g strong flour

10g salt

10g sugar

175g milk

125g melted butter

3 eggs

12g dried yeast ‘or’ 25g fresh yeast

herbs/caramelised onion/seeds – whatever you choose to flavour your breads.

Add all the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl including your choice of flavouring.

Take 75g milk and heat until lukewarm to activate the yeast, (20-30°C), add the yeast and stir.

In a food processor, blend together the rest of the wet ingredients, add to dry ingredients gradually whilst mixing.

Let the mixer knead the bread for 5-10 minutes.

Prove in a greased cover container for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Knock bread back by turning onto a lightly floured surface and kneading the dough gently until nice and smooth.

Weigh dough into 60g balls (for individual breads) or 12 x 15g balls (for tear and share style) and roll into smooth balls.

Brush rolled balls lightly with egg wash.

For individual bread loaves, bake for 8 minutes at 175°C.

For tear and share, arrange all the small balls into a large circle on a non-stick pan and bake for 12 minutes at 175°C.

Serve with Whipped Beef Fat and Marmite Butter (see recipe).

Whipped Beef Fat and Marmite Butter

200g rendered beef fat

150g unsalted Irish butter

35g marmite

In a food processor, whip all the ingredients together until almost double in size.

Serve with sea salt and crispy onions on top

Note: Replace the beef fat with butter if you prefer or alternatively for chicken butter, use chicken fat and for bacon butter, use bacon fat.

‘Lo and Slo’s’ Butter Braised Potatoes

This delicious recipe was generously shared by Lo and Slo.

We also greatly enjoyed mussels and tomahawk steaks cooked over a fire pit in the walled garden at Brook Hall just outside the city.

New potatoes are perfect for maintaining their shape and creating a sweet, velvety interior. Floury potatoes will break down during the cooking process, these are also delicious but risk burning. Keep an eye on them and give them a gentle, extra little stir.

These can be cooked in the oven if desired.  Seasonal herbs and garlic may be added.

Serves 6-8

2kg seasonal potatoes (any variety)

250g salted butter

a good glug of vegetable or rapeseed oil (neutral flavour with a high smoke point)

flaky sea salt

chilli flakes

Light your BBQ fire.

You want your coals glowing with a white ashy coating, not leaping flames.

Slice your potatoes into 4cm pieces and place into a large baking tray.

Divide the butter into large pieces evenly on top of the potatoes.

Add a glug of the oil.

Sprinkle a handful of flaky sea salt on the potatoes. Add chilli flakes to taste and stir to distribute.

Allow the potatoes to simmer over the coals, stirring occasionally.

Top up with oil if they are looking too dry.

When the potatoes become golden brown and toasted, remove from the grill.  Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Cream Horns

These delicious flaky cornets will, for many folks, be forever associated with the Derry Girls TV series, but for me, they bring memories flooding back of two cafés in Kilkenny city in the 1960’s where Mummy took us for occasional treats at Mulhall’s and Marie’s Café on High Street.
We would fantasise and argue all the way from Cullohill about whether we would order a cream horn or a chocolate éclair.

Makes 18 to 20

puff pastry, homemade with butter
egg wash
icing sugar

homemade raspberry jam

softly whipped cream

cream horn moulds
pastry wheel, optional

Roll the chilled puff pastry into a rectangle, 35cm long and 3mm thick. Cut into strips, 2-2.5cm wide. Keep chilled.
Starting at the tip, roll a strip of pastry around the pointed end, rotating around the mould so the pastry overlaps by 3mm down to the wider end.
Arrange on a baking tray, sealed side downwards.
Brush lightly with egg wash. Transfer to a fridge and chill.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, lift off the tray and detach from the mould when cool enough to handle.

When cold, spoon some raspberry jam into the interior of the cornets, fill with a swirl of whipped cream. Arrange on a doyley on a pretty china plate and enjoy.

At present, driving through the countryside, particularly in the west of Ireland is like meandering through the Garden of Eden.

The roadsides are ablaze with fuchsia, orange montbretia, purple loose strife and willow herb, lots of cream fluffy meadowsweet, knapweed, bright yellow ragwort, wild carrot and swards of wild sorrel and beautiful, lush watercress in the streams.

Wildflower meadows have all but disappeared over the past couple of decades, but wildflowers and grasses are alive and well along roadside verges in many areas.

All around the country, councils have responded to local people’s request to stop spraying glyphosate, (a known carcinogen) and have resisted cutting the verges which enhances biodiversity, except in essential places where visibility is impaired by enthusiastic growth.

Strolling through the lanes, one can’t help noticing that plants are alive with bees, hoverflies and other pollinating insects. Butterflies have been scarce this year but there were several common blue butterflies on the yellow trefoil and lots of cinnabar moths on the ragwort which we were initially told was a weed that would poison cattle. However, the reality is they don’t bother to eat it unless it is accidentally included in silage.

The brambles are laden with fat juicy blackberries so despite the thorns, I couldn’t resist picking several bowls to make a few pots of blackberry and crab apple jam. They take ages to pick so my few jars felt even more special and looked like good deeds on the shelf. I added a few sweet geranium leaves to impart a haunting lemony flavour.

We picked lots of orange and scarlet rowanberries to add to crab apple jelly, all free for the gathering and so, so good.

I fantasised about all the delicious dishes I could make from the hedgerows – pestos, pasta sauces, frittatas…

Where someone else might see weeds, I saw dinner and lots of fun in the kitchen and I picked a big bunch of wildflowers to adorn the kitchen table.

I love to make a foragers salad or a silky foragers soup from a mixture of wild leaves, flowers and herbs like wild thyme.

It’s not just the leaves that are delicious but the flowers too, scatter some knapweed petals, montbretia, fuchsia blossoms, wild rose petals, cornflowers and watercress flowers to embellish your dishes.

There’s masses of fluffy cream meadowsweet blossoms along the roadside too, they’ll last well into September so make the most of their distinct aroma to flavour ice cream, panna cotta, homemade custards, infuse in vinegar, vodka…How about an apple and meadowsweet tart. The wild carrot flowers can be battered and deep-fried.

There will be sloes, damsons and elderberries before too long but that’s for another column.

Meanwhile, have fun with the early autumn bounty and there are lots more recipes and ideas in my cookbooks, Forgotten Skills of Cooking and Grow, Cook, Nourish or email me if you have a specific request and I’ll do my best (www.cookingisfun.ie)

Sorrell and Watercress Soup

Wild watercress has much more flavour than farmed versions, gather some in a flowing stream.  This soup has been a favourite on the menu of Ballymaloe House since it opened in 1963.

Wild sorrel grows all over the place, there are several varieties, common sorrel, buckler leaf sorrel and lambs’ tongue sorrel which prefers acid soil – it’s super good for you!

Serves 6-8

45g butter

150g peeled and chopped potatoes

110g peeled and chopped onion

salt and freshly ground pepper

900ml water or homemade chicken stock or vegetable stock

300ml creamy milk (75ml cream and 225ml milk)

200g chopped watercress (remove the coarse stalks first)

25g wild sorrel

Melt the butter in heavy bottomed saucepan.  When it foams, add the potatoes and onions and toss them until well coated. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and sweat on a gentle heat for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the watercress and sorrel. When the vegetables are almost soft but not coloured add the hot stock and boiling milk.  Bring back to the boil and cook until the potatoes and onions are fully cooked. Add the watercress and sorrel and boil with the lid off for 4-5 minutes approx. until the watercress is just cooked. The sorrel will discolour but the watercress will keep its colour. Do not overcook or the soup will lose its fresh green colour. Puree the soup in a liquidiser. Taste and correct seasoning.

Enjoy with some crusty bread.

Foragers Salad

A selection of wild leaves such as:

Dandelion leaves

wild watercress

wild landcress

bittercress

chickweed

wild sorrel

oxalis

pennywort also known as Bread and Butter

Dressing

3 tablespoons cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon apple balsamic vinegar or Forum chardonnay vinegar

pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Allow 1 handful of the wild leaves per person. Wash carefully in cold water and dry in a salad spinner. Keep chilled until ready to use.

To make the dressing.

Whisk the oil, vinegar and salt to mix. Taste and correct the seasoning. Toss the dried leaves in just enough of the dressing to make the leaves glisten. Taste a leaf to check that the seasoning is well balanced.

Serve immediately.

Apple, Blackberry and Sweet Geranium Tart with Sweet Geranium Sugar

The pastry is made by the creaming method so people who are convinced that they suffer from ‘hot hands’ don’t have to worry about rubbing in the butter.  It can be made and frozen ahead.

Serves 8-12

Pastry

225g butter

50g caster sugar

2 eggs, preferably free range

350g plain flour, preferably unbleached

Filling

600g Bramley Seedling cooking apples

110g blackberries

6 sweet geranium leaves, torn

150g sugar

egg wash-made with one beaten egg and a dash of milk

Sweet Geranium Sugar

2-4 sweet geranium leaves

50g caster sugar

To Serve

softly whipped cream

1 x 23cm x 2.5cm deep round tart tin

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

First make the pastry.

Cream the butter and sugar together by hand or in a food mixer (no need to over cream). Add the eggs and beat for several minutes. Reduce speed and mix in the flour. Turn out onto a piece of floured greaseproof paper, flatten into a round wrap and chill. This pastry needs to be chilled for at least 2 hours otherwise it is difficult to handle.

Meanwhile, make the Sweet Geranium Sugar.

Whizz the sweet geranium leaves with the caster sugar in a food processor. Spread over a baking tray and set aside at room temperature to dry out.

To make the tart.

Roll out the pastry 3mm thick approx. and use about two-thirds of it to line a suitable tin. Peel, quarter and dice the apples into the tart, add the blackberries and torn sweet geranium leaves, sprinkle with sugar. Cover with a lid of pastry, seal edges, decorate with pastry leaves, egg wash and bake in the preheated oven until the apples are tender, approx. 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When cooked, sprinkle lightly with Sweet Geranium Sugar and serve with softly whipped cream.

This week a column for students heading off to college with a limited budget and even more limited batterie de cuisine or ‘kitchen kit’.
First a list of basic essentials if you’re to rustle up anything at all in your kitchen. Hopefully you’ll have an oven but I’m not taking this for granted, but I am assuming that you’ll have some sort of hob or a couple of gas jets. I’m also assuming that you’ll have basic cutlery and crockery.
So here we go…
a frying pan and egg slice
a wok
a 22.5cm saucepan and/or a casserole with lid
a nest of three Pyrex or stainless steel bowls
a coil whisk
a couple of wooden spoons, one with a round and the other straight ended
A few 20.5 or 23cm pasta bowls that can also be used for breakfast cereal, soup, stew, risotto or pudding…
I’m not a fan of the Instant pot. But many people are so I’ll leave that up to you but be very wary of the Teflon lined versions which are causing considerable anxiety in some areas. Check it out yourself.
With the few basics I’ve listed above you could make a myriad of dishes in a very short time. If your parents cook, badger them into giving you a couple of lessons before you leave for college and down a few of your favourite family recipes.
A few basics like tomato fondue – a gem, easy peasy to make, an all-rounder as a sauce, a topping for pizza or flatbread, a basis for all kinds of additions like mince, a fillet of fresh fish, a few mussels, a chicken breast, hard-boiled eggs. Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for several days or can be popped into the freezer at the top of your fridge.
Collect some recyclable containers and tubs to take with you.
Plain boiled rice or pilaf rice can of course be an accompaniment to something else but also a base for lots of tasty bits and bobs. A few little cubes of chorizo deliver so much bang for your buck in flavour terms, always worth having in your fridge to jizz up dishes from scrambled egg to a 30 second French omelette, a frittata or even a dish of pasta. Look out for Gubbeen chorizo, made by Fingal Ferguson in West Cork.
Another brilliant standby is a piece of nice fat streaky bacon which can be used in a similar way and also cut into skinny lardons to crisp up and sprinkle over a salad with a generous sprinkling of grated cheese.
Try to always have a few fresh eggs, a brilliant and inexpensive source of protein and it’s so easy to whip up a myriad of satisfying dishes, I could write a whole book on egg dishes alone.
Make friends with a local butcher and ask to buy scraps of inexpensive meat. Learn how to make one basic stew with lots of added root vegetables and a layer of potatoes on top so you’ll have a fine nourishing pot of comforting goodness.
A slow cooker would be another brilliant bit of kitchen kit, perhaps your grandparents might like to gift one to you before you leave for college. Then you could have a stew bubbling and ready to eat when you arrive back to your digs in the evening.
I don’t care how tired or stressed you are, try not to ever buy any ultra processed food and definitely avoid anything that is labelled low-fat, light or healthy, it usually means it isn’t…
Make it a priority to look after your tummy, there’s tons of research now to highlight the importance of a healthy gut biome which hugely affects both our physical and mental health. In other words, our energy level and ability to concentrate and achieve.

Tomato Fondue

Tomato fondue is one of our great convertibles, it has a number of uses, we serve it as a vegetable or a sauce for pasta, filling for omelettes, topping for pizza…It will keep for four or five days in the fridge and freezes perfectly.

Serves 6 approx.

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

110g sliced onions

1 clove of garlic, crushed

900g very ripe tomatoes in summer, or 2 x 400g tins of tomatoes in winter, but peel before using

salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar to taste

1 tbsp of any of the following;

freshly chopped mint, thyme, parsley, lemon balm, marjoram or torn basil

Heat the oil in a stainless steel sauté pan or casserole.  Add the sliced onions and garlic toss until coated, cover and sweat on a gentle heat until soft but not coloured – about 10 minutes. It is vital for the success of this dish that the onions are completely soft before the tomatoes are added.  Slice the peeled fresh tomatoes or chopped tinned tomatoes and add with all the juice to the onions.  Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar (tinned tomatoes need lots of sugar because of their high acidity).  Add a generous sprinkling of herbs. Cover and cook for just 10-20 minutes more, or until the tomato softens, uncover and reduce a little.  Cook fresh tomatoes for a shorter time to preserve the lively fresh flavour. 

Tinned tomatoes need to be cooked for longer depending on whether one wants to use the fondue as a vegetable, sauce or filling.

Variations

Tomato Fondue with Chilli

Add 1-2 chopped fresh chillies to the onions when sweating.

Penne with Tomato Fondue

Toss 450g of cooked penne or spaghetti with Tomato and Chilli Fondue.

Tomato and Chorizo Fondue 

Add ½-1 sliced or diced chorizo to the tomato fondue five minutes before the end of cooking, great with pasta.

Tomato, Bean and Rosemary Stew

Add 1 x 400g can of haricot beans or black-eyed beans and 1 tablespoon of chopped rosemary to the above.

Tomato Fondue with Aubergines

Cut 450g Slim Jim aubergines into 7mm slices, sprinkle with salt and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.  Dab dry with kitchen paper. 

Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan on a high heat, toss the aubergines in batches and cook until golden on both sides, transfer to a bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons of chopped marjoram.  Season with freshly ground black pepper.  Add to the tomato fondue, taste and correct the seasoning. 

Tomato Fondue with Courgettes

Cut 450g courgettes into 1cm dice.

Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan on a high heat, toss the courgettes in batches and cook until golden, transfer to a bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons of chopped marjoram.  Season with freshly ground black pepper.  Add to the tomato fondue, taste and correct the seasoning. 

Pilaf Rice

Although a risotto can be made in 20 minutes, it entails 20 minutes of pretty constant stirring which makes it feel rather laboursome. A pilaf on the other hand looks after itself once the initial cooking is underway. The pilaf is versatile – serve it as a staple or add whatever tasty bits you have to hand but don’t be tempted to use it as a dustbin…!

Leftovers will keep in a covered box in the fridge for several days

Serves 4

15g butter

1 tbsp finely chopped onion or shallot

200g long-grain rice (preferably Basmati)

475ml homemade chicken stock

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tbsp freshly chopped herbs e.g. parsley, thyme, chives: optional

Melt the butter in a casserole, add the finely chopped onion and sweat for 4-5 minutes. Add the rice and toss for a minute or two, just long enough for the grains to change colour. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, add the chicken stock, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a minimum and then simmer on top of the stove or in the oven 160°C/Gas Mark 3 for 10 minutes approx. By then the rice should be just cooked and all the water absorbed. Just before serving stir in the fresh herbs if using.

Note

Basmati rice cooks quite quickly; other types of rice may take up to 15 minutes.

Other good things to add to pilaf

Fresh spices, cubes of cooked chorizo, ham or bacon, freshly cooked chicken, sautéed mushrooms, tomato fondue, Parmesan and basil leaves, red and yellow pepper. 

Lamb or Beef Stew with Bacon, Onions and Garden Herbs

Chicken can be substituted for lamb or beef if desired, use brown meat preferably (legs/thighs).

Serves 4

175g green streaky bacon

900g should of lamb chops not less than 2.5cm in thickness, or stewing beef from the shin

seasoned white flour, preferably unbleached

a little butter or oil for sautéing

225g onions

175g carrot, peeled and thickly sliced

375ml approx. lamb or beef stock or water

4-6 ‘old’ potatoes (optional)

sprig of thyme

freshly chopped parsley

Cut the rind off bacon and cut into approx. 1cm cubes.

Cut the meat into large cubes and roll in flour well-seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and sauté the bacon until crisp, remove and put in a casserole. Add the meat to the pan and sauté until golden then add to the bacon in the casserole. Heat control is crucial here, the pan mustn’t burn yet it must be hot enough to sauté the meat. If it is cool the meat will stew rather than sauté and as a result the meat may be tough. Then quickly sauté the onions and carrots, adding a little butter if necessary, and put them into the casserole. Degrease the sauté pan and deglaze with the stock, bring to the boil and pour over the meat.

Cover the top of the stew with peeled potatoes (if using) and season well. Add a sprig of thyme and bring to simmering point on top of the stove, cover the pot and then put into the oven for 45-60 minutes, 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Cooking time depends on how long the meat was sautéed for.

When the casserole is just cooked, strain off the cooking liquid, degrease and return degreased liquid to the casserole and bring to the boil. Add back in the meat, carrots, onions and potatoes, bring back to the boil.

The stew is very good served at this point. Serve bubbling hot sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Variations

Lamb or Beef Stew with Haricot Beans

Add 225g of precooked haricot beans to the stew about two-thirds of the way through cooking, omit the potatoes.

Lamb or Beef Stew with Haricot Beans and Tomatoes

Add 225g of precooked haricot beans to the stew about two-thirds of the way through cooking, omit the potatoes. Make x 1 recipe of Tomato Fondue and fold half of it into the stew just before serving, taste and correct the seasoning if necessary. You will have quite a different but equally delicious stew.

Lamb or Beef Stew with Spices

Add 1 teaspoon each of freshly roasted cumin and coriander seeds in with the carrots and onions and proceed as in the master recipe.

Such excitement yesterday evening, we all piled into my son-in-law’s little fishing boat from the pier and Ballycotton. My youngest grandson Jago had just got his first fishing rod with a reel and flies and was super excited. There’s scarcely been a mackerel seen in Ballycotton Bay all summer long, but the word was out, ‘the mackerel are in’. We puttered round the eastern side of Ballycotton Island, dropped a couple of lines over the edge and hey presto, a mackerel and then four or five ‘silver darlings’ wiggling on the line. It wasn’t quite like old times when mackerel, (a brilliant source of essential omega fatty acids) were crazily plentiful, sadly a rare occurrence nowadays but wildly exciting, nonetheless. Jago learned how to dispatch fish humanely and to gut and fillet them in mere minutes. Seagulls circulated overhead squabbling over entrails.
We had brought a little jam jar of soy sauce and a tube of wasabi with us, on the off chance that we might be fortunate enough to catch a fish. We all love crudo, so we sliced the first few fillets paper thinly, dipped them into soy sauce and wasabi to enjoy divine spanking fresh sashimi – so delicious and such fun to pass the skills down through the generations.
We also landed a couple of pollock, not a particularly flavourful fish but nonetheless delicious when really fresh. Try this pollock with tomato and fresh spices.
There’s a million ways to serve mackerel, I just love them pan-grilled or fried, slathered with a little miso or served with a blob of parsley and lemon butter or green gooseberry sauce to cut the richness. If perchance, you have a few green gooseberries in your freezer, make a simple sugar syrup, toss in some green berries and cook for just a few minutes until they burst, a brilliant tip from Jane Grigson’s, ‘Good Things’ cookbook from many years ago. The gooseberry season is well over by now but sadly the mackerel have only just arrived in Ballycotton and one never knows when we’ll be blessed with another catch.
Freshness is everything with fish, more and more of a challenge nowadays but if you can neither catch or source really fresh fish how about some mussels.
Most supermarkets now sell little net bags of wild or cultivated mussels for just a few euros. They are incredibly good value and an excellent source of iron, cobalamin, vitamin C and many other good things and are cooked in mere minutes. One of my favourite simple suppers is a bowl of freshly opened mussels with homemade mayonnaise, a few slices of freshly baked brown soda bread and a leafy green salad.
Mackerel has always been part of the Irish diet but nowadays has become a rare treat because of an inadequate and patently unfair European policy over more than a decade. Several of the Nordic countries including Norway and Iceland are legally allowed to land three times Ireland’s quota of mackerel to process it into fish meal as a source of salmon and animal feed. Surely, high value mackerel from Irish waters should be used for human consumption not as animal feed in other countries. If you feel strongly about this subject, pick up your pen, write to you TD and call for an urgent change of policy, it’s the 11th hour.
Meanwhile, I give thanks for the few beautiful fresh fish we managed to catch during the summer season.

Crudo with Salmon Eggs and Fennel Flowers

This recipe inspired a dish I enjoyed in a restaurant overlooking Sydney Harbour in Australia. Wild fennel grows along the roadside in many areas and is in flower at present.

It is one of the many crudo recipes we love.

Serves 8-10

450g very fresh mackerel, bream or sea bass.

freshly squeezed juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon.

salmon eggs

24 – 50 fennel sprigs (or flowers in season) depending on size

flaky sea salt

Chill the starter plates.

Fillet the fish, if necessary, spoon some of the freshly squeezed juice over the fish. Cover and chill for 15-20 minutes depending on thickness. Slice into paper thin slices. Arrange in a line of overlapping slices in the centre of the plate, spoon little blobs of salmon eggs along the middle and decorate with fennel sprigs and flowers in season. Serve immediately.

Pan-grilled Mackerel with Miso 

Miso adds magic to this recipe as many other, buy some and start to experiment.

Serves 2

4 fillets of fresh mackerel

2 tbsp white miso

½ tbsp of runny honey

1 tsp of Asian sesame oil

1 tsp soy sauce

Accompaniment

salad of organic leaves

Whisk all the marinade ingredients together.  Coat each mackerel fillet and allow to absorb the flavour for 15-20 minutes. 

Heat a grill-pan over a medium heat.  Wipe excess marinade from the fish.  Drizzle with olive oil, cook skin side down for 2 minutes approximately, then flip over to cook the flesh side, continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.  Serve immediately with a salad of organic leaves.

Note: Alternatively, just roast on a baking tray in a preheated moderate oven 180°C/Gas Mark 4 for 5-6 minutes.

Warm Poached Mackerel with Bretonne Sauce

Fresh mackerel gently poached and served warm with this simple sauce is an absolute feast, without question one of my favourite foods.

Serves 4 as a main course

8 as a starter

4 fresh mackerel

1.2 litres water

1 tbsp salt

Bretonne Sauce

75g butter, melted

1 egg yolk, preferably free range

½ tsp Dijon mustard (We use Maille Verte Aux Herbs)

1 tsp parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp chervil, finely chopped

1 tsp chives, finely chopped

½ tsp tarragon, finely chopped

1 tsp fennel, finely chopped

Cut the heads off very fresh mackerel.  Gut and clean them but keep whole. 

Bring the water to the boil; add the salt and the mackerel.  Bring back to boiling point and remove from the heat.  After about 5-8 minutes, check to see whether the fish are cooked.  The flesh should lift off the bone.  It will be tender and melting. 

Meanwhile make the sauce. 

Melt the butter and allow to boil.  Put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the mustard and the herbs, mix well.  Whisk the hot melted butter into the egg yolk mixture little by little so that the sauce emulsifies.  Keep warm, by placing the Pyrex bowl in a saucepan of hot but not boiling water. 

When the mackerel is cool enough to handle, remove to a plate.  Skin, lift the flesh carefully from the bones and arrange on a serving dish.  Coat with the sauce and serve while still warm with a good green salad and new potatoes.

Pollock with Tomatoes and Fresh Spices

Spread the tomato topping sparingly on the fish fillets – otherwise the delicate flavour of the fish will be overpowered rather than enhanced.  Haddock or ling may be used also.

Serves 6 as a main course

1.1kg thick pollock fillets cut into 6 x 175g pieces, skinned

¼ tsp salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

¼ tsp ground turmeric

Spicy Tomato Topping

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp scant fennel seeds

1 tsp scant mustard seeds

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

175g onion, finely chopped

1-2 tsp ground cumin seeds

1 tsp salt

a little pinch of cayenne pepper

½-1 tsp sugar

450g very ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped or 1 x 400g tin tomatoes, chopped

¼ teaspoon of Garam Masala (see recipe)

fresh coriander

Mix the salt, cayenne pepper and turmeric together and sprinkle over both sides of the fish fillets.  Cover and leave aside while you make the sauce.  Heat the olive oil in a saucepan.  When it is hot, add the fennel and mustard seeds which will start to pop in a few seconds. (Be careful as they burn really easily.  If the spices burn, start again – burnt spices will ruin the finished dish). Then add the crushed garlic and chopped onions.  Continue to cook until the onions turn golden, then add the ground cumin, salt and cayenne pepper and sugar.  Stir and then add the tomatoes and juice, finally the Garam masala.  Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. 

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan, brown the chunky pieces of fish on both sides (this step is optional) and remove to a warm oven proof serving dish.  Cover with the tomato sauce and bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until the fish is just cooked.  Garnish with coriander sprigs.  Serve with new potatoes and a good green salad.

Note

Be careful not to overdo the cayenne!

Madhur Jaffrey’s Garam Masala

Commercial garam masala loses its aromatic flavour very quickly, so it’s always best to make your own.  Grind it in small quantities so that it is always fresh and used up quickly. 

Makes about 3 tbsp

1 tbsp green cardamom seeds

1 x 5cm piece of cinnamon stick

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp whole cloves

1 tsp black peppercorns

¼ whole nutmeg

Put all the ingredients into a clean electric coffee grinder and whizz for about 30 seconds or until all the spices are finely ground.  Store in a dark place in a tiny screw top jar and use up quickly.  Don’t forget to clean out the coffee grinder really well or your coffee will certainly perk you up!  Better still, if you use spices regularly, keep a grinder especially for that purpose.

For me, Nine Bean Rows company who publishes the Blasta book series is the most exciting cookbook publishing company in Ireland at present. Kristin Jensen came up with the genius idea of doing a series of single subject cookbooks (A5 in size) with approx. 30 recipes. The colourful illustrations are by Nicky Hooper in her inimitable style. Recipes are carefully chosen to showcase a range of exciting dishes using the initial topic. Tacos, Hot Fish, Wok, Soup, Tapas, Wasted, Masarap, Funky, Whole Catch…
The latest book to arrive on my desk is entitled Agak-Agak, apparently pronounced Aga-Aga. The author Sham Hanifa, an award-winning Malaysian chef, businessman and broadcaster who now lives in Carrick on Shannon, County Leitrim,  lured there by the love of a lovely local school teacher, Dympna…
He’s run and co-opened many restaurants including The Cottage Restaurant, My Kitchen by Sham Hanifa, Synergy Café, Buffalo Boy Steakhouse plus he also sells a range of Chef Sham’s sauces with a devoted customer base.
You may also have seen him on the Virgin Media Six O’Clock Show where he demonstrates easy Asian style dishes which has built up quite the enthusiastic following.
How things have changed…when I started the Ballymaloe Cookery School 1983, many folk were still wary of garlic and few would venture next nor near a chilli.
Fast forward to now – we have become super adventurous and simply can’t get enough chilli, gochujang, sumac, ketjap manis and all manner of  spices. We totally love Asian flavours and are becoming more and more adventurous – Japanese, Turkish, Moroccan, Ethiopian, Caucasian…Bring it on.
Well back to this little book, Agak-Agak, pronounced Aga, Aga which in Malaysian, means, ‘guess – guess’ or ‘use your instincts’.
Sham rightly assumes less rather than more knowledge, so initial chapters feature essential basics like:
Three key ingredients
Lime leaves, an essential ingredient in Malaysian food,
(use frozen if you can’t get fresh although they are becoming more widely available).
Ketjap manis, an Indonesian sweet soy sauce and essential store cupboard ingredient.
Galangal, a cousin of fresh ginger.
Next chapter is entitled, Start here…and then there’s a chapter on how to make (spice paste), satay sauce and an essential chicken broth.
Take a little time to study these pages to understand the basics of Malaysian food and then you’re ready to embark on the recipes.
Hainanese chicken rice, one of my favourite dishes in the whole world is first, then there’s nasi goring, satay of course, tom yum, laksa, lamb rendang, nasi lemak, coconut rice and on and on.
I just didn’t know where to begin. One recipe more tempting than the next so I’ve chosen just three to get you started.

*All recipes from Blasta Books 11: Agak-Agak by Sham Hanifa, published by Blasta Books

Mussels with Coconut, Lemongrass, Lime and Ginger

Living in Ireland for the past 23 years, I’ve had the chance to travel all over the country with Euro-Toques to see and taste the best of Irish produce, including a boat trip in the Killary fjord to taste beautiful Irish mussels. With my Asian background, I love to create East-meets-West dishes like this one. Originally this masak lemak recipe uses clams, cockles or periwinkles but I decided to use mussels. It’s simple and quick to prepare if you already have the spice paste in the fridge or freezer. Just fry the paste to bring up the aroma, then add the coconut milk and mussels and it’s ready in no time.

Serves 4

For the spice paste:

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 lemongrass stalks, bottom halves only, thinly sliced (save the tops)

2 bird’s eye chillies, chopped

2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, roughly chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

For the mussels:

1kg mussels

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 shallot, halved lengthways and thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

1 bird’s eye chilli, halved lengthways

1 tbsp spice paste

50ml water

1 x 400ml tin of full-fat coconut milk

juice of ½ lime

1 lime leaf

1 tbsp fish sauce, plus extra to taste

1 tsp light brown sugar

To make the spice paste, blend all the ingredients until smooth in a high-speed blender or crush them together in a pestle and mortar. You need only 1 tablespoon of the paste for this dish, so save the rest for another time.

Rinse the mussels under cold running water and debeard them. If any are open, give them a gentle tap on the countertop. If they close, they’re safe to eat. If they stay open, throw them away.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic, chilli, lemongrass tops and 1 tablespoon of the spice paste. Cook for 1 minute, then add the water and cook for 30 seconds before stirring in the coconut milk. Bring up to a simmer, then add the lime juice, lime leaf, fish sauce and brown sugar.

Add the mussels, cover the pan and give it a quick shake. Cook for 3 minutes, until all the mussels have opened. Discard any that are still closed. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning with more fish sauce if needed.

To serve, divide among four wide, deep bowls.

Nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice)

Every Malaysian grows up eating nasi goreng. The only difference is that we all have our own style of cooking it. The best way to make it is to use leftover rice. Malaysians eat rice every day, so we’d often have nasi goreng for breakfast or take a lunch box of nasi goreng to school. I always serve it with a sunny-side-up fried egg.

Serves 4

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 shallot, sliced

1 garlic clove, sliced

1 batch of spice paste

1 tsp ground turmeric

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced very small

2 tbsp ketjap manis

1 egg

600g leftover cooked basmati rice (or 200g dried rice, cooked as usual), not jasmine rice – it’s too sticky

100g green beans, finely

chopped

For the spice paste:

3 dried red chillies

3 shallots, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

a thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp caster sugar

To serve:

fried eggs, sunny side up

To garnish:

thinly sliced spring onions

thinly sliced fresh red chilli

To make the spice paste, soak the dried red chillies in a small bowl of water for 1 hour, until soft, then drain and roughly chop. Put the chillies in a pestle and mortar with the rest of the spice paste ingredients and crush to a paste. A blender won’t work here – there are so few ingredients, they won’t catch and blend properly.

Heat the sesame and vegetable oils in a large wok or frying pan on a medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant, then add the spice paste. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring, then add the turmeric and cook for 1 minute.

Add the chicken, stirring to coat it all with the paste. Cook for a few minutes, then add the ketjap manis. Stir-fry for another minute or two, then crack in the egg and quickly scramble it, stirring constantly.

Add the cooked rice and green beans and cook for 5 minutes to thoroughly heat the rice until it’s piping hot and has absorbed all the flavours. Spread it out evenly in the wok or pan so that it dries out evenly – this makes it less stodgy. Taste and season with salt.

Divide among bowls, serve with a fried egg, sunny side up, and garnish with thinly sliced spring onion and chilli.

Som tam (mango and papaya slaw)

When we were kids, my mother used to bring us to visit our family on the Malaysian border of Thailand during Wesak Day (Buddha Day) or Songkran (Thai New Year). We’d always have som tam with our dinner, using the unripe mango and papaya from the garden.

Serves 4

1 green (unripe) papaya or Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 large, ripe mango, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks

10 raw green beans, chopped

2 fresh red chillies, cut into matchsticks

a handful of fresh coriander, chopped

1 lime leaf, shredded

40g dry roasted peanuts, chopped

juice of 3 limes

2-3 tbsp fish sauce

1-2 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tsp grated garlic

1 head of Baby Gem lettuce, broken into individual leaves, to serve (optional)

Put all the ingredients except the Baby Gem (if using) in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons of the fish sauce and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Toss everything together with your hands, then taste and add more fish sauce and/or sugar if needed.

Line a serving bowl with the Baby Gem leaves (if using), then pile the slaw into the middle. That’s it! This is best eaten straight away, when it’s fresh. If you want to get ahead, prep all the ingredients but mix them together just before serving.

TRY THIS:

• Scatter over some crispy bacon.
• Add cooked glass noodles, chopped bird’s eye chilli and a little extra fish sauce and sugar to make this into a noodle dish.
• Add cooked glass noodles and roll it all up in a rice paper wrapper to make a summer roll.

Just snatched a few days break down on the south coast of Britain to celebrate a friends ‘noughty’ birthday. He is one of the pioneers of the organic food movement in the UK. An original rocker, he regaled us all with a feisty rendition of Egg and Daughter Nite by John Prine and Buy Organic, Save the Planet, first recorded in 1991.

Friends came from all over the world to celebrate this special birthday and to enjoy the gorgeous feast of summer salads and koftas and the most unbelievably beautiful 80th birthday cake lavishly decorated with fresh flowers which had been lovingly transported all the way from Bristol to Hastings.

Also loved these bhajis which our wonderfully colourful hostess with her wildflower tiara shared with us. Following the party, we spent a night in Ramsgate, ‘been there done that’ but don’t need to rush back…
Margate however is quite a different story, it’s really rocking, it’s all happening in the seaside town with lots of independent shops, cafés, markets, clubs.

A highlight for us was to see the mysterious Shell Grotto, a series of underground passages and little rooms lavishly embellished with sea shells. It was discovered in 1835. There are lots of intriguing theories but as yet despite much diligent research no one seems to know who is responsible for this wonderful creation. The shells are somewhat discoloured from many years of gas lighting, but the patterns are still evident.

How about making a beautiful folly at home or in your garden from mussel, periwinkle, cockle, scallop and oyster shells which are mostly discarded so save your shells even if it’s only to embellish a picture frame or a mirror. Not sure if you’ve seen the beautiful Shell House, Blot Kerr Wilson embellished in Kinoith Gardens in 1995, it’s open to the public every day, year round except on Sundays.

Next day, we made a pilgrimage to The Sportsman in Seasalter, Stephen Harris’s pub with a well-deserved reputation for some of the best pub food in the UK. As ever they were totally fully booked, but I pleaded for a table or even a stool. The meal was so worth the detour with one delicious plate after another plus a couple of superb desserts. A summer herb panna cotta, also a fruit salad of summer berries including Kent cherries, loganberries and little green gooseberries scattered on top of a scoop of lemon verbena granita in a crisp basket.  There were also several homemade breads, including this riff on Irish soda bread with home churned butter from Stephen Harris’s cookbook, The Sportsman published by Phaidon in 2017 is now sadly out of print, but I’ve managed to track down a copy in a West Cork bookshop. It’s got a Michelin Star but mercifully none of the fluff and foams and skid marks on plates that one expects from these starred restaurants.

Our final night was spent at Uptown Farmhouse near Deal, a beautiful country house with extensive gardens. Just six bedrooms and irresistible food. This is quite the find, owned by London chef Rowley Leigh’s daughter Ruth and son-in-law Ali. Both dinner and breakfast were memorable. Fresh beautiful produce, carefully sourced from the garden and local area. Juicy roast pork with borlotti beans and warm cherry tomatoes was particularly memorable as was a salad of buffalo mozzarella with chunks of ripe, doughnut peaches, basil and whisper of chili. It’s close to the town of Deal with its beautiful long sandy strand and numerous indi shops, cafés and the multi award winning Black Pig Butcher owned by Lizzy Douglas, winner of the BBC Radio 4 Food Programme’s Food and farming ‘Food Producer’ Award in 2022. Lizzy specialises in nose-to-tail eating and artisanal butchery and buys her superb naturally reared meat locally.
The trip was far too short. We discovered a part of England that we had not previously visited. Miles of beautiful coastal footpaths to explore, we even saw the legendary white cliffs of Dover. Can’t wait to return to explore at a more leisurely pace.

The Sportsman’s Soda Bread

Recipe from The Sportsman by Stephen Harris published by Phaidon

During the 1980’s, my dad lived in Dublin and when I used to visit him, we always ate the local soda bread. It left a lasting impression on me, and I now use it for some snacks and starters, as well as serving it on our bread board. I have seen many customers eating this bread with our butter and not wanting to move on. This version is based on Richard Corrigan’s recipe but over time, we have added more treacle.

Makes 1 loaf

125g wholemeal flour

65g self-raising flour

65g pinhead oats

30g bran

15g wheatgerm

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp treacle

300ml buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 7 and generously flour a baking tray.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the treacle and buttermilk and mix together until fully incorporated.

Turn the sticky dough out onto a well-floured work counter and knead lightly, just until no longer sticky. Form into a loaf shape and lift onto the prepared baking tray.

Bake for 5 minutes in the preheated oven, then lower the temperature to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and bake for 30-40 minutes. When the loaf is cooked, it should sound hollow when you tap the underside. Or test with a skewer, which should come out clean when inserted into the centre of the bread.

Allow the bread to cool on a wire rack.

Savannah’s Vegetable Bhajis

These delicious bhajis can be made with carrot or sweet potato or a mix of both. Thank you for sharing Jo.

600g sweet potato/carrot grated on a large grater in a Magimix

300g chard or baby spinach, chopped 

3 tbsp chives finely chopped

1 tbsp turmeric

2 tsp Kashmiri or Aleppo chilli pepper or mild paprika if you prefer it milder

5 eggs

200g plain flour or gluten-free flour

2 tsp baking powder

salt and pepper to taste 

Mix eggs and dry ingredients together to firm batter, add all other ingredients and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Heat oil in a wok or deep frying pan 

Shape about 2 tablespoons of the bhajis mixture in your hands into a rough ball shape and add to hot oil. Fry until crisp and golden brown, 2-3 minutes approx. The mixture is a bit messy but if the oil is at the correct temperature, it should hold together.

The bhajis will puff up so you only need a small amount of batter mixture per fritter. Drain on kitchen paper. 

Serve with a yoghurt based dip. 

Plaice or Lemon Sole with Herb Mussel Butter

This Ballymaloe classic is a very simple ‘master technique’ which can be used not only for roasting plaice and sole but for all very fresh flat fish, e.g. brill, turbot, dabs, flounder and lemon sole.   Depending on the size of the fish, it can be a starter or a main course. Because it’s cooked whole on the bone, it retains maximum flavour. Peel the skin off the top when cooked and coat with the herb and mussel butter.  We sometimes add a few peeled shrimps, cockles or periwinkles to the butter or sauce for an equally exquisite dish. The Sportsman used slip sole.

Serves 4

4 very fresh plaice or lemon sole on the bone

20-28 mussels, depending on the size of the fish

Herb Butter

50-110g butter

4 tsp mixed finely-chopped fresh parsley, chives, fennel and thyme leaves

salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5.

Turn the fish on its side and remove the head.  Wash the fish and clean the slit very thoroughly.  With a sharp knife, cut through the dark skin right round the fish, just where the ‘fringe’ meets the flesh.  Be careful to cut neatly and to cross the side cuts at the tail or it will be difficult to remove the skin later on.

Sprinkle the fish with salt and freshly-ground pepper and lay them in a generous 5mm of water in a shallow baking tin.   Roast in a moderately hot oven for 20-30 minutes according to the size of the fish.  The water should have just evaporated as the fish is cooked.  Check to see whether the fish is cooked by lifting the flesh from the bone at the head; it should lift off the bone easily and be quite white with no trace of pink.

Wash the mussels under cold water and drain well.

Put into a saucepan, cover and cook on a medium heat. Check after 2 or 3 minutes by which time the mussels should be open and have given off some liquid. Remove from the pan, as soon as the mussels are cool enough, extract from their shells (save the shells to make a folly). Strain the mussel liquid.

Just before serving, melt the butter and stir in the freshly-chopped herbs, add the mussels and a little mussel cooking liquid.  Just before serving catch the skin down near the tail and pull it off gently (the skin will tear badly if not properly cut).  Lift the fish onto hot plates and spoon the herb and mussel butter over each one.  Serve immediately.

National Farmers’ Market Week runs from the 4^th-10^th August 2024 so in this column, I joyously celebrate the Farmers’ Markets and the heroic producers who harvest their home grown produce, hail rain or shine, then pack up and set off at the crack of dawn on market day.  They set up their stalls to sell to their local community, tourists and holiday makers who long to get a  glimpse of what’s in season in the area, a taste of that place.
It’s 28 years now since Myrtle Allen and I first packed up the rusty old Renault van and headed off for the Coal Quay on Cornmarket Street in Cork to set up what was to be the first Farmers’ Market in Ireland.
Caroline Robinson who still sells her beautiful homegrown chemical-free, seasonal vegetables set up beside us as did Frank Hederman from Belvelly Smokehouse near Cobh, now trading in the English Market throughout the week as well as Mahon Point Farmers’ Market on Thursday and Midleton on Saturday.
Declan Ryan was also there with his sourdough bread which at that stage was baked in his converted garage. Declan and his wife Patsy have recently retired and passed on his hugely successful business to Bretzel Bakery who will continue to use his recipes and uphold the artisan baking tradition.
Clodagh McKenna also started her very successful career on a stall in the Coal Quay and went on to write several best-selling cookbooks and present many successful TV series before marrying Harry Herbert of Highclere in the UK where she continues to grow and teach classes.
Jill Bell sold her delicious homemade cakes. She too went on to establish the much loved Well and Good Health Food Shop in Midleton and on and on…
Klaus and Hannah Balz sold beautiful bunches of fresh flowers from their garden. Over 27 years later, Klaus continues to sell plants and flowers on the Coal Quay each Saturday, how wonderful is that.  All were members of the important Cork Free Choice Consumer Group established by Myrtle Allen and Caroline Robinson in 1989.
I’d first come across the Farmers’ Market concept in San Francisco in 1995 when a friend introduced me to the newly established Farmers’ Market, in a parking lot in the Bay Area of town.
At that stage, in this country, setting up a market stall on the side of the street was not cool. Here in Ireland the supermarkets, already well established, were going over to the central distribution system and some were penalising their local shops if they bought more than 2% of their produce locally.
Consequently, small local potato and vegetable growers particularly were unable to sell their products to local shops and local people were no longer able to source their food locally.
Myrtle Allen and I became intensely concerned about the situation. Seeing this new age Farmers’ Market in San Francisco with stalls piled high with beautiful fresh produce, fresh flowers, home baked pastries and cakes, farmstead cheese, organic plump organic chickens was a eureka moment. Suddenly a lightbulb went on – I realised that if we could re-establish the market system in Ireland, local people could buy local food from local farmers and food producers who would be delighted to get paid a fair price directly so they could continue to work on the land that they love.
Midleton Farmers’ Market in 2000 was probably the next to be established, Mahon Point and Douglas not long afterwards.
Now I read that there are 160 plus Farmers’ Markets scattered around the country.
How fortunate are people who have a good Farmers’ Market close by. Sadly, they are not all as bustling and vibrant as Skibbereen for example.  Sometimes folk tell me that the farmers’ markets are too expensive, usually people who never actually shop in them.
In Midleton recently, I bought a bag of beautiful dessert apples from The Little Irish Apple company, seven perfect apples for €2, how about that for value?
Many farmers tell me that they would not no longer be on the land if it wasn’t for the Farmers’ Market movement. Remember farmers are fortunate if they get paid a third of the price on the supermarket shelf and are super lucky if they’re paid within a month.
The people who feed us are now ‘price takers’ not ‘price makers’. 
We need to wake up…so if you can, go along and support your local Farmers’ Market and bring home a basket full of beautiful fresh produce to nourish yourself and your family. Why not pay the farmer to keep you well, rather than spend your money on pills and supplements – our food can be our medicine!
This is the most bountiful time of the year for fresh produce, try these recipes for ratatouille, roast onions and almond tart with strawberries.
Let’s give thanks for the bounty of nature and don’t forget a hug for the farmer, they’ve had a rotten year with unprecedented weather challenges and more often than not, below cost prices for their produce…another reason to support farmers’ markets.

Ratatouille Nicoise ( Mediterranean Vegetable Stew)

Ratatouille, perhaps the most famous Mediterranean vegetable stew of all, can be a horrible, overcooked mess… Unless you stand over the pot., it’s super easy to overcook it by the classic method so I have been following Roger Verge’s example by cooking the aubergines and courgettes separately and adding them in at the end with far better results.

Serves 8-10

450g medium sized aubergines

450g courgettes (zucchini), not more than 15cm long

olive oil

2 red peppers, cut into quarters and cut into 2.5cm squares

1 green pepper, cut into quarters and cut into 2.5cm squares

2 large cloves of garlic, crushed

2 large onions, sliced 350g

450g very ripe tomatoes or 1 x 400g tin of tomatoes

salt and freshly ground pepper

½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil or annual marjoram

Slice the unpeeled aubergines and courgettes into 1cm rounds, sprinkle with a little salt and put into a colander. Leave for an hour to drain, then wash and dry with kitchen paper.  Heat a grill pan, toss the aubergines and courgettes lightly in olive oil.  Cook in a single layer until golden brown on each side, adding a little more olive oil if necessary and drain on a wire rack over an oven tray.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide casserole, add the sliced onions and crushed garlic, cover and sweat on a gentle heat for about 5 minutes. As they begin to soften add the peppers, cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes.   Meanwhile, peel and slice the tomatoes, add to the peppers and season with salt, pepper and sugar.  Simmer without covering the pan until the vegetables are just cooked, about 6-8 minutes.  Then add the aubergines and courgettes with the crushed coriander.  Stir gently, add the basil or marjoram.  Taste and correct seasoning.

Note: Ratatouille Nicoise can be served hot or cold.

Variations

Ratatouille with Olives

Add 110g whole black olives to the ratatouille about 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Ratatouille with Poached Eggs

Heat 2 generous tablespoons of ratatouille per person, make a nest on a hot plate for each person and drop a poached egg into the centre – a perfect supper dish.

Roast Onions

So utterly simple and delicious.  Roast onions were one of the big hits in my book ‘Simply Delicious Food for Family and Friends’.  Eat them on their own, serve them with Marjoram Butter or as an accompaniment to a juicy steak or lots of other good things.

Choose small, medium or large sized onions.  Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6.  Cook the unpeeled onions on a baking tray until soft, this can take anything from 10 minutes to an hour depending on size.  Serve in their jackets.

To eat, cut off the root end, squeeze out the onion if they are tiny, enjoy with marjoram or garlic butter and sea salt.  Larger onions are best split in half.

Variations

Roast Onions Halves

Cut the unpeeled onions in half from top to bottom.  Drizzle the cut side of the onion halves with a little olive oil and arrange in a roasting tray cut side down.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Roast in a preheated oven 200°C/Gas Mark 6 for 20-40 minutes depending on size.  The onions should be perfectly tender and the cut side nicely caramelised.

Seared Onions

Cut the onion in half lengthwise (do not remove the skin).  Drizzle with olive oil.  Place flesh side down on a hot pan-grill and cook until charred and caramelised – the flesh should be soft.  Serve immediately.

Roast Onions with Marjoram Butter

Roast the onions as above, serve with a blob of Marjoram Butter (see recipe) melting in the centre so exquisite that you won’t want anything else for supper.

Garlic Butter

50g butter

1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

Cream the butter, stir in the parsley and add the crushed garlic.  Roll into butter pats or form into a roll and wrap in parchment paper, screwing each end so it looks like a cracker. Refrigerate to harden.  Cut into slices to serve.

Marjoram Butter

Add 1 tablespoon chopped annual marjoram to 50g butter.

Almond Tart with Strawberries

Ruth Rodgers and the late Rose Gray of the River Café demonstrated this gorgeous moist tart when they were guest chefs here some years ago. 

Serves 10-12

Pastry

225g flour

25g caster sugar

a pinch of salt

110g unsalted butter

1 egg

Almond Filling

285g soft butter unsalted

225g caster sugar

285g whole almonds

3 eggs

1 dsp Amaretto or Rum

1 tbsp of flour (optional)

a generous pinch of salt (essential the enhance the flavour of the frangipane)

450g fresh strawberries or a mixture of strawberries and raspberries

Garnish

little sprigs of fresh mint

1 x 28cm x 3.5cm tart tin with ‘pop-up’ base

First make the pastry.

Sieve the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Cut the butter into cubes, toss in the flour and then rub in with your fingertips. Keep everything as cool as possible; if the fat is allowed to melt, the finished pastry may be tough. When the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs, stop.

Whisk the egg. Using a fork to stir, add just enough liquid to bring the pastry together, then discard the fork and collect it into a ball with your hands, this way you can judge more accurately if you need a few more drops of liquid. Although rather damp pastry is easier to handle and roll out, the resulting crust can be tough and may well shrink out of shape as the water evaporates in the oven. The drier and more difficult-to-handle pastry will give a crisper, shorter crust.

Flatten into a round, cover the pastry and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will make the pastry much less elastic and easier to roll.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

Line the flan ring and bake blind for 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile make the almond filling.

Blanch the almonds in boiling water, remove the skins and grind in a liquidiser or food processor.

Cream the butter with the sugar until soft and fluffy, beat in the eggs one by one, then stir in the freshly ground almonds, flour, salt and amaretto if available. Pour into the pastry case, reduce the temperature to 160°C/Gas Mark 3, and bake for 45-60 minutes.

Remove from the tin onto a wire rack.  Allow to cool completely.

Just before serving, if the strawberries are too large cut in half or quarters and cover the surface of the tart.  Use whole raspberries if using. Sprinkle with icing sugar.  Tuck some little sprigs of fresh mint here and there between the strawberries and/or raspberries if using. 

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as we say in Cork, so it’s hardly surprising that Jamie Oliver‘s 13 year old son Buddy should be just as determined as his father to get kids into the kitchen to have fun and to discover how easy it is to cook lots of yummy dishes for themselves and their friends.
Jamie and Jules obviously made their kitchen at home a joyous fun place where the children picked up cooking basics effortlessly and were keen to share the skills with pals.
Buddy started his YouTube channel aptly named Cooking Buddies in 2020.  He’s definitely got his Dad‘s charisma…he’s confident and charming and not afraid to make little mistakes here and there which help to encourage his now 135K subscribers.
More recently Cooking Buddies is on BBC and iPlayer and is getting a tremendous response.
Even the naysayers who complain that cooking TV is disproportionately peppered with the offspring of the rich and famous, cannot deny Buddy’s talent.
His new cookbook, Let’s Cook, takes children on an irresistible adventure and dare I say is also a brilliant introduction for parents who haven’t had time or maybe the inclination to cook thus far. His enthusiasm is infectious, and he’s got lots of little hints and tips on how to make a series of super tasty dishes with accessible ingredients and basic equipment.
No need to have a Magimix to make breadcrumbs, just grate stale or frozen bread on a simple box grater…there are riffs and ‘helpful hacks’ on the bottom of many recipes.
This is a book to buy for all the family.
You’ll never regret encouraging your children to learn how to cook, it’s one of the most important gifts we can give them. Cooking and washing up together is actually a brilliant bonding experience and the best fun. We’re not talking fancy cheffy recipes with complicated techniques, just good simple nutritious food that will fuel them with tons of energy and vitality and the ability to really concentrate at school and perform on the sports field.
I myself am greatly tempted by many of the ‘simply delicious’ recipes.
 Super quick flatbreads, one cup pancakes, veggie nachos, humus and dippers, chicken lollipops, steak sarnies…
All written in Buddy’s inimitable ‘happy chappy’ style but very morish.

Let’s Cook: Fun, easy recipes for kids by Buddy Oliver is published by Penguin Michael Joseph ©Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited Recipe Photography: David Loftus.

The Ultimate Burger

With melty cheese and salad

“Homemade burgers are fast, fun and taste juicier than the ones you buy. Plus, you can stack up the toppings and layer in your favourite sauces exactly as you like them.”

Serves 4

4 gherkins

2 ripe tomatoes

200g red cabbage

red wine vinegar

½ an iceberg lettuce

½ a cucumber

extra virgin olive oil

1 x 400g tin of green lentils

250g higher-welfare minced beef or veggie mince

olive oil

4 slices of Cheddar cheese (60g total)

4 small burger buns

optional: tomato ketchup and/or mayo

1. Slice the gherkins (use a crinkle-cut knife, if you’ve got one) and tomatoes, and set aside. Finely slice or grate the red cabbage, then toss in a mixing bowl with 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar.
2. Shred the lettuce and slice the cucumber, then place in another mixing bowl and dress with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
3. Drain the lentils and pat dry with kitchen paper, then blitz in a food processor with the mince and a pinch of black pepper. Divide the mixture into 4 equal pieces and shape into 3cm-thick patties.
4. Place a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. Brush the patties with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then carefully place in the hot pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side, or until just cooked through, nudging the patties towards the edge of the pan to sear the sides.
5. When the burgers are looking good, place a slice of cheese on top of each one, add a splash of water to the pan (the steam will help the cheese to melt), then cover for an extra 4 minutes, or until melted.
6. Cut the buns in half (toast them if you like), add a dollop of ketchup and/or mayo (if using) to each base, then place a burger on top.
7. Layer the gherkin, tomato and cucumber slices, and a pinch of lettuce on top of each one, then pop the lids on. Serve the rest of the lettuce, cucumber and tomato on the side, along with the pickled cabbage.

Barbecued Chicken Lollipops

With pepper and pineapple salsa, and lemony couscous

Serves 2

150g wholewheat couscous

olive oil

2 lemons

2 x 120g higher-welfare skinless chicken breasts

4 sprigs of rosemary (tied together with a piece of string)

1 tsp runny honey

1 red pepper

¼ of a small red onion

150g pineapple

extra virgin olive oil

optional: ½ a bunch of soft herbs, such as mint, flat-leaf parsley (15g)

4 tbsp natural yoghurt

1. Soak 6 wooden skewers in cold water to stop them burning later on.
2. Place the couscous in a bowl with ½ a tablespoon of olive oil. Finely grate in the zest of ½ a lemon and squeeze in the juice, throwing the squeezed half into the bowl. Just cover the couscous with boiling water, then cover and leave aside to fluff up.
3. Carefully push 3 skewers horizontally into each chicken breast (trim the skewers, if needed), season with black pepper, squeeze over the juice of ½ a lemon and drizzle with ½ a tablespoon of olive oil.
4. You can cook the skewers on a hot barbecue or in a non-stick frying pan on the hob. Either way, cook them for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the chicken is golden and cooked through, turning regularly. For the final minute of cooking, use the rosemary sprigs to brush the honey over the chicken, giving it a lovely sticky glaze.
5. Halve, deseed and finely chop the pepper, then peel and finely chop the onion and pineapple, and scrape everything into a bowl. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil, then taste and season with sea salt and pepper, if needed. Pick and finely chop the herbs (if using), then add to the bowl and toss together.
6. Fluff up the couscous with a fork, season to taste with salt and pepper, and divide between serving plates.
7. Slice the chicken between the skewers, making sure it’s cooked through – if it’s not, give it a little longer. Place 3 chicken lollipops on each plate and divide up the salsa. Serve with yoghurt for dipping and cut the remaining lemon into wedges for squeezing over.

Rocky Road

With white chocolate drizzle

Serves 16

olive oil, for greasing

100g dark chocolate (70%)

100g quality milk chocolate

125g unsalted butter

75g golden syrup

50g marshmallows

150g biscuits, such as ginger nuts, digestives

75g unsalted nuts, such as pistachios, toasted hazelnuts

75g chocolate-covered honeycomb

75g glacé cherries or dried fruit

50g quality white chocolate

1. Lightly oil a 25cm x 30cm roasting tray and line it with a sheet of damp greaseproof paper.
2. Sit a heatproof bowl on top of a pan of lightly simmering water, snap in the dark and milk chocolate, add the butter and golden syrup, and stir occasionally until melted.
3. Halve the marshmallows, snap up the biscuits, roughly chop or bash up the nuts, bash up the honeycomb and halve the cherries or dried fruit (if needed), then stir them into the chocolate mixture.
4. Pour into the lined tray and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, then carefully turn out.
5. Snap the white chocolate into a clean heatproof bowl and melt as described in step 2 (or melt in the microwave, if easier). Drizzle the melted chocolate over the rocky road, leave to set in the fridge, then slice up and serve.

This is the title of a new cookbook penned by Sarah Johnson, a brilliant young pastry chef with an impeccable pedigree.

Fruitful is a very personal collection of sweet and savoury seasonal recipes inspired by farms, orchards and gardens. It’s packed with suggestions for ways to celebrate the bounty of summer fruits. There’s an irresistible collection of mouth-watering suppers, salads, elegant cakes and luxurious desserts…

Sarah is American born but now lives in London. She originally trained with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley in California and currently splits her time between Skye Gyngell’s Spring Restaurant in Somerset House and Heckfield Place, the most gorgeous country house hotel in Hampshire.

On her recent visit, she cooked a Pop-Up dinner at Ballymaloe House and did a guest chef appearance at the Ballymaloe Cookery School.

Both the students and guests loved her, she cooked different dishes for both events using the freshest, most lovely, seasonal ingredients from the farm and gardens.

At the cookery school as well as the three recipes I’ve included with this column, she also cooked a frozen yoghurt and honey parfait with roasted blueberries and macerated strawberries and a sublime chocolate tart in a chocolate pastry shell, all of which are in the cookbook as well as a salad of nectarines, green beans, almonds and feta, pan-fried duck breast with blackcurrant, goat cheese soufflés with roasted cherries and a summer herb salad that charmed the guests at Ballymaloe House. 

The students particularly loved her clever tips and tricks and her expert advice for mastering key techniques. There were also thought provoking combinations from fruit growers around the world.

I too love blackcurrants and gooseberries, the latter are almost over but the blackcurrants have been ripening on the bushes for the past few weeks. We’ve had to cover the bushes with light netting otherwise the blackbirds and pigeons would strip every last plump blackcurrant off the branches. There are raspberries and strawberries from January to December, but blackcurrants and gooseberries rarely appear on supermarket shelves, best to plant a few bushes of your own. Make a note in your diary to order some from your garden centre to plant sometime between November and March depending on the weather.

My very favourite way to eat blackcurrants is to poach them in a simple syrup (equal quantities of sugar and water) until they burst (2-3 minutes). Spoon them into bowls immediately,

then pour a little icy cold Jersey cream – divine!

Make the most of the summer fruit while it is in season.

Sarah Johnson’s Fruitful will give you lots of exciting new ideas. Published by Kyle Books.

Savoury Lemon Chicken Piccata

Lemon, chicken and capers appear harmoniously together in a number of dishes, however Sarah’s favourite version is in this Italian-American classic. Serve it with orzo, or buttermilk mashed potatoes and garlicky green beans. 

Serves 4-6

4 skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper

140g butter, separated

50ml oil

250g flour

1 clove of garlic

100ml white wine

100ml chicken stock

zest of 1 lemon, plus lemon wedges to serve

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp capers

handful of parsley

Begin by cutting each chicken breast in half, slicing through horizontally to create two thinner pieces. Place the slices between two pieces of baking parchment and gently pound until they’re about 1.5cm thick. Season the chicken with salt, cover lightly and set aside for 30 minutes – 1 hour.

When you’re ready to cook, heat a large heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat then add 40g of the butter and the oil. Put the flour into a shallow bowl, then dredge each chicken cutlet in the flour, shaking off the excess. When the pan is hot and the butter begins to sizzle, place the cutlets into the hot pan, ensuring you don’t overcrowd the pan (you may need to do this in two batches.) Allow the cutlets to cook for 3-5 minutes, waiting patiently before flipping them. Once they are crisp and golden-brown, and release easily from the bottom of the pan, flip them and quickly sear the other side for about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken. 

Add the chopped garlic to the pan and let it sizzle briefly, but before it browns, add the white wine. Bring the liquid to a boil and let it reduce until it has nearly evaporated. Add the chicken stock and using a spatula, scrape and lift any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the lemon zest, juice, whisk in the remaining butter and then add the capers, swirling them around to form a glossy emulsion. Return the chicken cutlets to the pan, spooning the sauce over each piece until they are warmed through. Take the pan off the heat and let everything rest for 5 minutes.

Just before serving, garnish the dish with freshly chopped parsley and wedges of lemon. 

Serve with buttermilk mash or orzo.

Blackcurrant Jelly

In this recipe, the blackcurrant is set with gelatine rather than pectin, resulting in a bright, fresh-tasting jelly which can be served with a number of dishes both savoury and sweet. It is one of my favourite accompaniments to a number of cheeses, like a young moussey goat’s cheese, or a creamy blue. You may also consider serving small spoonfuls with a terrine or duck pâté on toast. For a sweeter alternative, serve with cold thick cream and sugared rose petals, or include as a layer in your favourite summer trifle. This jelly should be quivering when set, and barely held together by the gelatine. To achieve this, pay particular attention to your measurements.

Serves 6-8

570ml blackcurrant juice (see below)

150–200g caster sugar, plus extra to taste 

4 sheets of gelatine leaf

Measure 100ml of the blackcurrant juice into a small saucepan with the sugar. Place over a gentle heat, swirling occasionally until the sugar dissolves and the juice is hot to touch, then set aside. 

Meanwhile, submerge the gelatine sheets one by one into a bowl of ice-cold water and leave to soften for about 5 minutes. Remove the gelatine from the cold water and squeeze to remove the excess liquid, then add it to the warm currant juice and stir until the gelatine is completely dissolved. Slowly stir in the remaining juice, then strain through a fine-mesh plastic sieve into a serving bowl. Give the jelly a little taste and add a whisper of sugar if desired. Place into the refrigerated uncovered for 2-3 hours, then cover and continue to chill until set. 

Serve with softly whipped cream.

Variation: You may also set the jelly in ramekins, which can be turned out on a plate after a quick run under hot water. 

Cover the remaining pulp with vodka – strain after 7 or 8 days and enjoy.

Blackcurrant Juice

Makes about 600ml

700g topped and tailed blackcurrants

200ml water

Place the blackcurrants in a saucepan with the water, then cover the pan with a lid and bring it to a gentle boil. Lightly mash the currants and let them cook for an additional minute. Remove from the heat and carefully strain the juice through a fine-mesh plastic sieve into a heatproof container, use the back of a ladle to gently press the fruit, being cautious not to agitate it too much to avoid clouding the juice. Use immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Almond Cake with Roasted Apricots and Sugared Rose Petals

This almond cake is definitely one for your repertoire – it’s a keeper!

Serves 8-10

115g almond flour

80g icing sugar

220g caster sugar

195g unsalted butter at room temperature and cut into cubes plus extra for greasing

5 large eggs (290g)

¼ vanilla bean, scraped (or 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract)

2 tsp almond liquor

140g plain flour

1 ¾ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Roasted Apricots with Muscat Beaumes de Venise (see recipe)

Sugared Rose Petals (see recipe)

Preheat the oven 160°C/Gas Mark 3.

Grease a 23cm cake tin with butter, dust it with flour and tap out the excess.

Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper

In the bowl of a food processor, grind the almond flour and two sugars until properly mixed. Scatter the cubes of butter over the top, then process until the batter is very smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, processing a bit before the next addition. (You may wish to open the machine and scrape the sides down to make sure the eggs are getting fully incorporated.) Add the vanilla and almond liquor.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, then add half the dry ingredients to the processor. Pulse the machine a few times, then add the rest, pulsing until the dry ingredients are just barely incorporated. Scrape down the machine and the blade then pulse one or two more times. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake the cake for 30 minutes. Rotate the cake 180 degrees, then bake for another 15 minutes or when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and place onto a wire rack to cool.  

Scatter sugared rose petals over the top of the cake and serve with Roasted Apricots with Muscat Beaumes de Venise.

Roasted Apricots with Muscat Beaumes de Venise 

Ripe apricots and Muscat Beaumes de Venise, at their best, share a beguiling scent of honey and sweet nectar. This quality makes them a perfect combination for this simple dish. If you have difficulty sourcing Muscat wine, particularly one that won’t strain your budget, feel free to experiment with other white dessert wines such as Sauternes or Vin Santo. 

Serves 4-6

1kg ripe, fragrant apricots

4 tbsp Muscat Beaumes de Venise

1 vanilla pod (optional)

2-4 tbsp sugar 

Preheat the oven 220°C/Gas Mark 7.

Halve the apricots and remove the stones, saving them for another purpose.

Arrange the apricot halves closely together in a ceramic dish. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of Muscat Beaumes de Venise over the apricots and add just enough water to lightly coat the bottom of the dish. Place the dish in the preheated oven for 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds in a bowl along with the sugar. Using your fingertips, rub the vanilla into the sugar, and set it aside. Once the apricots are hot and gently sizzling around the edges, evenly distribute the sugar mixture over the top. Continue roasting for another 7-10 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved into the fruit and the edges start to darken. The fruit should be tender but still retain its shape. Remove from the oven and cut a small corner from one of the apricots to taste. Adjust the sweetness by adding the remaining sugar if desired. Scatter the remaining 2 tablespoons of Muscat Beaumes de Venise over the apricots and allow them to cool on a wire rack.

Sugared Rose Petals

1 egg white

30 fragrant rose petals, unsprayed and dry

a small bowl of caster sugar

For the sugared rose petals, make sure your hands are clean and dry and keep a towel nearby. Place the egg whites into a small bowl and gently whisk them until frothy. Using one hand, drag your index and middle finger along with your thumb through the frothy whites, then pick up a rose petal and gently rub it between your fingers to moisten it. If the petal feels too heavy, dry your finger with the towel and brush away any excess whites. Drop the petal into the sugar, then use your other clean hand to toss and coat it. Place the sugared petal on a wire rack. Repeat this process with the remaining petals, using one hand to coat them in egg whites and the other hand to toss them in sugar. It’s best to keep the bowls of egg whites and sugar separate to avoid creating a sticky mess. However, if your hands become mixed, simply take a break to rinse your hands, wipe them dry and continue. Once you have candied all the petals, transfer the wire rack in a cool, moist-free place until the petals are brittle and completely dry. They can be stored in a well-sealed container, stacked between pieces of baking parchment for up to a day.