AuthorDarina Allen

Whoops! Christmas has sneaked up on us once again. The shops are brimming with tempting trinkets and baubles and canny shoppers are taking advantage of pre-Christmas bargains, and ticking off their lists.

How good does it feel to be organised, but more and more of challenge for so many who are trying to balance both time and budget.

If you have not already ordered your turkey or goose, do it today. Organic free range turkeys are still in short supply ever since the annual sales of New York dressed turkeys were stopped in 1999.

I like to find an old fashioned bronze turkey but well reared white turkeys can also be good if hung for long enough. I hang them for three weeks plus but that may not be to everyone’s taste. I personally find it greatly enhances the flavour.

A good ham is almost as much of challenge to find nowadays, as the paranoia around fat has forced producers to produce leaner and leaner ham which no longer has the sweetness or succulence of a fine fat ham.

This week’s column is the first of three devoted to a countdown to a traditional Christmas. I’ll include recipes for my favourite Christmas cakes, both a light and a rich version. I’ll also include JR Roberts’s recipe for Dundee cake. These can be made now wrapped and stored or they can be made closer to C – Day.

The Irish cranberry season has just started; we got the first plump berries from Ciara Morris in the Bog of Allen last week. Seek them out in the shops, they freeze perfectly or you can make the cranberry sauce now and also pot some up in small glass jars for presents.

Plum puddings can also be made ahead, again my favourite plum pudding recipe passed down through my grandmother’s family for many generations. Make a large, a medium and several teeny weenies for friends who would love juts a taste of a moist and succulent pudding. A pot of brandy or rum butter completes the gift.

Mincemeat also benefits from being made well ahead; here are two recipes both gluten free. These two can be added to your edible presents. Pickles, relishes, chutneys also benefit from a couple of weeks mellowing. Confiture d’Oignons is a particularly delicious accompaniment to have in the pantry to cheer up cold meats or to add to starter plates of coarse pates or terrines.

Italian Pan Forte is another yummy fruit and nut dense sweet meat that keeps for months – if you don’t fancy making it yourself order it well ahead from Patisserie Regale in West Cork –  (023) 8855344.

 

 

JR’s Dundee Cake

JR’s famous Dundee cake makes a lovely light Christmas Cake which can be iced or not as you please.

 

Makes 1 x 18cm (7 inch) round cake or 900g (2lb) loaf

 

225g (8oz) softened butter

225g (8oz) caster sugar

grated rind of 1 large orange

4 eggs

225g (8oz) plain flour, sifted

50g (2oz) ground almonds

25g (1oz) mixed candied peel

100g (4oz) currants

100g (4oz) sultanas

100g (4oz) raisins

50g (2oz) glacé cherries, quartered

40-50 split blanched and peeled almonds

 

Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2 and line an 18cm (7 inch) round tin or a 900g (2lb) loaf tin.

 

Cream butter and sugar until smooth and light. Beat the eggs. Add in three stages alternating with a tablespoon of the flour between each addition. Beat thoroughly. Mix ground almonds, dried fruit and orange rind before folding into the mixture. Fold in the remaining flour carefully. Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and arrange the split almonds over the entire top.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 – 3 hours until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

 

Darina Allen’s Iced Christmas Cake

 

This makes a moist cake which keeps very well. It can either be made months ahead or, if you are frenetically busy then it will still be delish even if made just a few days before Christmas – believe me I know!.

 

Serves about 40

 

110g (4oz) real glacé cherries

50g (2oz) whole almonds

350g (12oz) best-quality sultanas

350g (12oz) best-quality currants

350g (12oz) best-quality raisins

110g (4oz) homemade candied peel

50g (2oz) ground almonds

zest of 1 organic unwaxed lemon

zest of 1 organic unwaxed orange

60ml (21⁄2 fl oz) Irish whiskey

225g (8oz) butter

225g (8oz) pale, soft-brown sugar or golden caster sugar

6 organic eggs

275g (10oz) flour

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1 large or 2 small Bramley seedling apples, grated

 

Line the base and sides of a 23cm (9 inch) round, or 20cm (8 inch) square tin with a double thickness of silicone paper. Then tie a double layer of brown paper around the outside of the tin. Have a sheet of brown or silicone paper to lay on top of the tin during cooking.

 

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

 

Preheat the oven to 160°C/ 325°F/gas mark 3.

 

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

 

Put the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Make a slight hollow in the centre, dip your hand in water and pat it over the surface of the cake – this will ensure that the top is smooth when cooked.

 

Now lay a double sheet of brown paper on top of the cake to protect the surface from the direct heat. Bake for 1 hour. Then reduce the heat to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2 and bake for a further 21⁄2 hours, until cooked; test in the centre with a skewer – it should come out completely clean. Pour the remainder of the whiskey over the cake and leave it to cool in the tin.

 

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

 

Store in a cool, dry place; the longer the cake is stored the more mature it will be.

 

Almond Paste and Cake Icing

 

I ice the Christmas cake above with almond icing and decorate it with heart shapes made from the almond paste. Then I brush it with whisked egg yolk and pop it in the oven – simply delicious!.

 

Serves about 40

450g (1lb) golden caster sugar

450g (1lb) ground almonds

2 small organic eggs

2 tablespoons Irish whiskey

a drop of pure almond extract

 

For Brushing on the Cake

 

1 organic egg white, lightly whisked, or sieved apricot jam (see page 448)

 

For the Fondant Icing

 

1 packet fondant (450g/1lb)

 

Sieve the caster sugar and mix with the ground almonds. Whisk the eggs, add the whiskey and 1 drop of almond extract, then add to the other ingredients and mix to a stiff paste. (You may not need all of the egg).

 

Sprinkle the worktop with icing sugar, turn out the almond paste and work lightly until smooth.

 

Remove the paper from the cake. To make life easier for yourself, put a sheet of greaseproof paper onto the worktop and dust with some icing sugar. Take about half the almond paste and roll it out on the paper: it should be a little less than 1cm (1⁄2 inch) thick.

 

Paint the top of the cake with the egg white or apricot jam and put the cake, sticky-side down, onto the almond paste. Give the cake a thump to ensure it sticks and then cut around the edge. If the cake is a little round-shouldered, cut the almond paste a little larger; pull away the extra bits and keep for later to make hearts or holly leaves. Use a palette knife to press the extra almond paste in against the top of the cake and fill any gaps. Then slide a knife underneath the cake or, better still, underneath the paper and turn the cake the right way up. Peel off the greaseproof paper.

 

Then roll out 2 long strips of almond paste: trim an edge to the height of the cake with a palette knife. Paint both the cake and the almond paste lightly with egg white or apricot jam. Then press the strip against the sides of the cake: do not overlap or there will be a bulge with the uneven edge upwards. Trim the excess almond paste with a long-bladed knife and keep for decoration and to make almond biscuits. Use a straight-sided water glass to even the edges and smooth the join. Then rub the cake well with your hand to ensure a nice flat surface.

 

Leave in a cool, dry place for a few days to allow the almond paste to dry out; otherwise the oil in the almonds will seep through the fondant icing.

 

To fondant ice

 

Sprinkle a little icing sugar onto the worktop.

Roll out the sheet of fondant to a thickness of a scant 5mm (1⁄4 inch).

Paint the cake with egg white or apricot jam, then gently lift the sheet of icing and lay it over the top of the cake so it drapes evenly over the sides.

 

Press out any air bubbles with your hands, and then trim the base. Decorate as you wish. We use a little posy of winter leaves and berries including crab apples, elderberries, rosemary, old man’s beard and viburnum.

 

That’s just one option. You could also add simple shapes stamped out of the remaining fondant icing – stars, holly leaves, Santa’s – to produce an impressive result. Or you could use gold ribbon wrapped around the cake, tied in an ornate bow on the top.

 

White Christmas Cake

 

This White Christmas Cake with its layer of crisp frosting is a delicious alternative for those who do not like the traditional fruit cake.  It is best made not more than a week before Christmas.

 

150g (5oz) butter

200g (7oz) flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

a pinch of salt

1 teaspoon Irish whiskey

1 teaspoon lemon juice

75g (3oz) ground almonds

6 egg whites

225g (8oz) castor sugar

75-110g (3-4oz) green or yellow cherries

50g (2oz) finely-chopped home-made candied peel

 

 

White Frosting

 

1 egg white

225g (8oz) granulated sugar

4 tablespoons water

 

18 cm (1 x 7 inches) round tin with a 7.5 cm (3 inches) sides

 

Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas Mark 3.

 

Line the tin with greaseproof paper.  Cream the butter until very soft, sieve in the flour, salt and baking powder, then add the lemon juice, whiskey and ground almonds.  Whisk the egg whites until quite stiff; add the castor sugar gradually and whisk again until stiff and smooth.  Stir some of the egg white into the butter mixture and then carefully fold in the rest.  Lastly, add the chopped peel and the halved cherries.  Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 1 1/2 hours approx.  Allow to cool, cover and ice the next day.

 

To make the white frosting:  This delicious icing is just a little tricky to make, so follow the instructions exactly.  Quick and accurate decisions are necessary in judging when the icing is ready and then it must be used immediately.  Dissolve the sugar carefully in water and boil for 1 1/2 minutes approx. until the syrup reaches the ‘thread stage’, 106-113C/223-236F.  It will look thick and syrupy; when a metal spoon is dipped in, the last drops of syrup will form a thin thread.  Pour this boiling syrup over the stiffly-beaten egg white, whisking all the time.  Put the bowl in a saucepan over simmering water.

 

Continue to whisk over the water until white and very thick. (This can take up to 10 minutes).  Spread quickly over the cake with a palette knife.  It sets very quickly at this stage, so speed is essential.

 

Decorate with Christmas decorations or crystallised violets or rose petals and angelica.

 

Mummy’s Plum Pudding

 

This recipe makes 2 large or 3 medium puddings.  The large size will serve 10-12 people, the medium 6-8 but I also like to make teeny weeny ones.

 

12 ozs (350g) raisins

12 ozs (350g) sultanas

12 ozs (350g) currants

12 ozs (350g) brown sugar

12 ozs (350g/6 cups) white breadcrumbs (non GM)

12 ozs (350g/3 cups) finely-chopped beef suet

4 ozs (110g/2 cup) diced candied peel (preferably home-made)

2 Bramley cooking apples, coarsely grated

4 ozs (110g) chopped almonds

rind of 1 lemon

3 pounded cloves (1/2 teaspoon)

a pinch of salt

6 eggs

2 1/2 fl ozs (62ml) Jamaica Rum

 

Mix all the ingredients together very thoroughly and leave overnight; don’t forget, everyone in the family must stir and make a wish!  Next day stir again for good measure.  Fill into pudding bowls; cover with a double thickness of greaseproof paper which has been pleated in the centre, and tie it tightly under the rim with cotton twine, making a twine handle also for ease of lifting.

 

Steam in a covered saucepan of boiling water for 6 hours.  The water should come half way up the side of the bowl.  Check every hour or so and top up with boiling water if necessary.  After 5 hours, 3 hours, 2 hours depending on the size, remove the pudding.   Allow to get cold and re-cover with fresh greaseproof paper.  Store in a cool dry place until required.

 

On Christmas Day or whenever you wish to serve the plum pudding, steam for a further 2 hours.  Turn the plum pudding out of the bowl onto a very hot serving plate, pour over some whiskey or brandy and ignite.  Serve immediately on very hot plates with

Brandy Butter.

 

You might like to decorate the plum pudding with a sprig of holly; but take care not to set the holly on fire – as well as the pudding!

 

 

Hottips

Order your Christmas organic free-range bronze turkeys from Dan and Anne Ahern near Midleton Co Cork 021 4631058 or 086 1659258. Free-range bronze and white turkeys, geese, ducks and large chickens from Robbie Fitzsimmons of East Ferry Poultry – 086 8548574 and Tom Clancy in Ballycotton supplies free-range bronze turkeys, geese and ducks -086 3089431.

Super hams from Martin and Noreen Conroy – Woodside Farm 0872767206, TJ Crowe in Co Tipperary 062 71137 and Gubbeen Smoke House in West Cork 028 27824…to mention just a few.

Organic Irish Cranberries – Ciara Morris and Michael Camon of Slievebloom Farmhouse Foods have been growing four acres of organic cranberries on the only Irish cranberry farm since 2007. Their fresh berries are included on the menu in Michelin Star Restaurant Chapter One in Dublin and are available widely in supermarkets during the Christmas season. Their Cranberry & Mulled Wine Sauce and Cranberry Chutney won the Best Emerging Products Award at Listowel Food Festival in 2009 -  www.slievebloomfarmhousefoods.com

Raw Honey is the term loosely used to describe honey that has not been heated above 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) during extraction. Raw honey solidifies after extraction to a creamy slightly crystallised texture which I love. Consequently this honey has all the nutritional goodness, high antioxidant levels and healing properties. I recently tried a local honey Terry’s Raw Honey from Cloyne, East Cork. Available from the Ballymaloe Cookery School Shop. 021 4646785.

I thought the Slow Cooker and pressure cooker had gone out with the flood, but I was quite wrong. Having heard a recent BBC Radio 4 Food programme on the subject, I discovered that sales are booming once again.

Celebrity chefs are not exactly waxing lyrical on TV cooking programmes in the way they are embracing the Thermomix and Pacojet but the blogosphere is hopping. Real live, busy Mums and Dads have rediscovered these trusty cooking pots that between them tick all the relevant boxes. The slow cooker does wonders for cheap ingredients and uses a miniscule amount of electricity as it gently braises inexpensive cuts of meat to melting tenderness or of course it could be a plump chicken, a shoulder of pork or lamb, a bean stew… It seems to me that the slow cooker is the equivalent of a trusty friend that can literally have the family supper ready when you arrive home from work. What’s not to like about that?

The pressure cooker was the icon of the 1950s, but people of my age often have a very jaundiced view. The food that emerged could be quite samey in flavour although my Mum managed to cook many delicious soups and stews.

Nonetheless, to me as a child it always seemed to be a scary bit of kitchen equipment and we lived in fear of it exploding. Nowadays pressure cookers are much more sophisticated – state of the art stainless steel pots, with three, sometimes four release valves. They reach temperatures of 120º degrees and cook food 70 % faster on average than conventional pots. Apparently, iconic chef Heston Blumenthal swears by a pressure cooker to make stock so that’s worth contemplating.  I was also astonished to hear that one can make delicious crème caramels or Parmesan custards – I would have thought they would have curdled but apparently not. Meat, game, bean stews and dahls are all cooked in a twinkling thus saving time and expensive energy. All of the above would appear to be enough to rekindle interest in slow cookers and pressure cookers items than many of us relegated to the back of our cupboards years ago. They both, save time and energy, do wonders for cheap ingredients and have made it possible to make homely comforting food, seems to me it’s time to go rooting in the garage or to invest or re-invest in these two unlikely heroes of our time.

Here are some recipes from Catherine Phipps terrific new book – The Pressure Cooker Cookbook – over 150 Simple, Essential, Time-saving Recipes – published by Ebury Press.

 

Catherine Phipps Channa (Red Lentil) Dhal

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2cm piece of root ginger, finely chopped

300g red lentils or channa dhal, well rinsed

2 tablespoons chopped coriander stems

200g tinned chopped tomatoes

salt

 

coriander leaves, to garnish

sliced green chillies to garnish (optional)

1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

 

For the Spice Blend

 

5cm piece of cinnamon stick

4 cloves

4 green cardamom pods

2 black cardamom pods

1 mace blade

1 teaspoon coriander seed

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1 teaspoon fenugreek seed, ground

½ teaspoon nigella seed

½ teaspoon black peppercorns

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

 

For the Temper

 

vegetable oil or ghee

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1 onion sliced

 

Heat the vegetable oil in the pressure cooker. Add all the ingredients for the spice blend and fry until they start to splutter and smell aromatic. Add the chopped onion, garlic and ginger and continue to fry until everything has started to turn a light golden brown.

 

Stir in the lentils and the coriander stems, add a generous pinch of salt and pour over 750ml water and the tomatoes. Close the lid and bring to high pressure. Cook for 1 minute only, and then leave to release pressure naturally. Alternatively, cook for 5 minutes and fast release.

Stir thoroughly as much of the dhal will be sitting on the top.

Meanwhile make the ‘temper’. Heat a 3mm layer of oil or ghee in a frying pan. Add the cumin seed and fry until it starts to splutter, and then add the onion. Fry until it is soft and brown. Pour the onion and cumin mixture into the cooked lentils and add salt to taste. Simmer until thick. Garnish with fresh coriander, green chillies if you want extra heat and wedges of lemon for squeezing.

Catherine Phipps Parmesan Custards

 

butter for greasing

50g finely grated Parmesan

150ml milk

150ml single cream

2 egg yolks

pinch of cayenne

salt and freshly ground black and white pepper

 

For the shrimp paste

 

100g cooked brown shrimp

50g butter, plus more spreading

Squeeze of lemon juice

Grating of nutmeg

4 very thin slices of robust white sour dough bread

 

Cut out four circles of greaseproof paper, using the base circumference of your chosen receptacle as a template. Butter the paper circles and also your ramekins or cups.

 

Reserve 1 tablespoon of Parmesan and put the rest into a heatproof bowl with the milk and cream. Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water and warm through, stirring occasionally, until the cheese has melted. Be patient, this will take longer than you would expect. Allow to cool completely, then whisk in the egg yolks, some salt and white pepper and the pinch of cayenne.

 

Divide the mixture between the ramekins and cover each with a buttered circle of greaseproof paper – it needs to be touching the custard, not sitting above it, but there is no need for any additional cover. Put the steamer basket, upturned, in your pressure cooker. Place the ramekins on top and carefully pour boiling water around them. Close the lid and bring to high pressure. Cook for five minutes for a very soft set (I favour this), or 6 minutes if you want it slightly firmer, then remove from the heat and release pressure quickly.

 

While the custards are cooking, make the toasts. Puree together the shrimp, butter, lemon juice, nutmeg, salt and black pepper in a blender or food processor. Spread this over half the slices of sourdough and cover with the remaining slices to make this sandwiches. Butter the outsides of the bread and put in a heated sandwich maker, or grill both sides in a frying pan. Cut into soldiers.

 

Catherine Phipps Moroccan Spiced Lamb with Mint and Watermelon Salad

 

2 kgs lamb or mutton shoulder boned and cut into 4 pieces

100ml plain yoghurt

2 tablespoons olive oil

250ml pomegranate juice

250ml chicken stock or water

1 tablespoon rose water

3 small cucumbers topped tailed and sliced into ribbons

¼ large watermelon, seeded and cut into fairly small chunks

 

3 dried rosebuds crumbled (optional)

finely chopped mint to garnish

 

For the Ras el Hanout

 

large pinch of saffron

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon turmeric

¼ teaspoon ground mace

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

6 dried rosebuds, crumbled

 

To make the Ras el Hanout, grind the saffron strands to a powder with a pestle and mortar. Combine with the rest of the spices and the rosebuds.

Put the meat in a non-metallic bowl or container. Mix the Res el Hanout with the yoghurt and massage well into the meat. Leave to marinate at least overnight (If you don’t have time to marinate, omit the yoghurt and just rub in the spice mix)

 

When you are ready to cook the meat, remove as much of the marinade as possible. Heat the oil in the pressure cooker and brown all the meat until seared and well caramelised. Pour over the pomegranate juice, stock and rose water. Close the lid then bring to high pressure. Cook for 45 minutes, remove from the heat and allow to release pressure naturally.

Remove the meat from the pressure cooker. Return the cooker to the heat and simmer the cooking liquor until it has reduced to the consistency of a light syrup, then strain it. While the liquor is reducing, shred the meat with a couple of forks.

Arrange the cucumber and watermelon on a large serving platter and sprinkle over all the shredded meat. Pout over some of the reduced cooking liquor and keep the rest in a jug on the side. Decorate with finely chopped mint and crumbled rose buds (optional)

 

Catherine Phipps Lemon Surprise Pudding

 

50 g butter

100g golden caster sugar

Grated zest and juice of 2 unwaxed lemons

2 eggs separated

25g self-raising flour

25g ground almonds

¼ teaspoon almond extract

 

Butter a round 18 – 20cm soufflé or pie dish. Cream together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat the egg yolks into the creamed mixture, one at a time. Fold in the flour and almonds, then gradually pour in the milk and lemon juice. Don’t worry if the mixture curdles! Whisk the egg whites until dry and stiff, then fold into the lemony batter.

Pout into a prepared soufflé dish. Cover tightly with two layers of greaseproof paper. Place in the pressure cooker on top of the upturned steamer basket. Pout water into the pressure cooker until it is just short of the top of the basket. Lock the lid and bring to full pressure. Time for 5 minutes then remove from the heat. Slow release at room temperature. Serve hot or cold, with cream.

 

Hot Tips

Book of the Week

Flamboyant Irish potter Stephen Pearce has just published his auto biography, Warrior Spirit. It documents the story of a colourful life from his childhood in Shanagarry to the excitement and challenges he encountered in his roller coaster adventures through the decades.  Available from Stephen Pearce’s website www.stephenpearce.com

 

I’m a big fan of hardwood timber chopping boards. Buy a good one and you’ll have it for life. Sacha Whelan makes 1 inch plus hardwood boards which would make a gift which will literally last a lifetime. I recently came across Gertie McEvoy boards. She makes a range of boards of all sizes in her workshop in Abbeyleix, good looking, practical and chic –Sacha Whelan – 087 2618754 Gertie McEvoy 0868258201

 

To Celebrate Terra Madre Day ‘Saving Endangered Animal Breeds’ there is an East Cork Slow Food Event at Ballymaloe Cookery School. The story of the Bilberry Goats from Waterford is a fascinating one, Martin Doyle who rescued and saved them from extinction will join us on Thursday 28^th November 2013 at 7:00pm.  Proceeds to go towards fundraising for the East Cork Slow Food Educational Project. 021 4646785.

 

They say the best time to start a business is in a recession – lots of new restaurants opening recently. Perry Street Market Café on Perry Street is causing quite a stir in Cork – we enjoyed a frittata made with O’Connells Smoked Haddock and Ardsallagh Goats Cheese and an equally delicious fish pie. 021 427 8776. Pop your head into Best of Buds flower shop next door for beautiful blooms. 021 427 4783.

 

 

Hey guess what! Surprise, surprise butter is better for you than margarine or all those spreads, it’s all over the Examiner, Irish Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Times et al – how brilliant is that – 40 years later we discover that butter a totally natural product made from cream is better for us than margarine containing up to ten ingredients.

It’s even more bizarre than that, we’ve now discovered at long last that fat is good for us and that the low fat diets were in many cases detrimental to our health.

In a widely reported piece in the British Medical Journal, eminent cardiologist at Croyden University Hospital, Dr Aseem Malhotra argued that it was time to bust the myth of the role of saturated fat in heart disease. From his analysis of the independent evidence he has concluded that there is no argument to back up the theory that saturated fats from non-processed foods are detrimental to our health. He maintains that saturated fats have been ‘demonised’ ever since a landmark study in the 1970’s concluded that there was a correlation between the incidence of coronary heart disease and total cholesterol. An entire food industry has evolved and profited from this low fat mantra for almost four decades and the reality is low fat foods are often loaded with sugar and added salt, so according to Dr Malhotra it’s time for a paradigm shift,

“We are now learning that added sugar in food is driving the obesity epidemic plus the rise in diabetes and cardiovascular disease”

The relentless message that saturated fat must be avoided to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease has dominated public heath campaigns and dietary advice for almost 40 years. This recommendation clearly has not produced the desired result.

Dr Malhotra highlighted the fact that the amount of fat consumption in the US has decreased from 40 to 30% in the past 30 years yet obesity rates have rocketed. Questionable dietary advice has also led to the over medication of millions who have been prescribed statins to control their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. When, he argues, “adopting a Mediterranean diet after a heart attack is almost three times as effective in reducing mortality as taking a statin.  Doctors need to embrace prevention as well as treatment”

Dr Malhotra argues that sugar rich foods are more likely to result in a heart attack via Metabolic syndrome – a cluster of symptoms including high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity (the plague of the 21^st century.) Butter, full fat milk, cheese and even eggs (for a period) were demonised while oil based spreads and low fat products flew off the shelves. Many schools changed over to serving low fat products to their students and even questions on the Leaving Certificate paper suggested that margarine was more beneficial to your health than butter, a fact that incensed my niece in her recent exam.

Despite the paranoia around cholesterol levels a recent University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) study indicated that 75% of acute heart patients do not have ‘high cholesterol’

Sounds like it’s time to rethink the received wisdom and “bust the myth of the role of saturated fat in heart disease” This won’t be easy considering the huge vested interests in the low fat industry – wait for the backlash.

Professor Robert Lustig, Paediatric Endocrinologist at the University of San Francisco, commented “Food should confer wellness not illness and real food does just that, including saturated fat, but when saturated fat got mixed up with the high sugar added to processed food in the second half of the 20^th century, it got a bad name. Which is worse the saturated fat or sugar? The American Heart Foundation has joined in the debate “Sugar many times over, plus added sugar causes all the diseases associated with metabolic syndrome instead of lowering serum cholesterol with statins, which is dubious at best, how about serving up real food?” They have a point.

 

Curly Kale Soup

 

The recent frost has sweetened the kale. One way to use it up is in this delicious soup. When I eat this, I feel like every mouthful is doing me good. Note that if this soup is to be reheated, just bring it to the boil and serve. Prolonged boiling spoils the colour and flavour of green soups.

 

Serves 6

 

50g (2oz) butter

140g (5oz) potatoes, peeled and diced (7mm/1/3in)

110g (4oz) onions, peeled and diced (7mm/1/3in)

salt and freshly ground pepper

1.2 litres (2 pints) chicken stock or vegetable stock

250g (9oz) curly kale leaves, stalks removed and chopped

50–125ml (2 – 4fl oz) cream or full-cream milk

 

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. When it foams, add the potatoes and onions and turn them in the butter until well-coated. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and sweat on a gentle heat for 10 minutes. Add the stock and boil gently, covered, until the potatoes are soft. Add the kale and cook with the lid off, until the kale is cooked. Keep the lid off to retain the green colour. Do not overcook or the vegetables will lose both their fresh flavour and colour. Purée the soup in a liquidiser or food processor. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the cream or creamy milk just before serving.

 

Roast Pork with Crackling and Spiced Aubergines

 

You may need to order the joint ahead to ensure that the rind is still on – no rind – no crackling!

 

Serves 6-8

 

1 x 2.25kg (5 lbs) loin of organic free-range pork with the skin rind intact.

Maldon Sea salt

 

(optional)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Spiced Aubergines (see recipe)

 

Maldon sea salt

 

Rocket leaves

 

Score the skin at 1/4 inch (5mm) intervals running with the grain – let your butcher do this if possible because the skin, particularly of free range pork can be quite tough. This is to give you really good crackling and make it easier to carve later.

 

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/regulo 5.

 

Sprinkle some salt over the rind and roast the joint on a wire rack in a roasting tin.  Allow 30-35 minutes per 1lb (450g). Baste with the rendered pork fat every now and then.

 

Meanwhile cook the Spiced Aubergines.

 

Just before the end of cooking time remove the pork to another roasting tin.  Return to the oven and increase the temperature to 230ºC/450ºF/regulo 8, to further crisp the crackling. When the joint is cooked the juices should run clear.  Put the pork onto a hot carving dish and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes in a low oven before carving.  Serve two slices of pork per person with some Spiced Aubergine and garnish with Rocket.   Sprinkle a few grains of Maldon sea salt over the pork.

Rustic roast potatoes and a good green salad would also be great.

 

Spiced Aubergine

 

Serves 6

 

500g (1 lb 2 ozs) aubergines

lots of extra virgin olive oil

 

1 inch (2.5cm) cube of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped

6 large cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely crushed

50ml (2 fl ozs) water

 

1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds

2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds

350g (3/4 lb) very ripe tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped or 1 x 400g (14ozs) tin tomatoes + 1 teaspoon sugar or honey to taste

1 tablespoon freshly ground coriander seeds

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like)

sea salt

50g (2ozs) raisins

 

Cut the aubergine into 3/4 inch (2cm) thick slices.  Heat a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive in a grill pan.  When hot, add some aubergine slices and cook until golden and tender on both sides.  Remove and drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet.  Repeat with the remainder of the aubergines, adding more oil if necessary.

Put the ginger, garlic and water into a blender.  Blend until fairly smooth.

 

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in the frying pan.  When hot, add the fennel and cumin seeds, (careful not to let them burn).  Stir for just a few seconds then put in the chopped tomato, the ginger-garlic mixture, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, salt and sugar or honey. Simmer, stirring occasionally until the spice mixture thickens slightly, 5-6 minutes.

 

Add the fried aubergine slices and raisins, and coat gently with the spicy sauce.  Cover the pan, turn the heat to very low and cook for another 3-4 minutes.  Serve warm.

 

The spiced aubergine mixture is also good served cold or at room temperature as an accompaniment to hot or cold lamb or pork.

 

Roast Potatoes

 

A big roasting tin of crusty roast potatoes always invokes a positive response. Everyone loves them. They are easy to achieve but I still get asked over and over for the secret of crunchy golden roasties. So here are my top tips:

 

Grow or seek out good-quality dry, floury potatoes such as Golden Wonders or Kerr’s Pinks. New potatoes do not produce good roast potatoes. For best results, peel the potatoes just before roasting. Resist the temptation to soak them in water, or understandably they will be soggy, due to the water they absorb. This has become common practice when people want to prepare ahead, not just for roasting, but also before boiling. After peeling, dry the potatoes meticulously with a tea-towel or kitchen paper. Otherwise, even when tossed in fat or oil, they will stick to the roasting tin. Consequently, when you turn them over as you will need to do halfway through the cooking, the crispy bit underneath will stick to the tin.

If you wish to prepare potatoes ahead, there are two options. Peel and dry each potato carefully, toss in extra virgin olive oil or fat of your choice, put into a bowl, cover and refrigerate. Alternatively, put into a plastic bag, twist the end, and refrigerate until needed. They will keep for 5 or 6 hours or overnight without discolouring.

 

Roast potatoes may be cooked in extra virgin olive oil, top-quality sunflower oil, duck fat, goose fat, pork fat (lard) or beef dripping. Each gives a delicious but different flavour. Depending on the flavour and texture you like, choose from the following cooking methods:

 

Toss the potatoes in the chosen fat and cook.

 

If you prefer a crunchier crust, put the peeled potatoes into a deep saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, simmer for 2–4 minutes only and drain. Dry each blanched potato and score the surface of each one with a fork. Then toss in the chosen oil or fat, season with salt and cook in a single layer in a heavy roasting pan in a preheated oven at 230ºC/450ºF/gas mark 8.

 

Drain the blanched potatoes, then put the saucepan with the potatoes inside over a medium heat, and shake the pot to dry the potatoes and fluff the blanched surface. Toss in your chosen oil or fat, season with salt and roast as above.

 

Note: some cooks, to create an even crunchier crust, like to toss the potatoes in a little flour seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper and maybe a pinch of cayenne pepper or smoked paprika.

 

Yoghurt with Honey and Dates

 

unsweetened natural yoghurt, very cold

Irish honey

Medjool dates, fresh

thick cream

fresh almonds or lightly toasted almonds

fresh mint leaves

 

For each person half-fill a pudding bowl or glass with yoghurt.

Stone dates and chop them roughly.  Put a few on the top of each helping of yoghurt.

Spoon a good dollop of thick cream over the top, and then trickle over 1 teaspoon of runny honey.

Scatter a few almonds and a couple of shredded mint leaves on top.

 

Hottips

The Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards announced their shortlist in the Avonmore Cookbook of the year category.  Kevin Dundon’s Modern Irish Food, Chapter One Ross Lewis, 30 Years at Ballymaloe Darina Allen, Rachel’s Everyday Kitchen Rachel Allen, The Nations Favourite Food, Neven Maguire, The Weekend Chef Catherine Fulvio. You can vote for your favourite at www.irishbookawards.ie

Seek out heritage Woodside Saddleback pork from Martin and Noreen Conroy if you really want a fantastic joint of juicy (chemical free) pork with crackling. It sells out early at Midleton Farmers Market on a Saturday or Mahon Point on a Thursday – 087 2767206.

Ballymaloe Cookery School 12 Week Certificate graduate Caroline Gray has opened the cutest Café Gray in Greystones in Co Wicklow – I haven’t managed to get there yet but I hear terrific reports. 087-1260206.

I’m often asked for recommendations for places to eat or stay in Dublin. The capital food scene is exploding at present but I’m set in my ways and No. 31 in Leeson Close is still my home from home in Dublin. Great breakfast, love the fluffy cheese omelette and the little bowl of porridge! www.number31.ie

Gillian Hegarty’s Tuesday Supper Club at Ballymaloe House

Tuesday 19th November – Gillian prepares and cooks a Tuscan Dinner and on Tuesday 26th November Sunil Ghai from Ananda Restaurant in Dublin will join Gillian in the kitchen. Set four course meal including aperitif for €45 – to book – 021 4652531.

The recent Web Summit in the RDS in Dublin brought to Ireland by brilliant young entrepreneur Paddy Cosgrave blew people out of the water. Paddy looks like a gangly curly haired cherub but can you imagine the crazy dreams inside that boys head. Just ten days before the 3^rd Web Summit he contacted Margaret Jeffares, Founder of Good Food Ireland and asked if she would take on the feeding of the 10,000 and so the inaugural Food Summit in association with Good Food Ireland was born. What a blast – over sixty Good Food Ireland members rose to the occasion. Margaret contacted Rory O’Connell and asked him to manage the project – it was a tantalising but terrifying project – an irresistible opportunity not to be missed to give 10,000 delegates from over 30 countries a taste of some of the very best food Ireland has to offer.

Good Food Ireland has organised many outstandingly successful events but this was on quite a different scale. It’s difficult to resist Margaret Jeffares passion to showcase the best of what Ireland has to offer and her considerable powers of persuasion. Rory and herself put a plan together. A huge marquee was erected in Herbert Park close to the RDS. Kitchens were installed with the help of John Coughlan and his catering team. Good Food Ireland members from all four corners of Ireland, chefs, farmers, fishermen, cheese makers and bakers, black pudding and sausage makers, fish smokers…Glenilen brought their beautiful yoghurt and the Stanley’s served their Rossmore ice-cream made at their farm close to Rathdowney in Co Laois. Seafood Chowder from Carrygerry House near Shannon was also warmly received and the Shelbourne Hotel served 600 Carlingford Oysters in a couple of hours – where would you get oysters at a conference?

Artisan baker Robert Ditty baked his famous oat cakes and O’Connell’s Restaurant in Donnybrook served Hereford prime beef which had the techies drooling. Sunil Ghai from Ananda Restaurant made his homemade chicken tikka masala for thousands. Peter Ward from Country Choice in Nenagh brought 25 whole cooked hams (2,500 slices) and gave delegates a running commentary about the Good Food Ireland members who were serving their food. Gillian Hegarty from Ballymaloe House cooked 34 gallons of chickpea and Swiss chard stew which she had calculated to be enough for two days but was completely gone by 2pm on the first day when over 7,000 people poured into the Good Food Ireland Food Summit instead of the expected 5,000 plus.

The response to the food was phenomenal – Twitter went crazy and Good Food Ireland trended on Twitter. SO many people spontaneously came up to the Good Food Ireland members to thank them for the food which meant so much, to the many people who had voluntarily given up their days to give people a taste of the best of Irish Food. Many of the chefs and producers were totally out of food after the first day so there were amazing stories of Good Food Ireland members toiling through the night to make or bake enough food to make up the thousands of portions needed by Rory O’Connell for the second day.

Nora Egan drove home to Inch House in Co Tipperary where she and her girl made and cooked 40 new black puddings until 4am and then at the crack of dawn her son drove to Dublin with the freshly made puddings.

Barry Liscombe of Hartes Bar and Grill in Kildare was making 1,000 more chocolate truffle lollipops until two o’clock in the morning. Veronica Molloy of Crossogue Preserves came back again on Thursday to help out her Good Food Ireland Family, even though all her produce had been enjoyed. The legendary Helen Gee from Abbeyleix was busy slathering her delicious jam onto Waterford Blaas.

Mark Staples, chef from the Merrion Hotel rang his butcher and got enough meat to make almost 1000 portions of succulent beef casserole through the night.

Tom O’Connell headed back to his restaurant in Donnybrook and got his team to make another 2,000 portions of vegetable stew to serve with a fluffy vegetable couscous. The vegetarian and vegan options were hugely appreciated by the delegates and the team effort and determination to showcase the best Irish artisan and local food. Paddy Cosgrave and his team invited Margaret Jeffares, Rory O’Connell and the members of Good Food Ireland Food Summit team onto the main stage to receive a standing ovation and resounding cheers from the 10,000 Web Summit participants. Here are just a few of the recipes for some of the dishes that elicited an enthusiastic response.

For a full list of the Good Food Ireland members who did Ireland the Food Island proud see www.goodfoodireland.ie/t2/good-food-ireland-food-summit/6661

 

Mildly Spiced Curry of Dublin grown Vegetables with Green Saffron Curry Spices

 

From O’Connell’s Restaurant in Donnybrook, Dublin.

 

1 white onion | medium size – sliced thinly

½  a head of broccoli

½  a head of cauliflower

2 carrots – medium sized – cubed

2 peppers – red and yellow

any other root vegetable

fresh coriander – chopped

For the Sauce

coconut milk – 1 tin of 400 ml

double cream – 600ml

1 tablespoon korma curry spices (preferably Green Saffron Spices)

100ml sweet chilli sauce

optional chilli flakes for a spicier taste

salt & pepper to taste

 

First, fry the thinly sliced onions.   Add korma curry spices and cook of about 1 min. Stir well.   Stir in the cream and the coconut milk. Add sweet chilli sauce and bring gently to the boil.  Once the preparation reaches boiling point, reduce to ‘medium to low heat’ and allow to simmer for another 20 minutes or so until the sauce has thickened.

Season to taste. Whilst the sauce is simmering, steam the carrots, broccoli and cauliflower,  until ‘al dente’ .   You may decide to add other vegetable that you like to this selection.   Whilst steaming the vegetables, do not overcook (as they will keep on cooking gently whilst being reheated in the sauce). Slice and ‘seed’ the peppers – slices 1cm wide. Roast the slices until ‘al dente’ (do not over roast – as mentioned above).

When the sauce has thickened enough (coating the back of a spoon), add the vegetables and mix well. Just before serving, add some chopped coriander to taste.

 

Gillian Hegarty’s Chickpea, Swiss Chard and Tomato Stew

 

Gillian Hegarty of Ballymaloe House originally learned this recipe from Rose Grey and Ruth Rogers from the River Café in London.

 

Serves 6 – 8

 

175 g (6 oz) dried chickpeas, soaked overnight

1 large garlic clove, peeled

6 tablespoons olive oil

900 g (2 lb) Swiss chard leaves, washed and large stems removed (set aside to use in the recipe)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 red onion, peeled and sliced

2 carrots, peeled and cut into small pieces

1 head of celery outer stalks removed peeled and diced finely

2 dried chillies, crumbled

2 teaspoons of fresh picked thyme leaves

3 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped

250 ml (8 fl oz) white wine

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

3 handfuls flat leaf parsley chopped

extra virgin olive oil

 

Drain the chickpeas and place in a saucepan with water to cover, add the garlic, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Bring to the boil, and then simmer for 45 minutes or until tender. Keep in their liquid until ready to use. Blanch the chard leaves and chop coarsely. Chop the chard stalks into half inch pieces

Heat the remaining olive oil in a large pan over medium heat, add the onion and fry for a minute then season with salt and pepper. Put the lid on and cook for a further 20 minutes stirring frequently until they have completely collapsed.

Add the carrot, Chard stalks and celery cook slowly for 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Season with salt, pepper and chilli. Add the garlic and thyme leaves. Cook for a further 5mins with the lid off. Pour in the wine and reduce almost completely. Add the tomato sauce and reduce until very thick. Add the chickpeas and mix. Season and cook for 10 minutes. Add the chopped chard leaves at the very end to retain their colour and freshness.

Chop the parsley just before you are about to serve, stir  into the chickpeas, drizzle with about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

 

JR’s Handmade Rose Water Marshmallows

 

The delegates at the Web Summit loved these homemade marshmallows which JR Ryall of Ballymaloe House made.

 

 

Makes approximately 100

 

455g (1lb) granulated or caster sugar

1 tablespoon liquid glucose

9 gelatine leaves or 5 1/2 rounded teaspoons of powdered gelatine

2 large egg whites

1 tablespoon good quality rose water

red food colour paste

4 tablespoons icing sugar and 4 tablespoons cornflour sieved together

 

Line the bottom of a 30 x 20cm (11 x 8 inch) baking tray with parchment paper. Dust with sieved icing sugar and cornflour.

 

Place sugar, glucose and 200ml (7fl oz) of water in a heavy bottom saucepan. Stir to ensure all of the sugar is wet. Using a pastry brush dipped water, remove any sugar crystals from the side of the saucepan. Place the saucepan on a medium heat and bring to the boil. Once boiling do not stir, simply tilt the pot from side to side to ensure the solution heats evenly until it reaches 127°C/260°F. It is important to keep an eye on the temperature using a sugar thermometer.

 

Meanwhile, rehydrate the gelatine in 140ml (4 3/4fl oz) water.

 

When the boiling syrup reaches 110°C/230°F start whipping the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

 

Add the rehydrated gelatine and water into the syrup when it reaches 127°C/260°F and stir with a wooden spoon. The mixture will foam slightly, this is normal. Pour the hot syrup onto the egg whites and whip on full speed for 5-10 minutes until the marshmallow thickens and the bowl of the mixer is warm to the touch. Turn the speed of the mixer to low and whisk in the rosewater and enough food colour paste to turn the marshmallow baby pink.

 

Spoon the thick marshmallow mix onto the lined baking tray and smooth with a palette knife. Allow to set (usually takes 2 hours).

 

Dust the top of the marshmallow with the icing sugar and cornflour mix. Turn out onto a work surface, peel off the paper and cut into cubes. Roll each marshmallow in the cornflour and icing sugar mix to finish.

 

 

Ballymaloe Fudge

Fudge was also a huge hit at the Food Summit.

Makes 96 approx.

 

1/2 lb (225g) butter

2 lbs (900g) castor sugar

1 can evaporated milk

7 fl ozs (200ml) water

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

Swiss roll tin 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33cm)

 

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan over a low heat. Add the milk, water, sugar and vanilla extract and stir with a whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Turn up the heat to simmer, stir constantly until it reaches the ‘soft ball’ stage – 113°C/235°F.

To test, put some of the fudge in a bowl of cold water.

When ready pull off the heat. Stir vigorously until it thickens and reaches the required consistency – thick and sandy.   Sit the base of the saucepan into a sink of cold water to stop the cooking.  Pour into a Swiss Roll tin and smooth the surface with a spatula.

Allow to cool and then cut into squares before it gets completely cold.

 

Hot Tips

Ballyvolane House recent winner in the Sunday Times Ultimate 100 British and Irish Hotels is collaborating again with Theatre Makers Ltd. who brought Madame Chavelle to Ballyvolane last autumn. Playwright/actor/director Jack Healy will perform a one-man-show of the epic poem “The Great Hunger” by Patrick Kavanagh while guests eat a sumptuous dinner on Saturday, 16^th  November in the old barn at Ballyvolane House – brilliantly entertaining evening. Phone +353 25 36349 to book tickets – www.ballyvolanehouse.ie

Some Winter Courses at Ballymaloe Cookery School

Garden Workshop: Creating a Fruit Orchard and Winter Pruning with Susan Turner Monday 25^th November 9:00am to 2:00pm – Learn how to choose fruit varieties for successional cropping, good storage ability and reliable resistance against pests and diseases. Plant and stake a tree correctly. Understand the pollination requirements for fruit trees when choosing varieties. Identify the difference between fruit buds and vegetative buds. Understand the difference between summer and winter pruning. Formative pruning of newly planted trees Prune the cropping tree. Rejuvenate an old orchard. €95.00 Lunch included – phone 021 4646785 to book.

Sushi tastes great and it is quick to prepare, which makes it ideal and great fun for home entertaining. Sign up for a half-day course at Ballymaloe Cookery School with Darina Allen and Shermin Mustafa on Wednesday 27^th November 9:30am to 2:00pm and learn how to prepare the more popular sushi dishes and how to make seven different types of sushi. Students will have the opportunity to taste all the Sushi prepared during the course. Lunch included. Phone 021 4646785 to book or www.cookingisfun.ie

 

Small plates are fast becoming a real enduring trend in restaurants. Rather than a full meal or even just a main course, one can order a series of little plates, which presents an opportunity to taste a wide variety of dishes on the menu; I love this way of eating. This is a concept I came across in the US about 10 years ago.

For many years now, some of my favourite restaurants in London have chosen this concept,  Terroirs, Pulpo, Barrafina, Duck Soup….. On a recent trip to London, I ate at their second venture, Raw Duck out on 5 Amhurst Road in Hackney. As before the emphasis is on fine ingredients, simply assembled. There’s a long blond, poured concrete counter with a scalloped edge on one side where you can watch your food being prepared and communal concrete tables along the other wall and an appealing deck area out behind.

Owners, Clare Lattin and Rory McCoy have cleverly brought together food from some of the best food producers in London,  Bread from E5 Bakehouse, Gelupo Ice-cream, decadent cakes and breakfast buns from Violet Cakes.  Meat, vegetables and cheese from Natoora.

On my last trip, I had delicious canned mackerel with heirloom tomatoes, I’ve always loved sardines on grilled bread but I’ve never eaten canned mackerel before but it was fantastically good. This time I wanted to taste virtually everything on the menu. Here is my version of some of the delicious plates I ate. There’s also a tempting wine list with biodynamic and natural wines.

Another couple of hot spots are Koya and the Koya Bar, both serving Japanese udon noodles. They were started by Irish man John Devitt. Initially, it was an Irish joke around London, well it’s no joke now with daily queues along Frith Street. Newly opened, Koya Bar opens at 8:30am for breakfast. There’s an amusing Japanese take on an English breakfast with noodles but there are more exciting things to try, the slithery silky Udon noodles are home made as is the dashi broth – already this fresh food has developed a cult following.

On this trip, a fortuitous meeting meant that I came home via Belfast which gave me the opportunity to eat at Ox in Oxford Street in Belfast. I’d read lots of terrific reviews which had whetted my appetite. The unpretentious almost spartan restaurant overlooks the River Lagan, simple unpainted timber tables, high ceilings and a warm welcome. Owners Alain Kerloc’h and Stephen Toman have a very impressive pedigree. The food is contemporary and ‘of the moment’ with many Nordic influences. They are obviously putting lots of effort into sourcing good ingredients. There’s a high level of skill and technique in the young multi ethnic team and a palpable excitement and wish to please. There’s a set menu with many choices and an impressive wine list. You’ll need to book ahead but as the Michelin Guide says, it’s worth a detour plus the train journey from Dublin to Belfast is one of the loveliest in the country.

 

Figs with Yoghurt, Sumac, Pistachio and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 

Serves 4 as a starter or small plate

 

8 fresh figs in season

 

8 tablespoons Greek style natural yoghurt

2 teaspoons fresh sumac

3 – 4 teaspoons pistachios, halved

extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons honey

a few flakes of sea salt

 

Spoon two – three tablespoons of yoghurt onto each plate. Cut the figs into quarters, push gently down into the yoghurt. Sprinkle with sumac and pistachios, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and honey, serve.

 

Kale, Fennel, Radish and Parmesan Salad

 

Serves 4 as a starter or small plate

 

150g (5oz) green curly kale, stalks included

110g (4oz) fennel thinly sliced

8 French Breakfast radishes thinly sliced at a long angle

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Keep the sliced fennel and radishes in iced water for at least 5 minutes.

 

To serve

 

Remove the stalks from the kale and shred very finely.

 

Put some kale, drained fennel and radishes into a bowl. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Grate on some Parmesan with a slivery micro plane. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss and taste and serve.

 

Cacciatore with Honeycomb and Thyme Leaves

 

 

Serves 1 starter or small plate

 

 

one slice of Cacciatore, 1/4 inch thick

a little sliver of honeycomb or candied lemon peel

a sprig of thyme

a few flakes of sea salt

extra virgin olive oil

 

Lay the cheese on a warm plate, put the honeycomb or diced candied lemon peel in the centre of the slice. Lay a sprig of thyme on top and sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt and a drizzle of extra virgin oil on top.

 

Serve immediately.

 

Grilled Chicken with Yoghurt and Harissa

 

Serves 6 – as a starter or small plate

 

4 – 8 organic chicken thighs, depending on size

4 – 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

fresh thyme leaves

6 teaspoons harissa (see recipe)

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

6 tablespoons Greek yoghurt

18 – 24 fresh rocket leaves or coriander sprigs

 

Bone the chicken thighs, put them into a bowl, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with thyme leaves, salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Heat a pangrill, put the chicken skin side down onto the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until crisp on one side then turn over and continue to cook until the juices run clear.

Allow to rest for a few minutes, slice into strips. Put a mound of chicken, skin side up on a plate. Spoon a large tablespoon of yoghurt onto the plate and put a teaspoon of harissa on top. Add a few fresh rocket leaves or some sprigs of coriander to each plate, sprinkle the chicken with a few flakes of sea salt. Serve immediately.

 

Harissa

 

Makes 100g (3 1/2oz)

 

10 dried red chillies, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes

5 fresh red chillies

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons – extra virgin olive oil

 

De-seed and roughly chop the dried and fresh chillies.  Put in a food processor with the garlic, cumin, coriander, salt and olive oil.  Whizz until smooth.

 

Store in a jar with a layer of olive oil over the top.  It will keep for 3 months.

 

Hot Tips

On a recent visit to Mahon Point Farmers Market I found several new products. Gubbeen with Moruga Scorpion chilli, a delicious super-hot hybrid chilli from central Trinidad, that’s a million times stronger than the ghost chilli – three chillies were enough to give a feisty tingle to 10kgs of Gubbeen pork, we all loved it. Kilree Goats Cheese made by Helen Finnegan of Knockdrinna was a find on Mark Hosford’s Cheese stall. He’d sold out of Anna Leveque’s goats crottin, I’ll have to get there earlier next time. Tom Clancy had lovely earthy Ballycotton Queens – ‘balls of flour’ – that had customers lining up but also quail eggs from Golden Quails, Rylane, Cork beside his own free range chickens. www.mahonpointfarmersmarket.com Every Thursday from 10am to 3pm.

 

Fancy something different for your staff Christmas outing this year? The team at Ballymaloe Cookery School will help you cook up a storm before sitting down to a delicious dinner that you and your colleagues have cooked together. Phone 021 4646785 – www.cookingisfun.ie

 

Limerick is gearing up to be City of Culture 2014 and is swiftly becoming a foodie hotspot. Food writer and blogger Valerie O’Connor has started Limerick Food Trails to show locals and visitors around the city’s many food gems. “We have a huge and thriving Milk market that attracts 6-8,000 visitors every Saturday, packed with the finest artisan produce from raw milk cheeses, sushi, free-range meats and locally made chocolate. Then there are wonderful food shops supporting local producers as well as traditional butchers making our world famous Limerick Ham. Limerick has so much to offer, the trails can change from week to week with endless surprises for the foodie from home or abroad”. www.valskitchen.com/foodtrails

 

I was totally shocked by an article by George Arbuthnott in the Sunday Times Magazine recently on the human cost of our food “They’re the invisible army – modern day slaves, trafficked into Britain to work in the food factories and farms that supply our leading supermarkets. They live in squalor, are paid next to nothing and are often physically abused.”

For a very long time, I’ve been deeply concerned about the relentless downward pressure on the price of many food items. The consequence has been to force down the price of the wrong foods. Living on the farm and being actively involved in the food business I know it simply can’t be done. It’s impossible to produce any kind of food that is nourishing and wholesome for the retail price that’s being charged for many items. The horse meat scandal should have taught us that, but after the initial shock the message is soon forgotten. Someone has to be paying to supply us with the unrealistically cheap food we have now come to believe is our right.

In the 1980s we spent 27.7% of our income in real terms on food, nowadays its just 16.2%, so the reality is food has now moved a long way down our list of priorities.

When the supermarket offers ‘Buy one, get one free’ most of  the general public are unaware that is usually the farmers or food producer who is supplying the ‘free’ one consequently they are getting half the amount of money for their produce. When the retailers need a product they ask their suppliers to source it at a certain price and on and on it goes through an increasingly convoluted food chain which often involves migrant workers, who have been hoodwinked by the promise of generous pay and good working conditions. The human traffickers and gang masters who lure these vulnerable, uneducated people – who are often desperate to get work – prefer to target those who don’t speak the language so they can’t communicate with fellow workers. They work in many areas of food production, meat packing and processing and the supermarket buyers sometimes do not realise exactly how the product is achieved at the price. But it’s time to ask questions. Many large fruit and vegetables farmers are greatly dependent on migrant labour for harvesting, and there are many who treat their workers honourably and work with the gangmasters who do not engage in exploitation. But it’s very much a live issue; BBC Farming Today Program also looked at it recently.

Paul Broadbent the chief executive of the GLA (Gangmasters Licencing Authority) explained their modus operandi “The traffickers are locking people up for six; seven hours a day and then making them work 16 to 17 hours. The victims are absolutely trapped because they are financially tied to these people. They don’t feel able to report it to the police because the enforcers have told them they will be deported.”

“They take the passport, mobile phone and any form of identification off the victims and set up a bank account into which all their earnings are paid, it may be the case that victims either don’t know what they are signing or the enforcer threatens and intimidates them into it. The controlling man then uses the account to apply for bank loans and benefits and racks up thousands of pounds. Every conceivable fraud and deception is committed and they rule with an iron rod. They force people to live in squalor and pile them high.”

Animal welfare issues are increasingly highlighted and rightly so but how about the human cost of our cheap food.

 

Pumpkin, Goat Cheese and Kale Tart

 

Kale is now in full season and several varieties are available in the farmers markets.

 

Serves 8

 

175g (6oz) Shortcrust Pastry

 

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

450g (1lb) pumpkin or butternut squash

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

 

150g (5oz) Ardsallagh goat cheese (or another soft goat cheese)

75g (3oz) spring onion, chopped

2 eggs and 3 egg yolks

200ml (7 fl oz) cream

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

25g (1oz) Parmesan cheese, grated

50g (2oz) Gruyère cheese, grated

110g (4oz) kale – raw and stripped off stalk

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

23cm (9 inch) diameter tart tin

 

Make the pastry, wrap well and rest in the fridge.

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Mark 6

 

Peel the pumpkin or squash and cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) chunks. Arrange on a roasting tin.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Season with salt and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Roast for 30 minutes approximately or until tender, allow to cool.

 

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add the kale, blanch for 2 minutes, drain and refresh under cold running water, drain. No need to blanch rocket.

 

Line the tart tin (see instructions) and ‘bake blind’ for about 25 minutes. The base should be almost fully cooked.  Remove the parchment paper and beans, brush the base with a little beaten egg white and replace in the oven for 3-4 minutes.  This will seal the base and avoid the “soggy bottom” effect.

 

Reduce the temperature to moderate 180°C/350°F/Mark 4

 

Heat the oil in a sauté pan, add the chopped spring onions to the pan, cover and sweat gently on a low heat for about 6 minutes or until almost soft.

 

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a medium-sized bowl; add the cream, cheeses, thyme leaves, cooled spring onion and kale or rocket. Mix well and add seasoning.

 

Taste or otherwise, heat a frying pan, cook a teaspoon of the mixture on a gentle heat for 2 or 3 minutes until it coagulates – taste and if necessary correct the seasoning.  Arrange chunks of roast pumpkin (peel removed) and chunks of goats cheese over the base of the tart.

 

Pour the filling into the base of the tart.   Return to the moderate oven for 30–40 minutes or until the centre has just set. Serve warm with a freshly tossed green salad.

 

Pumpkin Curry

 

Fresh curry leaves are readily available nowadays one can usually buy them from Asian shops or frozen if fresh are unavailable –they have a distinct flavour but if they are unavailable you can leave them out

 

Serves 8

 

1kg (2 ¼ lb) pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2.5cm (1in) chunks

4 green chillies, finely sliced

25g (1oz) Bombay onions, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

a sprig of fresh curry leaves

1 teaspoon ground fenugreek

1 teaspoon mustard powder

Pinch ground turmeric

110ml (4floz) coconut milk

 

Put all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until the pumpkin is cooked – approx.. 10 – 20 minutes, depending on type of pumpkin.

Serve with a selection of curries or on its own accompanied with rice.

 

Kuku Kadoo

 

This is the Persian version of a Spanish tortilla or Italian frittata – we’ve been enjoying it with the last of the summer zucchini.

 

Serves 6-8

 

2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil

1 lb (450g) onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

¼ teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated

6 small zucchini, halved and cut thinly across

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

8 organic eggs

1 teaspoon turmeric

3 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

 

Parsley sprigs and sumac

 

10 inch (25.5 cm) pan

 

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4.  Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.  Add the chopped onions, garlic and ginger.  Cover and sweat for 6-8 minutes, add zucchini. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Stir and cook for 6-8 minutes.  Whisk the eggs, add the turmeric, flour and bicarbonate of soda.  Add the cooked zucchini mixture.  Pour into a greased gratin dish.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  When just set, serve sprinkled with parsley sprigs and sumac.

 

Alison Heafey’s Autumn Nut and Caramel Tart

 

This recipe comes from former student Alison Heafey, who got it from her friend Cindy Mushet, author of The Art and Soul of Baking. I always encourage students to share recipes as well as asking for recipes in restaurants; it’s a great way to expand your culinary skills. This is possibly my favourite autumn tart.

 

Serves 10–12

 

For the vanilla shortcrust pastry

175g (6oz) plain flour

50g (2oz) sugar

¼ teaspoon sea salt

110g (4oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1.5cm (½in) pieces

2 large organic egg yolks

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1–2 teaspoons water

 

For the frangipane filling

110g (4oz) whole natural almonds, lightly toasted

100g (3½oz) caster sugar

50g (2oz) unsalted butter, softened

2 large organic eggs

2 tablespoons plain flour

½ teaspoon almond extract

 

For the nut and caramel topping

110g (4oz) water

300g (10½oz) granulated sugar

2 tablespoons golden or corn syrup

110g (4oz) unsalted butter, softened

110g (4oz) double cream, at room temperature

75g (3oz) whole unsalted almonds, lightly toasted

60g (2½oz) pecan halves, lightly toasted

50g (2oz) walnut halves, lightly toasted

 

 

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

 

First make the pastry. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse five times to blend the ingredients. Add the butter and pulse 6–8 times until it is the size of large peas. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of water. Add to the food processor, then process until the dough begins to form small clumps. To test the dough, squeeze a handful of clumps – when you open your hand they should hold together. If they fall apart, sprinkle the remaining water over the dough and pulse several times. If necessary, add up to one further teaspoon of water to bring the dough together.

 

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it gently 2–3 times, to bring the dough together. Shape it into a round disc approx. 15cm (6in) across. Set aside in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. Break the cold dough into 2.5–5cm (1–2in) pieces and scatter them evenly over the bottom of a 24cm (9½in) tart tin. Use the heel of your hand to press the dough flat, connecting the pieces in a smooth layer. Press from the centre of the tin outwards, building up some extra dough around the base at the edge of the tart. Using your thumbs, press this excess up the sides of the tin, making sure it is the same thickness as the dough on the bottom. Roll your thumb over the top edge of the tin to remove any excess dough (save this for patching any cracks that might form during baking). Chill for at least 30 minutes.

 

Bake ‘blind’ for 20–22 minutes or until the edges and centre are set. (If the shell is cracking and sticking to the baking parchment lining, replace it and continue to bake for a further 5–6 minutes.) Remove the baking parchment and beans and set aside to cool. Once cooled, return the pastry shell to the oven and bake for a

further 10–12 minutes or until the crust is a pale tan colour. Transfer to a rack and cool completely before adding the filling.

 

Meanwhile, make the frangipane filling. Put the almonds and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely ground. Add the butter and blend. Add the eggs, flour and almond extract and mix thoroughly. Pour the filling into the tart case and bake for 30–35 minutes, or until firm in the centre and lightly browned.

Set aside to cool completely.

 

To make the topping, put the water, sugar and golden (or corn) syrup in a saucepan large enough to eventually hold all the nuts as well. Heat slowly until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is clear. Then increase the heat to high and boil rapidly until the sugar darkens to a rich golden brown colour.

 

Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add the butter and cream (be careful, as the mixture will rise in the pan and splutter). Stir briefly with a wooden spoon to blend, then add the toasted nuts. Stir gently to coat the nuts in the caramel sauce, then immediately spoon the nuts over the cooled frangipane tart, reserving the caramel in the pan. Use two spoons, not your fingers, because the mixture will be very hot. Finish, if you like, by spooning some of the caramel sauce over the nuts. Set aside to cool.

 

Remove from the tin just before serving. Serve at room temperature.

 

The National Organic Conference – Addressing the Needs of the Market will be held on 5^th and 6^th November 2013 at the Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore, Co Offaly. Book online www.nots.ie or 0719640688

You can travel to every part of Ireland and encounter an interesting, distinctive, local farmhouse cheese.  Read some amazing stories about the people behind farmhouse cheese on their new website or visit one of the farms and experience first-hand, the story of farmhouse cheese – farm visits are free to attend but you must book your place online  www.discoverfarmhousecheese.ie

If you have visitors staying and are racking your brains for something original, stylish and fun to do with them, contact Eveleen and Pamela Coyle and they will arrange a Fabulous Food Trail for you in Dublin or Cork city. They’ll show you all that is best in contemporary Irish food, shops and cafés as you wander through the lesser known parts of each city, tasting as you go. www.fabfoodtrails.ie or info@fabfoodtrails.ie or by calling (01) 497 1245.

 

 

 

Halloween creates almost as much excitement as Christmas nowadays, for weeks shop windows have been packed with witches, broomsticks, pumpkins and scary masks to tantalise the kids. Our grandchildren and their friends can’t wait to dress up in witches attire and ghoulish rig outs to frighten the life out of their neighbours and extract a ‘trick or treat’.

Even though it’s all becoming very commercial, kids still love the old fashioned games as well as apple bobbing and pumpkin carving.

When I was child Halloween was a very spooky time. We heard all about the banshee, a ghostly old woman who sat on a gate pier, keening and combing her long grey hair. People told scary ghost stories and we ate colcannon and barmbrack. It was all about fortune telling and divination. A favourite game was to arrange five saucers on the table, put some clay in one, water in another, a wedding ring in another, a rag in the fourth and a coin in the fifth. One after another we were blindfolded, and the plates were switched about before we reached out tentatively, to inevitable giggles – the water meant that you were going “on a journey”, the coin meant untold riches were coming your way, the rag signified hard times ahead, the soil was also bad news, it meant you’d be six feet under before long but the ring meant that wedding bells would soon ring, even if you were only six!

The contents of the barmbrack also held similar clues to one’s fortunes good or otherwise. All good innocent fun and apart from the barmbrack pretty uncommercial. Almost every culture marks Halloween, the Day of the Dead or All Souls Day. In Mexico many visit graveyards and bring the favourite food of their loved ones to picnic and reminisce on the graves. Increasingly Halloween is about witches and pumpkins in the American tradition. Shops and Farmers Market stalls are piled high with pumpkins. Kids have pumpkin carving parties and I’ve even seen a spectacular totem pole made from a variety of pumpkins and squash at an organic farm in the UK.

You can always lure the little witches and goblins into the kitchen to cook. They love to make spooky sounding soup like ‘Dragons blood’ (aka beetroot soup) or spicy bones (spare ribs) can keep them interested and nibbling. Spooky Meringue Pucás are also a great favourite.

Buy a couple of pumpkins and you’ll have several hours of peace, but keep an eye out while they carve and make sure to save the pulp to make a pumpkin soup.

 

Dragon’s Blood

 

This soup is a scary colour but brave children love the sweetness of the beets. The cream can be drizzled on top in a spider web or dragon.

 

Serves 8-10

 

 

900g (2 lb) young beetroot

25g (1oz) butter

225g (1/2lb) onions

salt and freshly ground pepper

1.2L (2 pints) homemade chicken or vegetable stock approx.

125ml (4fl oz) creamy milk

 

 

Chive Cream

125ml (4 fl oz) sour cream or crème fraiche

 

Finely chopped chives

 

Wash the beetroot carefully under a cold tap. Don’t scrub, simply rub off the clay with your fingers. You won’t want to damage the skin or cut off the top or tails because it will ‘bleed’ in the cooking.  Put the beetroot into cold water, and simmer covered for anything from 20 minutes to 2 hours depending on the size and age.

 

Meanwhile chop the onions, sweat carefully and gently in the butter until they are cooked.   The beetroot are cooked when the skins will rub off easily.

 

Chop the beetroot and add to the onions. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. * Put into a liquidiser with the hot chicken stock. Liquidise until quite smooth.  Reheat, add some creamy milk, taste and adjust the seasoning, it may be necessary to add a little more stock or creamy milk. Serve garnished with little swirls of sour cream and a sprinkling of finely chopped chives. Watchpoint: careful not to damage the beetroot during preparation or they will bleed

 

Spicy Bones

Serves 8

1.8kg (4lbs) meaty preferably organic pork spare ribs

2 tablespoons sunflower

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

3 teaspoons of ginger, grated

175g (6ozs) finely chopped onion

125ml (4floz) pineapple juice

2 tablespoons fish sauce, Nam Pla

3 tablespoons tomato purée

4 tablespoons lime or lemon juice

2 tablespoons honey

6 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

Ask the butcher to cut the ribs across horizontally into two strips. Divide each piece into individual short ribs.

Put the ribs into a deep saucepan and cover with cold water, add salt and bring to the boil. Skim and then simmer for 30-40 minutes or until tender. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again, allow to cool.

 

Adapted from “Barbeque, Where There’s Smoke, There’s Flavour” by Eric Treuille & Birgit Erath”

 

Heat the sunflower oil in a saucepan and add the crushed garlic, grated ginger and chopped onion, cover and cook on a gentle heat until soft but not coloured. Add the pineapple juice, fish sauce, tomato purée, lime or lemon juice, honey and 2 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce. Simmer for a couple of minutes until the mixture thickens, then put into a large bowl and allow to cool. Add in the ribs and toss until completely coated (hands are best for this).

Place under a hot grill for 10 – 15 minutes, basting and turning frequently until golden, transfer to a serving dish. Drizzle with a little more sweet chilli sauce and serve the sweet and sticky ribs. You’ll need lots of paper napkins!

 

 

Irish Tea Barmbrack

This is a more modern version of barmbrack, now commonly called a ‘tea brack’ because the dried fruit is soaked in tea overnight to plump it up (rather than boiled as in the recipes above). Everyone in Ireland loves a barmbrack, perhaps because it brings back lots of memories of excitement and games at Halloween. When the barmbrack was cut, everyone waited in anticipation to see what they’d find in their slice – a stick, a pea, a ring – and what it meant for their future. Now they’re available in every Irish bakery, but here’s a great recipe you can use to make one at home. It keeps in a tin for up to a week.  Even though it is a very rich bread, in Ireland it is traditionally served sliced and buttered.

 

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

 

110g (4oz) sultanas

110g (4oz) raisins

110g (4oz) currants

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

300ml (10fl oz) hot tea

1 organic egg, whisked

200g (7oz) soft brown sugar

225g (8oz) self-raising flour

1 level teaspoon mixed spice

50g (2oz) homemade candied peel

 

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

ring, stick, pea, and a piece of cloth, all wrapped in greaseproof paper

 

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

 

Next day, line the loaf tin with silicone paper.

 

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

 

Add the whisked egg, soft brown sugar, flour and mixed spice to the fruit and tea mixture. Stir well. Add the ring, stick, pea and piece of cloth, tucking them in well and ensuring they are hidden by the dough. Cook in preheated oven for about 1 1/2hours or until a skewer comes out clean.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.  Keeps very well in an airtight tin.

 

Spooky Shepherd’s Pie with Vampire Butter

Vampires are scared of garlic!

 

Serves 6

 

1 oz (25g) butter

4 ozs (110g) chopped onion

1 oz (30g) flour

3/4 pint (450ml) stock and left over gravy

1 teaspoon tomato puree

1 dessertspoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 dessertspoon chopped parsley

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 lb (450g) minced cooked lamb

 

1 lb (450g) cooked mashed potatoes

2 peas

chives

 

Vampire Butter

 

2 ozs (50g) butter

4 teaspoons parsley, finely chopped

2-3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

 

Cream the butter, stir in the parsley and a few drops of lemon juice at a time.  Add the crushed garlic.  Roll into butter pats or form into a roll and wrap in greaseproof paper or tinfoil, screwing each end so that it looks like a cracker.  Refrigerate to harden.

 

Melt the butter, add the onion, and cover with a round of greased paper and cook over a slow heat for 5 minutes.  Add the flour and cook until brown.  Add the stock, bring to the boil, skim.  Add the tomato puree, Worcestershire Sauce, chopped parsley, thyme leaves, salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes.

 

Add the meat to the sauce and bring to the boil.  Put in a pie dish. Cover with the mashed potatoes and score with a fork and form into a spooky shape using a couple of peas for eyes and chives for a screaming open mouth.  Reheat in a moderate oven 180ºC/350ºF/regulo 4 for about 30 minutes.  Garnish with parsley and serve with Garlic butter.

 

Spooky Meringue Pucás

Serves 4-6

 

2 egg whites

4 ozs (110g) castor sugar

 

éclair pipe no. 9 and piping bag

 

Beat whites until stiff but not yet dry.  Fold in half the sugar.  Beat again until the mixture will stand in a firm dry peak.  Fold remaining sugar in carefully. Fill into a piping bag. Cover a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper; pipe a small blob onto the paper, pulling the piping bag upwards quickly to create a point.  Bake in a very low oven, 100ºC/200ºF/regulo 1/4 for 4 hours approx.  Meanwhile melt some chocolate put into a paper piping bag and decorate by piping little dots for eyes and little oval for a scary mouth.  Serve with a bowl of softly whipped cream.

 

Hot Tips

Savour Kilkenny Festival of Food  – 24th – 28th October, 2013. Lots of excellent cookery demonstrations including Sunil Ghai, Arun Kapil, Rory O’Connell, Fiona Uyema, Alan Foley, Cormac Crowe, Kevin Dundon…Pop up dinner by Yannick and Louise, Town of Food Long Table Dinner, Kiddies-Cook-Along, Food Markets, Cheese Making, French wine masterclass…and much more see www.savourkilkenny.com

 

How to Cure a Pig in a Day and Use Every Morsel with Philip Dennhardt-  Saturday 9^th November 9:30am to 5:00pm at Ballymaloe Cookery School.

Philip will start by showing you how to butcher a side of pork like a professional. He will then show you how it can be transformed into a full range of yummy hams, succulent sausages and perfect charcuterie.

Full instructions will be given for the making of air dried ham, brine cured hams, brawn, bacon, sausages, chorizos, salamis as well as some recipes for country pâtes and terrines to ensure everything is put to good use. 021 4646785 – www.cookingisfun.ie

 

If you are a lover of whiskey then you might consider booking your staff Christmas lunch at the Jameson Distillery in the Malt House restaurant in Midleton – 0214613594

“Season of mist and yellow fruit fullness” and despite the warm misty weather there are a few mushrooms about. I found a little scattering of field mushrooms on the grass under the windows of the garden café earlier this week – just enough to make a tiny feast for one when I cooked them directly on the cool plate of the Aga with no embellishment, except for a few grains of sea salt and a knob of butter.

Driving across from Cahir over the Knockmealdon Mountains last week I collected lots of rowanberries from the mountain ash, the trees were dripping with plump berries, we added them to crab apples to make delicious rowanberry jelly. It’s a terrific year for crab apples (wild apples) too but if you don’t find any in your area use Bramley windfalls or a mixture of tart apples. Elderberries too are dropping off the bushes. You can substitute elderberries for rowan berries in the apple jelly or even mix both and if you have them. Throw in a handful of sloes and blackberries as well and then change the name to Hedgerow Jelly. Elderberries are also good pickled and I’ve tried an elderberry liqueur for the first time this year – can’t imagine why I didn’t think of it before now, it’s made exactly the same way as sloe or damson gin.

There’s also a fantastic crop of blackberries this year, pick them now without delay – they don’t necessarily improve late in the season. Of course they make great tarts, pies, wine and liqueurs. They also freeze perfectly also and pickle well. They tend to be very low in pectin so it’s difficult to set blackberry jam on its own, unless you use jam sugar which tends to produce a more solid set reminiscent of commercial jam. Apples particularly tart apples have tons of pectin hence the time honoured combination of Blackberry and Apple. If you own a sweet geranium plant (pelargonium graveolens) add a few of those leaves chopped up and it will imbue the jam with an irresistible haunting lemony flavour. Blackberries can also be dried and added to fruit cakes or you may enjoy them in this Blackberry and Rose Geranium Slice.

There are lots of hazelnuts in the woods and hillsides – they won’t be fully ripe for another week or two but do organise an expedition and collect enough to dry for the winter. Cob nuts and filberts will also be ripe around now, they should slip easily out of the husks otherwise you’ll find that the nuts are empty. Apart from nuts and berries, there are many plants – chick weed (Stellaria media), meadow sweet (Filipendula ulmaria), sedum (Hylotelephium telephium), sweet cicely(Myrrhis odorata), orach (Atriplex hortensis) Bishops Weed (Aegopodium podagraria)… We’ve been enjoying lots of wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella) the little three leaf version that grows in abundance in the woods but also in our greenhouse underneath the plants. Wild sorrel and lambs tongue sorrel (Rumex acetosella) grow in the grass and are recognisable by its pointy ears and sharp fresh lemony taste. Of course it’s delicious in salads but it is also intriguing in this sorrel pie which the late Charles Haughey traced for me in Inishvickillane, one of the Blasket Islands of Co Kerry.  It would originally have been baked in a bastible over the open fire but can be successfully make in a covered casserole in the oven. All food for free and delicious.

 

Sloe or Damson Gin

 

It’s great fun to organise a few pals to pick sloes and have a sloe-gin-making party. Sloes make a terrific beverage for Christmas presents. Either enjoy it neat or put a measure of damson or sloe gin in a glass, add ice, a slice of lemon and top it up with tonic.

 

700g (11⁄2lb) sloes or damsons

350g (12oz) granulated sugar

1.2 litres (2 pints) gin

 

Wash and dry the fruit and prick it in several places (we use a sterilised darning needle). Put the fruit into a sterilised glass Kilner jar and cover with the sugar and gin. Seal tightly.

Shake the jar every couple of days to start with and then every now and then for 3–4 months, by which time it will be ready to strain and bottle. It will improve on keeping so try to resist drinking it for another few months.

 

Sloe or Damson Vodka

This slips down easily but has quite a kick! Simply substitute vodka for the gin in the recipe above.

 

Ballyvolane House Hedgerow Martinis

Justin Green from Ballyvolane House shared this recipe with us “A couple of Hedgerow Martinis before dinner promises lively and spirited conversation throughout dinner. They are incredibly easy to make and totally delicious.”

 

Serves 2

 

2 shots gin

3 shots sloe gin

1 shot fresh lime juice

3/4 shot of elderflower cordial

2 fresh blackberries

2 frozen blackberries (for the garnish)

3 lumps of ice

 

1 cocktail shaker

2 martini glasses

 

When using a cocktail shaker, always avoid trying to make too much in one go as overfilling the cocktail shaker means it doesn’t mix well. Mixing two martinis per cocktail shaker works best. Put all the ingredients (except for the frozen blackberries) into the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Hold the shaker in both hands (a bit like a hooker throwing a rugby ball into the line-out) and shake it over your shoulder. Chill the martini glasses by putting them in the freezer or leave a few lumps of ice in them for a few minutes. Pour the Hedgrerow Martini through a cocktail strainer into the glasses. Garnish with one frozen blackberry per martini glass. Enjoy!

 

Crab Apple and Rowanberry Jelly

Rowanberries (Sorbus aucuparia) come from the rowan tree (also known as mountain ash) and are in season during the autumn. They grow on acid soil in hills, and their brilliant orangey-red berries were historically much eaten, although few people eat rowanberries any more. We gather them from the Knockmealdown mountains in West Waterford for our rowanberry jelly.

Crab or Bramley apples

Rowanberries

450g (1lb) sugar to every pint of juice

Chop the apples (windfalls are fine) into chunks, barely cover with water, bring to the boil and cook until the apples are soft and pulpy. Strain the juice through a jelly bag.

Crush the rowanberries, add a very little water, cook them in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until they are soft, and strain through a nylon sieve.

 

Combine all the juices and measure. Allow 450g (1lb) of sugar for every pint of juice Heat the sugar and add to the boiling juice. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved and boil rapidly until the jelly reaches setting point. Jelly should wrinkle when pressed with a finger. Pot into sterilized jars, seal and store in a cool place. Serve with game or a fine leg of mutton if you can find it.

 

Sorrel Pie from Inis Mhic Uibhleáin

 

I first learned about the existence of this recipe from Jane Grigson. Charles J Haughey tracked it down for me in the book Bean an Oileain by Márie Ni Ghuithin (1986) and had it translated from Irish.

Serves 6 – 8

 

1 lb (450g) all-purpose flour

1 level teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

½ oz butter

1 ¼ – 1 ½ cups buttermilk

4-6 ozs (110-170g) sorrel leaves

2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar

 

Baking dish, 9 inch x 2 inch (23cm x 5cm) with a lid

 

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

Place the flour in a bowl with the baking soda and salt. Rub in the butter and wet with buttermilk to form a soft pliable dough.  Knead lightly on a lightly floured work surface and cut in half.  Flatten dough with your hand to form a circle the same size as your pot.  Place the sorrel leaves on one half of the flattened dough and sprinkle with brown sugar (we put some underneath and on top of the sorrel).  Flatten second piece of dough to the same size and use to cover the sorrel mixture, pressing the edges to seal.

Butter and flour your cooking pot and place the pie inside. Put on the lid and transfer to a hot oven.

Our pie took 1 hour to bake and cooked to a pale golden colour in the covered pot.  It had a bitter sweet flavour and was quite delicious.

 

Blackberry and Rose Geranium Squares

 

Makes 24

 

6 ozs (175g) soft butter

6 ozs (175g) castor sugar

2 eggs, preferably free range

6 ozs (175g) self-raising flour

2 tablespoons freshly chopped rose geranium leaves

8 ozs (225g) blackberries

 

2 ozs (50g) castor sugar

1 tablespoon of freshly chopped rose geranium leaves

 

10 x 7 inch (25.5 x 18 cm) Swiss roll tin, well-greased

 

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

 

Put the butter, castor sugar, eggs and self-raising flour and chopped rose geranium leaves into a food processor. Whizz for a few seconds to amalgamate. Spread evenly in the well-buttered tin.  Sprinkle the blackberries as evenly as possible over the top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes approx. or until golden brown and well risen.

Allow to cool slightly, sprinkle with caster sugar whizzed with leaves of rose geranium. Serve in squares.

 

Hot Tips

If you’d like to polish up on your foraging skills here are two dates for your diary

Longueville House Mushroom Hunt Sunday 20^th October 9:30am – lunch included (€80 Per Person) – www.longuevillehouse.ie

Wild in Wicklow at Brooklodge Hotel in Macreddin Village on Saturday 16^th November– Irelands largest wild food dinner – apart from the potatoes the menu is made up of exclusively wild foods – for more information and to book the dinner wildandslow@macreddin.ie – 040236444

The Women in Agriculture Conference is a truly inspirational event. It will be held on 24^th October at the Europe Hotel in Killarney – 0646671340 hotelsales@liebherr.com

East Cork Slow Food event – Shana Wilkie from Wilkie Chocolates is the only chocolatier I know in Ireland who conches the cocoa beans from scratch, so join us to hear her talk about the whole process from bean to bar, her chocolate bars are sensational. Ballymaloe Cookery School – Tuesday 15th October 7pm- Slow Proceeds raised for the East Cork Slow Food Mobile Kitchen Project.

Halloween Demonstration at Ballymaloe Cookery School – Friday 18th October 2:00pm to 5:00pm –  lots of delicious pumpkin recipes, including a hearty pumpkin soup. Learn how to bake the perfect traditional Irish barmbrack too – rich yeasted bread, packed with dried fruit and a dash of spice. Phone 021 4646785 to book or www.cookingisfun.ie

Rachel’s Everyday Kitchen – Simple, Delicious Family Food has just been published by Harper Collins. For me this is Rachel’s best so far, her eleventh book in ten years so you can imagine how hectic Rachel’s schedule is, trying to balance family life, teaching, writing, plus TV commitments. I really marvel at how she does it.

During the years, she has tried and tested hundreds of family friendly hassle free recipes on her children who are just as able to say ‘yuk’ if they don’t like something as anyone else’s brood. Feeding children is always a challenge but Rachel feels as I know we all do that cooking for yourself and your family is such an important thing to be able to do. Eating good food has a profound impact on your health, energy and outlook. It may take a little longer than heating up a ready-meal or ordering a take-away, but it is the only way of ensuring you know where all the ingredients come from. Cooking ensures your family’s meals are nutritious and delicious but can also be creative and fun.

This time, Rachel is focusing on clever everyday cooking: simple short cuts, advice on weekly planning and shopping, wasting less, freezing more, preparing ahead and using leftovers, recipes that can serve more and those that can be adjusted to a tasty meal for one or two. With a bit of forward thinking, you can turn one meal into several different dishes, keeping waste to a minimum, If you’re going to buy the best ingredients you can afford, then it’s vital than nothing is wasted. Cooked potatoes left over from lunch could be made into a delicious and comforting tartiflette for supper on another day, for instance, while roasted butternut squash enjoyed hot at the table could be transformed into a tasty salad for a packed lunch.

Buying fresh ingredients in season will ensure that you get maximum value and flavour from what you eat. Cooking in bulk can save both time and money as well. In Everyday Kitchen, Rachel has lots of recipes that are just as easy to make in a slightly larger quantity and then freeze the extra portion. Stews, soups, pies, along with many other recipes, can be doubled up and frozen for another day. So rather than resorting to a ready meal, you can defrost something homemade instead – guaranteed to be more nutritious and much tastier.

Nowadays most people seem to be crazily busy particularly when children are younger, dashing in all directions, school runs, extra curricula activities, sleep overs, but one could see how with just a few small adjustments to the weekly routine one could reap big rewards for yourself and your family and even have more time for the most precious of all family activities, sitting down around the kitchen table.

 

Rachel Allen’s Lamb and Pearl Barley Broth

 

A simple yet soothing soup that I find hugely restorative on cold and rainy evenings, this is a delicious way to make roast lamb go that little bit further. It uses pearl barley, which has long been added to soups and stews to bulk them up when meat was scarce. Pearl barley provides more than just bulk; however, it’s soft, yielding texture as welcome here as it’s delightfully nutty taste.

 

Serves 6

 

25g (1oz) butter

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed or finely grated

2 sticks of celery, trimmed and finely chopped

1 bay leaf

1 sprig of rosemary

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

200g (7oz) cooked lamb sliced or shredded into roughly bite-sized pieces

1 parsnip, peeled and finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

100g (3½ oz) pearl barley or pearled spell 1.25litres (2 pints) chicken stock

2 tbsp chopped parsley

 

Place the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Once the butter is melted and foaming, add the onions, garlic, celery, bay leaf and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper, then turn the heat to low, cover with a lid and sweat gently for 5-8 minutes or until the onions are softened but not browned.

Add the lamb, parsnip, carrots, pearl barley or pearled spelt and the stock. Turn the heat up and simmer, with the lid on, for about 25 minutes or until the vegetables and barley are tender. Remove the bay leaf and rosemary and stir in the chopped parsley, then season with more salt and pepper to taste and serve.

• The soup can be made up to two days in advance, covered and stored in the fridge; reheat on the hob to serve. It can also be frozen for up to three months.
• The quantities in this recipe can be halved or multiplied.

 

Rachel Allen’s Thai Butternut Squash Soup

 

The squash gives real body to this soup, making it a meal in a bowl.  It’s sweet taste provides the perfect foil for the dish’s strong Southeast Asian flavours. This recipe can be made in advance, but don’t add the basil until just before serving.

 

Serves 6

 

500ml (18 fl oz) chicken stock

1 stick of Iemongrass, crushed with a rolling pin 50ml (2 fl oz) sunflower oil

1 large onion, peeled and diced

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed or finely grated

1 fresh red chilli pepper, deseeded (optional) and diced

5cm (2in) piece of root ginger, peeled and grated

1 large butternut squash (about 1kg/2lb 3oz), peeled, deseeded and cut into roughly 3cm (1¼in) chunks

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1x 400ml tin of coconut milk

1-2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)

Small bunch of basil, shredded (about 2 tbsp), to serve

 

Pour the chicken stock into a saucepan and add the Iemongrass. Place on a medium heat and bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat and allow to infuse for at least 10 minutes.

Place a large saucepan on a high heat and add the sunflower oil. Add the onion, garlic, chilli, ginger and raw squash (if using), and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to low, then cover with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes or until the squash is tender. Pour in the coconut milk and the hot chicken stock, including the lemongrass. Bring to the boil and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

If using roasted butternut squash, add this with the coconut milk and stock and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat, then transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Return the finished soup to the pan to heat through gently, then season with fish sauce to taste and serve sprinkled with the basil.

The soup will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to three days; simply reheat to serve. It can also be frozen for up to three months.

 

Rachel Allen’s Roasted Butternut Squash

 

Leftover roast vegetables can be equally good served at room temperature, and squash is no exception. With just a few more ingredients, it makes a handsome meal. Packed full of nutrition, it also makes a great lunchbox meal.

Serves 4-6

 

1 large butternut squash (about 1kg/2lb 3oz), peeled, deseeded and cut into 3cm (1¼in) pieces

3 red onions, peeled and each cut lengthways into about 8 wedges

3 tbsp olive oil

10 small sprigs of thyme (if using raw squash) Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1tbsp balsamic vinegar or sherry vinegar

200g (7oz) mozzarella, torn into bite-sized chunks

50g (2oz) rocket leaves

25g (1oz) Parmesan cheese, grated

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas mark 6.

Place the raw squash (if using) and onion wedges in a roasting tin with the thyme sprigs and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until completely tender and slightly caramelised around the edges.

Drizzle the vinegar over the warm vegetables and set aside to cool to room temperature. If using previously roasted squash, add it to the onions once they have cooled down.

When the vegetables have cooled, add the mozzarella and rocket and toss gently together. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan, then taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if necessary, and serve.

 

• Leftover roasted butternut squash salad makes a great packed lunch or picnic dish (just remember to leave out the rocket leaves if making it in advance, adding them just before serving).

 

Rachel Allen’s Cheesy Kale Bake

 

I find a dish like this a good opportunity to use up any ends of cheese lurking in the fridge. Within reason, of course: the better the cheese, the better the dish will be, but a few different types of hard cheese mixed together are perfect. I prefer not to use blue cheese, however.

 

Serves 4

 

400g (14oz) curly kale (stalks removed), thickly shredded

25g (1oz) butter

25g (1oz) plain flour

400ml (14fl oz) milk

250g (9oz) Cheddar or Gruyere cheese (or mixed leftover hard cheese), grated

1tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Equipment

 

20 x 25cm (8 x 10in) ovenproof dish

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas mark 6.

Place a large pan of water on a high heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to the boil. Tip in the kale and cook for just a couple of minutes or until almost tender, then drain, squeezing the leaves to remove all the excess water, and place in the ovenproof dish.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the flour and cook for 1 minute or until bubbling. Gradually pour in the milk, whisking it into the flour and butter, and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat, then add half the cheese and the mustard and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour the cheese sauce over the kale and sprinkle over the remaining cheese, then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until bubbling and golden on top.

 

• This can be prepared in advance right up until assembling in the dish and kept in the fridge for 24 hours, or it can be frozen for up to three months. Defrost fully before halting as above. This dish will keep in the fridge for a couple of days once cooked. It’s best served warm, reheated in the oven (preheated to 180°C/350°F/ Gas mark 4) for about 20 minutes to allow the cheese sauce to melt again.

 

Rachel Allen’s Butterscotch Apple Pudding

 

Serves 4-6

 

2 large cooking apples (about 45og/ 1lb total weight), peeled, cored and cut into roughly 2cm (¾ in) dice

125g (4½ oz) self-raising flour

¼ tsp salt

200g (7oz) brown sugar, plus 2 tbsp for sprinkling

100g (3½ oz) butter, melted

1tsp vanilla extract

1egg

200ml (7fl oz) milk

2 tbsp golden syrup

150ml (5fl oz) boiling water

 

Equipment

 

20 x 30cm (8 x 12in) ovenproof dish

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. Place the apple pieces in the bottom of the ovenproof dish, spreading them out to form an even layer.

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and mix in half the sugar. In another bowl, mix together the melted butter, vanilla extract, egg and milk.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones, then whisk briefly to bring everything together. Pour the mixture into the dish, distributing it evenly over the apples.

Next, place the golden syrup in a saucepan with the boiling water and remaining sugar. Bring to the boil, stilling to dissolve the sugar, then pour this evenly over the mixture in the dish. Most of it will sink through the pudding mixture to the bottom of the dish, but don’t be alarmed

-this creates a beautiful butterscotch sauce underneath the sponge when baked.

To finish, sprinkle over the 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, then place in the oven and bake for about go minutes or until the top of the pudding has a very light spring when you press it with your finger. This is best served warm with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

 

• Any leftover pudding will keep well in the fridge for up to three days; simply reheat in a moderate oven (preheated to 180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4) for just a few minutes to warm through

 

Crab Apple and Rowanberry Jelly

Rowanberries (Sorbus aucuparia) come from the rowan tree (also known as mountain ash) and are in season during the autumn. They grow on acid soil in hills, and their brilliant orangey-red berries were historically much eaten, although few people eat rowanberries any more. We gather ones from the Knockmealdown mountains in West Waterford for our rowanberry jelly.

 

Crab or Bramley apples

Rowanberries

450g (1lb) sugar to every pint of juice

 

Chop the apples (windfalls are fine) into chunks, barely cover with water, bring to the boil and cook until the apples are soft and pulpy. Strain the juice through a jelly bag.

Crush the rowanberries, add a very little water, cook them in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until they are soft, and strain through a nylon sieve.

 

Combine all the juices and measure. Allow 450g (1lb) of sugar for every pint of juice Heat the sugar and add to the boiling juice. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved and boil rapidly until the jelly reaches setting point. Jelly should wrinkle when pressed with a finger. Pot into sterilized jars, seal and store in a cool place. Serve with game or a fine leg of mutton if you can find it.

 

Hot Tips

 

Look out for Irish Craft Ciders there are now almost 20. I tasted several delicious examples at Applefest the Slow Food Apple and Craft Cider Festival at the Apple Farm in Moorstown, Cahir, Co Tipperary. Kilmegan, Orpens, Craigies, MacIvors, Highbank Proper Cider and Cockagee Pure Irish Keeved Cider, Llewellyns – Longueville House and Stonewell are even closer to home. http://www.slowfoodireland.com/applefest/craft-cider

 

The 12th edition of Georgina Campbell’s Ireland Guide – The Best of Irish  Food and Hospitality has just been published and is a must have to keep in the car so you can swing by the best hotels, restaurants, cafes, pubs, country houses, guest houses and farmhouses both north and south. The entries are concise and there are also county maps and lots more detailed information on Ireland – www.ireland-guide.com A perfect small gift for a treasured friend.

 

It’s a fantastic year for apples as well as blackberries, I came across a Crispy Apple Crumble Mix from the Cookie Jar Company based at Poulmucka Clonmel Co. Tipperary – use it to make a delicious bubbly crumble with home-grown apples.

 

Lots of mountain ash or rowan berries on hillsides at present, added them to some crab apples or windfall cookers, they make a fantastic rowan and crab apple jelly, delicious to serve with game or lamb. See cookingisfun.ie and follow link to Darina’s Saturday letter for the recipe.

 

We recently celebrated 30 Years of the Ballymaloe Cookery School. The last three decades since we first opened our doors in 1983, seemed to have whizzed by in a blur. My brother Rory O’Connell and I started the cookery school together and welcomed the first Certificate Course students in September of that year. Since then students from over 40 countries have joined us and many of those returned from far and wide to celebrate the Ballymaloe Cookery School Gathering with us.

We started with one employee in 1983 and now thirty years later the enterprise in the midst of our organic farm and gardens now employs more than fifty people.

It was a joy to welcome so many past students from all over the world some of whom hadn’t been back to the school for over 25 years. They were gobsmacked by the changes not just in the school which moved into the old Apple Barn in 1989 from the initial farm building in the courtyard but also the farm and gardens – now organic, they loved the heritage pigs, chickens and our little herd of six Jersey cows. The dairy too was new as was the Shell House and Petal Folly in the maze. We did things very gradually but for those who haven’t had the opportunity to revisit there’s much to see and explore. It was a wonderful day with much hugging and reminiscing and catching up on the fascinating stories of how each student has used their cooking skills since they graduated.

There were literally hundreds of extraordinary tales, Siv Svolsbru from Norway told us about the bakery she has established in Porsgrunn where people queue around the corner for her breads, she brought one of her delicious Nordic loaves for us to taste.

Susan Leigh from Chicago told us about the impact of her project Fox Valley Food for Health which teaches troubled and disadvantaged teenagers how to cook delicious nourishing food which is then delivered to cancer patients in the area.

We set up seven stalls on the lawn between the Palais des Poulets and the vegetable garden. Many of our past students and teachers who do Farmers Markets or food trucks catered the event. Jack Crotty aka Rocket Man produced several beautiful salads and Arun and Olive Kapil of Green Saffron with their beautiful curries were also there. Friend and gardener Laurent Catinot’s stand Boeuf a Lolo did his legendary steak sandwich with béarnaise sauce.

Mark Kingston of Golden Bean coffee also had a constant queue for his freshly roasted coffee.

Debbie Shaw, Robert Cullinane and Seamus McGrath manned the wine, craft beer and homemade lemonade stall – there was also lots of chilled elderflower cordial.

Tracy Daly, Finola Roche and Niamh Switzer were in charge of the puddings, homemade praline ice cream, meringues, yogurt and cardamom creams, poached plums, fresh fruit popsicles and blackcurrant fool with shortbread hearts and stars.

Philip Dennhardt’s delicious strawberry, chocolate and vanilla cupcakes were piled high on a three tier cake stand.

Florrie Cullinane, Pam Black and Sue Cullinane tempted guests to freshly smoked mackerel still warm from our smoker, smoked salmon from Bill Casey, fresh shrimps from Ballycotton with homemade mayonnaise and fresh salads from the produce of our garden and greenhouses.

Emer Fitzgerald, served our slow roasted heritage pulled pork, with Bramley apple sauce and cucumber pickle, on freshly baked Arbutus ciabatta rolls. Annette Roche and Sorcha Moynihan grilled thick slices of sour dough bread on a barbecue, drizzled them with extra virgin olive oil and served them with delicious toppings.

Rupert Hugh-Jones and brothers, Sean and Col Kelleher sat on straw bales under the sycamore tree and played wonderful traditional and hip hop music – it was all magical.

The local GAA lent us their huge marquee to shelter the tables from the wind and rain that was forecast but somehow managed to avoid Shanagarry all afternoon. The long tables were decorated by Rory O’Connell and his team with apple branches, rosehips, pots of lavender and grapes.

The uralies were filled with huge organic cabbages which have since been made into sauerkraut and meanwhile graffiti artist Adam O’Connor painted a huge cockerel onto the door of the chicken shed.

Many past students stayed over for the week end. The Blackbird Pub in Ballycotton arranged a welcome back party for the students and we all joined up for a farewell breakfast on Sunday morning.  A week-end full of happy memories to cherish and lots more hugging.

 

Grilled Sourdough Bread with Garlic, Tomato and Basil

 

Grilled bread can be a revelation.  Sourdough Bread, olive oil, garlic and sea salt are all that are needed for the simplest version of this dish. However, the quality of each of these four ingredients must be beyond reproach if you are to have one of “those”, food moments. Add fresh ripe tomatoes and basil and it’s delicious.

 

Serves 4

 

4 slices of best quality sour dough bread

extra virgin olive oil, best quality

1 clove of peeled garlic, cut in half

sea salt

1 tomato, cut in half

2 ripe tomatoes chopped

a little lemon juice

freshly cracked black pepper

fresh basil leaves

 

 

Choose a heavy cast iron grill-pan to cook the bread on. Heat the grill-pan until very hot and grill the bread on both sides, allowing lots of richly toasted colour to develop.

Remove the bread from the pan and rub one side with the garlic, no more than a couple of gentle swipes. Season with a little Maldon sea salt. Rub the halved tomato onto the bread, squeezing gently to release the tomato juice to be soaked into the bread. Chop the remaining two tomatoes and add extra virgin olive oil, Maldon sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, sugar, a squeeze of lemon juice and torn pieces of fresh basil. Taste and correct seasoning, spoon the tomato mixture onto each slice of grilled bread. Drizzle generously with olive oil and cut the bread into manageable sized pieces, making sure each piece of bread has a generous piece of the crust attached. Serve immediately.

 

The Rocket Man’s Beetroot and Farro Salad with Caramelised Onion

Past student Jack Crotty shared this recipe with us.

 

Serves 6-8

 

1kg (2 ½ lbs) fresh raw beetroot

 

For the caramelised red onion;

 

2 red onions – peeled and sliced into .5mm Rings

100mls (3fl oz) balsamic vinegar

40g (1 ½ oz) sugar

50mls (2floz) olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

500g (18oz) farro (pearled spelt) preferably Irish. We use Dunany Farro.

 

Dressing

 

3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp sherry vinegar (optional)

1 tbsp of chopped preserved lemon

1 tsp of Dijon mustard

sea salt and pepper

 

2 large handfuls of red veined sorrel or any other salad leaves with punch, like rocket or mizuna.

 

Tabasco and Lime Yoghurt

(Optional)

 

500mls (18fl oz) natural Greek style yoghurt

2 limes – zest and juice

2 splashes of tabasco to taste

a dash of extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

 

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/ Mark 4. Roast onions with balsamic vinegar, sugar and generous pinch of sea salt and pepper for 40 minutes or until they taste sweet and glisten.

 

Wash and roast beets in tin foil until they fall off a skewer. Peel by rubbing skins. Wear gloves to avoid stained hands.  Chop and while warm add to roasted onions.

 

Wash farro well and bring to the boil in plenty of cold water. Cook for 30-40 minutes until the grain swells and retains a bite. Strain.

 

Combine dressing ingredients and pulse to emulsify. Add to warm farro. Once beets and farro are cool, combine and add dressed greens to garnish.

 

Drizzle the tabasco and lime yoghurt over the salad and serve,

 

Pulled Pork Sandwiches in Baps with Rocket Leaves and Cucumber Pickle

 

2.2-2.6kg (5-6lbs) shoulder of free-range range

Sea salt

a little fennel seeds, lightly crushed

 

To Serve

fresh baps

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rocket leaves

Cucumber Pickle

Bramley Apple Sauce (see recipe)

 

Score the skin of a shoulder of free range, preferably heritage pork, Rub lots of salt and a little crushed fennel seed into the cuts. Roast for 18 hours at 90°C/194°F, the meat should be almost falling off the bones and the skin crackly. Remove the crackling, preheat the oven to 250°C/500°F, put the crackling on a tray and cook for a few minutes until bubbly and crisp.
To Serve

Split the fresh baps, pull the warm meat off the bone, season with Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, add any meat juices, maybe a few chilli flakes, taste. Fill the warm baps with a few rocket leaves or a mixture of salad leaves, some pulled pork, and a few pieces of crunchy crackling, cucumber pickle, and a dollop of Bramley sauce.

 

Serve immediately.

Bramley Apple Sauce

The secret of really good apple sauce is to use a heavy-based saucepan and very little water. The apples should break down into a fluff during the cooking.

 

450g (1lb) bramley cooking apples

2 teaspoons water

50g (2oz) sugar, or more depending on tartness of the apples

 

Peel, quarter and core the apples, then cut the quarters in two and put in a small stainless steel or cast iron saucepan. Add the sugar and water, cover and cook over a low heat. As soon as the apple has broken down, stir so it’s a uniform texture and

taste for sweetness. Serve warm.

 

Yoghurt and Cardamon Cream with Poached Plums

 

Serves 8-10

 

425ml (15 fl ozs) natural yoghurt

230ml (8 fl ozs) milk

200ml (7 fl ozs) cream

175g (6 ozs) castor sugar (could be reduced to 5oz)

1/4 teaspoon cardamom seeds, freshly ground – you’ll need about 8-10 green cardamom pods depending on size

3 rounded teaspoons powdered gelatin

 

Poached Plums (see recipe)

 

Garnish

Sweet geranium or mint leaves

 

Ring mould or 8-10 individual bowls.

 

Remove the seeds from 8-10 green cardamom pods, crush in a pestle and mortar.

 

Put the milk, sugar and cream into a stainless steel saucepan with the ground cardamom, stir until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch.  Remove from the heat and leave to infuse while you dissolve the gelatin.

 

Put 3 tablespoons of cold water into a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water, allow to ‘sponge’ for a few minutes.  Put the bowl into a saucepan of simmering water until the gelatin has melted and is completely clear.  Add a little of the cardamom infused milk mixture, stir well and then mix this into the rest.  Whisk the yoghurt lightly until smooth and creamy, stir into the cardamom mixture.

 

Pour into a wide serving dish or a lightly oiled ring mould, or individual bowls or glasses and allow to set for several hours, preferably overnight.

 

Serve with chilled poached plums.

 

Compote of Plums – Poached Plums

 

Poach the plums whole, they’ll taste better but quite apart from that you’ll have the fun of playing – He loves me – he loves me not!  You could just fix it by making sure you take an uneven number!  Greengages are delicious cooked in this way also.

 

Serves 4

 

400g (14ozs) sugar

450ml (16 fl ozs) cold water

900g (2 lbs) fresh Plums, Victoria, Opal or those dark Italian plums that come into the shops in Autumn

 

Put the sugar and water into a saucepan, bring slowly to the boil. Tip in the plums and poach, cover the saucepan and simmer until they begin to burst.  Turn into a bowl, serve warm with a blob of softly whipped cream.  Divine!

 

*The poached plums keep very well in the fridge and are delicious for breakfast without the cream!

 

Note: If plums are sweet use less sugar in syrup

Hot Tips

Urru Culinary Store in Bandon, West Cork celebrates its 10th Anniversary with their Irish Food Producers’ Limited Edition Food Hamper. A celebration of 10 years of food collaboration between Urru and Irish food producers, emerging and award winning producers including Patisserie Regale Crackers (Clonakilty), Seymour’s Fine Foods Cookies (Bandon), Big Red Kitchen Preserves & Chutneys (Meath), Lorge Chocolates (Kenmare), Green Saffron Spices (Midleton), Ballyhoura Apple Farm (Ballyhoura), Filligans (Donegal), Peppermint Farm Tea (Bantry), Mc Cabes Coffee (Wicklow), Ummera Smoked West Cork Garlic (Timoleague/ Dunmanway) and more. The anniversary hamper is beautifully presented and shows off the creative skills of our Irish food producers.

Available to order from 1st October and for collection/ delivery between 21st October and 30th December 2013 www.urru.ie

Highbank Orchard Harvest Picnic and Artisan Food Market is on tomorrow, pack a picnic lunch or graze your way through the artisan food stalls, enjoy a butter and jam making demonstration and witness the first ever National Onion Hanking Competition – Sunday 29^th September -10am to 6pm at Highbank Organic Farm, Cuffesgrange, Kilkenny – 056 7729918

Coinciding with the UK Fungus Day 2013 the International Mushroom Festival 2013 will bring together mushroom experts and mushroom lovers from all over the world to the beautiful, centuries-old, Killegar Estate in County Leitrim to exchange scientific knowledge and celebrate our natural environment. Phone