CategorySaturday Letter

A few days break at last and despite the erratic weather I’m not even tempted to head for the airport. A few days relaxing in West Cork, I am totally chilled and ready for a skite or two, a visit to a Farmhouse Cheese-maker, fish smoker, basket weaver, chocolatier– I’m fascinated by handmade and artisan skills. In West Cork one is spoiled for choice there is always something new.  It’s where it all began but the innovation continues.

I recently at the Liss Ard Food Festival came across Ross McDowell doing biltong – strips of dried Irish beef cured with herbs, spices, brown vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and sugar. Skibbereen Farmers Market every Saturday morning is a particularly vibrant mix of local food, craft, bric a brac and fancy fowl.  Look out for Hayley Milthorpe and Janine Murphy who are doing a number of fermented products, tomato sauce, tomato and green pepper relish, sauerkraut and mustard, they have a little stall.

Teenager, Ian Lynch from Ballymacrown was selling free range eggs from his nine brown hens and young Mary MacSeoin who won Slow Food Grandmothers recipe competition a few years back was selling flap jacks; homemade blackberry jam and marmalade from her pretty little stall – a joy to see more young food entrepreneurs emerging and Farmers Markets encouraging them.

New food businesses are bubbling up all over the place and not just on the main land one of the most exciting new ventures is on Heir Island just off Baltimore, I recently took the five minute ferry trip across from Connamore to visit the Fire House Bakery and Cookery School. We ambled up the windy boreen from the pier, past Island Cottage Restaurant (one of my very favourite places to eat anywhere in the world). The hedges were bursting with montbretia, meadow sweet, honeysuckle and heather.

Patrick Ryan and his partner Laura Moore have settled into Heir Island close to the water’s edge. There behind wicker fencing is an outdoor wood burning oven and demonstration area. As we arrived Patrick was just about to put his rye sour dough loaves in the handmade brick oven. They have been rising for over six hours; he turns them gently onto the bread peel, slashes the top with a razor sharp blade and slides them onto the floor of the beehive shaped oven. He puffs in some steam from a green plastic rose mister to create a crisp and chewy crust – his enthusiasm is infectious. This is just one of a whole range of sour dough, yeast and soda breads that Patrick makes and teaches here in his brand new Bakery School on Heir Island. It’s a wonderful story; Patrick originally from Co Laois the youngest of five describes himself as the ‘black sheep’ of the family. He has a degree in corporate law but swapped the legal tomes for chef’s knives after a summer in Greece. He then went on to work in Michelin starred restaurants including Kevin Thornton’s Dublin restaurant. Two years travel included South American, New Zealand, Australia and Fiji where his path crossed with Duncan Glendinning -  this led him to Bath where the pair set up the award winning Thoughtful Bread Company – then went on to do TV and co-write the Bread Revolution. He and his partner Laura Moore have now moved back to Heir Island, where they run a series of one and two day bread courses, coupled with a convivial B&B and bakery. Check out the website, they also do bespoke courses plus family baking courses – what fun that would be.

www.firehouse.ie – 0851561984 -  info@thefirehouse.ie

 

Rustic White Baguette

Taken from the Bread Revolution Cookbook

 

Makes 2 baguettes

150 g (5 oz) potato

500 g (1 lb 2 oz)

strong white bread flour

15 g ( 3 tsp) fine sea salt

10 g (2 tsp) fresh yeast or 7 g (1 tsp)

dried or fast-action yeast

225 ml (7 fl oz) water

4 tsp rapeseed or olive oil

 

There is just something irresistible about a baguette, especially when it’s fresh out of the oven. There’s always the urge to tear straight into it. No bread book would be complete without the mighty baguette – so here’s our version.

 

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and mash – or if you have mash from last night’s dinner, even better. (If the mash is creamy, hold back a little water when you mix it into the flour.)

 

Combine the flour, salt and mashed potato in a bowl and form a well in the centre. Crumble the yeast into the water and stir to dissolve, then add the yeasted water and oil to the well. Bring together into a dough with a wooden spoon or with a spatula. Turn the dough out on to a clean kitchen surface and knead for about 10 minutes or until you achieve the windowpane effect (see page 29). The dough should be soft and supple. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove for 60–80 minutes or until doubled in size. Turn the dough out and knock it back, then divide in half.

 

To form a baguette, flatten the dough evenly into a rectangle, then roll it up into a cylindrical shape. It should resemble a sausage about 30 cm (12 in) long. Using the palms of your hands and starting in the middle, roll the dough to lengthen the baguette, moving from the middle to the outer edges, until it is about 50 cm (20 in) long – but check that it will fit in your oven! Place each baguette on a lightly oiled baking tray and cover with a damp cloth. Prove for 50–60 minutes.

 

Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F/Gas 8) and place a roasting tray in the bottom. Before baking lightly dust each baguette with flour and use a baker’s blade (lame) or a sharp serrated knife to score the top with a series of cuts at a slight angle. Place the loaves in the oven and steam by adding ice cubes or cold water to the tray. Bake for 35 minutes, rotating halfway through to ensure even cooking. The baguettes should be crisp and golden.

 

Ham Hock Terrine

Taken from the Bread Revolution Cookbook

 

Serves 4-6

 

3 ham hocks

3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 sticks celery, roughly chopped

1 white onion, roughly chopped

1 tsp peppercorns

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp capers, finely chopped

4 baby gherkins (pickles), finely chopped

sea salt & freshly ground

black pepper

 

The idea of making a terrine might seem daunting but we are here to show that it’s a lot easier than you think. This terrine is basically a mosaic of layered ham and can be dressed up or down for any occasion – it’ll put a smile on the face of even the most critical foodie. Hocks are packed with flavour and cheap as chips, so speak to your butcher.

 

Place the ham hocks in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil.  Simmer for five minutes – you will find that all the impurities come to the surface. Remove the ham hocks and rinse in cold water, return to a clean saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil again. Reduce to a gentle simmer and add the vegetables,

peppercorns, coriander seeds and bay leaf. Cover with a lid and simmer on a gentle heat for 2½–3 hours, until the meat is tender and easily pulls away from the bone.

 

Remove the ham hocks and set aside to cool. Strain the cooking liquor through a fine sieve and return it to a clean saucepan. Place on a medium heat and boil until reduced by half. Peel the fat from the ham hocks and discard. Flake the meat off the bone with your fingers and put in a bowl.

 

Add the parsley, capers and gherkins and check the seasoning, although you may not need anything further. Add 4 tbsp (60 ml/2 fl oz) of the cooking liquor and stir in to bind everything together.

 

Line a terrine mould – or a 400 g or 1 lb loaf tin – with two layers of clingfilm, allowing for about a 5 cm (2 in) overhang all round. Fill the terrine mould with the meat. Press the mixture down and pour in the remaining cooking liquor until it just covers the top.

 

Fold over the clingfilm and put the terrine in the fridge overnight to set, placing a heavy weight on top.

 

To serve remove the terrine from the mould, unwrap the clingfilm and cut into slices with a sharp knife. Delicious with a tangy chutney or piccalilli and a freshly made crusty baguette.

 

Salmon Tartare

Taken from the Bread Revolution Cookbook

  

Serves 4

200 g (7 oz) raw salmon, finely diced

1 shallot, finely diced

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp finely chopped capers

1 tsp chopped dill

1 tsp snipped chives

½ tsp golden caster (superfine) sugar

½ tsp sea salt

3 tsp olive oil

 

Tartare is a finely chopped mixture of raw meat or fish with seasonings. This salmon tartare lets the quality of the fish speak for itself and the recipe delivers fresh, clean flavours in spades. Like bread, fish is best eaten super-fresh, so ask your fishmonger when it was caught, and about cheap and sustainable alternatives.

 

Put the diced salmon and the shallot into a bowl (chopping your ingredients finely will make all the difference). Add the lemon zest, capers, dill and chives and mix all the ingredients together. Season with sugar and salt. Bind all the ingredients with the olive oil and lemon juice. The acid in the lemon juice slowly cooks the salmon.

Serve in a bowl with shards of rye crackers on the side.

 

Rye Crackers

Taken from the Bread Revolution Cookbook

 

Makes 12 crackers

400 g (14 oz) rye flour

5 g (1 tsp) fine sea salt

10 g (2 tsp) fresh yeast or 7 g (1 tsp)

dried or fast-action yeast

10 g (1 ts p) honey

350 ml (12 fl oz) water

 

For something a little different to share around, try these wheat-free crackers made from rye. Naturally lower in gluten, this flour can sometimes be difficult to turn into a loaf but really lends itself well to making these crackers. With their unmistakable flavour, they crisp up to make the perfect party food.

 

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Crumble the yeast in the water, stir to dissolve and pour the yeasted water and honey into the well. Bring the mix together using a spatula – it should form a stiff, wet dough.

 

Instead of kneading, simply cover the dough with clingfilm or a damp cloth and leave to prove for 60 minutes. The dough should appear slightly puffed up, but not doubled in size as you would expect from wheat bread dough.

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6) and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll out each portion into the shape you would like – rectangle, circle or oval. Try to roll the dough as thinly as possible, to 2 mm (1/12 in) if you can. You may have to work the dough in several batches. Bake the crackers for 18—20 minutes, until crisp. Once cool they should keep crisp for a few days in an airtight container.

 

 

Hottips

Midleton Food & Drink Festival 2012 is on today Saturday, 8th September.

 

Fancy Building your own Wood Burning Oven? Contact West Cork Oven building guru Hendrik Lepel who crafted the Fire House oven. Hendrik does courses but also accepts commissions. www.bakehus.com 086-8838400 or kirdnehl@hotmail.com

 

Bread Revolution written by Patrick Ryan and Duncan Glendinning published by Murdoch Books will take the mystery out of bread making and also has some of the boys’ other well tried favourite recipes.

 

Irish Biltong – brilliant to take in your rucksack on a hike, perfect for picnics or just to nibble with a beer – Ross McDowell – 0872425173 –  info@tong.ie

 

Hayley Milthorpe and Janine Murphy’s fermented products 02823648.

 

If you are one of those people who started to grow vegetables for the first time this year, don’t be despondent. In Spring you would have embarked on this new adventure full of excitement and expectation clutching a few shiny seed packets and a pocket full of dreams of shelling peas, picking ripe juicy tomatoes and rummaging in the soil for potatoes.

Up to recently your hopes will have been well and truly dashed. Well, let me cheer you up – in all the years we’ve been growing tomatoes (over 50) we don’t remember a year where they ripened so late and were so lacking in flavour – like all of us they need the sun to sweeten up. At this stage we’ve removed most of the leaves so that the remainder of the crop can ripen.

The soft fruit and berries have also been a nightmare to harvest this year, days pass when we can’t get out to pick any fruit, if the berries are picked wet they simply don’t keep, the flavour is diluted and jam goes mouldy within a short time, but we’ll just eat it up quickly.

Don’t be tempted to give up it’s such a joy to have even a little home-grown produce – reckon to try again next year.

We’re fortunate to have a greenhouse that we use as a protected garden, so we have an abundance of produce for the cookery school, all be it much later than usual. The surplus is sold at the Farmers Market and at the Farm Shop on the farm.

A few weeks ago we had a Long Table Dinner in the midst of the tomatoes, scarlet runner beans and salad leaves in the greenhouse. We planted a lawn in one of the bays which provided a soft green carpet underfoot. It was so lovely to eat in the midst of the beautiful vegetables and herbs – the menu was a celebration of the work of the gardeners, farmers, local fishermen and artisan producers. Friends played music and the wine we enjoyed with every course was supplied by Mas de Daumas Gassac from Red Nose Wines. Altogether a memorable evening.

 

Pan Grilled Mackerel with Marsh Samphire and Sauce Vierge

 

Marsh samphire will still be in season for another few weeks.

 

Serves 4

 

4 fresh mackerel, filleted

seasoned flour

175g (6oz) marsh samphire

 

Sauce Vierge

sprigs of parsley

 

First make the sauce. Bring saucepan of water to the boil, cook the samphire for 3 – 5 minutes, depending on size, drain and toss in a little butter.

Heat a pan grill on a high heat. Dip the dry fillets one at a time into well-seasoned flour, pat off excess, spread a little soft butter over the flesh side of the fish as though you were buttering a slice of bread rather meanly.

When the grill is hot but not smoking, place the fish fillets, butter side down on the grill; the fish should sizzle as soon as they touch the pan. Turn down the heat slightly and let them cook for 4 or 5 minutes (time depends on the thickness of the fish). Turnover and cook on the other side until crisp and golden.

To serve put a little samphire on a hot plate, lay two fillets, one flesh, and one skin side at an angle on top. Sprinkle a little Sauce Vierge over the top or alternatively put three teaspoons around the side.

Garnish with a few sprigs of parsley.

 

Sauce Vierge

 

450g (1lb) ripe, firm tomatoes

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

pinch of sugar

1 tablespoon chervil, chopped

1 tablespoon tarragon chopped

1 dessertspoon torn basil leaves

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

60ml (2 1/4fl oz) extra virgin olive oil

 

Peel the tomatoes, cut into quarters, remove the seeds and cut into neat 1cm (1/2 inch) dice.

 

Put the tomato into a bowl and season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of sugar.  Add the herbs.  Drizzle over the wine vinegar, stir to combine, then pour over the olive oil.  The sauce is best served within 1-2 hours.

 

Italian Pork Stew with Tomatoes

 

A quick and easy nutritious stew which is a meal in itself. Serve with noodles, potatoes or rice and a good green salad.

 

Serves 4 – 6

 

90ml (6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil)

1 onions or 4 shallots, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

4 celery stalks, finely chopped

100gg (2 oz) pancetta or bacon, cut into lardons

1kg (2¼lb) stewing pork, cut into 5 – 6 cm (1 – 1 ½ inch)

seasoned flour

80ml (2 ½ fl oz) dry white wine

400g (14 oz) tinned tomatoes, chopped or 450g (1lb) ripe tomatoes peeled

150ml (5fl oz) chicken or vegetable stock

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks

125g (4 ½ oz) fresh or frozen peas

1 tablespoon annual marjoram chopped

2 tablespoons parsley coarsely chopped

salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Heat the olive oil in a large casserole. Add the shallots, carrot, celery and pancetta or bacon. Sweat on a medium heat for 4 – 5 minutes.

Meanwhile heat a little more extra virgin olive oil in wide frying pan on a high heat.

Dust the pieces of pork in seasoned flour, shaking off the excess, Add the meat. Seal on all sides, you may need to do this in batches – add a little more extra virgin olive oil to the casserole.

Add the white wine and allow to evaporate.

Stir in the tomatoes and half the stock and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat, add a sprig of thyme, and cover with a lid. Cook for 25 minutes on a gentle heat or transfer to a moderate oven 180°C/350°F/Mark 4 until the meat is cooked through. If you find the stew dries up add a little more hot stock.

Add the potato chunks and cook for a further 15 minutes, add the peas and cook for a further 4 – 5 minutes on a low heat, stirring from time to time. Remove from the heat, taste and correct seasoning. Scatter with parsley and serve.

 

Summer Green Bean, Tomato and Lemon Basil Salad

 

Serves 4

 

300g (10 ½ oz) fresh beans cooked until al dente (see recipe for Perfect

4 ripe tomatoes, sliced

700g (1½ lb) baby new potatoes, unpeeled and cooked until tender

200g (7oz) hard mozzarella, cubed

8 – 10 green olives, pitted

a few fresh basil leaves – lemon basil is super delicious here

 

Dressing

 

8ml/2 ½ fl oz extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 garlic clove crushed

1 tablespoon marjoram chopped

 

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Put the al dente green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, mozzarella and olives into a wide bowl. Whisk all the ingredients together for a dressing. Pour over the vegetables, toss gently and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Scatter a few basil leaves on top – lemon basil is delicious.

Toss well, leave to rest for a few minutes and serve.

 

Perfect French Beans

 

The proportion of salt to water is vitally important for the flavour of the beans and all green vegetables – it sounds a lot but try it.

 

Serves

 

900g (2 lb) French beans

1.1 litres (2 pints) water

3 teaspoons sea salt

30-50g (1-2 oz) butter or extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Choose beans of a similar size.  Top and tail the beans. If they are small and thin leave them whole, if they are larger cut them into 2.5-4cm (1-1 1/2 inch) pieces at a long angle.

 

Bring the water to a fast rolling boil, add 3 teaspoons of salt then toss in the beans. Continue to boil very fast for 5-6 minutes or until just cooked (they should still retain a little bite). Drain immediately.* Melt the butter or extra virgin olive oil in the saucepan, toss the beans in it, taste, season with freshly ground pepper and a little sea salt if necessary.

 

* The beans may be refreshed under cold water at this point and kept aside for several hours.

 

To reheat precooked Beans: Just before serving, plunge into boiling salted water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, drain and toss in butter. Season and serve immediately.

 

Beauty of Bath Tart

 

Despite the inclement weather we have a fantastic crop of Beauty of Bath Apples. They are one of the earliest to ripen and for many people of a certain age bring back memories of robbing orchards in their childhood. We’ve been enjoying them in a myriad of ways; just as they are, in apple muesli for breakfast and we are loving the bittersweet pressed juice that we make in our brand new centrifuge. Try this caramelised apple tart, it is another of our favourites.

 

Makes approx. 12 tartlets or two open tarts 8 inch (20cm) diameter

 

1/2 lb (225g) Flaky, Puff, or Shortcrust pastry

4-6  dessert or cooking apples preferably Beauty of Bath

4-6 tablespoons granulated sugar, approx. (Allow a well heaped teaspoon per tartlet)

 

2 x 8 inch (20.5cm) pie plates or 12 patty tins

 

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Line the tins with thinly rolled pastry, the pastry should be about as thick as a coin for tartlets slightly thicker for tarts.

 

Thinly peel and quarter apples, then cut them into slices 1/8 inch (3mm) thick. Arrange them on the pastry in overlapping slices. Sprinkle liberally with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes approx. in the hot oven 220C/425F/gas mark 7. The juice of the apples will caramelise with the sugar. Serve with softly whipped cream or better still Glenilen Crème Fraiche.

 

NOTE: It is essential to put enough sugar on these tarts or tartlets; otherwise they will not caramelise properly.

 

Ballymaloe Apple Muesli

 

Serves 2

 

This recipe can be made in a few minutes and is so full of vitamins you’ll be jumping out of your skin all day! If you want to score ‘brownie points’ make some for your Mama and Dada and bring it to them on a tray in bed.

 

4 tablespoons rolled oats (the Speedicook type, we use Kilbeggan or Flahavans )

3 tablespoons water

2 large dessert apples eg. Beauty of Bath or Worcester Permain or 4 small apples eg. Cox’s Orange Pippin

1 teaspoon honey approx.

 

To Serve

Soft brown sugar and maybe a little runny cream

 

Equipment

1 grater

 

Measure out the water into a bowl and sprinkle the oatmeal on top.  Let the oatmeal soak up the water while you grate the apple.  A stainless steel grater is best for this job, use the largest side and grate the apple coarsely, skin and all.  I grate through the core, but watch your fingers when you are coming close to the end, pick out the pips and discard.  Stir a tea spoonful of honey into the oatmeal and then stir in the grated apple, taste, if it needs a little more honey add it, this will depend on how much you heaped up the spoon earlier on. Divide it between two bowls. Have one yourself and give the other to your favourite person that morning. It should taste delicious just like that but will taste even scrummier if you sprinkle over a little soft brown Barbados sugar and a very little runny cream.

Hottips

I have just eaten a finger of the most divine confection, which I spied in the window of Gwen’s French Café in the courtyard in Schull, three luscious layers – a genoise base, a layer of superb dark chocolate ganashe with crispy croccante, topped with a milk chocolate mousse dredged with unsweetened cocoa – believe me it’s worth driving to Schull especially, one bite and you won’t care how long it stays on your hips. There is also the bonus of the café and the opportunity to pick up some of Gwen’s handmade chocolates. http://www.schullcourtyard.com/gwens-chocolates.html

 

Tea to Think About – Teabags don’t do it for me I’m a loose tea girl myself and I’ve never understood their appeal particularly as most seem to be full of ‘tea dust’. The two lads Sean Moran and Jonathan Wilson from Nood Teas had a similar dilemma, they found it difficult to get real tea at a decent price and impossible to get real tea in handy tea bags, so in 2011 they set about sourcing great tea and bleach free, glue free, staple free, hundred per cent biodegradable teabags, the end result is individually wrapped teabags filled with superb quality leaf tea. The company is called Nood and their teas are now widely available – 012542257 – hello@nood-world.com  – www.nood-world.com

Today is National Potato day. Well, you may not necessarily be euphoric or even particularly interested but I’m certainly going to celebrate our most famous Irish vegetable. I love potatoes but not just any potatoes. The red skinned Rooster is supposedly Ireland’s favourite potato but funnily enough not mine. Give me Home Guard or British Queens any day. Later in the season I also seek out Sharps Express and Scary Champions. For those who like a waxy potato, fingerlings like Ratte and Pink Fir Apple make delicious potato salads. For flavour and texture, main crop Golden Wonder and Kerrs Pinks are hard to beat. I know they are trickier that the red skinned variety to cook but I still love the floury Irish potatoes that burst out of their jackets just before they are fully cooked.

The Ballycotton area has long been famous for its potatoes but there are just three commercial growers left now – John Kennifick from Maytown, Michael Ivers from Ballyandreen and Willie Scannell from Ballytrasna. Willie sells his Home Guard, British Queens, Kerrs Pinks and the main crop Golden Wonders at Midleton Farmer Market. Get there early, you’ll be lucky if they are not sold out by 11:30am. It’s hard to beat a really good potato for nourishment and sheer value for money. They are packed with nutrients, vitamin C (twice as much as an orange) vitamin B, potassium, iron and twice the amount of fibre as brown rice.

Even a total novice in the kitchen can cook potatoes in a variety of simple ways. Three star chefs can have fun incorporating potatoes into their award winning menus. They take on other flavours brilliantly, spices and fresh herbs and ethnic ingredients add extra magic.

As organic farmers we grow a small quantity of 8 to 10 blight resistant potato varieties every year, fertilised in the traditional way with seaweed gathered from Shanagarry Strand after a storm. Not all blight resistant varieties are delicious some like Sarpo Mira tends to be a bit wet and soapy in some soils. This year has been horrendously difficult for potato farmers, with the combination of rain and ideal conditions for blight.

The recent decision by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to grant permission to Teagasc to do trials of GM (Genetically Modified) potatoes in the open has been welcomed by many in the farming industry and caused concern among others who have reservations about the Genetic Modification of food and the impact of the decision on Ireland’s image of a clean green Ireland.

Thus far Ireland is a GM free Ireland but as one pragmatist remarked to me ‘you can only lose your virginity once’

Should the trials be successful, will the general public many of whom have shown a distinct reluctance to embrace GM foods flock to buy GM potatoes. How will this affect our food export?

Earlier this year in response to the deep unease and sense of helplessness ordinary citizens feel around this topic, Kaethe Burt O’Dea and a number of others started a project called SPUDS who distributed blight resistant seeds to approximately 300 growers – large and small – across the country. Over the next five months they will record their progress in growing and tending to these potatoes and at harvest time they will document the yield and taste of their crop. This community based research will be analysed and be then published in early 2013 around the country. www.spuds.ie

 

Potato and Sweetcorn Chowder

 

A satisfying and filling soup made in a short time.  This could be a supper dish if eaten with a few scones and followed by a salad.

 

Serves: 4-6

In season: all year

 

2-3 medium potatoes, parboiled for 10 minutes, drained, peeled and finely chopped

450g (1 lb) sweetcorn kernels

30g (1 oz) butter

170g (6 oz) approx. onion, finely chopped

300ml (10 fl oz) home-made chicken stock

300ml (10 fl oz) milk

salt and freshly ground pepper

250ml (8 fl oz) light cream or creamy milk

Garnish

roasted red pepper dice or crispy bacon dice

sprigs of flat parsley

 

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan, add the onion and potato and sweat until soft but not coloured.  Gradually add in the stock and milk, stirring all the time, and bring to the boil.  Simmer for a few minutes, add the corn, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, cover and cook gently for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.  Add the cream and heat through gently without boiling.

Serve in hot bowls with a little dice of roasted red pepper or crispy bacon and parsley on top.

Note: If the soup is too thick, thin it out with a little chicken or vegetable stock.

 

Hot Potato Cakes with Crème Fráiche and Smoked Salmon

 

Serves 8

In season- year round

 

900g (2 lb) unpeeled ‘old’ potatoes eg. Golden Wonders or Kerrs Pinks

30g – 55g (1-2 oz) (30-55g) butter

55g (2 oz) flour

1 tablespoon chopped parsley, chives and lemon thyme, mixed, (optional)

salt and freshly ground pepper

creamy milk

seasoned flour

bacon fat, clarified butter or olive oil for frying

crème fraiche

8 generous slices of smoked salmon or smoked trout

chopped chives

 

 

Cook the potatoes in their jackets, pull off the peel and mash right away, add the flour and herbs. Season with lots of salt and freshly ground pepper, adding a few drops of creamy milk if the mixture is altogether too stiff. Mix well. Taste and correct the seasoning. Shape into potato cakes 2.5cm (1 inch) thick and then cut into rounds. Dip in seasoned flour.

Fry the potato cakes in clarified butter until golden on one side, then flip over and cook on the other side, 4-5 minutes approx. they should be crusty and golden.  Serve on very hot plates.

Put a blob of creme fraiche on top of each potato cake. Top with slivers of smoked salmon and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.

  

Crusty Potatoes with Ginger and Garlic

 

In parts of India they eat almost as many potatoes as the Irish, but they don’t just boil or roast them – many are deliciously spiced.  This recipe given which was given to me by  Madhur Jaffrey is one of my favourites.

 

Serves 4-5

 

12 lbs (675g) ‘old’ potatoes -  Golden Wonders or Kerrs Pinks

Piece of fresh ginger, about 2 x 1 x 1 inch (5 x 2.5 x 2.5cm), peeled and coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

5 tablespoons

sunflower or peanut oil

1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds (optional)

 

Boil the potatoes in their jackets until just cooked.  Drain them and let them cool. Peel the potatoes and cut them into :-1 inch (2-2.5cm) dice.

Put the chopped fresh ginger, crushed garlic, water, turmeric, salt and cayenne pepper into the container of a food processor, blend to a paste.

Heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium flame. When hot, put in the fennel seeds. Let them sizzle for a few seconds (careful not to let them burn) add in the spice paste. Stir and fry for 2 minutes. Put in the potatoes. Stir and fry for 5-7 minutes over a medium-high flame or until the potatoes have a  nice, golden-brown crust. Sprinkle with chopped parsley or coriander. Serve on their own, perhaps with Cucumber and Yoghurt Raita or as an accompaniment to grilled or roast meat.

 

Spicy Aubergine Stew with Potatoes, Mushrooms and Chickpeas

 

( Taken From Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian)

 

Serves 4 – 6

 

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

a large pinch of ground asafoetida

1½ teaspoons cumin seeds

3 dried red chillies

2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed

340g (12ozs) potatoes, peeled and cut into 2.5 – 4cm (1 – 1½ in) chunks

340g (12 oz) long, slim aubergines (Japanese or Italian), cut across into 2.5 – 4 cm (1 – 1½) chunks

340g (12 oz) large white mushrooms, cut into halves or quarters to match size of other vegetable pieces

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground coriander

250ml (8 fl oz) tomata passata

2¼ teaspoons salt

85g (3oz) fresh coriander, very finely chopped (leaves, stems and roots)

400g (14 oz ) drained cooked chickpeas (see below)

 

How to cook dried chickpeas:

For 250g (9oz) dried chickpeas, use 1.5 litres (2½ pints) water.  Put the soaked chickpeas and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil.  Turn the heat to low, cover and cook gently for 1 – 3 hours, or until the chickpeas are very tender.  Salt, about 1½ teaspoons, may be added in the last half hour of cooking unless the recipe tells you to put it in later.

 

Method:

Put the oil into a large, wide pan and set over high heat.  When hot, put in the asafetida and cumin seeds.  Let them sizzle for 10 seconds.  Put in the whole red chillies.  As soon as they swell and darken – a matter of seconds – put in the garlic and potatoes.  Stir and fry for 1 minute.  Put in the aubergine chunks, and stir and fry for 2 minutes.  Put in the mushrooms, and stir and fry for another 2 minutes.  Now add the turmeric and ground coriander.  Stir once, then pour in the tomato passata and 1 litre (1¾ pints) water.  Add the salt, fresh coriander and chickpeas.  Bring to the boil.  Cover, turn the heat to low and cook gently for 35 – 40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.  Serve hot.

Hottips

The Great British Cheese Festival 2012 from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd September, at Cardiff Castle – fantastic atmosphere with a huge selection of cheese including Irish Farmhouse Cheese to try, taste and buy. Masterclasses, demos and live music. www.greatbritishcheesefestival.co.uk

Several exciting new stalls have popped up at the Midleton Farmers Market…

 

Local fisherman, Michael Barrett has Fresh lobsters and crabs in season nestled on a bed of seaweed: Tel 0876000438

 

Siobhan, daughter of Jane Murphy who makes the multi-award winning Ardsallagh Goat Cheese has started her own cheesy business under the name of Carrig Foods – Timo’s Irish cheddar in block and grated, Aged Parmesan pieces and grated and a cute little collection of Irish Farmhouse cheeses perfect for a picnic. Tel: 021-4882338.

 

Don’t miss Lucy Deegan’s Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms, Shitake Bacon, crispy and totally delicious as a nibble or over salads. There’s also porcini dust, porcini oil, wild mushroom ketchup, seriously mushroomy mushroom soup, a great little business offering lots of temptations both at Midleton and Mahon Point Farmers Markets – Tel: 0868100808

 

Tempting Tipperary Organic Ice Cream in many flavours – also a new addition – great with Rose Cottage Berries. New seasons blueberries have just arrived and there’s much much more…

 

Midleton Farmers Market is on every Saturday from 9:00am to 2:00pm www.midletonfarmersmarket.com

Mahon Point Farmers Market is on every Thursday from 10am to 2pm www.mahonpointfarmersmarket.com

The word lovely comes up over and over again in the Ard Bia cookbook. Lovely extras to serve with cheese or lovely extra to serve with the perfect steak. Perfect poached egg and lovely extras, it’s got a comforting homely ring to it which I love – in fact I really loved a lot about the new Ard Bia cookbook. The zany photos, the clean layout and design, the line drawings, and the eclectic collection of Ard Bia classics that so many of Aoibheann Mac Namara’s loyal fans will love to have. Yet, I doubt it will keep them at home, they’ll still want to go to Ard Bia one of Galway’s most enduring and best loved restaurants.

The cookbook represents a day in the life of Ard Bia, favourite breakfast, lunch, mid-afternoon snacks, supper and dinner dishes. The book also includes some thoughts on a cheese course – the secret of some of Ard Bia’s much hankered after juices and finally the Pantry section. I particularly loved these chapters (there are 4) with herb sugars, pickles, vinaigrettes, a variety of hummus, chutneys, relishes, pickles, cordials, jellies and some thoughts on foraging.

I only ate once at Nimmos but I have never forgotten the beautifully simple but truly lovely food, a celebration of fresh local produce, spiced up with imagination and a sure hand.

Here are some of the dishes and juices we’ve enjoyed so far.

 

Buttermilk and Poppy-Seed Pancakes

 

Our poppy-seed pancakes are legendary. The secret is the buttermilk –

a much under-rated natural ingredient which gives a nice tartness. It also

helps to plump them up, providing the natural acids needed to kick-start

baking soda into releasing carbon dioxide gases. You could try replacing the

poppy seeds with fresh seasonal berries – juicy ripe blackberries work

well in the autumn, or try frozen berries at any time of year.

 

2 eggs

80ml / 2.7fl oz milk

350ml / 12fl oz buttermilk

350g / 14oz plain flour

35g / 1.2oz caster sugar

2 tbsp poppy seeds

1 heaped tsp baking soda

120g / 5oz melted butter

(plus extra knobs of butter to cook,

depending on the pan)

 

Tastes great with:

syrup of choice (we love Highbank Orchard syrup)

seasonal fruit compote

honey-nut yoghurt

 

Serves 4–6

 

Beat the eggs, milk and buttermilk together. Combine the flour, sugar, poppy seeds and baking soda, and mix thoroughly into the egg mix. To do this you can beat in a blender or food processor until incorporated. If you’d rather do it by hand, make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in half the liquid, stirring with a wooden spoon to draw in the flour until it is well combined, before adding the remaining liquid. Finally, stir the melted butter through

the batter. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until ready to use.

Heat a decent-sized griddle or non-stick pan over a high heat. If you have a pancake pan, all the better. Depending on the quality of your pan you may or may not need to add a knob of butter – try it without first to test it out. Spoon a ladleful of pancake batter into the middle of the pan and allow it to form a drop-scone shape. Cook on the first side for three to four minutes or until the base of

the pancake turns golden brown. Flip to cook the second side until a nice golden brown; the pancake should be cooked through at this stage.

You can either serve each pancake when it is ready, or stack them in a just-warm oven until ready to serve. We like to serve these with honey-nut yoghurt and elderberry syrup, but you could serve them with any kind of fruit and yoghurt, crème fraîche or even ice-cream, if that’s the kind of breakfast your morning is calling for!

 

Torn Lamb Shoulder with Sumac and Pomegranate

 

Sumac is a Middle Eastern spice with a lemony tang, traditionally used when lemons are out of season. It brings a high note to the slow-cooked lamb deep base flavours and the earthy artichoke purée.

 

600g / 1½lb shoulder of lamb (off the bone),

trimmed and chopped into large pieces

3–4 tbsp oil (vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed)

1 litre / 2 pints stock (lamb stock is ideal – ask your butcher for bones, or use beef, chicken or even vegetable stock)

2 lemons, juice and zest

5 spring onions, roughly chopped

1 tbsp sumac

1 pomegranate, seeds only

1 tbsp rose salt (optional)

To serve:

flatbread

tabouleh, quinoa or couscous flavoured yoghurt

Tastes great with:

Jerusalem artichoke purée (in the winter)

Serves 6 as a starter, or 4 as a

main course

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

 

In a hot pan, brown the pieces of lamb in batches with a little oil and place in a deep baking tray. Add the stock, spring onions, lemon juice and zest. Braise for at least 90 minutes, until the meat is falling apart. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the stock. Tear the meat apart into small chunks. You can prepare the lamb in advance, as it will keep in the fridge for a day or two. Be sure to retain the rich stock. You will need a little of it to reheat the lamb and you can use the remainder as

a base for other rich wintry dishes, such as the lamb tagine or venison stew or reduce it down to make a gravy or jus to serve with a Sunday roast Prepare the artichoke purée When ready to serve, preheat a grill to hot. Sprinkle sumac over the torn lamb and drizzle with a little stock to keep it moist. Heat through under the grill.

To serve, place a generous spoonful of artichoke purée into each serving bowl and place the lamb on top. Finish each serving with a scattering of plump pomegranate seeds and a pinch of rose salt, if using. If serving as a main course, you could accompany it with flatbreads, tabouleh, quinoa or couscous and a flavoured yoghurt.

 

Ricotta Tart

A Paolo classic and a favourite amongst the staff, who have been known to eat it for breakfast.

 

You need to make this tart.

 

225g / 9oz plain flour

150g / 6oz soft butter

75g / 3oz caster sugar

1 lemon, zest only

1 egg (optional, for a richer shortbread)

For the tart filling:

250g / 10oz fresh ricotta cheese

1 egg

30g / 1oz sultanas

30g / 1oz pistachios, chopped

1 orange, zest only

50g / 2oz sugar

2 drops vanilla extract

Fills a 24cm tart tin

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4. Lightly grease a

24cm tart tin with a removable base.

 

To make the shortbread pastry, combine the flour, butter, sugar, zest and egg, if using, and beat with a wooden spoon or in a food processor until it forms a soft dough. If opting for the egg-free version, a few drops of water may help bind the dough, depending on the condition of the flour. Take care not to overwork the dough. Lay out a piece of parchment on your work surface and dust sparingly with flour. Form the dough into a ball, flatten and roll out with a lightly floured rolling pin to a thickness of about 6mm, turning the parchment to move the dough.

Carefully transfer the pastry to the greased tart tin, pressing down into the corners and edges. If the pastry breaks, just press it back together and patch with an extra piece of pastry to ensure a good seal. Line with a piece of parchment, fill with baking beans and bake blind for about 10–15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the filling, beating the ricotta, egg, sultanas, pistachios, orange zest, sugar and vanilla together to combine well. Once the pastry has baked to a light golden brown, remove the parchment and beans, and pour in the ricotta filling. Return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool before gently easing the tart out of the tin.

 

Beetroot Hummus

500g / 1lb beetroot

salt and pepper

olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

1–2 tbsp pomegranate molasses, to taste

1 tbsp tahini

½ lemon, juice only

Preheat oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6.

 

Rinse the beetroot and trim the leaves if still on (but don’t be tempted to top and tail the bulb or the colour will leach). Pat dry and toss in oil in a large baking tray. Season and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes or

until the beets are soft but not shrivelled. Allow to cool before peeling (the skin should rub away easily), trimming the root and stalks and chopping roughly. In a food processor, blend the beetroot, garlic and cumin to a smooth paste. Add a tablespoon of pomegranate molasses along with tahini and lemon juice, stirring or pulsing to combine thoroughly. Check the seasoning, adding more pomegranate molasses, lemon juice or salt if you feel it’s needed.

 

Muhumara is a hot pepper dip originally from Aleppo, Syria. It is served as a dip with bread, as a spread for toast and as a sauce for kebabs, grilled meats and fish.

 

Muhumara

250g / 9oz roasted red peppers

1 red chilli

50ml rapeseed oil

75g / 3oz toasted walnuts

2 garlic cloves

25g / 1oz dried breadcrumbs

20ml pomegranate molasses

1 tsp ground cumin

½ lemon, juice only

chopped fresh coriander, to taste

 

Combine everything except the oil in a food processor and blend whilst slowly adding the oil. The final consistency should be like hummus, so more or less oil may be needed.

 

Beetroot, carrot, apple and ginger juice

1 medium carrot, washed and/or peeled

1 medium apple, cored

2cm piece of ginger, peeled

1 small beetroot, washed (optional)

½ lemon (optional)

 

Juice the carrot, apple and ginger. This alone is delicious (and looks gorgeous) or you can add a small beetroot for extra oomph. If you find all those vegetables a bit intense, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon to cut through it. Drink immediately.

 

Cucumber, Apple, Mint and Lime Juice

This refreshing juice is light and zingy and the perfect thirst quencher after a Summers walk.

 

2 apples, cored

1 handful of mint

½ cucumber

1 lime

 

Juice the apples, mint and cucumber. Squeeze a lime and mix it in. Drink immediately.

 

Hottips

Congratulations to Barron’s Bakery in Co Waterford for their book Our Daily Bread, a History of Barron’s Baker which got second place in the international Gourmand World Cookbook awards in the bread section.

 

Courses at Nano Nagle Centre, Ballygriffin, Mallow –

Organic Kitchen Garden Course with Noreen O’Brien starts on Wednesday 19^th September from 10am to 1am – a series of ten mornings up to April 2013 – the subjects covered include plant rotation, mulching, seed sewing, organic pest control…

Thursday 4^th October from 10am – 1pm – Preserving Course – Come and Make and Take Home – jams, jellies, chutneys…022 26411 to book – www.nanonaglebirthplace.ie

Kitty Travers loves ice cream. When she was little, her mum found her rummaging in a bin at the circus licking ice cream wrappers totally oblivious of the clowns and trapeze.

Now Kitty sells her exquisite hand-made ice creams, sorbets and granita from a little refrigerated ice cream van in London. Her company La Grotta Ices was named Best of the Best in the British Street Food Awards.  More recently Kitty was chosen by Ferguson Henderson as one of the young culinary stars of the future in the uber-cool Coco Cookbook published by Phaidon where 10 chefs including Ferran Adria, Gordon Ramsay, Alice Waters and Rene Redzepi choose their most exciting up and coming chefs. Not bad for someone who doesn’t even own a restaurant, but then again the list of places she’s worked reads like a Who’s Who of the foodie world.

She started her career in London at the French bakery Poilaine and at Villandry, not as a cook but as a waitress and learned French from the Gallic brigade. As luck would have it, when her Gran died she left her some money so she forked out 10 grand for a six month professional chef programme at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. This led to a stint at one of Mario Batali’s restaurant Otto in New York under the pastry chef Meredith Kurtzman, where she learned to make ice cream from the super fresh ingredients from Union Square Green Market and later she worked with Gabrielle Hamilton at Prune in the East Village who advised her to go back to London and get a job with St John, she landed a job at a St John Bread and Wine with head baker Justin Piers Gellaty where she had the dream job of choosing (and making) the daily dessert menu.

Throughout it all, she continued her quest for best, always tasting and experimenting at every possible opportunity, she couldn’t pass an ice-cream parlour anywhere.  She travelled all over Italy and France and while she was at  the American Academy in Rome, she’d cycle her little bike around gelaterias in her spare time, she found a little bar doing little pots of espresso granita with Chantilly cream on top – divine.

That summer she came back to London, bought a little van and La Grotta ice cream was born. She sells at Maltby Street Farmers Market in Bermondsey – that’s where I first met her -and at festivals and society weddings.  She spreads the word on twitter and facebook.

I was enchanted by her bewitching personality as well as her sublime ice-creams, granitas, and sorbets. Last time I was in London I visited her Ice Cream Shed where she hand makes all her products.  More recently she came to teach a course at Ballymaloe Cookery School, it was fantastic – if you missed it this year watch out for her name on our brochure next year or check out Welbeck Estate School of Artisan Food where she teaches regular classes. There’s one on the 15^th September and another on 21^st October, check the details on the website www.schoolofartisanfood.org

Here are some of the ice cream and granitas that Kitty made while she was with us – a portable Kenwood Sorbetiere works brilliantly and costs up to €85.00.

Kitty aged several of her ice creams in a fridge overnight, the difference in texture and flavour was dramatic.

 

 

Kitty Travers Corn Flour Ice-Cream

 

This ice cream is inexpensive to make and sounds dull but it was delicious and is one of the best recipes to take on flavours. Kitty also made a tarragon and lovage and celery leaf ice cream, both delicious.

 

Makes about 800mls/1 litre (1 3/4 pints) when churned.

 

Makes 10 Scoops

 

750ml (25fl oz) milk

1 vanilla pod

3 tablespoons corn flour

100g (3 1/2oz) sugar

 

Heat the milk and split vanilla pod together in a saucepan until it is barely breaking a simmer. Mix the corn flour and sugar in a bowl, whisk in the hot milk in a steady stream then return all the mixture to the saucepan and continue cooking over a low heat, stirring constantly until it reaches a temperature of 85°C/185°F.

 

Plunge pan into a bath of ice water and cool to 10°C/50°F within 30 minutes – stirring occasionally.  Refrigerate the mixture for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

 

Strain through a chinois, pressing with the back of a ladle to remove the vanilla pod, emulsify for 30 seconds with an immersion blender and churn in ice-cream machine until frozen.

 

Scrape the ice-cream into a freezer box, cover with waxed paper and a tight fitting lid, and freeze hard to keep for up to 1 month.

 

Variations

This recipe can be adapted and made with any number of culinary herbs or flowers eg Tarragon/Spearmint/Rose Petals/Marigold/

Honeysuckle/Cherry Blossom…

 

Simply replace the vanilla pod with 40-50g (1 1/2 – 2oz) fresh herbs or 20g (3/4oz) dried herbs such as lavender or thyme.

 

Bring the milk to a simmer and add the herbs, submerge and cover with cling film then allow to steep for 10 minutes (dried herbs) or 20 minutes (soft herbs and flowers) before straining and continuing with the recipe from the start, using the perfumed milk and omitting the vanilla.

 

Kitty Travers Sunrise Sorbet

 

Makes about 1 litre/Serves 10

 

350g (12oz) strawberries

1 unwaxed orange boiled for 1 hour & cooled

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

200mls (7fl oz) sugar syrup (see recipe)

 

Dip the strawberries in a big basin of cold water to wash, then lay on clean tea towels or paper towel for a few minutes to dry.

 

Place the strawberries in large mixing bowl and cover with the sugar syrup and lemon juice for 1 hour and allow to macerate (this can also be done overnight.

 

Quarter the orange; add it to the strawberries and purée altogether with a stick (immersion) blender. Sieve through a fine mesh chinois to remove pips. Push the purée through sieve with the back of a ladle with a lunging motion.

 

Check the BRIX and if necessary adjust to 20% either by adding more sugar syrup – 1 tablespoon at a time to bring it up – or extra water to bring it down.  Allow to chill.

 

Churn in an ice-cream maker or sorbetiere for 35-45 minutes then scrape the sorbet out into a freezer box, cover with waxed paper to minimize exposure to air and freeze.

 

Sugar Syrup

 

The basic sugar syrup below can also be used for homemade lemonades as well as for fruit salads and compotes. It keeps for months in a fridge, or a shorter time if unrefrigerated.

 

Makes 825ml (28fl oz)

 

450g (1lb) sugar

600ml (1 pint) water

 

Dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to the boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then leave it to cool. Store in the fridge until needed.

 

Kitty Travers Raspberry and Rose Geranium Ice-Cream

 

Makes about 1 litre or 10 big scoops

 

300g (10oz) raspberries

180ml (6fl oz) whole milk

180ml (6fl oz) double cream

6-8 Rose Geranium leaves

4 egg yolks

100g (3 1/2oz) sugar

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

 

In a saucepan, heat the milk and cream together to a simmer.  Rinse the geranium leaves and drop them into the simmering milk to submerge, then remove pan from the heat.  Cover with cling film and leave to steep in a basin full of cold water for about 15 minutes.

 

Meanwhile cook the raspberries very lightly with a tablespoon of water for about 5 minutes or until they collapse when stirred.  Push them through a fine sieve or chinois to remove all the pips.  Chill the purée until later.

 

Re-heat the perfumed milk and cream until barely simmering.

 

Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt together vigorously until pale and creamy.

 

Pour hot milk over yolks in a steady stream to temper, whisking constantly and then return all mix to pan.

 

Cook out over a low heat stirring constantly until the temperature reaches 85°C/185°F.

 

Plunge the saucepan into an ice bath, stir every now and again to cool to room temperature (within half an hour)

 

Mix with the raspberry purée & refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and whizz with a stick (immersion) blender for 30 seconds to emulsify before churning.

 

Once frozen scrape into a lidded freezer box, cover with a piece of waxed paper or cling film to limit exposure to the air and hard freeze.

 

Kitty Travers Peach and Basil Sorbet

 

Makes about 1 litre or 10 scoops

 

4 large ripe peaches

150mls (5fl oz) simple sugar syrup (see recipe)

30mls (1 1/4fl oz) water

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon

40-50g bunch of basil

 

Bring the sugar syrup and water to a simmer. Rinse the basil. Submerge the basil in the syrup the moment that it breaks into a boil.  Remove the saucepan from the heat instantly, cover the pan with cling film and place in a sink full of cold water. Allow the basil to steep in the liquid for about 12-15 minutes.

 

Strain the basil from syrup, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible.  Reheat the syrup bringing back to a simmer.  Slice the peaches in half over the saucepan (so any juices drip into the syrup).  Carefully drop the peach halves into the simmering syrup and allow to poach lightly until tender for about 8 minutes.

 

Allow peaches to cool then slip off the skins and purée the flesh along with the lemon juice using a stick (immersion) blender until very smooth.

 

Push puree through a fine sieve or chinois to remove any fibres, then churn in an ice-cream machine until frozen.

 

Scrape out sorbet into a lidded container, cover with waxed paper and store in a deep freeze until required.

 

 

 

Kitty Travers Nectarine Leaf Ice-Cream

 

Makes 10 Scoops

 

4 ripe nectarines

freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon, unwaxed if possible

250ml (9fl oz) milk

250g (9fl oz) double cream

200g (7oz) sugar

4 egg yolks

20 nectarine leaves

 

Halve the nectarines, collecting any juice.  Remove the pit, and quarter them, then cook them lightly with a tablespoon of water for about 8 minutes or until just tender.  Cool then purée with the lemon juice; push the purée through a fine sieve or chinois to remove the skin and any fibres. Keep aside until later.

 

Bring milk and cream to a simmer in a stainless steel saucepan and stir occasionally to avoid scorching.  Pick the nectarine leaves from the branch, rinse them then as soon as the milk hits a simmer, submerge the leaves in the hot liquid.  Cover the saucepan with cling film and then put it in a sink full of iced water and allow the leaves to steep for exactly 10 minutes before straining.

 

Re-heat the milk and cream mixture to a simmer. As it heats, whisk the sugar into the egg yolks to combine.  Pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture to ‘temper’ the yolks, then return all the mixture to the pan and slowly cook out to 86°C/186°F stirring constantly and briskly.

 

As soon as mixture reaches 86°C/186°F, plunge pan into a sink full of iced water. Cool until ice-cream base reaches room temperature. Stir in the nectarine purée then cover and refrigerate overnight to ‘age’ the base.

 

Blitz the base with a stick (immersion) blender to emulsify then pour the mixture into an ice-cream machine and churn until frozen. Scrape out into a suitable lidded container.  Cover with waxed paper to avoid exposure to air and store in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Variations

The nectarines in this recipe can be substituted for 600g of any other soft fruits, or a different herb.  Puree the fruit first then strain to remove any pips.

Interesting flavor combinations might include the following:

Raspberry + Lemon Verbena/ Blackberry + Rose Geranium/ Apricot + Almond/ Gooseberry + Elderflower/ Blackcurrant + Mint/ Mango + Lime Zest/ Nectarine + Basil…

 

 

Hottips

 

Isaac’s Restaurant on McCurtain Street in Cork are now serving Brunch every Saturday from 10:30am to 2:30pm. Their ala carte menu includes Bloody Marys, freshly squeezed orange juice, homemade granola, Kilbegan Organic Oats Porridge with soft brown sugar and cream, organic yoghurt, fresh seasonal fruit, Irish Farmhouse cheeses, Eggs Benedict, Full Irish…021 450 3805 – www.isaacsrestaurant.ie

 

Date for Your Diary

 

A Taste of West Cork Food Festival – Skibbereen – West Cork – Monday 10^th to Sunday 16^th September, 2012. www.atasteofwestcork.com

 

Summer Theatre

Homemade crisps, summer fruit popsicles, praline ice cream cones, at the interval in the Grain Store. Rave reviews for Tuesdays with Morrie last week so don’t miss 47 Roses written and performed by Peter Sheridan. Early dinner 6pm at Ballymaloe House and play €65.00. Theatre tickets €20.00 – Booking 021 4652531.

 

My friend Camilla Plum from Copenhagen has been staying with me for the past few days. She lives about forty five minutes outside the city on a beautiful organic farm called Fuglebjerggaard. Apart from vegetables and soft fruit orchards they have 160 sheep, grow their own wheat barley and rye, and the freshly milled flour is used for bread and the barley malted to make beer. Both are sold in the farm shop on the farm as well as the preserves, herb salts and sugar and spice mixes that Camilla makes.

Over 100 different varieties of chilli are grown, seeds are saved and Camilla, who is a beautiful natural cook, writes cookbooks and also does TV series. Don’t ask me how they do it all but while she’s been staying with me I got a glimpse, she wanders through the farm and gardens and into the greenhouse and comes back into the kitchen with baskets and bags of herbs, vegetables and fruit and turns them into delicious ‘totally Camilla’ things. When we went for a drive through country lanes to the beach, we stopped to pick white fluffy meadowsweet for cordial; she found me another plant called Houttuynia Cordata. It has distinctive variegated green, red and yellow splashed leaves and is delicious in salads or used as herb – it tastes a bit like coriander.

When we drove through Shanagarry village midmorning on Sunday, we bought some freshly picked redcurrants from the GIY (Grow it Yourself) and OOOBY (Out of Your Own Backyard) members selling their surplus fresh produce along the wall close to the Shanagarry Design Centre. It’s a brilliant idea and greatly welcomed by the local community who are delighted to be able to buy garden produce and some preserves, freshly baked cakes and spotted dog at very reasonable prices.

Back in the kitchen once again Camilla popped the redcurrants into a glass jar, stirred in sugar and gave me a taste of what is called ‘Shaken Fruit’ in Denmark. It was so fresh and delicious and keeps for months or longer, I can imagine it is delicious with lamb or venison but also with goat cheese, rice pudding, carrageen…

For supper, she spatchcocked a couple of chickens early in the afternoon, sprinkled with lots of chopped tarragon, lemon thyme, elderflower and chilli salt and extra-virgin olive oil over the skin. They were simply roasted and served with roast new potatoes with capers and goats cheese – divine.

A foray into the greenhouse produced lots of little misshapen but very ripe tomatoes, so these were squished into Kilner jars with a couple of sprigs of basil and a glug of extra-virgin olive oil. Camilla makes hundreds of jars of these preserved tomatoes at home and uses them in sauces, salads and on bruschetta and pizzas all winter. They cooked slowly in the cool oven of my ancient aga overnight.

Camilla makes it all look so simple, like so many natural cooks she scarcely measures but judges by eye and feel and taste. I did my best to record and measure as she cooks and here are the results.

 

Camilla’s Preserved Tomatoes

 

Makes 2 Kilner jars

 

675g (1lb 8ozs) approximately very ripe tomatoes

5-6 basil leaves

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon of Maldon sea salt

2-3 cloves of garlic

 

2 x 2 pint sterilised Kilner glass jars with lids.

 

Cut the big tomatoes – leave small ones whole. Stuff them in the Kilner jars and press tight. Add the extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon herb or Maldon sea salt, cloves of garlic and a sprig of basil. Close and seal the jars and bake at 110ºC/225°F/Gas Mark 1/4 until tomatoes are soft (3-4 hours) or until the tomatoes have softened and are cooked.

Keeps forever!

 

Fresh Bay Leaf Salt

 

Camilla Plum used coarse grey salt from Trapani

 

125g (4 1/2oz) Sel de Guérande (1/2 packet of Maldon sea salt)

young fresh bay leaves – 2 fistfuls – stalks removed

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

 

Destalk the bay leaves; transfer the leaves to a food processor.  Whizz with the crushed garlic and half the salt.  When juicy and green turn out onto a plate. Add the remainder of the salt. Dry on a flat platter – 4-5 days.  Store in a glass jar or jars.

 

Use with beef, roast potatoes, either add at the beginning with extra virgin olive oil or sprinkle over at the end for a fresh bay taste.

 

Nordic Cucumber and Dill Salad

 

Makes enough for 6-8

 

2 large fresh cucumbers

5 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 fistfuls of dill plus soft stalks chopped

 

Slice the cucumbers thinly –put into a bowl, add the cider vinegar, sugar, salt and chopped dill.

 

Toss well, leave for at least an hour.  Taste and correct the seasoning if necessary.

 

Serve with fish, lamb, chicken…

 

 

Shaken Berries

 

A Nordic way of preserving Summer fruits.

 

Redcurrants, blackcurrants, lingonberries, white currants, ripe gooseberries…are delicious preserved in this way. They keep forever!

Eat with cheese, venison, pork, melon…

 

Fresh ripe redcurrants (preferably organic)

60% fruit to 40% sugar or more to taste.

 

Put the fruit into a glass Kilner jar or jars, add sugar and stir well so the berries are bruised. Cover and keep in a cool place or refrigerator.

 

Strawberry and Rose Petal Jam

 

Makes 2 -3 pots

 

1kg (2¼lb) strawberries

1 litre (1¾ pints) of rose petals from fragrant old roses

450g (1lb) sugar

Freshly squeezed juice of ½ to 1 lemon

 

Put the strawberries in a wide stainless steel saucepan and cook over a brisk heat until the juices run and the fruit breaks down. Add the rose petals and hot sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar, bring back to the boil and continue to cook for 5 – 8 minutes until it reaches a set. Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Test for a set by putting about a teaspoon of jam on a cold plate, leaving it for a few minutes in a cool place. It should wrinkle when pressed with a finger. Remove from the heat immediately. Pour into sterilised jars and store in a cool place.

 

Verbena, Chilli, Ginger and Lemon Thyme Sugar

 

1 handful Moroccan mint

3 big handfuls fresh lemon verbena, leaves stripped off the stalks

1 inch knob of ginger chopped

2 tablespoons lemon thyme

2-3 Kaffir lime leaves if available

1/2 chilli

1 fistful of lemon basil

250-450g (9oz – 1lb) sugar

 

Put the leaves into the food processor; add ginger and lemon thyme leaves plus a couple of kaffir lime leaves if you have them. Add 110g (4oz) of sugar, whizz until blended, add rest of sugar and whizz another second, one can add less or more sugar.

 

Spread out on a tray or platter.  Leave to dry for 5-6 days even a week or use immediately.

 

For a hot drink

Pour boiling water over about a tablespoon of the Verbena Sugar in a glass, add lemon juice to taste.

 

For a cold drink

Add flat or sparkling water and lemon juice, add some rum if you fancy.

 

Hottips

 

Darina’s Book of the Week

No Need to Knead – Handmade Artisan Breads in 90 Minutes by Suzanne Dunaway. Suzanne uses no preservatives or additives of any kind, her ingredients are simply flour, water, yeast and salt – and, passion.You’ll find recipes for focaccia, ciabatta, pane rustico and pizza as well as breads from around the world such as baguette, sourdough flapjacks, blini, muffins, corn bread, brioche, African Spiced bread, kulich and kolaches. In addition many of the basic bread doughs are fat-free, sugar-free and dairy-free making then perfect for people on strict dietary or allergy regimes. Published by Grubb Street Press.

Charity Event – The Ballymaloe Cookery School Gardens will be open in aid of The Lismore Music Festival on Thursday, 9th August from 2.30pm – 5.30pm – Tickets are €12.50, includes afternoon tea – children and OAP’s half price. www.lismoremusicfestival.com

 

Learn how to prune your Apples, Pears, Plums, Cherry trees into Ornamental Fans and Espaliers with with Susan Turner at Ballymaloe Cookery School on Monday 13th August 9:00am to 2:00pm. Both decorative and functional – it’s a great way to grow a wide variety of fruit in a limited space. You’ll learn how to grow apples and pears as cordons, espaliers and step-overs. Fan trained peaches, plums, cherries, apricots and figs. 021 – 4646785 or www.cookingisfun.ie

Gastronomic science students doing a masters in marketing now have a list of evocative terms guaranteed to resonate with consumers who are seeking a more authentic wholesome product or eating experience – local artisan handmade, farmhouse, traditional, hand crafted… As a result there’s an epidemic of chefs and producers who are talking the talk but often with little understanding or respect for the real meaning of the word.

Evocative labels use the clever images and the jargon but often completely fail to deliver what that image promises. The menu of the CIE train promises ‘delicious, local, handmade sandwiches, hot snacks and pastries’ – I don’t think so – they are what they are but why try to pass them off as homemade. There are ‘Artisan’ restaurants and cafes without a single artisan item on the menu, artisan sweets and chocolates where as far as I can gather the only artisan element in the entire production system is to put the chocolates by hand into the moulded plastic trays in the slick packaging.

This ‘passing off’ is grossly unfair to the growing number of real artisan producers who has done so much to offer an alternative to mass produced option and to change the image of Irish food both at home and abroad.

Watertight definitions are notoriously difficult to nail down. Several of the farmhouse cheese makers and artisan producers – including Ballymaloe Country Relish – who started production on their kitchen tables has now morphed into a million euro businesses with a significant export market, no longer small but still with strong artisan values and philosophy – Cashel Blue Cheese and Glenilen in West Cork are brilliant examples. I asked John McKenna (Bridgestone Guides) what his definition of artisan might be – “a person who makes a product form beginning to end, and who makes it by hand, it’s easy to mechanise food production, artisans originate the product, produce it, and ideally sell it at market. Twenty years ago we came up with ‘The four ‘P’s’ person, place, (sense of place), product (original start from scratch) and passion and have found that has stood the test of time”

The  Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSA) are working on it but as yet there is still no legal definition of local or regional in the EU despite a recognition of the urgent need to define. In the US the word ‘house-made’ is now being substituted for hand-made which no longer had credibility. At present there are several court cases pending because of restaurants passing off an imported product, particularly goat cheese, as Irish. If you come across cases of blatant ‘passing off’ do please contact Slow Food Ireland or Cáis. www.slowfoodireland.com

 

The Encarta dictionary definition of artisan: a person or company that makes a high-quality, distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand…

 

A Plate of McGeough’s Cured Meats

 

James McGeough is a second generation master butcher in Galway, Ireland. For the past number of years he’s been experimenting with curing and drying meats using traditional meats to produce dried, smoked meats and salami. I tasted them at the Food Village during the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway and was mightily impressed.

Telephone 353 (0) 91 552351 for stockists.

 

Serves 4

 

8 slices each of air dried beef, pork, lamb and ham

Cucumber pickle

Horseradish crème fraiche (see recipe)

a salad of rocket leaves and fresh herbs

 

Arrange 2 ruffled slices of each cured meat on each serving plate, add some cucumber pickle, horseradish crème fraiche and a little bouquet of rocket leaves and fresh herbs.

 

Horseradish Crème Fraiche

 

Horseradish grows wild in many parts of Ireland and looks like giant dock leaves.  If you can’t find it near you, plant some in your garden.  It is very prolific and the root which you grate can be dug up at any time of the year.

 

Serve with roast beef, smoked venison or smoked mackerel.

 

Serves 8 – 10

 

1 1/2-3 tablespoons grated horseradish

2 teaspoons wine vinegar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of freshly ground pepper

1 – 2 teaspoons sugar

8 fl ozs (250 ml) crème fraiche

 

Scrub the horseradish root well, peel and grate on a ‘slivery grater’.  Put the grated horseradish into a bowl with the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar.  Fold in the crème fraiche but do not overmix or the sauce will curdle.  It keeps for 2-3 days: cover so that it doesn’t pick up flavours in the fridge.

 

This is a fairly mild horseradish sauce.  If you want to really clear the sinuses increase the amount of horseradish!

 

Courgette Flower, St Tola Goats Cheese and Local Honey

 

Anyone who planted courgettes this year will have lots of courgette blossoms. Use the male flowers raw in salads or make them into fritters.

 

Serves 2

4 courgette blossoms

250g (9ozs) St Tola goats cheese (or other good quality goats/sheep cheese)

2 teaspoons thyme leaves

2 teaspoons Irish honey

 

Tempura Batter

 

200g (7ozs) rice flour

20g (3/4oz) corn flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

cold sparkling water

 

First make the batter.

Mix the flours with a little water, it should be of a thickish consistency and can be used immediately.

 

Mix the cheese with the thyme leaves. Half fill each courgette flower.  Twist the ends to seal.  Dip the courgette flowers into batter.  Deep-fry at 190°C/375°F for 1 minute.  Drizzle with honey and serve, immediately.

 

Genaro’s Crespelle con Ricotta e Rucola

 

Crespelle are the Italian equivalent of pancakes. Everything sounds better in Italian – a recipe from Gennaro Contaldo’s Easy Italian cookery book, published by Headline UK.

                                                     

250g (9oz) plain flour

4 eggs

500ml (18fl oz)

40g (1 ½ oz) butter melted, plus extra for greasing and dotting

20g (3/4 oz) Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

½ quantity of Tomato sauce, using onion (see recipe)

Salt

 

For the filling

 

300g (10 ½ oz) ricotta – we use Toonsbridge Ricotta

100g (3 ½ oz) rocket, finely chopped, plus some un-chopped for garnishing

50g (1 ¾ oz) Parmesan cheese freshly grated

salt and pepper

 

1 x 16cm ( 6 ¼ inch) non-stick frying pan

 

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

Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl, add the eggs and stir. Gradually whisk in the milk, ensuring no lumps are formed, until you obtain a smooth runny batter, then stir in the melted butter.

Place the frying pan on the heat, grease with a little butter, then add a ladleful of the mixture in the centre of the pan. Swirl the pan around so that the mixture runs to all sides. Fry until the bottom is golden, then flip over to cook on the other side. Remove and set aside. Continue to do this until your mixture has finished – you should be able to make 8 pancakes.

To make the filling on to each pancake, then fold each one in half and half again, ending up with a triangle. Place on a greased ovenproof dish so that they slightly overlap each other, dot with knobs of butter and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Remove and top with a spoonful of tomato sauce on each pancake. Garnish with some rocket and serve.

 

Genaro’s Salsa di Pomodoro – Tomato Sauce

 

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, or ½ medium onion, finely chopped

2 x 410g tins plum tomatoes, chopped

handful of fresh basil, finely chopped

salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and sweat the garlic or onion over a medium heat. Add the tomatoes and basil, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and use immediately, or leave to cool and place in the fridge or freezer for later use.

 

Rose Cottage Strawberry Ice Cream

 

Rose Cottage Fruit Farm in Co Laois grows a variety of soft fruits and sells at Midleton, Mahon Point, Coal Quay and Douglas Farmers Markets – 0578732666

 

 

Serves 6-8

 

2 lbs (900g) very ripe strawberries

freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon

freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 orange

8ozs (225gcastor sugar

300ml (300ml) water

150ml (5floz) whipped cream

 

Dissolve the sugar in the water; boil for 7-10 minutes, leave to cool. Purée the strawberries in a food processor or blender, sieve. Add the freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice to the cold syrup. Stir into the purée, fold in the whipped cream. Freeze immediately preferably in a sorbietere.  Store in a covered plastic box in the freezer. Store in a fridge.

 

Fresh Strawberry Sauce

400g (14 ozs) strawberries

50g (2 ozs) icing sugar

lemon juice

 

Garnish

Fresh mint leaves

 

To make the strawberry sauce, clean and hull the strawberries, add to the blender with sugar and blend. Strain, taste and add lemon juice if necessary. Pour over scoops of strawberry gelato and garnish with some fresh mint leaves.

Hot Tips

Date for your diary.

The Slow Food event Terra Madre in Italy is a life changing event. This year’s theme is ‘The future of food is the future of the planet. Slow Food International Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre’  Five days of extraordinary diversity of food across all continents held in Turin, Italy from Thursday 25th to Monday 29th October 2012 – for full details of the rich program http://www.slowfood.com

Food Festival in Castlemartyr, East Cork. The Village Greengrocer Food Festival are preparing for their second annual festival. There will be lots of food stalls, a pig on the spit and live music on Friday 10^th and Saturday 11^th August – 021-4667655.

Great new food magazine ‘West Fork’ celebrates the wonderful diversity of ‘food production’ and ‘food culture’ in West Cork. Look out for it. www.westfork.ie

Darina’s Book of the Week

Picnics and Other Outdoor Feasts by Claudia Roden, The new edition of Picnics reveals a whole world of simply prepared delicious foods and whets our appetites and the imagination with tales from far and near. From the street food of the Middle East and Mediterranean, the festivals of the high grassy plains of Mexico to the English traditions of picnicing in parks, at Glyndebourne and shooting-lunches on the grouse moors. Something for every season and any climate, perfect for our Irish Summer. Published by Grubb Street Press.

Darina recently gave a demonstration at the food festival in Cork, recipes are available below.

Recipes from Darina Allens Demonstration at the -Food-Festival

Sports lovers are in a frenzy of excitement at the prospect of a sports fest for the next couple of weeks. You’ll want to spend as much time as possible in front of the telly rooting for our national heroes. Even if sport is food and drink to you, some sustenance will improve your stamina and give you the energy to cheer even louder.

Interestingly this is the first Olympics that has had a food policy, Jan Whelan who is in charge of the initiative says “Sustain is very keen to ensure that Olympic food promotes health and sustainability, wins new business for sustainable producers, and creates a fabulous food legacy. We want London 2012 to showcase the very best of healthy, ethical and sustainable food and to communicate this to a local and global audience.

Sustain sees the London 2012 Games as a tremendous opportunity to help transform the food system.”

It’s worth cooking up a few filling, yummy and easy to eat dishes so you can relax and enjoy the spectacle. A frittata is a terrific idea, easy to make and a 10 inch one will feed 6 hungry lads or 8 less ravenous guys with a nice bowl of salad leaves and a few of the new season Irish cherry tomatoes. You can even pop it in the oven and dash back to the telly while it cooks at a gentle heat. Left overs make a great sandwich tucked into a crusty baguette with some rocket or watercress leaves.

A nice piece of cooked ham or a slab of good Irish bacon or kassler is a terrific standby, eat it hot or cold and any leftover scraps can be used to fill an omelette or tossed into a savoury tart or pasta sauce.

Better still buy a few ham hocks, they’ll only cost you a couple of euro. Put then into a deep saucepan, cover them entirely with warm water and boil gently for a couple of hours until the meat is almost falling off the bones. Then you can eat the meltingly tender meat in a variety of ways. On a chilly evening a ham hock would be fine and comforting on a bed of colcannon or champ with lots of parsley sauce or in a bean stew with a high tea salad.

If the weather suddenly turns summery, a roast chicken salad with lots of crusty bread will also have everyone smacking their lips, make a big bowl of mayonnaise and then flavour it in a couple of different ways. Handy to have in the fridge to make some sandwiches, get some decent bread in – maybe a few Arbutus loaves and make some pickled cucumbers.

A few smoked mackerel are a brilliant standby – I love the moist smokies from Frank Hederman’s Smoke House at Belvelly near Cobh and of course Bill Casey’s Shanagarry Organic Salmon, Then there’s Ummerra, Woodcock Smokery…all unique and delicious in their own way. A selection of artisan charcuterie is another must have for quick snacks, seek out Fingal Ferguson’s cured meat to perk up your sandwiches and baguettes, you could wash it all down with a few artisan beers, and there is such a choice from the Franciscan Brewery in Cork, the Dungarvan Brewery, Eight Degrees Brewery in Michelstown and Metalman Brewing in Waterford.

 

Smoked Mackerel, Leek and Dill Frittata

 

Serves 6-8

 

1 oz (25g) butter

2 medium leeks, thinly sliced

8 free range eggs

2-3 tablespoons freshly chopped dill

1 oz (25g) Gruyere cheese, grated

1 teaspoon salt

lots of freshly ground pepper

6-8 ozs (175-225g) smoked mackerel, cut into dice

 

1 “x 9” non-stick pan

 

Melt the butter in a sauté pan.  Add the finely sliced leeks, toss.  Cover and cook on a gentle heat for 4-5 minutes.  Turn off the heat and leave to continue cooking while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

 

Whisk the eggs, add the chopped dill and grated cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the cooked leeks.  Melt a little more butter in the non-stick frying pan.  When it foams, add the egg mixture, reduce the heat to minimum.  Sprinkle the smoked mackerel over the top and allow to sink into the egg mixture.  Continue to cook for 8-10 minutes until almost cooked.

 

Meanwhile preheat the grill.  Flash under the grill until the top is puffed and golden.  Turn out onto a warm plate and serve hot, warm or at room temperature with a good green salad.

 

Ham Hocks with Haricot Bean and Tomato Stew

 

Visit the English market in Cork city to find ham hock they are delicious with so many things – a bean stew as well as cabbage and champ. They are also great on a bed of lentils or shredded into a broth with diced vegetables or in a split pea soup.

Serves 4

 

2 fresh or smoked ham hocks

1 onion

4 garlic cloves

1 carrot, thickly sliced

2 celery ribs, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

 

Haricot Bean and Tomato Stew

This is great on its own or with a few chunks of chorizo, cabanossi or even breakfast sausages.

 

1 cup dried haricot beans

bouquet garni

1 onion

1 carrot

3 tablespoons olive oil

6 ozs (175g) chopped onion

4 large cloves garlic, crushed

1 x 14 oz (400g) tin tomatoes

1-2 tablespoons chopped rosemary

salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar

 

Garnish

lots of flat parsley or rosemary

 

Soak the beans overnight in plenty of cold water.

 

Next Day.

Cook the ham hocks. Put the ham hocks into a deep saucepan, add the vegetables and seasonings.  Cover well with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 2 – 21/2 hours or until the meat is virtually falling off the bones.

 

While the ham hocks are cooking, strain the beans and cover with fresh cold water, add a bouquet garni, carrot and onion, cover and simmer until the beans are soft but not mushy – anything from 30-60 minutes. Just before the end of cooking, add salt. Remove the bouquet garni (bunch of fresh herbs) and vegetables and discard.

 

Meanwhile sweat the chopped onion gently in olive oil in a wide saucepan until soft but not coloured, approx. 7-8 minutes add the garlic and cook for another minute or two, add the chopped tomato and their juice, cook for 6-8 minutes, add the cooked beans, and chopped rosemary and cook for a further 5 minutes.

 

Remove the meat from the ham hocks, include the skin.  Add to the bean stew.

Simmer for another 3 or 4 minutes, add some of the bean liquid if necessary and season well with salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar.  The mixture should be juicy but not swimming in liquid.

Sprinkle with lots of flat parsley and serve or alternatively for a more rustic presentation for hungry chaps, keep the ham hocks whole (you need to cook four).  Spoon some bean stew over and around the ham hocks.  Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Ham Hock and Bean Soup

 

Add 2 pints of chicken stock and some bean water to the stew – for a delicious robust soup.

 

Roast Chicken Salad with Avocado and Caesar Dressing

 

Crisp leaves of little Gem lettuce provide the perfect scoops for chunks of tender chicken drizzled with creamy Caesar dressing.  Everything can be prepared a little ahead to eat.

 

Serves 12

 

1 large or 2 smaller organic chickens

1 large or 2 small lemons

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 – 2 tablespoons clear honey

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Caesar Dressing

2 egg yolks, preferably free-range

2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1 x 2 ozs (50g) tin anchovies

1 clove garlic, crushed

a generous pinch of English mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2-1 tablespoon Worcester sauce

1/2-1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce

6 fl ozs (175ml) sunflower oil

2 fl ozs (50ml) extra virgin olive oil

2 fl ozs (50ml) cold water

 

6 little Gem lettuces and lots of watercress

6 hass avocados

 

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4.

 

Season the inside of the chickens with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Prick the lemons all over with a skewer, then put inside each chicken.  Tie the legs together, place in separate roasting tins.  Drizzle each chicken with 2 tablespoons (2 1/2 American tablespoons) extra virgin olive oil.  Roast for 1 – 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven then brush the skin with honey and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Roast for a further 15 minutes or until the chickens are well-cooked and golden brown.  Remove from the roasting tin and allow to cool.  They can now be wrapped in tin foil and stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

 

Meanwhile, make the dressing. I make it in a food processor but it can also be made very quickly by hand. Drain the anchovies and crush lightly with a fork. Put into a bowl with the egg yolks, add the garlic, lemon juice, mustard powder, salt, Worcester and Tabasco sauce. Whisk all the ingredients together.  As you whisk, add the oils slowly at first, then a little faster as the emulsion forms. Finally whisk in the water to make a spreadable consistency. Taste and correct the seasoning: this dressing should be highly flavoured.

 

To Serve

Separate the leaves from the lettuces, arrange the leaves over 2 platters.  Remove each breast coarsely from the chicken in one piece.  Pull the meat from the legs and wings and shred it.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Cut each breast in to 6pieces each with a little skin attached.  Put a little brown meat in each lettuce leaf, then top with a slice of breast.

Half, stone, peel and quarter the avocados, tuck a few segments in between the leaves and sprinkle with Maldon seasalt.

Just before serving, drizzle a little dressing over each piece of chicken.  Garnish with watercress sprigs and marigold petals.

(Save the remainder of the dressing for another occasion. Refrigerate until needed).

 

Roast Kassler

That delicious German speciality, Kassler, is actually fresh loin of pork marinated with pepper, cloves and juniper berries for 12-24 hours and then oak-smoked for a further 12 hours.  It used to be quite difficult to find but is now becoming more widely available as many pork butchers produce their own.  It is best roasted rather than boiled.  It may be served hot, warm or cold.

1 x 5 lbs (2.25 kg) Kassler

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

Weigh the joint and calculate 20 minutes per 1 lb (450g).  Put the piece of Kassler onto a roasting tin; during cooking, baste once or twice with the fat which will render out.  Test the meat.  The juices should run clear.  When cooked, turn off the oven or set to a very low heat; leave the meat to relax for 20 minutes approx. before carving.  De-grease the pan and serve the sweet juices with the Kassler.  Keep the pork fat to roast or sauté potatoes.

 

Hottips

Join Slow Food East Cork for a walk around Ballymaloe Cookery School Organic Farm and Gardens on Saturday 28th July, 2012 at 3:30pm to 5:30pm. Bring appropriate weather-proof clothing and footwear. Donations to the East Cork Slow Food Educational Project. Booking is essential for this event, please phone 021 4646785 or email slowfoodeastcork@gmail.com

Food Festival Dates for your diary

Achill Island Seafood Festival / Feile Bia Na Mara, Thursday 19th- Sunday 22nd July  www.feilebianamara.ie Doonbeg SeaFood Festival, Friday 20th – Sunday 22 July www.doonbegseafoodfestival.com Schull Country Market at Schull Show, Sunday 29th July Ardmore Pattern Festival Food & Craft Fair , Friday 27th – Sunday 29th July www.ardmorepatternfestival.ie Ardmore Farmers Market Food Fair Sunday 29th July Cork Gourmet Trail, Monday 30th July  www.corkgourmettrail.com Westport Food Festival, Tuesday 31st July to Thursday 2nd August  www.destinationwestport.com

Gubbeen Garden and Farmhouse Lunches – I was so excited to read that Clovisse Ferguson – who has created a little ‘Garden of Eden’ on the family farm just outside Schull, West Cork – is offering a morning tour of the farm, dairy, smokehouse and organic vegetable garden followed by lunch in the Gubbeen farmhouse kitchen, how enticing is that! www.gubbeen.com

My editor asked me to write a piece on Summer food this week! What on earth am I supposed to write? This would normally be so easy, lots of salads, a few sizzling barbecue dishes, homemade ice creams, granitas, jugs of fresh lemonade and big bowls of Summer berries.

Maybe a picnic by the beach or in a wildflower meadow on the old tartan rug, what a lovely image that conjures up. The reality this year would probably be sodden food and a miserable picnic even for hardy adventurers like me who like to picnic though out the seasons.

Well nothing for it but to look on the bright side and you never know, perhaps the sun will be scorching the stones as you read this.

Even if it is drizzling you can light the barbecue in the garage doorway, hang up a bit of bunting, open some fizz and just have fun.

Here are some of my favourite Summer recipes for the barbie, a butterflied leg of lamb or a boned out shoulder (cheaper) doesn’t take more than 45 minutes to cook and will feed 12-15 people with lots of salads and a few tasty relishes. You can embellish it with generous quantities of gutsy fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary or anoint it with a spice mix and a generous drizzle of extra Virgin olive oil.

Lamb chops, ask for chump chops (they are meatier) chicken thighs (they are tastier) steaks (flank is both cheaper and tastier by far) and sausages all cook in minutes and can be tarted up with flavoured butters, mustards and a few complimentary sauces.

A good big gratin of potato is a brilliant idea for a barbecue; I particularly love a gratin of potato with some Ballyhoura mushrooms or this version with rosemary.

They both go brilliantly with grilled food and can be made the day before and reheated until the top is bubbly and golden.

Make a great big bowl of green salad and look out for those beautiful misshapen, multi-coloured heirloom tomatoes, make sure they are really ripe and then make a beautiful tomato and cucumber salad with lots of fresh mint or basil.

And for pudding- Summer fruit salad with sweet geranium leaves, It’s the perfect time of the year to make this when all the berries are ripe and blackcurrants and red currants just burst deliciously in your mouth. This recipe was in my very first Simply Delicious book when I had brown hair and red glasses, its ‘just as delicious as ever and one of our very favourite Summer puds, light and fruity, it will slip down perfectly after you’ve over indulged.

 

Mexican Spiced Pork Chops with Pineapple Salsa

 

Serves 8

 

8 free-range and organic pork loin chops with a nice layer of fat (2.5cm (1 inch) thick)

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon marjoram

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon runny honey

4 tablespoons olive oil

 

Salt, black pepper

 

Pineapple, Chilli and Lime Salsa (see recipe)

 

Mix the garlic, marjoram, cumin, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon, vinegar, orange juice, honey and olive oil together in a Pyrex measuring jug.  Pour mixture over chops, turning several times to coat thoroughly.  Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Season the chops with salt. Grill pan or barbecue over medium-hot coals until fully cooked but still juicy, 8-10 minutes per side.  Season the chops with salt. Serve hot with Pineapple, Chilli and Lime salsa.

 

Pineapple, Chilli and Lime Salsa

 

Serves 8

 

1/2 fresh pineapple, cored and finely diced (use less canned if you are in a hurry)

1 fresh red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander or mint

grated zest of 1 lime

3 tablespoons lime juice

salt and sugar

 

Mix the pineapple with the chilli, onion, coriander or mint, lime zest and lime juice in a bowl.  Add salt and sugar to taste.  Cover and let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature to allow flavours to blend.  Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Gratin of Potatoes with Rosemary and Bay Leaves

 

Serves 4

 

about 300ml (10fl oz) each of single cream and milk

2 sprigs rosemary and a couple crushed bay leaves

900g (2lb) potatoes, peeled and fairly thinly sliced

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

20cm (8in) square gratin dish

 

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

 

Put the milk and cream into a heavy saucepan, add the scrunched bay leaves, finely chopped rosemary and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Bring to the shivery stage on a medium heat,  turn off the heat and allow to infuse.

 

Meanwhile peel and slice the potatoes into 3mm (1/8 inch) thick slices approximately.  Rinse the potato well to remove some starch, add to the herby infused liquid with the crushed garlic.  Bring to the boil on top of the stove (to take the rawness away).

 

Then pour into a buttered gratin dish, cover with parchment paper.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes. Uncover and brown before serving in a hot oven or under the grill.

 

Butterflied Leg or Shoulder of Lamb with Moroccan Flavours

 

We make this amazing recipe at the cookery school – this will feed 10 people easily, if they are having no other meat or fish.  But with a selection of accompaniments it would probably feed 25.  You can, of course, halve the recipe.  Leg or shoulder or pork works well for this too.

 

1 leg of lamb, about 3kg (6 3/4 lb) in weight, butterflied

Or a shoulder of lamb boned

 

Marinade

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon cardamom seeds

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

2 tablespoons harissa

1 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic or white wine vinegar

3 garlic cloves, grated or crushed

 

Cucumber and Radish Raita (see recipe)

 

Heat a pan.  Add the cumin seeds, and cook for a few seconds, then add the peppercorns and cardamom seeds.  Remove from the heat and crush coarsely.  Mix with all the other marinade ingredients.  Place the lamb in a large shallow dish or in a clear plastic bag.  Pour the marinade over and rub into the meat.  Leave for 24 hours if possible, rubbing the marinade into the meat every so often.

 

Drain the lamb from the marinade and place quite far (20cm (8in)) from the coals.  It will take about 55–60 minutes to cook.  Baste with the marinade a few times while it’s cooking.  Rest the meat for 10 minutes, then carve.  You can also roast this, in all its marinade, in an oven preheated to 200C/400F/gas 6.  It will take about 1–1½ hours.  Baste it with the marinade regularly.  Again, rest the meat before carving.

 

Cucumber  and Radish Raita

 

Makes 16fl oz (450ml)

10fl oz (300ml) yoghurt

½ cucumber, deseeded and finely diced

2 tbsp chopped coriander or mint

salt and pepper

6 – 8 sliced or quartered radish – depending on size.

 

Put the yoghurt into a bowl, add the cucumber, coriander and some salt and pepper to taste. Add the sliced radish and taste and correct seasoning

 

Note: You could also grate the whole cucumber for this, but first sprinkle it with a pinch of salt and let it drain sitting in a sieve over a bowl for 10 minutes to get rid of excess juices.

 

 

 

Bananas wrapped in Streaky Bacon

 

Kids love to make these and people of every age seem to enjoy them.

 

Bananas

Thin streaky rashers.

 

Peel the bananas and cut into chunks about 2 – 2 1/2 inches (5cm – 6.5cm) long (depending on the width of the rasher).

 

Wrap each piece in bacon and secure with a ‘soaked’ cocktail stick, toss the bananas in fresh lemon juice if prepared ahead. Cook on a grid on the hinged barbecue 4 – 6 inches (10cm – 15cm) from the hot coals for 6-10 minutes depending on the size, serve immediately.

 

Summer Fruit Salad with Sweet Geranium Leaves

 

Sweet geranium (Pelargonium Graveolens) and many other varieties of scented geraniums are every present on our windowsills here at Ballymaloe.  We use the delicious lemon scented leaves in all sorts of ways, occasionally we use the pretty purple flowers also to enliven and add magic to otherwise simple dishes.  The crystallized leaves, all frosty and crinkly are wonderful with fresh cream cheese and fat juicy blackberries.

I discovered this recipe which has now become a perennial favourite quite by accident a few Summers ago as I raced to make a pudding in a hurry with the ingredients I had at that moment.

 

Serves 2-4

 

1 oz (30g) Raspberries

1oz (30g) Loganberries

1 oz (30g) Red currants

1 oz (30g) Black currants

1 oz (30g) small Strawberries

1 oz (30g) Blueberries

1 oz (30g) Fraises du bois or wild strawberries

 

Syrup

 

14 oz (400g) sugar

16 fl oz (450ml) water

6-8 large sweet geranium leaves

 

Put all the freshly picked berries into a white china or glass bowl.  Put the sugar, water and sweet geranium leaves into a stainless steel saucepan and bring slowly to

the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Boil for just 2 minutes.   Cool for 4-5 minutes then pour the hot syrup over the fruit and allow to macerate for several hours.  Remove the geranium leaves.  Serve chilled, with softly-whipped cream or Vanilla Ice-cream or alone.  Garnish with a few fresh sweet geranium leaves.

 

Summer Berry Jelly with Sweet Geranium Leaves

 

Sometimes when we have a berry salad left over, particularly if there is more juice than fruit we make it into a jelly.  Use 1 teaspoons of gelatine to each 150ml/¼ pint of liquid.  Pour into glasses or white china bowls, serve with softly whipped cream and decorate with geranium leaves.

 

 

Hottips

Don’t miss this Summer’s Long Table Dinner in the Ballymaloe Cookery School glasshouse on Thursday 2^nd August (last year it was a sell-out) Hosted by Darina Allen and Mme.Véronique Guibert de La Vaissière of Mas de Daumas Gassac Wines. Menu from the organic farm and gardens by Rory O’Connell inspired by ‘Savours and Flavours of Mas de Daumas Gassac’ matched with the Grand Cru wines of Mas de Daumas Gassac. Proceeds will go to East Cork Slow Food Educational Project. www.cookingisfun.ie  Advanced booking essential.

Kilcolman Rectory is a charming little Georgian B&B in Enniskeane West Cork, they do really good breakfast with homemade breads and preserves, fruit from the garden and locally sourced produce. If you are just passing through you can visit their gardens, they serve cream teas too – www.kilcolmanrectory.com – +353 (0)23 – 8822913

Irish Examiner Food Festival – Darina Allen is doing a free cookery demonstration followed by a book signing in Fitzgeralds Park at 2:30pm on Saturday 21^st July.