A table at Noma restaurant in Copenhagen is one of the hottest most sought after meal slots in the whole world. Curious chefs and food lovers from all over the world fly into Copenhagen to eat at this simple restaurant which has defined the gastronomy of a whole nation and established a flow of food tourism that benefits not only Noma but a growing number of other restaurants in Copenhagen and the hinterland. So why is Noma causing such a sensation.  Well, chef Réne Redzepi and his team cook and serve Nordic ingredients proudly. The food is fresh, seasonal and much is foraged from the wild. The food is incredibly delicious. But Noma is not just about the food, the whole experience challenged many of our concepts of how food should taste and be served.

On arrival at Noma, a converted herring warehouse, you walk down three or four steps, the kitchen is directly ahead – you are greeted by several of the chefs, then shown to your table, the room is simple yet incredibly sophisticated and then the feast begins. Lots of little snacks in quick succession, then the pace slows down, the dishes are slightly larger, virtually all are vegetarian. In an exquisite meal of virtually 20 courses, we had meat just twice, tiny medallions of bone marrow in one and paper thin slices of duck breast in another.

I hadn’t even noticed the absence of meat until someone mentioned it in passing. A beautiful celebration of vegetables and wild foods. At Noma the chefs not only plate the food in the kitchen but also help to serve the food to the guests, such a simple brilliant concept, the chefs normally hidden behind closed doors get to experience the guests reaction to their food and Noma has simply one of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had. There are three Irish chefs in the kitchen, one of whom is a past student of the Ballymaloe Cookery School. Louise Bannon who did a 12 Week Certificate Course in 2002 bakes bread and does many of the delicious desserts. The bread was delicious, served warm in a little felt nest with the most incredibly delicious butter I have ever tasted in my entire life and that’s high praise coming from someone who makes butter virtually every day from our own Jersey cream.

When I enquired, another one of the young chefs came to the table to tell me all about it. It’s made by a Swedish couple who have just five goats. They stop the butter just when the cream is starting to split, drain and wash it and serve the curdled butter fat at that stage, completely delicious, I want to go and visit them.

Rene Redzepi had recently published his Noma Cookbook in English – a beautiful tome published by Phaidon.  The photograph’s are amazing and give you an idea of the presentation.  There are also several interviews with Rene on YouTube to whet your appetite.  Noma is really worth the trip to Copenhagen but there’s tons more, don’t miss Hermann in Tivoli, Manfred’s, Aamanns, Meyers Deli and great coffee in Coffee Collective.

 

 

Smoked Quail Eggs

From Noma – Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine – Rene Redzepi

 

10 quail eggs

20g hay

50g birchwood chips

200g water

100g rosehip vinegar

 

Hay to serve

 

Eggs

 

Blanch the eggs for one minute 30 seconds and cool them in ice water. Blanch them again for 50 seconds, cool and peel them. Take care not to break them – eggs cooked for such a short time are very soft and fragile. Finally smoke the eggs for around 20 minutes on a slotted gastro tray in a smoker by heating it slowly with hay and chips.

 

Pickle

 

Mix the water and vinegar, and pickle the eggs in a vacuum-bag for 10 minutes. Keep warm until you are ready to serve.

 

 

Serving

 

Cut the hay into short lengths and use it to fill the base of an oval serving dish. Make a small incision in the bottom of each egg and lay them on the hay. With a hand held food smoker burn hay into the serving dish and cover quickly, trapping the smoke in the dish.

 

 

Grilled Lamb Shank and Ramsons Leaves, Yellow Beetroot and Elderflowers

From Noma – Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine – Rene Redzepi

 

 

4 small lamb shanks

50g lamb glace (reduced lamb stock)

25g large ramsons (wild garlic) leaves

30 small yellow beetroots (beets)

350g large yellow beetroot (beet)

salt

apple balsamic vinegar

1 bunch elderflower blossom (optional)

60g elderflower cordial (syrup) available at the Ballymaloe Cookery School Shop

a little butter

lamb glace, to serve

 

Lamb Shank

 

Vacuum-pack the shanks with the lamb glace and ramsons (wild garlic leaves) and cook them at 63°C (145°F) for 24 hours.

 

Beetroot

 

Divide the beetroot into 2 groups by size. Cook the smaller group in water until tender and then peel. Peel the bigger group and slice finely on a mandolin. Keep in ice water for 10 minutes to crisp them, and then dry.

Sauce

Peel the beetroot, juice in a juicer and then reduce the juice to one third. Pour all the juices from the bags containing the cooked lamb shanks into a bowl and add a few tablespoons of the reduced beetroot juice. Season with salt and vinegar.

 

Garnish

 

Cut the flowers into smaller sprigs and keep refrigerated until serving.

 

Serving

 

Char-grill (charbroil) the lamb shanks and glaze in a few tablespoons of warm lamb glace. Place a portion of meat in the centre of each plate. Heat the cooked beetroot in a little butter and a few drops of cordial. Drop the raw beetroot into the rest of the cordial for a few seconds to sweeten. Add the raw and cooked beetroot to the plate; add the elderflowers and finally the sauce.

 

Potato Crisps with Anise and Chocolate

From Noma – Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine – Rene Redzepi

 

 

2 Bintje potatoes (Golden Wonders or any floury potato)

800ml grapeseed oil

 

400g couverture chocolate

20g powdered cocoa butter

4g green anise seeds

4g fennel seeds

 

Potatoes

 

Peel the potatoes and slice them finely into cold water. Leave the slices in the cold water until the starch has rinsed out and then pat dry. Heat the oil carefully in a deep fryer to approximately 170°C (340°F) and fry the potatoes until crisp. Cool on grease absorbent paper.

 

Covering and Serving

 

Melt the chocolate and the cocoa butter and bring to 50°C (120°F). Temper it to 27°C (80°F) and then increase the temperature back up to 30°C (85°F). Pull the potatoes through the tempered chocolate to cover them completely, and then cool on a tray. Sprinkle the anise and fennel seeds over the potatoes before they have cooked completely.

 

Hottips

 

The Herring Gull Restaurant at Inn by The Harbour in Ballycotton is open again after a short winter break for weekends only until April. Book a table with a view of the island and lighthouse and enjoy spanking fresh fish straight from the boats – try the Hot Buttered Oysters with Asparagus on Toast and the Roast Cod with Ballycotton Shrimp Risotto, really good! Phone 0214646768 to book.

 

Garden Workshop at Ballymaloe Cookery School – Creating a Soft Fruit Garden with Susan Turner on Monday 5^th March 9am to 2pm – lunch included. In this intensive course, Susan will guide you on the choice of fruit varieties, designing the fruit garden layout, looking at aspect spacing and plant training structures, as well as protection from birds and understanding the general principles behind pruning. Creating fans, cordons and bushes with gooseberries, red currants, white currants and jostaberries. Understanding the general principles behind pruning blackcurrant bushes, loganberries and tayberries. Propagation of soft fruit.

Phone 0214646785 to book.

From time to time we invite a chef whose food we admire and enjoy, to come to the school to teach a guest chef course.

Last weekend a Finnish chef who has been making waves in Co Clare for the past few years bounced into the school to share his skills, techniques and boundless enthusiasm for food.

Mickael Viljanen took over the kitchen at Gregans Castle on the edges of the Burren in 2007 and soon began to cause a stir.  In 2011 he was awarded Best Chef in Ireland by both Food & Wine Magazine and the RAI (Restaurant Association of Ireland). People travelled far and wide to taste his food often falling in love with Co Clare in the process.

Like all good chefs he is passionate about the quality of his raw materials, but he is also fascinated and intrigued by technology and the possibilities of the many new and gadgets that can extend his range of textures, flavours and the impact of his food.

The audience at his course was a mixture of keen amateurs, chefs and students, so Mickael chose a variety of dishes that could be cooked either by traditional or more avant-garde methods. He demonstrated the advantages of the sous vide technique. He cooked a crown of chicken in a vacuum pack in a water bath at 63º for two and half hours. This produced moist succulent chicken which he then seared off before serving to crisp and caramelise the sweet skin. This was served on a bed of lentils with Gubbeen pancetta and fresh tarragon.

Rosé veal cheeks were also cooked slowly for four hours and served with a quenelle of rich mashed potato, pickled herb stalks and puffed rice –a delicious combination.

To make the puffed grains we needed a dehydrator but could also have been done in a very low oven. They were then popped in hot oil to create long grain rice, spelt,  quinoa or wild rice crispies.  The contrast of flavours and textures was delicious and like many talented chefs, he teased the flavour out of inexpensive cuts of meat (order beef cheeks ahead from your butcher) and with long slow cooking transformed them into a triumph.

For several other dishes he added pinches of Trimoline, Methocel and Ultratex.  These products were totally unfamiliar with but after this course we can have fun experimenting. A siphon originally used to aerate cream can be used in a myriad of ways to add lightness to both sweet and savoury dishes.

Mickael oomphed up a Jerusalem artichoke soup with cepes (dried mushrooms) sabayon and some micro greens. Even a Bamix (stick blender) can be used to produce a cheffy foam and lots of bubbles and fizz.

We all know chefs who do lots of tricksy stuff on plates, but the end result doesn’t necessarily deliver on flavour but Mickael’s food certainly does.

Dinner at Gregans Castle is a special treat, one can choose 3 – 5 or 7 courses with lots of little extras thrown in but if you are in the area don’t miss the simple and delicious lunch food served in the bar also (you’ll need to book)

Here are a few of the recipes that Mickael wowed us with.

 

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

Mickael Viljanen Gregans Castle

 

Jerusalem artichokes have an affinity with thyme.

 

100g (3 1/2oz) butter

700g (1 1/2lb) Jerusalem artichokes, peeled, diced and vac-packed to prevent discolouring

150g (5oz) finely sliced shallots

3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 sprigs of thyme

150g (5oz) Riesling

1.5 kg (3lb 5 oz) white chicken stock

600g (11/4 lb) cream

salt and freshly ground white pepper

 

Soften the shallots in the butter.  Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the artichokes and sprigs of thyme and cook without discolouring for a further 4 minutes. Add the Riesling and reduce to a syrup, add the stock and simmer for 5 minutes.  Pour in the cream and cook until artichokes are fully softened, remove the thyme and purée in a blender.  Taste and correct the seasoning.

 

 

Pickled Herb Stems

100g of long herb stems eg: dill, fennel, chervil or even parsley (use the leaves for another use)

200ml (7floz) white wine vinegar

200g (7oz) castor sugar

salt

Mix the white wine vinegar with the sugar and salt. Vac pack the herb stems in 5 separate bags, add 2 – 3 tablespoons of pickle to each bag and vacuum on full pressure. Alternatively lay the herbs in a non-reactive dish overnight, cover with the pickle. Infuse for 24 hours.

A totally delicious way to use up herb stems – serve with roasts, stews, braises…

 

 

Roast Chicken, Lentils and Bacon Stew

Mickael Viljanen Gregans Castle

 

Serves 8

 

4 x 1.2 kg (2 1/2lb) chicken crowns (we used Dan Ahern’s chicken)

200g (7oz) butter and sunflower oil

4 sprigs of tarragon

4 sprigs of thyme

Maldon salt

freshly ground white pepper

 

To Serve

Lentil and Bacon Stew (see recipe)

 

Season the chicken inside out.  Place the chickens in individual vac-packs with 50g (2oz) of butter and a sprig of each herb and vac-pack on full pressure. Put in a 63°C/145°F water bath for 1 3/4 hours. Dan Ahern’s organic chicken which we used are larger so they took 2 ½ hours to poach (2 served 8 people.) Take out and cool to room temperature, remove from the bag. Brown the skin side of the chicken in oil until caramelised, carve and serve with Lentil and Bacon Stew.

 

Lentil and Bacon Stew

Mickael Viljanen Gregans Castle

 

Serves 10-12

 

500g (18oz) Puy lentils

100g (3 1/2oz) butter

8 shallots finely diced

250g (9oz) carrot cut into ¼ inch dice

250g (9oz) celeriac cut into ¼ inch dice

250g (9oz) celery cut into ¼ inch dice

2 sprigs of thyme

10 pieces dry cepes in muslin bag

300g (11oz) smoked Gubbeen bacon lardons

2.5 litres (4 1/2 pints) chicken stock

600g (11/4lb) cream reduced slowly to 300g (11oz)

salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoon tarragon, freshly chopped

 

Soak the lentils overnight, change the water and bring to a simmer. Rinse lentils again.  Melt the butter and sweat vegetables with the cepes and bacon. Add rinsed lentils and the chicken stock. Simmer until just cooked. Drain extra liquid if there is any left, remove the muslin bag. Stir in the reduced cream. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and cover for 10 minutes. Fold in freshly chopped tarragon and serve as desired.

 

 

Hazelnut Shortbread

Mickael Viljanen Gregans Castle

 

600g (1 1/4lb) flour

400g (14oz) salted butter

200g (7oz) icing sugar

seeds of 2 vanilla pods

 

Topping

toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped

grated orange zest

sprinkling Maldon Sea salt

 

To Serve

castor sugar

 

Preheat the oven to 140°C/275°F/Gas Mark1 fan oven

 

Put the flour, butter, icing sugar and vanilla pod seeds in a food processor. Whizz until it begins to clump together (alternatively mix in a bowl until the mixture forms a dough.)  Shape into a log. Roll out the mixture between two sheets of greaseproof paper to the thickness of a €1 coin. Transfer to a baking tray. Sprinkle the top with toasted finely chopped hazelnuts, grated orange zest and a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until light golden in colour. Once cooked cut into fingers whilst still warm. Sprinkle with castor sugar and serve.

 

 

Hot Chocolate Mousse

Mickael Viljanen Gregans Castle

I reckon it’s worth considering investing in a siphon bottle just to make this super quick chocolate mousse.

 

Serves 10

 

400g (14oz) dark chocolate (70%), finely chopped (Mickael used Opera  but you could use a less bitter chocolate if you prefer)

300g (11oz) egg white

300g (11oz) cream

 

Scald the cream and pour on to chocolate, mix with a hand blender. Add the egg whites and blitz until smooth. Put into siphon bottle – don’t fill more than ¾ – charge with C02 gas and keep at 45°C/113°F.

Serve in little glass pots with a little crème fresh, crystallised orange peel, frosted mint leaves, fresh raspberries…

 

Hottips

 

Gregans Castle re-opened on Friday 10^th February 2012 www.gregans.ie

 

Source some Trimoline, Methocel and Ultratex at Vanilla Ventures in Co Kildare, ask for Rocky  Or try MSK Food Ingredients for all these food products – www.msk-ingredients.com

 

Have fun drying banana, orange, beetroot, mushroom slices, we bought our dehydrator from Liam Lennon at Enhancing Health and Wellness – 01 4429958 – orders@juicers.ie – www.juicers.ie

 

If you want to oomph up your food Siphon bottles and CO2 gas capsules can be bought from catering suppliers or mail order from Nisbets www.nisbets.ie 021 4946777

 

One of my granddaughters celebrated her 10^th birthday recently; her most exciting birthday present was a one day fashion course for children to learn how to stitch, sew and dress make with Fashion Designer Mia O’Connell – how cool is that? www.dublinfashionclub.com

 

Never before or since does Valentine’s Day create so much excitement as when I was a boarder at the Dominican Convent in Wicklow in the 1960s. I can still feel the nail biting anticipation – would I get a Valentine card? The suspense was excruciating as we waited for the postman to arrive. There was so much at stake, it was incredibly important to one’s image and standing in the class – even one card would ’do the trick’ but some girls managed to get three or four. On one memorable occasion a ‘Dublin girl’ got a record six – talk about envy and jealousy. It kept us guessing and giggling for weeks trying to interpret cryptic messages. Was it from a ‘real’ boy or just your parents or a kindly aunt or uncle making sure you didn’t lose face – hope sprang eternal!

Well thank goodness to we have outlived and survived all that but every time I see a rack of Valentines cards it all comes flooding back and the sweetness of getting a card from a genuine secret admirer – bliss!

It’s still just as much fun to celebrate and giggle and little gestures and surprises are as potent as ever. Don’t fret if you find that your favourite restaurant has booked out well ahead. How about an early or slightly late celebration – just as much fun and you’ll get an even bigger welcome from the maître d’. Meanwhile you can plan and cook up a delicious Valentine’s Day dinner; maybe it’ll be a fancy feast with lots of bells and whistles or if you and your hubby have been jogging along for years how about their favourite comfort food. Maybe it’s rice pudding and or something bizarre like chocolate carrageen moss – in fact I know a chap who hankers after that even though it doesn’t do it for me!

My ultimate treat would be two dozen native Irish oysters with a glass of smooth Dungarvan or Eight Degrees Stout from Mitchelstown.

I also love guinea fowl for a treat, they have a mild gamey flavour and are delicious roast – one bird is ample for two hungry people and it marries perfectly with all of the winter vegetables. If you’d rather a substantial but inexpensive winter warmer try lamb shanks with butternut squash, chickpeas and spinach with couscous.

You’ll need a green salad before this delicious chocolate tart. It makes more than even two greedy people can eat but you can always continue celebrating and enjoy it again next day.

 

Two Dozen Oysters and a pint of Artisan Stout

 

 

What could be easier or more delicious than a couple of dozen freshly shucked oysters with Irish soda bread and a pint of creamy Irish artisan stout.

 

Serves 2

 

 

2 to 4 dozen native Irish oysters

Black Rock Dungarvan Stout or Eight Degrees Knockmerldown Porter

seaweed or sea salt

brown soda bread

 

 

It’s wise to protect your hand with a folded tea towel when opening oysters.  Wrap the tea towel round your hand, then set the deep shell on it with the wide end on the inside.   Grip the oyster firmly in your protected hand while you insert the tip of the knife into the hinge and twist to lever the two shells apart; you’ll need to exert quite a lot of pressure, so it’s foolhardy not to protect your hand well.   Then slide the blade of the knife under the top shell to detach the oyster from the shell. Discard the top shell, then loosen the oyster from the deep shell, flip over to reveal the plump side, don’t lose the precious briny juice.

 

Arrange on two plates on a bed of seaweed or sea salt.

 

Serve with segments of lemon, some brown soda bread and a couple of glasses of stout.

 

 

Aromatic Lamb Shanks with Butternut Squash, Chickpeas and Spinach

 

Serves 6

 

3 tablespoons olive oil

6 lamb shanks

2 medium onions sliced

2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1 teaspoon each of freshly ground coriander and fenugreek

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

450g (1lb) of ripe tomatoes peeled and chopped or 1 x 400g (14oz) tin of chopped tomatoes

salt and freshly ground pepper

1lt (1¾ pints) of lamb or chicken stock

1 butternut squash 2 ½ lbs – deseeded and cut into chunks 1 ½ inches

2 x 400g (14oz) tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

200g (7oz) spinach or sliced Swiss chard

lots of fresh coriander leaves

 

Accompaniment

 

couscous

natural yoghurt (optional)

 

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat; brown the lamb shanks on all sides. Transfer to a casserole, then add a little more oil and the chopped onions to the pan and toss and fry gently for a couple of minutes over a low heat until softened. Add the garlic and continue to cook for a minute or two. Stir in the tomato puree, freshly ground spices and chilli flakes, fry for two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, season with salt, freshly ground pepper and a pinch of sugar. Stir, add the hot stock, bring to the boil then pour over the lamb shanks in the casserole – it should almost cover the meat. Put a tight fitting lid on the casserole, transfer to a pre heated moderate oven 180°C/350°F/Mark 4. Continue to cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours until the lamb shanks are tender, add the squash cubes and return to the oven for 20 to 30 minutes until everything is cooked through. Remove the lamb shanks to a warm serving dish with a slotted spoon, taste the broth, reduce a little to concentrate the flavour if necessary. Add the chick peas to the casserole, bring back to the boil, add the spinach and allow it to wilt in the sauce, taste, correct the seasoning. Serve each lamb shank with lots of sauce and some couscous. Sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves and add a dollop of natural yoghurt to each helping if you wish.

 

 

Pan Roasted Guinea Fowl with Parsley Sauce

 

 

Many pheasant and chicken recipes work really well for guinea fowl, too. But if you want to really enjoy the mild gaminess, don’t mask it with an overpowering sauce. Try this delicious recipe, kindly given to me by Skye Gyngell when she came to teach at the cookery school.

 

Serves 6

 

6 guinea fowl supremes (whole breasts with a little bit of wing attached)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

a little light olive oil, for cooking

 

For the Parsley Sauce

150g (5oz) curly parsley, stems removed, plus extra for serving

500ml (18fl oz) double cream

freshly grated nutmeg

11⁄2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, or to taste

salt and freshly ground pepper

 

First make the parsley sauce. Put a pan of well-salted water on to boil (it should be as salty as the sea).

Plunge the parsley into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and refresh in iced water (to keep your parsley a beautiful, bright colour). Drain and set aside.

Pour the cream into a heavy-based pan and bring almost to the boil. Turn down the heat and leave it to bubble and reduce by about one-third, until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Add the blanched parsley and boil for a moment longer. Remove from the heat and purée in a blender until you have a beautiful fine texture.

Add a generous grating of nutmeg and the lemon zest, then season well with salt and a good grinding of pepper. Your sauce is now ready; keep it warm.

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas mark 7.

Season the guinea fowl generously with salt and freshly ground pepper all over. Place a heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat and heat until smoking. Pour in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Then brown the guinea fowl in batches by laying 2 supremes in the pan, skin-side down, and leaving to colour for 3 minutes (resist the temptation to play with them). Transfer the supremes to a baking tray (without turning them) and brown the rest of them in the same way.

Finish cooking the guinea fowl in the oven for 8 minutes, until the skin is crisp and crunchy and the breast meat is succulent, moist and cooked through. Leave to rest in a warm place for 5 minutes.

Arrange the guinea fowl supremes on warm plates, on a bed of swede purée if you like, and ladle the warm parsley sauce generously over the top. Scatter chopped parsley on top and serve.

 

Chocolate Valentine Tart

 

This tart is best made the night before if possible.

 

Sweet Pastry (line 1 x 9 1/2 tin)

 

175g (6ozs) plain flour

75g (3ozs) butter, cold and cubed

25g (1oz) castor sugar

15g (1/2 oz) icing sugar

1/2 large egg, beaten

 

In a food processor, pulse together the butter, sugar and flour to give coarse, ‘flat’ breadcrumb texture.   Add egg and pulse again until the pastry comes together.  Tip onto a sheet of cling film, form into a roll and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

 

To line tin

Roll the pastry between 2 sheets of Clingfilm.  Invert into the tin and mould into ring.  Cover with cling film and let rest in fridge for 30 minutes or freeze until needed.

 

To blind bake, preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4, remove cling film, line the pastry case with baking parchment and beans and bake for 20-25 mins approx. Remove from the oven and brush with egg wash. Return to the oven for 2-3 minutes further to dry off. The tart base should be fully cooked.  Let case cool, patch any cracks.

 

Filling

200g (7ozs) dark chocolate

150g (5ozs) butter

3 organic, free-range egg yolks

2 organic, free-range eggs

40g (1 1/2 ozs) castor sugar

 

Melt chocolate and butter together – either over a bain marie or carefully in a heat proof bowl in the oven.  With electric beaters, beat the eggs, yolks and sugar until pale and thick – about 5 minutes.  Fold in chocolate and beat briefly to amalgamate.  Pour into blind baked case and bake at 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5 for 6 minutes. It should still be slightly molten.  Cool completely and serve.

 

 

Chocolate Carrageen Moss Pudding

 

Serves 4-6

 

½ oz cleaned, well-dried carrageen moss (2 semi-closed fistfuls)

900ml (1 1⁄2 pints) whole milk

1 vanilla pod or 1⁄2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 tablespoons cocoa

1 organic egg

2 tablespoons caster sugar

 

To Serve

 

soft brown sugar and softly whipped cream or a compote of fruit in season

 

Soak the carrageen in a little bowl of tepid water for 10 minutes. It will swell and increase in size. Strain off the water and put the carrageen into a saucepan with the milk and the vanilla pod, if using. Bring to the boil and simmer very gently, covered, for 20 minutes. At that point and not before, separate the egg, put the yolk into a bowl, add the sugar and vanilla extract, if using, and whisk together for a few seconds, then pour the milk and carrageen moss through a strainer onto the egg yolk mixture, whisking all the time. By now the carrageen remaining in the strainer will be

swollen and exuding jelly. You need as much of this as possible through the strainer and whisk it into the egg and milk mixture. Blend cocoa with a little of the milk and add to the hot strained carrageen. Test for a set in a saucer as one would with gelatine.

Whisk the egg white stiffly and fold or fluff it in gently; it will rise to make a fluffy top. Serve chilled with caster sugar and cream.

 

 

Old Fashioned Rice Pudding

 

A creamy rice pudding is one of the greatest treats on a cold winter’s day. You need to use short-grain rice, which plumps up as it cooks. This is definitely a forgotten pudding and it’s unbelievable the reaction we get to it every time we make it at the Cookery School. It’s always the absolute favourite pudding at my evening courses.

 

Serves 6–8

 

100g (31⁄2oz) pearl rice (short-grain rice)

50g (2oz) sugar

small knob of butter

850ml (1 1/2 pints) milk

 

1 x 1. 2 litre (2 pint) capacity pie dish

 

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4.

 

Put the rice, sugar and butter into a pie dish. Bring the milk to the boil and pour over. Bake for 1–1 1/2 hours. The skin should be golden, the rice underneath should be cooked through and have soaked up the milk, but still be soft and creamy. Time it so that it’s ready just in time for pudding. If it has to wait in the oven for ages it will be dry and dull and you’ll wonder why you bothered.

 

Serve with softly whipped cream and soft brown sugar.

 

 

Hottips

 

Native and Gigas Oysters are available from K. O’Connells in the English Market. Meet the O’Connell brothers Pat and Paul at the Market who charmed the Queen of England when she visited their fish stall last year – www.koconnellfish.com

Gardening Courses at Ballymaloe Cookery School

Building a Willow Structure with Norbert Platz on Monday 20th February 2012, 9:00am to 2:00pm. On this intensive course you will learn how to harvest and prepare willows and the basic techniques needed to create a variety of willow structures in your own garden.

Compost Making and Soil Management with Susan Turner on Monday 19th March 2012, 9:00am to 2:00pm. Whether you are interested in making compost for a small garden, a small holding or larger, this course will teach you the most important aspects of how to tackle it correctly. Both courses cost €95.00 – lunch included. 021 4646785 – www.cookingisfun.ie

I’m so longing for some fresh tasting salad after weeks of comforting stews and braises – I of-course love those but I’m now ready for some light crunchy winter vegetables with clean zingy dressings. I know one normally associates Spring and Summer with salads but cold weather vegetables make great salads too – chicory, fennel, celery, kale, romanesco, carrot, parsnip and the humble cabbage, both red and green, I must have six or eight cabbage salads in my repertoire and no doubt I’ll add a few more – and I’m not even counting the ubiquitous coleslaw.

Celery is of course available year round but like many vegetables it become sweeter if it gets a touch of frost, I use the outside leaves for the stock pot and the inner leaves for soups, stews and risottos, the tender little yellow heart has a particularly subtle taste and are good in salads or as a delicate element on a plate of crudités with aioli.

The several types of radicchio, mostly named after towns near Venice, Treviso, Chioggia, Tardivo have a clean bitter sweet flavour, an acquired taste but so cleansing after winter.

Chicory another slightly bitter vegetable is great in winter salads and partners well with apples, walnuts, rocket, blue cheese and of course pears.

On a recent trip to Copenhagen, a Danish cook and friend Camilla Plum made this delicious kale salad with a dressing of cream and lemon juice, reminiscent of what my grandmother used to make. Kale the most nutritious of all the brassicas is now much more widely available and this is a particularly appetising way to serve it.

I’ll also include my ‘other’ daughter-in-law Penny’s recipe for cabbage salad. We made it here at the school recently and the students couldn’t get enough of it, an inexpensive, nutritious and totally delicious salad for the weekend.

 

Sweet Winter Slaw

Taken from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi published by Ebury Press

 

This salad will bring colour to your winter dinner table and liven up any meal. You can leave out the caramelized macadamias, if you like, or use roasted peanuts instead. Consider serving the slaw with Chard or roast chicken.

 

Serves 6

 

150g macadamia nuts

10g butter

2 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

½ tsp chilli flakes

7 inner leaves of Savoy cabbage (170g in total), finely shredded

½ red cabbage (270g), finely shredded

1 mango, cut into thin strips

1 papaya, cut into strips

1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

15g mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped

20g coriander, leaves picked and roughly chopped

 

Dressing

 

100ml lime juice

1 lemongrass stalk, chopped into small pieces

3 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp soy sauce

¼ tsp chilli flakes

4 tbsp light olive oil or sunflower oil

 

To make the dressing place all the ingredients, except the oil, in a small saucepan and reduce over a high heat for 5–10 minutes, or until thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat. Once cooled down, strain the sauce into a bowl and add the oil. Put aside for later. To caramelize the macadamias, place them in a frying pan and dry-roast for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are lightly coloured on all sides. Add the butter. When it has melted add the sugar, salt and chilli flakes. Use a wooden spoon to stir constantly to coat the nuts in the sugar as it caramelizes. Watch carefully as it will only take 1–2 minutes and the sugar can burn quickly. Turn out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Cool the nuts, then roughly chop them. Place the shredded cabbages in a large mixing bowl with the rest of the salad ingredients, including the nuts. Add the dressing and toss together. Taste and add more salt if you need to, then serve.

 

Curly Kale Salad with Lemon and Cream

 

This is reminiscent of my grandmother’s dressing for lettuce, sounds a bit shocking but you are not going to eat the whole bowl yourself. Half natural yoghurt could be substituted for full cream.

 

Serves 10 – 12

 

450g (1lb) curly kale (225g (8oz) when destalked

lemon, finely grated zest and juice of one lemon

25g (1oz/1/8 cup) sugar

250ml (9oz) cream

Sea salt – scant teaspoon or to taste

 

Strip the kale off the stalks, chop the leaves very finely and toss into a bowl. Grate the zest of the lemon directly onto the salad. Add the freshly squeezed juice, a good sprinkling of sugar and some sea salt. Toss, pour over the cream and toss again.

Taste and add a little more seasoning if necessary – totally delicious.

 

Penny’s Cabbage Salad

 

This delicious recipe was given to me by my daughter-in-law Penny.

 

Serves 4

 

1/2 Savoy cabbage, finely shredded

1 fennel bulb (optional), finely shredded

2-4 tablespoons fresh herbs – parsley, chives, mint, finely chopped

 

Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons Forum vinegar

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 heaped teaspoon grain mustard

1 large clove of garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon honey

Maldon Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

To make the salad.

Thinly slice the cabbage and fennel bulb is using.  Transfer to a roomy serving bowl and add the freshly chopped herbs and toss.

 

To make the vinaigrette.

Mix all the ingredients together in a jam jar and shake well before use.

 

To Serve

Drizzle the vinaigrette over the cabbage, fennel and herbs and mix gently.  Serve immediately.

 

 

Bittersweet Salad

Taken from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi published by Ebury Press

 

I don’t usually celebrate Valentine’s Day. This is due to cowardly cynicism, combined with a firm belief that you cannot just create a momentous intimate occasion, especially when millions of other couples are trying to do exactly the same. It just feels a bit claustrophobic. But if you twisted my arm and forced me to, I guess I would choose this salad to celebrate the day, representing the more realistic flavours of love: bitter and sweet. The theme here is red. For this salad I’d go out of my way to find an exciting combination of red leaves and herbs. I love the long, twisted red leaves of some varieties of radicchio di Treviso. Red orach, purple basil, red amaranth and bull’s blood (red) chard are also stunning leaves. Some tiny sprouting varieties, such as radish or purple basil, will also add character.

 

Serves 2 (of course)

 

2 blood oranges (or plain oranges)

blood orange juice as needed

20ml lemon juice

60ml maple syrup

½ tsp orange blossom water

½ small radicchio

1 small red endive (red chicory), leaves

separated

1 tbsp olive oil

handful of small red leaves

150g good-quality ricotta

20g pine nuts, toasted

100g pomegranate seeds (1 small pomegranate)

coarse sea salt and black pepper

 

Start by making the orange syrup. Take each of the blood oranges in turn and use a small sharp knife to slice off the top and base. Now cut down the side of the orange, following its natural curve, to remove the skin and white pith. Over a small bowl, cut in between the membranes to remove the individual segments into the bowl. Squeeze all the juice from the membrane and skin into a small saucepan. Make up the juice in the pan to 110ml with extra blood orange juice. Add the lemon juice, maple syrup and a pinch of salt and bring to a light simmer. Leave to reduce for 20–25 minutes, or until you are left with about 3 tablespoons of thick syrup. Strain it through a fine sieve and allow to cool down, then stir in the orange blossom water. Pull apart
the radicchio leaves and tear them roughly into large pieces. Put into a mixing bowl. Add the endive leaves, oil and some salt and pepper, and toss gently. Divide the salad leaves between two serving plates. Dot with the orange segments, small red leaves and spoonfuls of ricotta, building the salad up. Drizzle with the orange syrup and finish with pine nuts and pomegranate seeds.

 

 

Celeriac and Lentils with Hazelnut and Mint

Taken from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi published by Ebury Press

 

Celeriac is probably my favourite root. It is delicate, yet very nutty, and has an elegant oily smoothness. Like all good vegetables, it is marvellous simply with a bit of olive oil. Here it works with the lentils and nuts to create a hearty autumn main course. Serve it warm, with a radish, cucumber and dill salad dressed with soured cream and olive oil. Or, allow it to cool down, then take it to work for lunch or on a picnic.

 

Serves 4

 

60g whole hazelnuts (skin on)

200g Puy lentils

700ml water

2 bay leaves

4 thyme sprigs

1 small celeriac (650g), peeled and cut into 1cm chips

4 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp hazelnut oil

3 tbsp good-quality red wine vinegar

4 tbsp chopped mint

salt and black pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 140°C/Gas Mark 1. Scatter the hazelnuts on a small baking sheet and roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Let them cool down, then chop roughly. Combine the lentils, water, bay leaves and thyme in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15–20 minutes, or until al dente. Drain in a sieve.

Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, cook the celeriac in plenty of boiling salted water for 8–12 minutes, or until just tender. Drain. In a large bowl mix the hot lentils (if they have cooled down they won’t soak up all the flavours) with the olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the hazelnut oil, the vinegar, some black pepper and plenty of salt. Add the celeriac and stir well. Taste and adjust the seasoning. To serve straight away, stir in half the mint and half the hazelnuts. Pile onto a serving dish or in a bowl and drizzle the remaining hazelnut oil on top. Garnish with the rest of the mint and hazelnuts. To serve cold, wait for the lentils and celeriac to cool down before finally adjusting the seasoning and possibly adding some more vinegar, if you like. Add hazelnut oil, mint and nuts in the same way as when serving hot.

 

Pheasant, Radicchio, Chestnut, Chicory and Pomegranate Salad

 

Serves 6

 

1 pheasant freshly roasted

sprig of thyme

½ oz (10g) butter

chestnuts

½ pomegranate

I head of chicory

½ to 1 head of radicchio

1 bunch watercress

 

Dressing

 

1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses

5 – 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon honey

Salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Mark 6. Tuck a sprig of thyme into the cavity of the pheasant and slather the breast and legs of the bird with butter. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast for 35 minutes in the preheated oven add the quartered chestnut to the roasting tin, toss in the juices and allow to rest for a further 10 minutes.

Meanwhile remove the pomegranate seeds and save. Slice the radicchio and put into a large bowl. Add the sliced chicory and watercress sprigs. Next make the dressing, mix the pomegranate molasses or white wine vinegar, honey and extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, whisk to emulsify. Carve the pheasant, divide the breast into 3 or 4 pieces, and separate the drum stick from the thigh. Put back into the roasting tin and toss gently in the cooking juices with the chestnuts.

 

To Serve

 

Shake the dressing once again, sprinkle over the salad, toss gently and turn out on a serving platter, distribute the pheasant and chestnuts over the top, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and serve as soon as possible, best while the pheasant is still warm.

 

“Oh bliss – you’ve got the first of the new seasons Seville orange marmalade already” chirps one of our lovely customers clutching a jar of traditional Seville orange in one hand and ginger marmalade in the other. “Life is far too short to make my own, have you made any with whiskey or treacle? – my gran used to add those at the end.”

I, on the other hand love making marmalade, I find the chopping, juicing and slicing deliciously relaxing and then there’s the anticipation – somehow each batch is slightly different, it’s definitely a ‘high stool job’, turn on the radio – an afternoon play, Woman’s hour or something soothing and ethereal from Lyric FM.

And, lest there be any misunderstanding, marmalade making is not just a woman’s preserve, several men of my acquaintance hold very strong views on how to make the best marmalade. Having said that, there is indeed quite a revival in homemade marmalade making, I have only just heard about the UK Marmalade Awards on 25^th and 26^th February. Apparently this is the 7^th year in a row and there are a variety of categories including Novice, International, Heritage and this years Mystery category – marmalade made for the Monarch to celebrate the Jubilee year. All over the UK there is a frenzy of marmalade making in preparation for the event held at Dalemain Mansion in Cumbria. Last year they had over 1,100 entries from as far afield as Australia and the Virgin Islands and this year already they’ve received jars of glistening marmalade from Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines and Alaska – how fun is that.

There will also be a Marmalade Concert, a Marmalade Church Service and an array of activities with a citrus twist – the mind boggles!

One can make marmalade all year round from a variety of citrus fruit; however the ‘proper’ oranges for authentic marmalade are the bitter sweet oranges from Seville and Malaga that are in season for just a few short weeks at this time of the year.

They are in the shops and Farmers Markets at present – I buy organic fruit from Caitriona Daunt who has a stall both at Mahon Point and Midleton Farmers Markets and can be contacted at 086 3623918.

It’s too late this year but how about launch the Irish Artisan Marmalade Awards next year!

Meanwhile here are 10 tips to help you to make a mighty pot of marmalade.

 

1. Choose perfect citrus fruit, preferably organic and give them a good scrub in warm water.
2. Choose a wide shallow stainless steel saucepan or preserving pan
3. The pectin is in the pith and pips, tie them both into a little muslin bag, soak overnight with peel.
4. Next cook the peel with the bag of pips until the liquid has reduced by between 1/3 and ½ the original volume. Check that the peel is really soft. The sugar has a hardening effect if added before the peel is tender. (No amount of boiling will soften it later)
5. Heat the granulated sugar in a bowl in the oven 180°C/350°F/Mark 4 for 15 – 20 minutes. Hot sugar dissolves faster and the result is a more aromatic marmalade.
6. Stir well until all sugar is dissolved, then boil, uncovered on a high heat until setting point is reached. Stir regularly.
7. Sterilize the jars and lids in an oven 180°C/350°F/Mark 4 for approximately 10 minutes.
8. Chill a plate in the fridge to test for a set, put a spoonful of marmalade on the cold saucer, cool for a few seconds – press with your index finger. If it wrinkles even slightly, it will set.
9. Turn off the heat, skim of any scum that rises to the top and discard. Leave the marmalade to cool for 8 – 10 minutes in the saucepan before potting otherwise the peel may float to the top of the pot.
10. Fill into the sterilized jars, cover each pot with a disc of wax paper (waxed side down), cover and seal immediately.

 

Alicia’s Chorizo con Marmalada de Sevilla

 

Makes 36

 

When Alicia Rios came to the school to teach a Tapas course with me she created this unlikely but delicious tapa using our Seville orange marmalade – perfect for easy entertaining – your guests will need paper napkins!

 

225g (8ozs) Chorizo sausage

110g (4ozs) Seville orange marmalade (see recipe)

 

Chop the peel in the marmalade into shorter chunks. Cut the chorizo into slices, top each slice with a little Seville orange marmalade.

 

Serve as is or on little rounds of bread.

 

Traditional Seville Orange Marmalade

 

Seville and Malaga oranges come into the shops after Christmas and are around for 4-5 weeks.

 

Makes approx. 7 lbs (3.2kg)

 

2 lbs (900g) Seville oranges

4 pints (2.3L) water

1 lemon

4 lbs (1.8kg) granulated sugar

 

Wash the fruit, cut in half and squeeze out the juice. Remove the membrane with a spoon, put with the pips and tie them in a piece of muslin. Slice the peel finely or coarsely, depending on how you like your marmalade. Put the peel, orange and lemon juice, bag of pips and water into a non-reactive bowl or saucepan overnight.

 

Next day, bring everything to the boil and simmer gently for about 2 hours until the peel is really soft and the liquid is reduced by half. Squeeze all the liquid from the bag of pips and remove it.

 

Add the warmed sugar and stir until all the sugar has been dissolved. Increase the heat and bring to a full rolling boil rapidly until setting point is reached 5-10 minutes approx. Test for a set, either with a sugar thermometer (it should register 220F), or with a saucer. Put a little marmalade on a cold saucer and cool for a few minutes. If it wrinkles when you push it with your finger, it’s done.

 

Allow marmalade to sit in the saucepan for 15 minutes before bottling to prevent the peel from floating. Pot into hot sterilized jars. Cover immediately and store in a cool dry dark place.

 

N.B. The peel must be absolutely soft before the sugar is added, otherwise when the sugar is added it will become very hard and no amount of boiling will soften it.

 

Irish Whiskey Marmalade

 

Add 6 tablespoons) of Irish whiskey to the cooking marmalade just before potting.

 

Dark Seville Orange Marmalade

 

Add 2 tablespoons of treacle to the marmalade just before potting up.

 

 

Lemon Marmalade

 

6 – 8 pots

 

1kg (2.4lb) un-waxed lemons

2kgs (4.5lb) granulated sugar

 

Scrub the skin of the lemons in warm water with a soft brush. Put into a deep stainless steel saucepan with 2.5 litres of water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 2 hours and then remove and continue to cook until the lemons are soft and tender and the liquid is reduced to 1.5 litres.

Remove the lemons and allow to cool. Heat the sugar in a moderate oven 180°C/350°F/Mark 4 for 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the lemons in half, save the pips and tie with the soft membrane in a little muslin bag. Slice the peel and put into a stainless steel saucepan with all the juice, liquid and the bag of pips. Put back on the heat, bring to the boil and cook to a setting point. Test for a set in the usual way.

 

Allow to cool in the saucepan for 15 minutes. Pot into sterilised jars, cool and store in a dark dry cupboard.

 

Ginger Marmalade

 

5 large Seville oranges (1kg)

3 litres (5 pints) water

1.5kg (3lbs) Bramley cooking apples

2.7kg (6lbs) sugar

1 – 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

50g (2oz) chopped crystallised ginger, optional

 

Cut the orange in half around the equator, squeeze the juice and put in a large stainless steel saucepan, save the pips. Remove the membrane from the oranges, tie the pips and membrane into a little muslin bag, add to the juice. Slice the peel thinly and add with the water to the pips and juice. Leave overnight. Next day bring to the boil, cover and cook until the peel is almost tender, remove lid and reduce liquid until between 1/3 and ½ of the original volume.

Meanwhile, peel, core and chop the apples and cook with 4 tablespoons of water on a low heat until soft and pulpy, add the grated ginger when the peel is soft and the liquid reduced, add the apple and ginger mixture and the warm sugar. Bring back to the boil for 10 minutes approximately – stir in chopped crystallised ginger allow to cook for a further10 minutes until it reaches setting point. Pour into sterilized jars. Cover immediately – cook and store in a cool dry cupboard.

 

 

Seville Orange  Marmalade Tart

 

Serves 8

 

8ozs (225g) plain flour

pinch salt

5ozs (140g) butter

2 teaspoons castor sugar

1 egg yolk

 

Filling;

 

4ozs (110g) butter

4ozs (110g) castor sugar

2ozs (55g) ground almonds

1 large egg, beaten

4 tablespoons Seville orange marmalade

 

 

Set the oven to 200C (400F/regulo 6)

Sieve the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and rub in butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Stir in the sugar; beat the egg yolk with 2 teaspoons of cold water.  Use to bind the pastry, adding a little more water if necessary to form a soft but not sticky dough.  Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes.    Roll out on a lightly floured surface and use to line an 8 inch (20.5cm) loose bottomed, fluted flan ring.   Prick the base lightly with a fork, cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper.  Fill with baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and discard the paper and beans.

Meanwhile prepare the filling.  Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy, then beat in the ground almonds and egg.  Warm and then sieve the marmalade.  Reserve the liquid, stir rind into mixture and beat well until thoroughly mixed.

Turn the prepared filling into the pastry case.  Smooth over the top.   Reduce the oven temperature to 180C (350F/regulo 4) and bake the flan for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Glaze with reserved marmalade.   This tart is delicious hot or cold.  Serve with softly whipped cream.

 

Hottips

 

Prospective bloggers or food writers shouldn’t miss Hugo Arnold’s one day Food Writing Course at Ballymaloe Cookery School on Saturday 25th February. Hugo has published eleven cookery books and regularly contributes to several newspapers and magazines; there will also be practical advice and tips on how to get published. Phone 021 4646785 to book

 

The first national “Foodie Forum” will be held at GMIT (Galway Mayo Institute of Technology) on Thursday 2 February. Open both to the public and industry colleagues, visit http://tiny.cc/foodieforum for more information.

 

Check out Sheridans Cheese Mongers January sale in Dublin, Galway and Waterford – 50% off a selection of Munster, Pont l’Eveque, Camembert, Reblochon and Mont d’Or – www.sheridanscheesemongers.com

The Chinese are gearing up to celebrate their most important annual festival – Chinese New Year. This year it falls on Monday 23^rd January which heralds 15 days of celebration and the beginning of the Year of the Dragon. The Dragon is the fifth sign of the Chinese zodiac – a creature of myth and legend – the ultimate auspicious symbol signifying happiness and success.

For the Chinese, it’s the most prestigious event of the year and involves lots of fun, exciting preparations, colourful traditions and even taboos. Homes, offices and trees are garlanded with red lanterns and beautiful and exotic paper decorations. Doorways are pasted with New Year paintings and couplets to greet visitors. All the symbols have a meaning; the colour red is associated with happiness and good fortune in Chinese culture.

In South China a kumquat tree rather than a poinsettia is the plant of choice for the New Year symbolising an abundance of wealth and good luck.

 

On New Years Eve the house is thoroughly cleaned – “sweeping out the dust bids farewell to the past and ushers in the New Year.” Families get together to feast and celebrate. Each day has a different tradition, children are given ‘lucky money’ in little red envelopes by their parents and grandparents. There are lots of fireworks to celebrate the ringing in of the New Year and then there is the New Years Feast.

Most families start their preparations by buying lots of delicacies such as dried mushrooms, abalone, sharks fin, silver ears, birds’ nests, cured sausages, duck and a large selection of dried vegetables – anything for a special treat.

Southern Chinese eat Niangao – a cake made with glutinous rice flour piled higher and higher each year for good luck and prosperity in business.

In Northern China the traditional dish for the feast is Jiaozi or dumplings shaped like crescent moons. Legend has it that the more dumplings you eat during the New Year celebrations the more money you make in the coming year. Favourite fillings are pork, shrimps, minced chicken, beef and vegetables – they can be boiled, steamed, fried or baked.

The favourite Cantonese dim-sum Spring rolls are another element of the Chinese New Year Celebration – everyone loves them.

This gives me the excuse to share some recipes from lovely Ching-he Huang’s book China Modern published by Kyle Cathie whom some of you may already know and love from her appearances on UKTV Food, Saturday Kitchen and Saturday Cooks.

So let’s celebrate with the Chinese and incorporate some of the elements into our menu this week

 

 

Steamed Pork and Prawn Siu Mai Dumplings

Taken from China Modern by Ching-He Huang published by Kyle Cathie

 

Serves 4/makes 16

 

For the filling

 

200g (7oz) pork

200g (7oz) fresh raw prawns, shelled, deveined and finely chopped

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons cornflour

Pinch of salt and black pepper

16 wonton wrappers (available in Chinese shops)

 

For the Vinegar Soy Dressing

 

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar (Chinese black rice vinegar is best)

1 teaspoon finely chopped coriander

1 teaspoon chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

 

Siu Mai dumplings are pork and prawn bites enclosed in a wonton wrapper and served in a bamboo basket. These open wrapped parcels of deliciousness are a ‘dimsum’ favourite and very healthy too as they are steamed. I first tried dim-sum in Hong Kong when I was about 13. My father took my me and my brother on trip to visit my aunt.

Put all the filling ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Take two teaspoons of the filling and place it in the centre of a wonton wrapper. Gather up the sides of the wrapper and mould around the filling in a ball shape, leaving the centre open. Make all the dumplings in this way. Oil the bottom of a bamboo steamer. Fill a wok or pan with boiling water to a depth that will not submerge the base of the steamer. Place the steamer in the wok and steam for about 6 – 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the dressing by mixing together all the ingredients. When the dumplings are cooked, serve with the dressing, or you could dip them in sweet chilli dipping sauce,

 

Duck, Ginger And Peanut Spring Rolls With Ginger Dipping Sauce

From Cook At Home With Peter Gordon

 

 

Makes 12-15

 

 

2 large duck legs, approx. 500-600g (18-20oz)

2 teasp. salt

2 ‘thumbs’ of ginger, peeled and finely minced

100g (3½oz) roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

1 cup coriander leaves

8 spring onions, finely sliced

10 x 15cm (6in) square, spring wrappers

1 egg, beaten, to seal the wrappers

300ml (10fl.oz) soy sauce

50ml (2 fl.oz) cider vinegar

50ml (2 fl.oz) light honey

 

 

Put the duck legs into a saucepan, cover them with cold water, add the salt, bring to the boil and simmer rapidly for 60 minutes.  Remove from the heat and leave the meat to cool in the liquid.  Remove and discard the skin, then take the flesh off the bones and shred it finely.   Mix it with half the ginger, all of the peanuts, the coriander and spring onions then taste for seasoning.  Separate the spring roll wrappers, then stack them on top of each other to prevent them drying out.   (They separate best at room temperature.) Have them in front of you in the shape of a diamond.  Brush the egg-wash along the corner furthest away from you, then place a heaped tablespoon or so of duck mixture, shaped into a fat sausage, running left to right in the centre.  Roll the edge closest to you tightly over the filling, then fold each side (left and right) over it, overlapping slightly.  Roll it away from you towards the egg-wash until you have a firm, sealed spring roll.   Place it on a tray lined with clingfilm.  Continue until you have used all the mixture.

Make the ginger dipping sauce: put the remaining ginger, the soy, vinegar and honey into a saucepan.  Simmer to reduce by half, then strain.

Deep-fry the rolls in oil at 180C, 6-8 at a time, until golden.

 

 

Chinese Egg Custard Tarts (Dan-ta)

Taken from China Modern by Ching-He Huang published by Kyle Cathie

 

Makes 12

 

200g (7oz) read-made sweet pastry

Butter for greasing

 

For the filling

2 small eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten

75g (3oz) caster sugar

375ml (13 fl oz) evaporated milk

 

“Crumbly pastry with a yummy not-so-sweet set egg custard in the middle. I have my mother to thank for this lovely recipe. An egg tart was sometimes my after school treat – delicious straight out of the oven, washed down with a glass of cold soya milk. You often find these little delights in dim-sum restaurants too and they can be make with puff pastry (equally tasty) Dan-ta resemble the Portuguese tarts (pasties de nata) and it may have been Portuguese travellers who introduced this recipe to the Orient, for they sailed the South China Seas and landed in Taiwan – my birth country – in the late 18^th century, calling it Ilha Formosa, meaning ‘beautiful island’”

 

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Mark 6 and lightly grease a 12-hole tart pan with some butter. Roll out the pastry on a board to about 3mm thick. Cut out 12 circles using a 7cm round cutter and line the tart holes with pastry circles. Put the filling ingredients in a small bowl and beat lightly until smooth. Pour the filling into the pastry-lined tart pans but leaving 6mm at the top. Bake the tarts for about 10 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 180°C/350°F/Mark 4. Bake for a further 10-15 minutes until the custard has set. Test by inserting a small toothpick – it should come out clean. These can be served cold, but are much nicer warm.

 

Almond and Kumquat Tartlets

 

Makes 45 approx.

 

2 ozs (50g) butter (softened)

2 ozs (50g) caster sugar

2 ozs (50g) ground almonds

 

4ozs (110g) kumquats

sugar syrup (made by boiling equal quantities of sugar and water together for just two minutes)

 

tiny tartlet tins

 

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

Cream the butter, stir in the castor sugar and ground almonds – stop as soon as the ingredients are mixed.  Put a half teaspoon of the mixture into each tartlet tin and bake for 6-7 minutes approx. or until golden.

Allow to sit in the tins for a minute or two before lifting out onto a wire rack with a knife to cool.

Meanwhile, slice the kumquats into circles, put into a small stainless steel saucepan, cover with the sugar syrup and poach for 8-10 minutes or until just tender, allow to get cold.

To assemble:

Not long before serving, arrange the tartlets on a pretty plate; use a gold d’oyley if you can get one. Top each tartlet with a piece of kumquat, and if you fancy, pipe a little of rosette of cream on top and decorate with a tiny mint leaf.

 

 

 

Lime and Ginger Lemonade

 

Makes 8-10

 

4 fl ozs (110ml) freshly squeezed lemon and/or lime juice

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated

6 ozs (175g) sugar

3/4 pint (450ml) water

 

Put the sugar, water and ginger   into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Let the syrup boil for 30 seconds. Allow to completely cool. Add the lime juice. Transfer the base lemonade to a jar or bottle, cover and chill thoroughly.

Serve with ice cubes and dilute with water to taste.

 

Hottips

 

Learn to cook really delicious, balanced gluten free meals and a few treats too for Coeliacs at the half day cookery course – Gluten Free Cooking with Rosemary Kearney Part 1 at Ballymaloe Cookery School on Saturday 28th January, 2.00pm to 5pm – 021 4646785.

 

Lettercollum in Timoleague are running a series of cooking courses that are designed to help people to eat more healthy food and also for those with food intolerences.

Saturday 18^th February - Winter Warmers – soups, stews and casseroles and winter salads.

Saturday 25^th February – Gluten-free Cooking

Saturday 10^th March  Low GI Cooking – 353-(0)23-8836938 E info@lettercollum.ie – www.lettercollum.ie

 

You can buy spring roll wrappers at Mr Bells at the English Market in Cork city or at the Chinese Shop on the Coal Quay.

 

After Christmas I’ve got a whole stack of cook books with lots of tantalizing recipes to try– so much talent out there. I thought I’d share a list of some of my favourite titles so if you have squirreled away a couple of book tokens you might be tempted to add one or two of these to your collection.

Those of you who follow my ‘What’s hot in London’ list will know that I’m a big fan of Jacob Kennedy’s chef owner of Bocca di Lupo on Archer Street in Soho and Gelupo the gelateria and delicatessen across the street. Both are always packed – you’ll find him at the stove there several times a week so I’m not sure how he found time to write his Bocca cookbook – but definitely it’s a gem. Flicking through there are over 20 recipes I’m longing to try.

Maria Elia is another name to watch, her new book Full of Flavour is an eagerly awaited follow up to her best selling debut The Modern Vegetarian. The concept is intriguing, here she takes eighteen of her favourite ingredients and shows us how to tweak them – to create over a hundred different delicious recipes – a rare insight into the way a talented chef’s mind works to create the perfect balance of flavours and textures.

Elia is no lightweight, she has wanted to be a chef since she was four and has worked in the kitchens of Ferran Adria at El Bulli and Elena Arzack in San Sebastian. She was head chef at Delfina’s in London and the Whitechapel Gallery and is now executive

chef at Joe’s in South Kensington. She does regular TV and was voted one of the top 10 female chefs by The Independent.

Leon – Baking and Puddings is another cracker, co-written by one of my favourite bakers in the world Claire Ptak. Leon was founded on the belief that food should taste good and do you good – how brilliant is that. The design is bright, witty and fun and best of all the food doesn’t look intimidatingly perfect, but boy does it taste delicious. Claire and her co-author Henry Dimbleby hope this book finds a permanent place in our kitchens and becomes battered, splattered, tacky with toffee and dog-eared through use – mine already is. Other favourites are the Momofuko Cook Book, Rick Stein’s Spain and Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson, possibly the best bread book I have come across in the last year.

 

Blood Orange, Red Onion and Oregano Salad

 

Serves 4 as a starter or side

6 small, very dark blood oranges or 4 medium ones

½ small red onion

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon picked oregano leaves

Cut the skin and pith from the oranges, then slice them across into 5mm (¼ inch) pinwheel rounds. Slice the onion very thinly across the grain, and soak for 5 minutes in iced water to crisp it and render it a touch milder. Arrange the orange slices flat on a plate and scatter with the drained red onion. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with the oil and dot the oregano leaves on top.

Variation

:

Oranges with Pecorino

: In Sicily this salad is sometimes served with a few slices of peppercorn Pecorino as a starter or a side dish, the cheese best if fresh or medium, rather than very mature.

Oranges with Bottarga

: Scatter the salad with 60-80 g very thinly sliced mullet bottarga for a refined and luxurious antipasto

Bocca Cookbook by Jacob Kennedy

Cosy Lamb Meatballs with Peas and Tomato Sauce

 

Serves 4

For the Meatballs

500 g (18 oz) lamb mince

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp turmeric

flour, for dusting

4 tablespoons olive oil

For the Pea and Tomato Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 x 400 g plum tomatoes, crushed

pinch of sugar

1 chicken stock cube

100 g frozen petit pois

1 tablespoon dried dill

Sea salt

½ bunch mint, finely chopped

To make the meatballs, simply mix all the ingredients except the flour and oil together and form into balls. Dust the balls in flour. Heat half the oil in a frying pan and add the meatballs. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Cook until the meatballs are medium-rare in the centre (about 3 minutes, depending on the size). Then set aside and repeat with the remaining oil and meatballs.

For the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan and gently cook the onion and garlic until softened. Add the tomato puree and cinnamon and cook for a couple of minutes more. Add the tomatoes and sugar and crumble in the stock. Bring to the boil, and then simmer for 5 minutes. Add the peas and dill along with 200 ml (7 fl oz) water and cook for 15 minutes on a low heat. Add the meatballs and cook for a further 15 minutes, adding a little boiling water if the sauce is a little thick. Season with sea salt, stir in the mint and serve with mashed potatoes.

Variations

:

Serve with flatbread and sprinkle with crumbled feta

For an Asian twist, swap the meatball spices for ground ginger, cumin, coriander, pinch of chilli flakes and turmeric. Omit the cinnamon and the dried dill from the sauce and add some freshly chopped ginger, then finish with chopped coriander and lemongrass.

Full of Flavour by Maria Elia

 

St Clement’s Pudding

 

Serves 4-6

1 clementine

1 vanilla pod

140 g (4½ oz) unsalted butter

125 g (4½ oz) caster sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

200 g (7 oz) plain flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

100-150 ml (3½-5 fl oz) milk

For the Syrup

Zest and juice of 2 clementines

200 g (7 oz) caster sugar

150 ml (5 fl oz) water

Double cream, to serve

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/gas mark 3. Butter a medium sized pudding basin. Grate the zest from the clementine and scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod. Set the zested clementine and seeded vanilla pod aside for later.

Cream the butter, sugar, clementine zest and vanilla seeds until light and fluffy, then gradually add the beaten eggs. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold in thoroughly. Add the milk and set aside.

To make the syrup, put the clementine juice and zest into a small pan with the sugar, water and the vanilla pod. Heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil and simmer until the mixture has reduced to a syrup. Cut the zested clementine in half and place in the pudding basin with the cut sides down. Pour over three quarters of the syrup, reserving the rest for later. Spoon in the sponge mix and place a round of baking paper on top, then cover the basin with a second larger piece of baking paper (with a generous pleat in the middle) and secure with an elastic band or string. Put the basin into a deep roasting tin and pour enough hot water into the tin to come halfway up the sides of the basin. Steam for 2 hours, or until well risen and firm to the touch (remember to keep the water topped up). Turn out on to a large serving dish deep enough to catch the syrup and pour the last of the syrup over the top. Server with double cream

 

Leon – Baking and Puddings by Claire Ptak and Henry Dimbleby

 

Hot Tips

Seed Catalogues

The Organic Centre in Rossinver, Co Leitrim 2012 Course Programme and Seed Catalogue is packed with interesting courses to do this year – to get a copy phone

071 9854338 – info@theorganiccentre.ie – www.theorganiccentre.ie

Irish Seed Savers at Capparoe, Scarriff, Co Clare have some excellent workshop series scheduled this year, Fruit Grower Series, Herbalist Series, Brewers and Fermenters Series, Wild Food Foragers Series… Contact them on 061 921866 / info@irishseedsavers.ie / http://irishseedsavers.ie/index.php

Madeline McKeever winner of the recent West Cork Belling Artisan Food Awards has a range of over twelve hundred heirloom seeds in her Brown Envelope Seed Catalogue and while you’re at it pick up one of her 2012 calendars beautifully illustrated by Sonia Caldwell.

Farmers Markets

Mahon Point and Douglas Farmers Markets are back in full swing every Thursday and Saturday respectively after the Christmas Break – www.mahonpointfarmersmarket.com

Midleton Farmers is open again today – Arun Kapil of Green Saffron Spices is doing a free cookery demonstration at 11am at the Community Stall – www.midletonfarmersmarket.com

New Seasons Olive Oil

– We have just got a delivery of the first of the New Seasons Tuscan olive oil, Capezzana, Fontodi and Selvapiana extra virgin olive oil ‘to die for’ – the ultimate present for a foodie friend – Ballymaloe Cookery School Shop – 021 4646785.

This Christmas our Christmas present to all our extended family and many of our friends was ‘food from the farm’, a roll of homemade Jersey butter, a jam jar full of thick unctuous yoghurt with a nice layer of cream on top, a chunk of cheese, a bottle of elderflower cordial, a dozen or more freshly laid organic eggs, maybe a few sprouts, a big bunch of kale and some traditional home cured pork. Not a whiff of Joe Malone (delish as it is) or Chanel in sight and the response was, unless I misjudged, unbridled delight. Home grown and home made is so cool once again.

Several times over Christmas friends were discussing vegetable varieties they planned to grow. The grandchildren were each given a Red Sentinel crab apple tree by their Uncle Rory; others got apple trees or blackcurrant and gooseberry bushes. My sister-in-law gave all her grandchildren a hen each to lay a special little egg for their breakfast but also to teach them how to care for poultry and how useful the manure is to add zing to the compost bed which in turn will make the soil more fertile to grow more beautiful vegetables and herbs. Everyone seemed to be on a mission to reconnect with nature and to do ‘even a little something’ themselves.

The tradition of Little Christmas or Nollaig na Mban is also gathering momentum again. The Twelfth Day of Christmas was widely known in Ireland as Nollaig na mBan – Women’s Chrismas. Over the festive season the men would have been pampered and eaten their fill of various meats and indeed often drunk to excess, but January 6 th was the womens’ own feast. There would be a splendid high tea when all the dainties that the women really enjoyed were served. Thinly sliced white bread and homemade jam and cream, fluffy sponge cakes and tiny buns decorated with swirls of icing – and as if that wasn’t enough, plum cake, gingerbread, warm apple cakes and pots of the finest tea. On January 7 th the Christmas decorations were taken down and until quite recently there was a widespread custom of keeping aside the holly and wilted greenery to heat the pancake griddle on Shrove Tuesday.

Nowadays it’s a lovely opportunity for women to get together over afternoon tea or dinner to spend a carefree evening after the excesses and stresses of Christmas. In France, they celebrate the Feast of the Kings with the traditional Galette du Rois. Every Boulangerie has its own version of this recipe but this one is hard to beat and is easy to make, so one can start the tradition in your home.

Galette du Roi

 In France, on the Festival of the Kings over 50 million flaky Galette du Roi are eaten. Tucked into the soft frangipane filling is a little surprise for the lucky person who chooses that slice. There is a wonderful ritual played out every year, everyone sits around the dining table but the youngest child climbs underneath. As the galette is served slice by slice, Madame points at the portion and asks ‘who is this slice for?’ The child calls out each person’s name in turn, the lucky person who finds the feve in their slice is ‘the king’ and the golden crown is placed on their head. As the ‘king’ raises a glass to ‘his’ lips everyone choruses ‘the king drinks, the king drinks!’

Serves 8

1lb (450g) Puff Pastry

Filling

3ozs (75g) ground hazelnuts toasted, freshly ground

1oz (25g) ground almonds

4 ozs (110g) castor sugar

1½ ozs (45g) melted butter

2 egg yolks, preferably free range

2 tablesp. double cream

1 dessertsp. rum (optional)

Egg wash made with 1 beaten egg and a tiny pinch of salt

Glaze

Icing sugar

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

Put the hazelnuts onto a baking tray. Bake until the skins loosen.

Remove nuts from oven and place in a tea towel. Rub off the loose papery skins. Let cool. Grind the nuts in a nut grinder or chop in a food processor.

Increase oven temperature to 230°C/450°F/regulo 8.

Divide the pastry in half, roll out just less than ¼ inch thick, cut into 2 circles approx. 10 inch (25.5cm) in diameter. Put one onto a damp baking sheet, chill and chill the other piece also.

Mix all the ingredients for the filling together in a bowl until smooth. Put the filling onto the pastry base, leaving a rim of about 1 inch (2.5mm) free around the edge. Brush the rim with beaten egg or water and put on the lid of puff pastry, press it down well around the edges.

Make a small hole in the centre brush with egg wash and leave for 5 minutes in the refrigerator. With the back of a knife, nick the edge of the pastry 12 times at regular intervals to form a scalloped edge with a rose petal effect. Mark long curving lines from the central hole outwards to designate formal petals. Be careful not to cut through the pastry just score it.*

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then lower the heat to 200C/400F/regulo 6 and bake

for 30 minutes approx. While still hot dredge heavily with icing sugar and return to a very hot oven or pop under a grill (Do Not Leave the Grill) – the sugar will melt and caramelize to a dark brown glaze. Serve warm or cold with a bowl of softly whipped cream.

Note:

Galette du Roi is best eaten warm, but it also keeps well and may be reheated

Gingerbread

Traditionally in Ireland, we make gingerbread in a loaf tin and cut it into thick slices and slather them with butter. This one is particularly good when it’s fresh, so eat it quickly! Alternatively bake in a 22cm x 7.5cm (9 x 3 inch) square brownie tin for 40-45 minutes, serve cut into 12 x 7.5cm x 10cm (3 x 4 inch) squares with a blob of cold apple puree and cream or with crystallised ginger with cream.

Makes 1 loaf

225g (1/2 lb) white flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

110g (4oz) soft brown sugar

75g (3oz) butter, cut into cubes

175g (6oz) treacle

150ml (5fl oz) milk

1 very small or 1/2 organic egg

50g (2oz) sultanas

25g (1oz) chopped crystallised ginger (optional)

wipped cream

1 x 23cm (9 inches) x 12.5cm (5 inches) x 6.5cm (2 1/2 inches) loaf tin lined with silicone paper

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

First line the loaf tin with silicone paper.

Sieve all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Gently warm the brown sugar with the cubed butter and treacle. Then add the milk. Allow to cool a little and stir into the dry ingredients and make sure that there are no little lumps of flour left (I use a whisk for this). Add the beaten egg and the sultanas and ginger if desired. Mix very thoroughly and. Bake in a lined loaf tin for approximately 1 hour in a moderate oven. Cool in the tin. Serve with butter or a little whipped cream with crystallised ginger.

Whisked Sponge Cake with Kumquat Compote

Serves 8

4 eggs, preferably free range

4 ozs (110g) castor sugar

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

4 ozs (110g) plain white flour

Filling

Kumquat Compote – see recipe

Mint, Lemon Balm or Sweet Cicely to decorate

Castor sugar for sprinkling on top

2 x 7 inch (20cm) tins

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gast mark 4.

Grease the tins carefully with melted butter, dust with flour, cut out a circle of greaseproof paper and fit it neatly onto the base of each tin.

Put the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract into a bowl and whisk until it is a pale and fluffy mousse. When you lift the whisk, make a figure of 8 on top: it should hold its shape for several seconds. Put the flour into a sieve and sift about one-third gently over the mousse; fold in the flour with a spatula or a long-handled metal spoon (not a wooden spoon) and then sieve in some more; repeat until all the flour is lightly folded in. Turn gently in the prepared tins and bake in the preheated oven, for 20 minutes approx., until cooked. Turn out on a wire tray, peel off the greaseproof paper and allow to cool.

Once cool, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Spread the cream over the base sponge and then spoon the drained kumquat compote evenly on it. Lay the remaining sponge onto the filling and press gently. Sprinkle castor sugar over the top of cake. Serve soon.

Kumquat Compôte

A gem of a recipe, this compôte can be served as a dessert or as an accompaniment to roast duck, goose or glazed ham. Also delicious with goat’s cheese or yoghurt and makes a gorgeous filling for a light fluffy sponge cake. This compote keeps for weeks in the fridge.

Serves 6-20 depending on how it is served

235g (8 1/2 oz) kumquats

200ml (7fl oz) water

110g (4oz) sugar

Slice the kumquats into four or five rounds depending on size, remove the seeds. Put the kumquats into a saucepan with the water and sugar and let them cook very gently, covered, for half an hour or until tender.

Lemon Curd Meringue Cupcakes

Makes 24

Cupcakes

225g (8oz) butter (at room temperature)

225g (8oz) caster sugar

225g (8oz) self-raising flour

4 organic large eggs

zest of 2 lemons

Lemon Curd

2 ozs (50g) butter

4 ozs (110g) caster sugar

grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

2 organic eggs and 1 organic egg yolk whisked (keep white aside for meringue)

Lemon Curd Cream

110ml (4fl oz) mascarpone

4 tablespoons lemon curd (see recipe)

2 tablespoons sieved icing sugar

Meringue Kisses (see recipe)

Garnish

sprig of Lemon Balm or Lemon Verbena

2 muffin tins lined with 24 muffin cases.

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

First make the cupcakes.

Put all ingredients into a food processer, whizz until smooth.

Divide mixture evenly between cases in muffin tin.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until risen and golden.

Meanwhile, make the lemon curd.

Melt the butter on a very low heat. Add the caster sugar, lemon zest and juice and then add the whisked eggs. Stir carefully over a gentle heat with a straight ended wooden spatula until the mixture coats the back it. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

To assemble

Mix the lemon curd into the mascarpone and add the sieved icing sugar. Put into a piping bag with a medium sized plain nozzle. Put the remainder of the lemon curd into a piping bag with a small plain nozzle.

Insert the nozzle into the top of the cupcake and squeeze in a small teaspoon of lemon curd. Pipe a blob of lemon cream over the top. It should almost cover the top of the cupcake. Top with a meringue kiss and garnish with a sprig of lemon balm or lemon verbena. Eat as soon as possible.

Meringue Kisses

Makes 30

2 egg whites

110g (4oz) caster sugar

Preheat oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2.

To make the meringue.

Line a baking sheet with silicone paper.

Mix all the sugar with the egg whites at once and beat until the mixture forms stiff dry peaks. Put into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe into 4cm (1 1/2 inch) rosettes on to the baking sheet. Bake immediately in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until set crisp.

Hottips

Midleton College Cook Book

– it’s so brilliant to see so many schools pushing out the posts to reconnect children with how food is produced teaching them how to grow and cook – valuable skills for life. Midleton College is a shining example; they have 30 free-range hens, 5 Gloucester Old Spot pigs, a new home economics room and a chef who really cares about cooking food that nourishes the children and a headmaster – Simon Thompson – who inspires them all. Recently they self-published the Midleton College Cookbook with contributions from students and parents past and present. For €15.00 it’s really worth seeking out, there are quite a few gems in it.

Vegetables for the Irish Garden by Klaus Laitenberger

– a brilliant book suitable for Irish conditions. Another is Michael Brenock’s The Irish Gardener’s Handbook – a great read as now is the perfect time to think about what you would like to grow in the Spring.

Soneva Fushi in the Maldives – by Darina Allen

For me the word ‘resort’ immediately rings alarm bells – not my kind of holiday. So when I was invited to cook a Slow Food dinner and give a cookery class in exchange for a few days holiday on a remote island resort in the Maldives called Soneva Fushi, I was a bit ‘iffy’. The name meant nothing to me but when I mentioned it in passing to a well travelled friend he was adamant that this was not an opportunity to pass up – after all it was chosen as Resort of the Year and Best Island Retreat 2010 By Conde Nast Traveller!

One can fly directly from Gatwick to Malé, an easy 10 hour flight.
From there, it’s a thrilling thirty minute hop on a sea plane to the tiny pontoon in the sea rather grandly named Soneva Fushi International Airport.

This flight was possibly the most spectacular I’ve ever encountered, flying over miles of atolls, reefs and lagoons, surrounded by azure blue water, breathtakingly beautiful and almost surreal.

Another few minutes by motor boat and we were there but not before our shoes had been confiscated, everyone walks bare foot on the island! It looked utterly beautiful, just like those tempting travel ads on TV except it is very real. A tiny palm fringed island with white sandy beaches that slope gently into the clear blue sea. The villas are all tucked between the trees towards the surrounding lagoon. Soneva Fushi remoteness is central to its charm, the ultimate in barefoot sophistication and large enough not to be bored yet small enough to get round easily – the island is just one and half kilometres in length and half a kilometre wide. All the villas had bikes so we could pedal along the sandy paths around the island. It only takes a few minutes to cycle to the Turtle beach, the Dive centre or the Six Senses Spa. Cycling my bike under the jungle canopy with my hair billowing in the breeze was so exhilarating, I felt as though I was eighteen again! Soneva Fushi has a strong environment policy, with a resident permaculturalist and a resident marine biologist who is deeply knowledgeable about the coral reefs and totally passionate about sustainable fishing. Her name was Kate, and I have a soft spot for her because she took me snorkelling for the first time at sixty two years of age. I was sure I was a lost cause , because I’m a particularly ‘scardy’ swimmer, but lovely Kate was undaunted – she trussed me up in a life jacket, showed me how to spit on  the goggles to keep the lens clear and launched me gently off the wooden steps of Bar (a) Bara. It was SO amazing, like swimming in an aquarium of exotic tropical fish, you can’t imagine the courage it took but now I wish I’d started forty years ago. The other highlight of our visit was meeting permaculturalist Mark Garret. He spent ages showing us around the organic vegetable and fruit gardens and explaining the principals of this totally logical sustainable system of agriculture – permaculture.

The owners of Soneva Fushi, Sonu and Eva Shivdasani, are completely committed to creating an interconnected holistic system and they are well on their way to doing just that. Growing vegetables in the tropics has its challenges, not just water; the soil here is highly acidic and lacking in nitrogen so Mark and his team of local gardeners are gradually introducing the missing elements through nitrogen fixing plants and compost. Mark has introduced a 21 day Berkley composting system which is proving to be highly successful and uses the available waste material from the island- leaves, paper, cardboard, coffee grinds… Priyantha Gallege also grows both shitake and oyster mushrooms very successfully in

Saw-dust, dolomite, magnesium sulphate, red rice husk and soy bean powder mixture.
 I’m looking forward to replicating his experiments here in Shanagarry.
So how about the food? Well there was was lots of it and in true resort style a myriad of choices so it didn’t really matter how ‘picky’ an eater you are, there are many delicious options for everyone. For me some of the highlights were the sublime fresh fruit on the breakfast buffet I think I can truly say that no where else in the entire world have I found such an amazing selection of beautifully ripe fruit, mangoes and papayas at the peak of perfection, lychees, rambutans, mangosteens, guavas, chermoyas, pineapples, pomegranates, three different varieties of bananas and melons…There were also chunks of fresh coconut straight out of the shell and foamy freshly squeezed juices. This area was Sirisene’s pride and joy. He rose at 4 am each morning to have his delectable array ready for guests. The cheese and cured meat and salami room was another surprise, a temperature controlled space with marble and glass shelves to display a variety of cheese and cured meats in beautiful condition, not easy at the best of times but a truly remarkable achievement in a tropical environment. Once again this was the pride and joy of another local chap with the biggest smile called Ravi Jayawardene He knew all about the cheeses, where they came from and was delighted to share his passion.

All the breads, desserts, ice creams and sorbets were also freshly made every day and were to be found in the Eversoneva room again at the edge of the eating area. Stephen Wheeler from the UK is the ‘big boss’ who coordinates all these eating options, there are forty chefs. He and his team were so welcoming and supportive. I had great fun cooking with his boys both in the Fresh in the Garden restaurant and the main kitchen. It was fantastic to have such lovely ingredients to cook with, some directly from the organic vegetable gardens. We stayed in the littlest villa – thatched and perfect for two but there are many options – the very essence of a castaway’s fantasy. Thirty three villas have private pools and the larger Jungle Reserve and Retreats incorporate the very first Maldives tree houses. I was so delighted to be able to just chill in my ‘lounger’ to just read a book or watch the sunset. Sporty types can do some serious or gentle diving from the Padi dive centre and course snorkelling – the sea is deliciously warm.

Several times a week there’s a film in the open air Paradiso cinema under the stars, or you can climb up to the observatory for an astronomy session. And then there’s the Six Senses Spa – names by Conde Nast Traveller as the Best Overseas Spa 2006 – seriously pampering.

For me who arrived as a serious sceptic, Soneva Fushi really worked its magic and I find myself wondering how soon I can return – for me it was a perfect place to relax one can choose to be reclusive or gregarious – there is no forced fraternisation which can be an excruciating element of some resorts. It was difficult to tear ourselves away from the island but this seems to be a perennial problem for guests, almost everyone we met had been before and several people for the eighth time!

I feel this place has an intangible kind of magic that is hard to describe, the ultimate in barefoot luxury and you get your shoes back at the end!

 

What does it cost?
A seven night stay at Suneva Fushi can cost from USD 8250.00 for a double room with gorgeous sea views, private outdoor sitting area, private garden, it’s like a little luxurious home away from home. Do enquire about special package deals.

How to Get There
British Airways fly from Heathrow, Stanstead and Gatwick to Malé International Airport three times a week.
Maldavian Air Taxi fly at regular intervals. Soneva Fushi also has a private sea plane.
www.maldivianairtaxi.com
Soneva Fushi by Six Senses
Kunfunadhoo Island, Baa Atoll, Republic of Maldives
Tel: +960 660 0304, Fax: +960 660 0374
Places of Interest
There are lots of islands close by to explore and picnic on.

Everyone is still in holiday mood this week, the kids are still off school, lots of opportunity to have fun, go for long walks, point to point…

If you have the strength there are terrific sales and bargains to be had in all the departments including Christmas treats – nothing like fresh air to whip up an appetite, so this could be the week to cook together and get the kids and teens peeling, chopping and mixing as well.

Jerusalem artichokes are in season now, a brilliant winter vegetable, with the highest inulin content of any vegetable. They are particularly valuable if you’ve been on a course of antibiotics which will whack the good bacteria in your system as well as the baddies, you’ll need to rebuild your beneficial gut flora and nothing will do the job faster than Jerusalem artichokes and delicious they are too. They look like knobbly potatoes and provide lots of fun peeling. Here’s the most delicious recipe for soup but they are also fantastically good thickly sliced and then roasted after they’ve been tossed in extra virgin olive oil, seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast them at about 200°C/400°F/Mark 6. When they have caramelised on one side, flip them over and continue to cook. Great as a vegetable or an accompaniment to fish, meat, or game but really gorgeous mixed with rocket leaves and roasted hazelnuts as a starter. How about a fine pot of stew made with shoulder of lamb or shin of beef. Let it bubble away slowly in the oven while you enjoy a long walk in the winter frost or sunshine.

A few floury Ballycotton Queens or a bowl of Champ would round off a perfect lunch or supper.

Everyone loves bread and butter pudding – we do a ton of varieties on this recipe, I’ll make a Seville orange marmalade version in a few weeks just as soon as I’ve made my marmalade, but the original is impossible to beat – loved by young and old.

The apple fritters are a quickie and the kids will love making them too – they cook into funny shapes with crispy edges that can be interpreted as little monsters or ghouls. Toss them in cinnamon sugar – Green Saffron has beautiful fresh cinnamon.

 

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Avocado and Hazelnut Salsa

 

Serves 8-10

Jerusalem artichokes are a sadly neglected winter vegetable. They look like knobbly potatoes and are a nuisance to peel, but if they are very fresh you can sometimes get away with just giving them a good scrub. Not only are they a smashing vegetable but they are also delicious in soups and gratins. They are a real gem from the gardeners point of view because the foliage grows into a hedge and provides shelter and cover for both compost heaps and pheasants! For a simple family meal omit the avocado and hazelnuts.

50g (2oz) butter

560g (1 1/4 lb) onions, peeled and chopped

1.15kg (2 1/2 lbs) Jerusalem artichokes, scrubbed, peeled and chopped

salt and freshly ground pepper

1.1L (2 pints) light chicken stock

600ml (1 pint) creamy milk approx.

 

　

 

Avocado and Roast Hazelnut Salsa

 

　

1 ripe avocado, halved, stone removed, peeled and diced into neat scant 1 cm dice

3 tablespoons of hazelnuts, roasted, skinned and coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons of hazelnut or olive oil

1 tablespoon of chopped flat parsley

Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix the ingredients for the avocado and hazelnut garnish. Taste and correct seasoning. This mixture will sit quite happily in your fridge for an hour as the oil coating the avocado will prevent it from discolouring.

 

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan, add the onions and artichokes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, cover and sweat gently for 10 minutes approx. Add the stock and cook until the vegetables are soft. Liquidise and return to the heat. Thin to the required flavour and consistency with creamy milk, and adjust the seasoning.

Serve in soup bowls or in a soup tureen. Garnish with chopped parsley and crisp, golden croutons.　

 

Lamb Stew with Bacon, Onions and Garden Herbs

 

 

Serves 4-6

A big pot of bubbly strew makes the most comforting supper on a cold January day

If you’d rather not cover the top with peeled potatoes serve champ or colcannon separately. Let me tell you they smack their lips in France at the mere mention of a great big bubbling stew and now these gutsy, comforting pots are appearing on many of the smartest restaurant menus.

 

4 lb (1.8kg) gigot or rack chops from the shoulder of lamb not less than 2.5cm (1 inch thick)

12 ozs (350g) green streaky bacon (blanch if salty)

seasoned white flour, preferably unbleached

a little butter or oil for sautéing

1 lb (450g) onions, (baby ones are nicest)

12 ozs (350g) carrot, peeled and thickly sliced

1 3/4 pints (750ml) approx. lamb or chicken stock

8-12 ‘old’ potatoes (optional)

sprig of thyme

roux – (optional) Mushroom a la Crème (optional)

 

Garnish

2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

 

Cut the rind off bacon and cut into approx. 1/2 inch (1cm) cubes blanch if salty and dry in kitchen paper. Divide the lamb into 8 pieces and roll in seasoned flour. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and sauté the bacon until crisp, remove and put in a casserole. Add the lamb to the pan and sauté until golden then add to the bacon in the casserole. Heat control is crucial here, the pan mustn’t burn yet it must be hot enough to sauté the lamb. If it is cool the lamb will stew rather than sauté and as a result the meat may be tough. Then quickly sauté the onions and carrots, adding a little butter if necessary, and put them into the casserole. Degrease the sauté pan and deglaze with the stock, bring to the boil, pour over the lamb.

 

Cover the top of the stew with peeled potatoes (if using) and season well. Add a sprig of thyme and bring to simmering point on top of the stove, cover the pot and then put into the oven for 45-60 minutes, 180C/350F/regulo 4. Cooking time depends on how long the lamb was sautéed for.

 

When the casserole is just cooked, strain off the cooking liquid, degrease and return degreased liquid to the casserole and bring to the boil. Thicken with a little roux if necessary. Add back in the meat, carrots, onions and potatoes, bring back to the boil.

The casserole is very good served at this point, but it’s even more delicious if some Mushroom a la Crème is stirred in as an enrichment. Serve bubbling hot sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Colcannon

 

Colcannon is another traditional mashed potato dish like champ, but with kale or cabbage instead of spring onions. For another variation try mashed parsnips, a delightful addition. Kale is in season at present, it’s a magic vegetable the most nutritious of all the brassicas.

Serves about 8

450g (1lb) Savoy cabbage or kale (kale is the most traditional)

1.3kg (3lb) ‘old’ potatoes, e.g. Golden Wonders or Kerr’s Pinks

about 225ml (8fl oz) milk

salt and freshly ground pepper

50g (2oz) butter

Scrub the potatoes, put them in a saucepan of cold water, add a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil. When the potatoes are half-cooked after about 15 minutes, strain off two-thirds of the water, replace the lid on the saucepan and put onto a gentle heat, leaving the potatoes to steam until they are cooked.

Meanwhile, if using cabbage, remove the dark outer leaves, wash the remainder, cut it into quarters, remove the core and cut finely across the grain. Boil in a little boiling water or bacon cooking water until soft. Drain and season with salt, freshly ground pepper and a little butter.

When the potatoes are just cooked, put the milk and the finely chopped shallots into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Pull the peel off the potatoes and discard. Mash the potatoes quickly, while they are still warm, and beat in enough boiling milk to make a fluffy purée. (If you have a large quantity, put the potatoes in the bowl of a food mixer and beat with the spade.) Then stir in the cooked cabbage and taste for seasoning. For perfection, serve immediately in a hot dish with a lump of butter melting in the centre.

Colcannon may be prepared ahead up to this point and reheated later in a moderate oven 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4, for 20–25 minutes. Cover while reheating so it doesn’t get too crusty on top.　

 

Bread and Butter Pudding

 

This is one of the older nursery puddings that has enjoyed a terrific revival, but initially it was just a way of recycling old bread, made with just milk and a scattering of dried fruit. It was something that you ate but didn’t necessarily relish. But there’s nothing frugal about this recipe – it’s got lots of fruit in it and a generous proportion of cream to milk. When people taste it, they just go ‘Wow!’ I know it has a lot of cream in it, but don’t skimp – just don’t eat it every day! We play around with this formula and continue to come up with more and more delicious combinations, depending on what’s in season and what we have around; see below for some of them.

 

　

Serves 6-8

 

　

12 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed

50g (2oz) butter, preferably unsalted

1⁄2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon or mixed spice

200g (7oz) plump raisins or sultanas

450ml (16fl oz) cream

225ml (8fl oz) milk

4 large organic eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

175g (6oz) sugar plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling

pinch of salt

1 x 20.5cm (8 inch) square pottery or china dish

Butter the bread and arrange 4 slices, buttered side down, in one layer in the buttered dish. Sprinkle the bread with half the spice and half the raisins, then arrange another

layer of bread, buttered side down, over the raisins, and sprinkle the remaining nutmeg and raisins on top. Cover the raisins with the remaining bread, again, buttered side down.

In a bowl whisk together the cream, milk, eggs, vanilla extract, sugar and the pinch of salt. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve over the bread. Sprinkle the tablespoonful of sugar over the top and let the mixture stand, loosely covered, at room temperature for at least 1 hour or chill overnight.

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

Place the pudding in a bain-marie and pour in enough water to come half way up the sides of the baking dish. Bake the pudding in the middle of the oven for about 1 hour or until the top is crisp and golden. Serve the pudding warm with some softly whipped cream.

Note:

This bread and butter pudding reheats perfectly.

Delicious Bread and Butter Puddings can be made using

• Barmbrack as a base – add mixed spice or cinnamon.

• Pannettone – proceed as above.

• Brioche – proceed as above or use apricot jam and lace with apricot

brandy.

• Rhubarb or gooseberry and elderflower compote (see recipe) or spiced apple purée may also be used.

 

 

Apple Fritters with Cinnamon Sugar

 

Funny how one sometimes forgets a recipe; we hadn’t had these for ages, but I remembered them recently and they taste just as good as ever. As children we particularly loved fritters because they used to fry into funny shapes, which caused great hilarity. These can also be shallow-fried in a pan.

Serves 6–8

110g (4oz) plain white flour

pinch of salt

1 organic egg

150ml (5fl oz) milk

good-quality vegetable oil, for frying

450g (1lb) cooking apples (about 4), Bramley’s Seedling or Grenadier

225g (4oz) caster sugar

1 x teaspoon cinnamon powder

Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and drop in the egg. Use a whisk to bring in the flour gradually from the edges, slowly adding in the milk at the same time. Leave the batter in a cool place for about 1 hour.

Heat the oil in a deep-fryer to 180°C (350°F). Peel and core the apples. Cut into rings, no thicker than 1cm (1⁄4in). Dip the rings into the batter and lift out with a skewer, allowing the surplus batter to drain off, then drop into hot fat, a few at a time. Fry until golden brown, drain well on kitchen paper. Toss each fritter in caster sugar mixed with cinnamon. Serve immediately on hot plates with softly whipped cream.

 

Nana Peg’s Meat Pie

 

Serves 6 approximately

10 ozs (275 g) plain flour

6 ozs (175 g) butter

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 pint (500 ml) beef stock

2 lbs (900 g) round steak

salt and pepper

Oven proof dish 12 x 9 inches (30.5cm x 23 cm)

Preheat the oven 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6

Mix the flour with ¼ tsp of salt and pepper. Cut the butter into cubes and mix into the flour. Don’t over mix just enough so that you can still see the butter cubes. Add enough water to the flour and butter mix to make dough, and then knead lightly. Wrap pastry in cling film and put into the fridge too chill for 15 minutes.

Cut the steak into ½ inch cubes and roll in seasoned flour then put them into the oven proof dish. Put the chopped onions and carrots over the meat. Pour the beef stock over the meat and vegetables, not above the level of the meat. Take out the pastry and then roll in out to fit the dish, then lay it over the meat and have some pastry left over so that you can roll it and put around the side. Put into the preheated oven and after 10 minutes take it out and cover with tin foil, reduce the temperature to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4 and cook for approximately 1 hour. Take the meat pie out of the oven and remove the tin foil, put back into the oven for approximately 10 minutes to brown.

Hottips

Rapeseed Oil – Kitty Colchester brought me a delivery of Second Nature Rape Seed Oil freshly pressed last Monday from Drumeen Farm in Urlington Co Kilkenny the oldest existing organic farm in Ireland. www.secondnatureoils.com

This is the week to make marmalade – take advantage of the extra help around the house and have chop and gossip session, the marmalade will be made in no time and they can all boast that they made it and will have the skills for life. I find the peel of organic marmalade oranges softens better. Cathriona Daunt sells organic Seville oranges – 0863623918.

Declan Ryan continues to expand his wheat flour range of artisan breads, we love the medieval loaf packed full of nuts and fruit with an Irish Farmhouse Cheese like Ardsallagh goats cheese, the perfect gift for a foodie friend. www.ardsallaghgoats.com  www.arbutusbread.com

Remember what milk used to take like before it was homogenized as well as pasteurised? Every Thursday the queue is getting longer at Mahon Point Farmers Market for beautiful Glenilen milk, freshly from the farm, pasteurised and sold in glass bottles. The cream rises to the top and is a forgotten flavour – almost as good as having your own cow – while you are there pick up some homemade butter, a couple of yogurts and some real cream – this is what real Irish produce is about –www.glenilen.com