Archive2013

Wild and foraged foods are once again becoming part of chic restaurant menus as well as family meals. Beware; once you get on the foraging groove it becomes totally addictive. Every walk whether in the woods or the countryside turns into a foraging expedition and it’s free. Even more important wild foods still have their full complement of vitamins, minerals and trace elements, unlike much of the food we now have access to.

People usually associate an abundance of wild foods with late Summer and Autumn but we forage throughout the year. Even in depths of Winter there’s always something to nibble on or add to a salad. At present Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) are growing in profusion along the roadside, peel the stalks, cook the pieces gently in well salted water, then toss in a little melted butter or olive oil, the delicate flavour is delicious with fish or scallops.

Young nettles (urtica dioica) the cure for so many ailments, are already springing up. Use them in pesto and soups or add the wilted leaves to champ or colcannon. We’ve got tons of chickweed (Stellaria media) in the greenhouse; you’ll pay $10.00 a pound for it in the Union Square market in New York but here it’s the bane of gardeners’ lives – just eat it, it’s delicious in a green salad. Pennywort (Centella Asiatica), another of my favourite wild foods, grows with wild abandon out the stone walls and stony ditches, sometimes called navel wort or ‘bread and butter’, it is thirst quenching and a favourite nibble for hill-walkers. We use it in salad and as a garnish. Bittercress (Cardamine hirsute) grows in little clumps in gravel paths or in damp places – we love its peppery taste. The Queen had it included in the starter for her 90^th birthday feast. Watercress (Nasturtium officinal) too is lush and abundant at present, it grows side by side with wild celery also called fools watercress (Apium nodiflorum) but the top leaf of the watercress is always the biggest.

The shamrock shaped leaves of wood sorrel (oxalis) lend a clean lemony taste to starters and salad, there’s also lots of sheep’s tongue sorrel (Rumex acetosella) and buckler leaf sorrel ( Rumex scutatus) in the orchard, sea beet (beta vulgaris) down by the strand and the ramsoms or wild garlic (allium ursinum) are bushy and green at present. We’ve been making lots of pesto and adding it to everything from pasta sauce, to flavoured butters and mashed potatoes and even soda bread.

Our Spring Foraging, the first foraging course of the year (at Ballymaloe Cookery School) will be on Saturday 27^th April 2013.  But if you want to get going yourself there are now several good illustrated field guides to help you including Biddy White Lennon and Evan Doyle’s excellent new field guide and cookbook Wild Food Natures Harvest: How to Gather, Cook and Preserve published recently by O’Brien Press. This book was born out of the Slow Food Wild and Slow Festival held at Macreddin Village in Co Wicklow every year, but both Biddy and Evan have been seasoned foragers since childhood. Evan showcases wild food on his menu at the Strawberry Tree Restaurant at Macreddin Village. All the chefs are trained to forage and have a bountiful wild food pantry beside the restaurant to store jars of pickles, chutneys, cordials, preserves and infusions. Evan Doyle employs one person whose sole job is to forage for the restaurant.

This field guide and cook book combined also includes a charter for sustainable harvesting of wild foods, a foragers calendar and a whole chapter on preserving wild foods. It’s a must have for any wanna-be forager.

 

Biddy White Lennon and Evan Doyle’s Wild Garlic, Leek and Potato Bake

30 leaves of fresh wild garlic, roughly chopped

125ml organic chicken or vegetable stock

150ml carton of organic cream

150ml organic milk

a knob of organic butter

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 organic leeks, thinly sliced

175g real ham, chopped

500g last year’s organic potatoes peeled, sliced thinly

90g organic cheddar, grated

 

How it Goes

Pour the stock, cream and milk into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Season well.

Butter a one-litre gratin dish. Layer the potatoes, leeks and ham together in the dish, and spread out in even layers with the chopped wild garlic leaves. Pour over the seasoned liquid. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 180°C.

How to Finish

Remove the foil, sprinkle with the cheese and bake for another 30–40 minutes, spooning stock over occasionally, until the potatoes are tender.

What you Get

Well, the perfect accompaniment to a Sunday roast chicken, or as the first touch of spring to the last of the winter spuds or a great TV snack, when you have the munchies …

 

The Strawberry Tree’s Wild Sea Beet and Crab Tart

Two handfuls of sea beet, stalks removed, leaves washed, roughly chopped

 

300g fresh wild crabmeat

1 organic onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

1 bunch coriander, roughly chopped

juice of one lemon

50g Parmesan, grated

250ml organic cream

4 organic egg yolks, plus 1 whole egg

Sea salt and pepper

Organic olive oil

 

Your favourite recipe for savoury pastry, blind baked in a 20-22cm tart dish

How it Goes

In a large frying pan, fry onions until soft. Then add chilli, garlic and fry for a few more minutes. Add the sea beet, and when soft, toss in the crabmeat. Fry together and mix thoroughly, then add the coriander, lemon juice and Parmesan. Lightly beat together the egg and cream and season.

How to Finish

Spoon the sea beet mixture into your baked tart case. Pour over your egg and cream. Bake, for 30–40 minutes at 140°C, or until set.

What you Get

Is a quiche-style seafood pie that oozes the sea and that can be served cold, warm or hot, all the way through the summer. We like to serve it warm, with a baby leaf salad and mayonnaised baby new potatoes.

 

 

Biddy White Lennon and Evan Doyle’s Wild Nettle Beer

 

5 litres of water

Wild young nettle leaves, enough to fill a 5-litre bowl by volume

500g sugar

10g root ginger

30g cream of tartare

1 lemon, rind and juice

30g beer yeast

30g dried hops (optional)

 

Place sugar and cream of tartare in a lidded fermentation vessel.

In a very large pot boil the nettle leaves, ginger, lemon rind and hops (if using) for 10–15 minutes.

Strain the liquid through a sieve into the vessel. Stir and allow cool to room temperature. Stir in the lemon juice and sprinkle the yeast on top. Cover with a cotton or muslin cloth and allow ferment for four days. Carefully skim the surface to remove any scum or froth. Using a siphon, rack the liquid into bottles with a swing action beer lid or, if you prefer, into a demi-john and cap with a rubber bung.

Store for a week in a very cool place. Then it is ready to drink. Take care when you open the bottles as, depending on the success of the fermentation, it may be very fizzy indeed.

 

Biddy White Lennon and Evan Doyle’s Chowder with Dillisk and Carrageen

 

600g fresh pollock or similar inshore fish, skinned and cubed

500g shellfish (mix of mussels, cockles, clams, winkles, prawns)

125g hot-smoked fish (eg pollock, haddock or mackerel), skinned and cubed

50g smoked dry cured bacon, cut into lardoons

30g butter

7g dried dillisk

7g dried carrageen

500ml fish stock or water

600ml milk (or milk and cream mixed)

1kg mixed vegetables in equal quantities (waxy potatoes, onion, leek, carrot, celery), peeled and finely chopped

A handful of chopped parsley, or parsley and chives mixed

 

Lightly cook and peel the prawns if using (or peel them while raw). Scrub clean the shellfish.

Cook bacon in butter until crisp; add all the vegetables except the potatoes. Season and cook over a gentle heat for 4–5 minutes. Add stock or water and the crumpled seaweeds and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and milk and simmer until potatoes are soft. You may set it aside at this point and finish off just before serving.

Add the cubed fish and shellfish and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring. Serve with plenty of chopped herbs. Good with dillisk-flavoured bread, scones, or oatcakes.

 

The Strawberry Tree’s Pickled Wild Rock Samphire

 

500g wild rock samphire

300g organic caster sugar

Small organic onion, sliced finely

1 organic celery stick, chopped finely

2 organic bay leaves

½ tsp organic pink peppercorns

½ tsp organic fennel seeds

1 tsp organic mustard seeds

½ organic red chilli – chopped finely

zest of 1 lemon

500ml organic red wine vinegar

How it Goes

Twice wash the wild rock samphire and set aside in a large container. In a large pot, place sugar, onion, celery, bay, seeds, chilli, lemon zest and pour over the vinegar. Put on the heat and stir until everything is mixed. Bring to boil and then simmer for a few minutes. Let cool a bit, then pour the pickle over the rock samphire in the large container.

How to Finish

Pack the warm rock samphire into sterilised Kilner jars, then pour in the strained pickle, filling the jar right to the top. Put the lids back on and it will keep up to 3 months in a cool, dark place.

What you Get

Pickled samphire works well with all shellfish, but it is also perfect to keep for when flatfish are caught after September. It is also a treat with honky-heady Irish blue cheese or really well-matured Irish hard cheeses and, finally, is a cool pickle that works really well with slow-cooked winter Irish Hill Hogget.

 

Gorse Syrup

500g gorse flowers

a few tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, or to taste

1 litre water

500g sugar

Boil the flowers and water together for 10 minutes. Strain through a jelly bag. Place sugar and strained juice in a pot and cook slowly, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Then boil for about five minutes, skimming any froth from the surface. Cool before bottling in small sterilised bottles. Best stored in a fridge.

 

Hot Tips

 

Brown Envelope Seeds – Gardening Workshop – Propagating from Seed on Saturday 6^th April 2pm-4pm, cost €20.00. Madeline McKeever is happy to tailor-make gardening courses for groups and if you are in West Cork why not arrange to have a tour around the farm at Church Cross, Skibbereen. You can buy your seeds, see how they propagate, enjoy a cup of tea in the barn and you can even take your own picnic – contact Madeline on 028-38184 – www.brownenvelopeseeds.com

Rachel Allen has a passion for baking. Join her for ‘Cake with Rachel Allen’ a two and half day hands-on baking course Monday 15^th to Wednesday 17^th April at Ballymaloe Cookery School. Learn how to make special cakes for every occasion. Phone 021 4646785 to book – www.cookingisfun.ie

Leading figures from the world of gastronomy will converge on East Cork for the first Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine, to be held at Ballymaloe House and Ballymaloe Cookery School, Shanagarry, Co Cork, 3-6 May 2013.  Among those flying in to participate are: Madhur Jaffrey, world-renowned for her books and television programmes on Indian food. Claudia Roden, acclaimed expert on Middle Eastern and Spanish food. Alice Waters, trailblazing founder of the famous Californian restaurant Chez Panisse. David Thompson, restaurateur, author and eloquent ambassador for Thai food. Stephanie Alexander, one of Australia’s best known and best loved cooks. Claus Meyer, co-founder of Copenhagen’s Noma, voted No 1 restaurant in the world. David Tanis, prominent American chef and New York Times cookery writer. Joanna Blythman, leading British investigative food writer and broadcaster. Stevie Parle, dynamic head chef at London’s Dock Kitchen and Jancis Robinson MW, one of the world’s most respected wine writers. Tickets for all events are available on www.litfest.com  – box office 021 4645777 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday.

 

Slow Food International Grandmothers Day.

“A celebration of Food Heritage and Forgotten Skills”

 

 

Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 April 2013

Sandbrook House, Co. Carlow

 

 

Slow Food International and Sandbrook House are delighted to present the second International Grandmothers Day Celebration on 20^th and 21^st of April.

 

The event will be launched by Darina Allen who said:

 

“The success of last year’s event lead us to recognize that there is a tangible opportunity to use our food culture to develop opportunities for rural employment and for revitalising our small town centres and communities.

 

 

On Saturday April 20th “Slow Roots” an International, expert led Symposium will tackle the topic of how to use Traditional Irish Food to create jobs in rural communities as we explore the question:

 

“How can we learn from our Food Heritage to create employment for this generation?”

 

 

The debate will be lead by two keynote speakers of international renown: Professor Hartmut Vogtmann, former President of Nature Conservation, Federal Republic of Germany and Angelika Ploeger Professor of Food Science and Food Culture.

 

This event, lead by Dr. Margaret Linehan of Cork Institute of Technology brings together many third level Irish colleges who will present project outcomes on topics such as ‘Before the Potato’, ‘Food of the Monasteries’, Fish and Seaweed projects, Boxty, Artisan Food & Traditions and more.

 

Food Historian, Dorothy Cashman will speak of her work on the Culinary Manuscripts and their relevance today. The day will be concluded with a Fulacht Fiadh celebration – a one of a kind reproduction of the traditional Irish cooking method more than 3,000 years old.

 

 

Sunday the 21^st of April is Grandmothers Day; a Celebration of Forgotten Skills. Join us for series of workshops and demonstrations from some of Ireland’s most passionate Slow Food experts. We will explore the food cycle from beginning to end, with focus on sustainability and celebrating good clean and fair food.

 

 

The Sunday will be opened by Darina Allen, Slow Food pioneer, who will give the keynote speech at 12 noon. Later Darina Allen, Pamela Black, Granny Florence Bowe, Niall Murphy of Donnybrook Fair and Sophie Morris of Kookie Dough will do cookery demonstrations. For the children there will be a couple of hands on sausage making sessions with Ed Hick.

 

A series of workshops and demonstrations on forgotten skills including butter, cheese and chocolate making, preserving, foraging and cooking bastible bread over the open fire will be free to attend. There will also be talks on Grow It Yourself, beekeeping,  willow weaving, seaweed, seed sowing and more. While you enjoy the workshops and demonstrations why not relax on the Sandbrook grounds and enjoy our spectacular Farmers Market featuring the best of Irish artisans and producers?

 

Grandmothers are invited to bring along a favourite recipe that they would like to pass onto their grandchildren to include in a Slow Food Grandmother’s scrapbook. As the guardians of inherited wisdom and forgotten skills, we encourage grandparents to gather their grandchildren around and show them how to bake a cake, sow a seed, catch a fish, knit or crochet…

 

 

Slow Food Grandmother’s Day at Sandbrook runs from 11am to 6pm on Sunday 21st April.

 

Admission is €10 with free entry to all children, free car parking and free entry to all talks & workshops.

 

Cookery demonstrations are €10.00-15.00 and are on a first come, first served basis.

 

Members of the public are welcome to attend on both days. (The fee to attend The Symposium on April 20^th is €30, which includes lunch and a traditional Fulacht Fiadh dinner.)

 

 

For more information readers can access the website www.grandmothersday.ie or email grandmothersday@sandbrook.ie

 

How fortunate we are in Ireland to have a national feast day that is known and celebrated all over the world. St Patricks Day brings not only the Irish but the friends of the Irish, descendants of the Irish and the ‘wanna be’ Irish onto the streets and into the pubs to eat, drink, sing and be very merry on the 17^th of March every year.

Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative will light up iconic buildings in over 30 sites all over the world on every continent to focus attention on the Emerald Isle.

For months before St Patricks Day every year I get requests for traditional Irish recipes from travel and food writers filing their copy for the March issue of their magazines and newspapers. Often they are looking for the old favourites but I use every opportunity to tell people not just about our traditional food culture but about the vibrant Irish food scene and to remind them that we don’t actually live on corned beef and cabbage in Ireland.

Sad fact is in Ireland most Irish people don’t really believe we have a food culture – try asking the people around you now to name ten Irish dishes, most will make an enthusiastic start with Irish stew, bacon and cabbage, corned beef and cabbage, maybe colcannon and champ perhaps soda bread but after that the stuttering starts.

I recently gave a prize during a lecture in one of our catering colleges for any student who could spontaneously name ten dishes, one person did but with difficulty – I gave them a present of my Irish Traditional Cooking book!

We’ve got tons to be proud of, there’s no point in arguing that Ireland has one of the great cuisines of the world.  There’s a wealth of information out there, from medieval times to the present day – food of farmers, fishing communities, the islands and monasteries. Food of the small houses, food of the great houses all reflecting our food heritage, through the ages. Over the years I’ve collected and researched traditional food. My first Irish Traditional Food  book was published in 1995 and the revised edition came onto the shelves in 2012.

More recently we have started a website of Irish recipes, a resource for those you want to find and rediscover some of our traditional foods, share with family and friends or particularly showcase Irish food on their menu in the year of The Gathering. The web address is www.irishrecipes.ie check it out and have fun. If you have family recipes that you would like included or food memories we’d love to hear them, send them to darina.bcs@gmail.com.

Here are some recipes from our rich baking tradition for you to share with family, friends and customers not only on St Patrick’s weekend but throughout the year.

Spotted Dog

 

At times of the year when the men were working particularly hard in the fields, the farmer’s wife would go out of her way to reward them with a richer bread than usual for tea. According to her means she might throw in a fistful of currants or raisins, some sugar and an egg, if there was one to spare. The resulting bread, the traditional Irish ‘sweet cake’, had different names in different parts of the country – spotted dog, curnie cake, railway cake and so on. Currant bread was not just for haymaking and threshing, but was also a treat for Sundays and special occasions.

 

Makes 1 loaf

 

450g (1lb) plain white flour

1–2 tablespoons sugar

1 level teaspoon salt

1 level teaspoon bread soda (bicarbonate of soda), sieved

75–110g (3–4oz) sultanas, raisins or currants

300ml (10fl oz) sour milk or buttermilk

1 egg, free-range if possible (optional – you may not need all the milk if you use the egg)

 

Preheat your oven to 230ºC/450ºF/Gas Mark 8.

 

Sieve the dry ingredients, add the fruit and mix well. Make a well in the center and pour most of the milk in at once with the egg. Using one hand, mix in the flour from the sides of the bowl, adding more milk if necessary. The dough should be softish, not too wet and sticky. When it all comes together, turn it out on to a floured board and knead it lightly for a few seconds, just enough to tidy it up. Pat the dough into a round, about 4cm (1 1/2 inch) deep and cut a deep cross on it. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas Mark 6 and continue to cook for approximately 30 minutes. If you are in doubt, tap the bottom: if it is cooked, it will sound hollow.

 

Serve spotted dog freshly baked, cut into thick slices and generously slathered with butter. Simply delicious!

 

 

Porter Cake  

 

Porter cake, made with the black stout of Ireland, is now an established Irish cake, rich and moist with ‘plenty of cutting’. Either Guinness, Murphys, Beamish or some of the fine stouts from the growing number of new artisan breweries can be used, depending on where your loyalties lie.

 

450g (1lb) plain white flour

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

225g (8oz) caster or brown sugar

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon mixed spice

225g (8oz) butter

450g (1lb) sultanas

55g (2oz) chopped peel

55g (2oz) crystalized cherries

300ml (10fl oz) porter or stout

2 eggs, free-range if possible

 

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4. Line the bottom and sides of a 20cm (8in) cake tin, 7.5cm (3in) deep, with greaseproof paper.

Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar, freshly grated nutmeg and mixed spice. Rub in the butter. Add the fruit, then mix the porter with the beaten eggs. Pour into the other ingredients and mix well. Turn into the lined tin and bake for about 2½ hours. Cool in the tin, then store in an airtight tin.

Traditional Porter Cake

 

This recipe is adapted from the manuscript cookbook of Eliza Helena Odell.

 

350g (12oz) butter

450g (1lb) flour

300ml (10fl oz) porter

1 tablespoon bread soda

450g (1lb) currants

450g (1lb) raisins

450g (1lb) brown sugar

225g (8oz) citron

4 eggs, broken into the cake, not beaten

rind of 1 lemon

half 1 package of mixed spice and some nutmeg
Rub the butter into the flour. Heat the porter and pour over the soda, then pour the
porter mixure over the butter and flour. Add the remaining ingredients, mix by hand for
15 minutes then transfer to a tin and bake as for the Christmas Cake on pages 284–285.

 

 

Seedy Bread

 

Many Americans are convinced that Irish soda bread traditionally contains caraway seeds. I was baffled by this assumption until I discovered that seedy bread was certainly made in Donegal and Leitrim. The tradition of putting caraway seeds in bread must have been taken to the United States by Irish emigrants.

 

50g (1lb) plain white flour

1 level teaspoon salt

1 level teaspoon bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

55g (2oz) butter (optional)

300–350ml (10–12fl oz) buttermilk

 

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

Sift all the dry ingredients and add the caraway seeds. Rub in the butter, if using. Make a well in the centre and pour in most of the milk at once. Using one hand, mix in the flour from the sides of the bowl, adding more buttermilk if necessary. The dough should be softish, but not too wet and sticky. When it all comes together, turn it out on to a floured board and knead lightly for a second, just enough to tidy it up. Pat the dough into a round about 2.5cm (1in) deep and cut a cross on it to let the fairies out! (Let the cuts go over the sides of the bread to make sure of this.) Bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes, then turn down the heat to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6 for 30 minutes or until just cooked. If you are in doubt, tap the bottom of the bread: if it is cooked it will sound hollow.

 

Kerry Treacle Bread

 

This recipe was described to me by Mrs. McGillycuddy from Glencar in Co. Kerry, who still makes it occasionally. A richer treacle bread, closer to gingerbread, was and still is widely made in Ulster.

 

1–2 tablespoons treacle

1 egg (optional), free-range if possible

300ml (10fl oz) approx, sour milk or buttermilk to mix

450g (1lb) white flour, preferably unbleached

1 level teaspoon salt

1 level teaspoon bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)

 

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

 

Heat the treacle until it begins to run. Whisk the egg, if you are using it, add to the treacle and mix well. Then add the buttermilk.

 

Sieve the dry ingredients. Make a well in the centre. Pour in most of the liquid all at once. Using one hand, mix in the flour from the sides of the bowl, adding more liquid if necessary. The dough should be softish, not too wet and sticky. When it comes together, turn it out on to a floured board. Tidy it up and flip over the edges with a floured hand. Pat the dough into a round about 2.5cm (1 inch) deep and cut a cross on it. The cuts should go over the sides of the bread. Bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas Mark 6 for 30 minutes or until cooked. If you are in doubt, tap the bottom of the bread, it will sound hollow if cooked. Cool on a wire rack.

 

Cooking ‘from scratch’ is the hottest food term in the restaurant world in the US, the UK and among the greater food cognegentsia around the world at present. Add seasonal, local and artisan and you are right on the button.

Imagine that, talk about things coming full circle. Chefs are boasting about cooking everything ‘from scratch’ for their menus, doing in-house butchery, making house-cured bacon and charcuterie, homemade tomato ketchup, pickles, relishes…

My son-in-law just back from Portland Oregon tells me that there are over 400 food trucks and 40 artisan breweries in a city with a population of less than 600,000. The micro-distillery movement has also taken off. Chefs are infusing alcohol with wild foraged herbs, berries and fruit and using them in cool house cocktails.

A whole counter-culture to Fast Food is gaining momentum – a virtual revolution at grassroots level and not just among young chefs and cooks, it’s a whole generation of educated young and not so young people who are on a mission to find the best tasting naturally produced food with a story. Provenance is important to them. They want to know the variety, the breed, the feed… They are flocking back to butchers shops learning about meat cuts, dry aging hanging and pasture-raised.  New butcher shops are opening, butchery classes are oversubscribed. They are really enjoying learning how to cook and grow and pickle and forage.

It is beyond cool to be part of this scene, to be able to do all these things and to rediscover lost or almost forgotten skills which were certainly not part of the last generation’s experience. On trips to the US, during the past decade, I have also become increasingly aware of the young agrarians in the US, and the Greenhorns movement – a growing band of passionate, energetic young farmers and ‘wannabe’ farmers whose voice is growing louder and more persistent.

Many of the top chefs have vegetable and herb gardens and are growing at least some fresh produce on the roof or balcony or in a variety of containers – they are desperate to source really fresh organic produce for their menus. Of course it also adds to the story. Several chefs including April Bloomfield are buying farms upstate New York in order to have a trustworthy supply of fresh home produced food – it’s unlikely to be cheaper but it provides ingredients with impeccable provenance and a great story.

There’s a deep craving and a growing market for this kind of food and this kind of story. Food you can trust, from small production systems.  Interestingly, there’s a growing realisation that food from small production is distinctly different from intensively produced food and chefs are highlighting this on their menu. At Noma in Copenhagen, Rene Redzepi tells us that the butter comes from a herd of just five goats on a small farm in Sweden. I suppose I could boast that our Jersey butter comes from a herd of just three cows!

When people know the story they understand why they need to pay a little more but they must be able taste a difference otherwise why would you?

 

April Bloomfield shared these delicious recipes from her brilliant cookery book A Girl and Her Pig, published by Canongate Books.

 

April Bloomfield’s Sausage Stuffed Onions

 

Serves 4

 

4 medium red onions (about 225g each) peeled, stem ends trimmed but left intact

About 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Maldon or other flaky sea salt

1 head garlic

Small handful thyme sprigs, plus 1 teaspoon leaves

125g homemade sausage (see recipe)

Or shop bought, removed from casing if necessary

225ml double cream

 

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Put the onions in a medium casserole or other ovenproof pot with a lid. Drizzle some olive oil into your hand and rub it on the onions. You’ll probably end up using about 2 tablespoons. Grab some salt and crush it between your fingers as you sprinkle it all over each onion, turning the onions to make sure the salt adheres to all sides. Put them in the pot.

Tear off the outermost layers of peel from the garlic head so the cloves are exposed. Put it in the middle of the onions and drizzle on a little olive oil. Scatter the thyme sprigs over the onions, and pour 75ml water around the onions and garlic. Cover the pot and put it in the oven. Cook just until the onions are lightly browned and soft enough that you can insert a knife into the centre with barely any resistance, 50 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of your onions. Let them sit, covered, on the top of the stove until they’re cool enough to handle, so they get even softer (leave the oven on.)

Carefully transfer the onions to a plate or cutting board, leaving the liquid behind in the pot. Use a small spoon to scoop out a few layers of the insides of each onion and stuff each one with about 2 tablespoons of the sausage. Add the scooped-out onion bits to a 30cm ovenproof pan or small baking dish. (when you add the cream and water, the liquid should come a little less than half way up the sides of the onions.) Squeeze the soft flesh of the garlic cloves into the pan and add the thyme leaves, cream and 225ml water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring the mixture to a full boil, add the stuffed onions, sausage side up, and baste them with the liquid for a minute or so.

Pop the pan into the oven, uncovered, and cook, basting the onions every ten minutes or so, until the sauce is thick but not gloopy, about 40 minutes. Taste the sauce and add a little more salt, if you’d like. Bring the pan to the table, spoon a little of the sauce over the top of each onion and dig in.

 

April Bloomfield’s Simple Sausage

 

This is  a simple recipe, using  a loose sausage mix, which you can form into patties (for a lovely breakfast sausage, just leave out the fennel and chillies) and brown in a pan. Or try tossing browned chunks with orecchiette and broccoli rabe (also called rapini), or use it to make

 

Sausage-Stuffed Onions (see recipe). makes 1.1kg

 

675g boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2.5cm pieces

450g pork backfat, cut into 2.5cm pieces

2 tablespoons sea salt

½ nutmeg, grated

2 teaspoons fennel seeds, ground

10 dried pequin chillies, crumbled, or pinches of red pepper flakes

Special Equipment

Meat mincer or meat mincing attachment of a stand mixer

 

Combine the shoulder and pork backfat in a large mixing bowl and toss well.

Cover the bowl with Clingfilm and pop it in the freezer until the edges of the meat get crunchy, about 1 hour.

Use a meat mincer (or the mincing attachment of a stand mixer) to mince the mixture coarsely into a bowl. Add the salt, nutmeg, fennel, and chillies, then mix with your hands, folding over and pushing down on the mixture, for a minute or two. You’re trying to

get the fat and meat and seasoning evenly distributed, but you’re also mixing it so it gets a bit sticky. This will help the sausage stay firm and hold together.

If you’d like, make a little patty and fry it up to test the seasoning. You can add a bit more fennel, nutmeg, chilli, and/or salt, if you’d like. Use it straightaway, or cover with Clingfilm and keep it in the fridge for 2 to 3 days or the freezer for up to a month.

 

April Bloomfield’s Jerusalem Artichoke Smash

 

Jerusalem Artichokes have a slightly sweet flavour and a nutty aroma. For this recipe, smash them, rather than mash them, keeping them pretty chunky and adding just a bit of cream, so you don’t mask their flavour. Consider Jerusalem Artichokes any time you’re thinking of serving mashed potatoes.

 

serves 4

 

900g Jerusalem artichokes

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Maldon or another flaky sea salt

2 tablespoons double cream

Freshly ground black pepper

A five-fingered pinch of parsley leaves

 

Fill a big bowl with cold water. Peel the Jerusalem artichokes as best you can. They’re a bit knobby, so it’ll take some time, but it’s worth it. It’s okay if you can’t get every last bit of skin. As you peel each one, drop it in the water to prevent browning. Once you’ve peeled all the artichokes, drain them and chop them into rough 2.5cm pieces. Add the pieces to a medium pot that has a lid, along with the olive oil, the salt, and 50ml water. Give a good stir, cover the pot, and set it over medium-high heat. Cook at a steady simmer, stirring once in a while, until the chunks are just barely crunchy, about 25 minutes.

Take the pot off the heat. Stir and smash the chunks a bit with a sturdy whisk or spoon, then add the cream and stir and smash to incorporate it. Keep stirring and smashing until you have a rough mash, some of it smooth and creamy and some of the chokes in medium and small chunks. Add a few twists of black pepper and a sprinkle of parsley. Serve piping hot.

 

April Bloomfield’s Rhubarb Fool with Cardamom Cream and Pistachios

The rhubarb’s earthy flavour and sharp tartness balance the floral cardamom whipped cream. Layer the fool in small clear jars, so you can see the pink and white, pink and white. Well chilled, it’s wonderfully refreshing. And not too sweet.

 

serves 4

 

For the Cardamom Cream

6 green cardamom pods

3 tablespoons caster sugar

225ml crème frâiche

225ml double cream

 

For the Rhubarb

550g rhubarb (about 3 fat stalks), topped and tailed, then sliced crosswise into 4cm pieces

50g caster sugar

100ml dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

2½ teaspoons rose water

To serve the fool

75g shelled salted roasted pistachios

Pistachio Brandy Snaps for scooping

Make the cardamom cream: Use the flat of your knife to smash the cardamom pods one by one. Discard the greenish husks. Pound the cardamom seeds to a powder in a mortar, then add the sugar and pound briefly.

Put the creme fraiche and double cream in a large mixing bowl and stir in the

sugar mixture. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate it while you cook the rhubarb.

 

Make the rhubarb: Toss together the rhubarb and sugar in a bowl. Put the

mixture in a medium pot and add the white wine. Use a knife to scrape the seeds

from the vanilla bean into the pot; discard the pod. Set the pot over medium-low

heat, bring to a very gentle simmer, and cook, tenderly stirring occasionally, until the liquid is a little creamy and the rhubarb is very tender but the pieces are still more or less intact, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. (To cool it quickly, scrape the mixture into another bowl, set it over a larger bowl filled with ice, and stir gently.) Once the rhubarb is completely cool, stir in the rose water.

Make the fool: Use a whisk or handheld electric mixer to whip the cream mixture until it’s fluffy and full, with semi-stiff peaks. Grab four approximately 225g serving containers or one large bowl for a family-style presentation. It’s nice if they’re clear, so you can see the layers. Spoon some of the rhubarb mixture into the bottom of each glass (or into the large bowl), top with a layer of cream, and sprinkle on some pistachios. Keep layering this way until you’ve used everything up, making sure you finish with a layer of rhubarb.

Cover and pop into the fridge until well chilled, at least 1 hour.

 

Hottips

 

Calling all Food Writers. At last, an invaluable insight into a food editors mind…How to Write About Food – the Top 50 Writing Bloopers to Cross an Editors Desk – straight from the horse’s mouth – one of Ireland’s longest standing restaurant critics and editor – Ross Golden-Bannon.

Ross has written a handy short eBook that covers the top fifty issues, mistakes and problems which have crossed his desk over the previous twelve years.

You’ll also find top-tips on style, logic, legal issues and syntax as well as some examples of the profoundly stupid. Available on Kindle, Amazon and www.howtowriteaboutfood.com for $3.68. If you do not own a palm book or Kindle you can download eBook reader apps and software onto your desktop and read it there.

 

If you have dreams of opening your own teashop or café you might consider attending the week long Start Your Own Café or Teashop practical cookery and business course at Ballymaloe Cookery School.  The course starts on Monday 8th April to Friday 12th April, 2013 and costs €895.00 for the week. See www.cookingisfun.ie or phone 021 4646785 for more details.

 

Date for the diary…Galway Food Festival – 28th March – 1st April 2013

www.galwayfoodfestival.com

As the horsemeat scandal continues to gain momentum what amazes me more than anything is why we are surprised. How exactly do we explain the incredibly low price of many processed foods? For those of us who are farmers and food producers we know it cannot be done without resorting to deeply unsavoury practices. Furthermore, what is going on behind the scenes has been well known in food circles for a long time.

It is a global issue and unlikely to be the only area of scary adulteration that comes to light. All the more reason for the Government, The Department of Agriculture and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) to encourage and support artisan food producers in farmers markets, country markets, small shops, local butchers, abattoirs, fish mongers…

Over the past few weeks there has been much discussion among food producers who have ‘been put through the wringer’ or ‘constantly hassled’ as one woman put it.

Beef farmers are justifiably very, very angry. Could this be the time for farmers to take back control and start the co-ops all over again?

This whole affair which has resulted in a multimillion dollar recall is shining a bright and for some, deeply uncomfortable light on areas of a bewilderingly complex food chain that is very rarely scrutinised. Investigations have revealed an international criminal conspiracy and a tangled web where it would appear that rules and laws are constantly broken.

On the other hand, local food producers are known in their own area and their neighbours invariably know exactly how the food is produced and whether they operate to a high standard. Invariably they are passionate about quality and are acutely aware that their reputation and the success of their business depends on maintaining the highest standard.

“It’s easy to hassle the small people, let them prove to us that they are prepared to tackle the multinationals before they hassle me about labelling jam made from my own home-grown fruit and black berries from the ditches around me,” said another irate jam maker who was told under EU regulations that her jam needed to be labelled the same as the pots in the supermarket. Surely there needs to be a procedure to differentiate between these two very different production systems.

So it becomes more and more obvious that if we want food we can trust, we need to source as much as possible close to home from people we can trust, and where better to start than our own back yard.

In the midst of all this we can be justifiably proud of the FSAI who flagged up the problem in the first place and our Minister of Agriculture Simon Coveney who, despite the criticism levelled at him has dealt with a difficult situation in a carefully measured manner.

Meanwhile back to the kitchen for a weekend menu.

 

Watercress, Blood Orange and New Seasons Toonsbridge Mozzarella Salad

 

A few beautiful fresh ingredients put together simply to make an irresistible starter.

Serves 4

2 – 3 balls of fresh Toonsbridge Mozzarella

2 blood oranges

a bunch of fresh watercress

2 – 3 tablespoons Irish honey

a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

some coarsely ground black pepper

Just before serving, scatter a few watercress leaves over the base of each plate, slice or tear some mozzarella over the top. With a sharp knife remove the peel and pith from the blood oranges, cut into ¼ inch thick slices, tuck a few here and there in-between the watercress and mozzarella. Drizzle with honey and really good extra virgin olive oil. Finally add a little coarsely ground fresh black pepper and serve.

 

Braised Neck of Lamb with Wild Garlic Mash

 

Wild garlic is back in season so let’s feast on it for the next few weeks. Lamb neck or scrag end is ‘cheap and chips’ and really sweet and juicy.

Serves 9-10

 

6 half lamb necks (scrag ends) on the bone

extra virgin olive oil or trimmed lamb fat

4 medium onions, quartered

2 large carrots, cut in chunks

1/2 head celery, coarsely chopped

5 bay leaves

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

8-10 cloves of garlic, peeled

4 sprigs of rosemary

500ml (18fl oz) lamb stock or water

62ml (2 1/2fl oz) white wine

 

chopped parsley

 

Trim the excess fat off the necks. Cut into cubes, render out the liquid fat in a large sauté pan over a medium heat.

Season the lamb necks with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove the pieces of lamb fat from the pan and discard (alternatively you can use extra virgin olive oil).  On a high heat seal the meat for a couple of minutes on all sides turning until nicely browned.  Remove from the pan.  Add the coarsely chopped root vegetables, to the pan and toss and cook for 2 – 3 minutes.  Lay the lamb necks on top; add the herbs, white wine, chopped tomatoes, garlic and enough stock to come 2/3 of the way up the meat.

 

Bring to a simmer on top of the stove and then transfer into a preheated oven  250°C/500°F/Gas Mark 10, to start with and when it’s simmering gently, cover the lamb loosely with the lid or parchment paper.  Reduce the heat to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and cook until completely tender – 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat should be almost falling of the bones.

Cool and pop into the fridge until next day (alternatively skim off every bit of fat)

 

To Serve

 

Remove and discard the solidified fat and warm through uncovered in a hot oven. Taste and correct seasoning before serving.  Scatter with lots of chopped parsley.

 

Serve with Wild Garlic Mash (see recipe)

 

Wild Garlic Mash

 

Serves 4

 

2 lbs (900g) unpeeled potatoes, preferably Golden Wonders or Kerr’s Pinks

½ pint (300ml) creamy milk approx.

1 whole egg

1-2 ozs (30-55g) butter or extra virgin olive oil

6 tablespoon freshly chopped wild garlic leaves

 

Garnish

 

Wild Garlic Flowers (Alium ursinum)

 

Scrub the potatoes well. Put them into a saucepan of cold water, add a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil. When the potatoes are about half cooked, 15 minutes approx. for ‘old’ potatoes, strain off two-thirds of the water, replace the lid on the saucepan, put on to a gentle heat and allow the potatoes to steam until they are fully cooked. Peel immediately by just pulling off the skins, so you have as little waste as possible, mash while hot (see below). (If you have a large quantity, put the potatoes into the bowl of a food mixer and beat with the spade).

 

While the potatoes are being peeled, bring about ½ pint (300ml) of milk to the boil. Add the egg into the hot mashed potatoes, and add enough boiling creamy milk to mix to a soft light consistency suitable for piping, add the freshly wild garlic and then beat in the butter or olive oil, the amount depending on how rich you like your potatoes. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Scatter with wild garlic flowers.

 

Note: If the potatoes are not peeled and mashed while hot and if the boiling milk is not added immediately, the potato will be lumpy and gluey.

 

Rhubarb and Custard Tart

 

Serves 10-12

 

Pastry

8 ozs (225g) plain flour

6 ozs (175g) butter

pinch of salt

1 dessertspoon icing sugar

a little beaten egg or egg yolk and water to bind

 

Filling

 

1lb (450g) or a little more rhubarb, cut into small pieces

6-8 tablespoons castor sugar

300ml (10fl oz) cream

2 large or 3 small eggs

2 tablespoons castor sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

1 x 12 inch (30.5cm) tart tin or 2 x 7 inch (18cm) tart tins

 

Make the shortcrust pastry in the usual way (see recipe). Line a tart tin (or tins), with a removable base and chill for 10 minutes. Line with paper and fill with dried beans and bake blind in a moderate oven 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 for 15-20 minutes. Remove the paper and beans, paint the tart with a little egg wash and return to the oven for 3 or 4 minutes.

Arrange the cut rhubarb evenly inside the tart shell.  Sprinkle with 6-8 tablespoons castor sugar.

Whisk the eggs well, with the 2 tablespoons sugar and vanilla extract, add the cream. Strain this mixture over the rhubarb and bake at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4, for 35 minutes until the custard is set and the rhubarb is fully cooked. Serve warm with a bowl of whipped cream.

 

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

 

This is almost the most versatile of all the pastries. Use at least 1 part butter to 2 parts flour.  The higher the proportion of butter, the more delicious the pastry, but the more difficult it will be to handle.

 

Makes enough pastry to line a 23cm (9 inch) flan ring

 

175g (6oz) plain white flour

75g (3oz) butter

40g (1 1/2oz) caster sugar

1 large organic egg, whisked

 

Dice the butter and leave to soften at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Sift the flour onto a work surface and rub in the butter.  Add the sugar.  Make a well in the centre and break in the egg, adding a little water if necessary.  Use your fingertips to rub in, pulling in more flour mixture from the outside as you work.  Knead with the heel of your hand, making three turns.  You should end up with a silky smooth ball of dough.  Wrap in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for at least 1 hour before using.  It will keep for a week in the fridge and also freezes well.

 

Hottips

 

Neven Maguire, one of the nicest guys on the whole Irish food scene is coming to Trabolgan to do a cookery demonstration in aid of the Aghada GAA on Tuesday March 5th.  Doors open at 8pm. Cheese and Wine reception, craft and artisan food producer stalls. Tickets €20 per person. Tel: 021 4661223 Day’s Spar, Whitegate, East Cork.

The Organic Centre Rossinver, Co Leitrim, Complete Organic Garden Day at the Organic Centre on Saturday 9^th March will focus mainly on soil fertility management, composting, sowing in the polytunnel. The course costs €75.00 and starts at 10am to 4:00pm. Spring into the Garden incorporating the annual Potato Day is on Sunday 10^th March from 11am to 5pm – there will be gardening demonstrations, walks and talks with lots of brilliant advice on sowing, soil preparation, seed choice…don’t miss the Langford Lissadell Potato Collection  -that has over 150 distinct varieties – that will be on display.  www.theorganiccentre.ie

Cooking for Baby – Natural and Wholesome Recipes half day course at Ballymaloe Cookery School Friday 8^th March 2:00pm to 5:00pm. Learn the best ways of feeding your baby healthy food, Darina Allen who is a mother of four and grandmother of eight, is happy to pass on the tips and advice gleaned over years of feeding her healthy children and sturdy grandchildren totally without packets, cans or jars! – 021 4646785 – www.cookingisfun.ie

 

Safefood Ireland, recently commissioned a report on The Cost of Overweight and Obesity on the Island of Ireland. The report which was compiled with the help of the HSE (Health Service Executive) and NUI (National University of Ireland) Galway, DCU (Dublin City University), IPH (Institute of Public Health Ireland), National Cancer Registry Ireland, Queens University Belfast and Safe Food highlighted the lack of information to date. This comprehensive assessment of the cost of overweight and obesity in Ireland began in 2012 – the findings are quite simply shocking, 60% of Irish people are now overweight or obese and the cost to the exchequer read taxpayer is between 1 – 9 % of total healthcare.  That’s bad enough but indirect costs maybe as much again or even more.

Direct costs include In-Patient, Out-Patient, General Practice – drugs and prescription costs.

Indirect costs include lost productivity in the work place due to overweight and obesity related illness, premature mortality.

The list of chronic conditions associated with overweight and obesity is long and scary, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, clot on lung, back pain, osteoarthritis, diabetes, asthma, gout, gallbladder disease, colon cancer, oesophageal cancer…

The chance of getting Type 2 diabetes increased by 140% in overweight men and 574% in men who are obese.

In women, it’s significantly higher 292% when overweight but a shocking increase of 1141% when obese. To see the whole report go to http://www.safefood.eu/Publications/Research-reports/The-cost-of-overweight-and-obesity-on-the-Island

So what to do, well I don’t have a magic bullet but this much I do know – we’ll all feel much better if we eliminate all processed foods from our diets.

1. Buy only or mostly fresh food, in season with the exception of bananas and citrus and avoid anything that makes health claims.
2. Find a butcher you can trust, learn about inexpensive cuts of meat and offal and find out how to cook them.
3. Eliminate all fizzy drinks totally from your diet and all breakfast cereals, with the exception of porridge, muesli and granola.
4. Eat lots of peas, beans, pulses and good grains – they are an easy inexpensive form of protein and are endlessly versatile.
5. Don’t eat between meals, standing up or on the run. Sit down around a table, eat slowly, you’ll find that you are eating less and enjoying your food more.
6. Grow some of your own food, something, anything, anywhere, in any container you can find – on the windowsill, balcony, back yard, haggard field, just do it.
7. Get a few hens, you don’t need much space, if you put them in a roomy chicken coop and move them around your lawn. They must have fresh grass to healthy, otherwise forget about it and source the best you can from a local farmer country market or local shop. What kind of a country do live in where it is illegal for your local shop to sell local farmers eggs, unless they are registered (quite a mission)
8. Mothers and fathers of Ireland rise up and insist that the supermarkets remove all sweets and bars away from the tills where you queue with your children and while you are at it ask for a crèche so you don’t have to bring your child into the supermarket at all. Don’t underestimate the effect of pester power.
9. Whenever possible, support small local shops, it’s a different kind of shopping, more personal and you’ll find dirty carrots and potatoes, yippee!
10. Avoid all light, low fat and diet foods and lets cut our sugar intake by half immediately.

Buy Michael Pollan’s book ‘Food Rules’ it only costs about €6.00 and it could change your life!

 

Potato and Wild Garlic Soup

 

There are two types, Wild garlic (Allium ursinum), which grows in shady places along the banks of streams and in undisturbed mossy woodland, and Snowbells (Allium triquetrum), these resemble white bluebells and usually grow along the sides of country lanes. It’s delicious in salads, pasta, sauces, soups and stews.

Serves 6

 

45g (1 1/2oz) butter

150g (5oz) peeled and chopped potatoes

110g (4oz) peeled and chopped onion

salt and freshly ground pepper

900ml (1 1/2 pint) water or home-made chicken stock or vegetable stock

300ml (1/2 pint) creamy milk

150g (5oz) chopped wild garlic leaves (Allium Ursinum)

 

Garnish

wild garlic flowers

 

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

 

Meanwhile prepare the wild garlic leaves. When the vegetables are almost soft but not coloured add the stock and milk, bring to the boil and cook until the potatoes and onions are fully cooked. Add the wild garlic and boil with the lid off for 4-5 minutes with the lid off approximately until the wild garlic is cooked. Do not overcook or the soup will lose its fresh green colour. Puree the soup in a liquidiser or food processor. Taste and correct seasoning.  Serve sprinkled with a few wild garlic flowers.

 

West Cork Cheddar Cheese ‘Foccacia’

 

 

Soda Bread only takes 2 or 3 minutes to make and 20-30 minutes to bake.  It is best eaten on the day it is made but is still perfectly edible next day and is also very good toasted.  It is certainly another of the great convertibles.  We’ve had the greatest fun experimenting with different variations and uses and now the possibilities are endless for the hitherto humble Soda Bread.   Here we bake it flat with a bubbly Cheddar cheese topping.

 

1 lb (450g) plain white flour, preferably unbleached

1 level teaspoon salt

1 level teaspoon bread soda (Bicarbonate of Soda/Baking Soda)

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

4-6 ozs (110-175g) Irish mature Cheddar cheese

 

1 Swiss Roll tin 12 x 9 inches (31 x 23cm)

 

First fully preheat your oven to 230°C/450°F/regulo 8.

 

Sieve all the dry ingredients.   Make a well in the centre.  Pour all of the milk in at once.  Using one hand, mix in the flour from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be softish, not too wet and sticky.  When it all comes together, turn it out onto a floured board.  Tidy it up, flip over and roll the dough into a rectangle, approx.12x 9 inches (31 x 23cm).   Brush the tin with extra virgin olive oil. Press the dough gently into the tin. Scatter the grated cheese evenly over the top.

 

Bake in a hot oven for 5 minutes, then turn down the oven to 200°C/400°F/regulo 6 for about 20-25 minutes or until just cooked. The cheese should be bubbly and golden on top.

 

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Cut into squares and serve.

 

Other yummy toppings:

Tomato Fondue and Cheddar cheese

Piperonata and Pepperoni

 

Gratin of Cod with Leeks and Crunchy Buttered Crumbs

 

 

Fresh fish with a crunchy topping in a creamy sauce is always tempting. There is an added bonus with this recipe because one can do many variations, all of which are delicious.

Even without the leeks this is delicious.

 

Serves 6-8

 

2 1/4 lbs (1.1kg) hake, cod, ling, haddock, grey sea mullet or pollock

salt and freshly ground pepper

1lb (450g) leeks

1 oz (25g) butter

 

Mornay Sauce

 

1 pint (600ml) milk

a few slices of carrot and onion

3 or 4 peppercorns

a sprig of thyme and parsley

2 ozs (55g) approx. roux (1oz (25g) butter and 1oz (25g) flour)

5-6 ozs (140-170g) grated Cheddar or 3 ozs (75g) grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon mustard preferably Dijon

salt and freshly ground pepper

 

1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley (optional)

1/2 oz (15g) butter

salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Buttered Crumbs

 

1 ozs (25g) butter

2 ozs (50g) soft, white breadcrumbs

 

1 3/4 lbs (790g) Duchesse Potato

 

First make the Mornay sauce. Put the cold milk into a saucepan with a few slices of carrot and onion, 3 or 4 peppercorns and a sprig of thyme and parsley. Bring to the boil, simmer for 4-5 minutes, and remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes if you have enough time.

 

Strain out the vegetables, bring the milk back to the boil and thicken with roux to a coating consistency.  Take off the heat, allow to cool for 1 minute then add the mustard and two thirds of the grated cheese, keep the remainder of the cheese for sprinkling over the top. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, taste and correct the seasoning if necessary. Add the parsley if using.

 

Next make the buttered crumbs. Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the breadcrumbs. Remove from the heat immediately and allow to cool.

 

Sweat 1lb (450g) finely sliced leeks in 1oz (25g) butter in a covered casserole over a gently heat – 5 – 6 minutes should be enough, they don’t need to be fully cooked.

 

Skin the fish and cut into portions: 6 ozs (175g) is good for a main course, 3 ozs (75g) for a starter. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Lightly butter the ovenproof dish, sprinkle the cooked leeks on the bottom, lay the fish on top and coat with the Mornay sauce. Mix the remaining grated cheese with the buttered crumbs and sprinkle over the top. Pipe a ruff of fluffy Duchesse Potato around the edge if you want to have a whole meal in one dish.

 

Cook in a moderate oven, 180ºC/350°F/gas mark 4, for 25-30 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and the top is golden brown and crispy. If necessary flash under the grill for a minute or two before you serve, to brown the edges of the potato.

 

 

Blood Orange Tart

 

Blood Oranges appear in our shops for just about 4 weeks from the end of January, so we use them in juices and cocktails, fruit salad and tarts.

 

Serves 8

 

175g (6ozs) white flour

1 tablespoon castor sugar

75g (3ozs) butter

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons orange juice or water approx.

 

Filling

1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks

100g (3 1/2ozs) castor sugar

75g (3ozs) butter

75g (3ozs) ground almonds

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

 

6 blood oranges

4-6 tablespoons apricot glaze

 

10 inch (25.5cm) tart tin with removable base

 

Sieve the flour into a bowl, add the castor sugar.  Cut the cold butter into cubes, rub into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.  Mix the orange juice or water with the egg yolk and use to bind the pastry.  Add a little more water if necessary but don’t make it too sticky.  Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so.

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/regulo 4.  Roll out the pastry, line the tart tin. Fill with baking beans and bake blind for 20 – 25 minutes.

 

Meanwhile cream the butter, add the castor sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beat well and then stir in the ground almonds and the liqueur.

 

When the tart is par-baked, allow to cool. Brush the base with apricot glaze and fill with the almond mixture, return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes approx. or until cooked and firm to the touch both in the centre as well as at the sides.  Meanwhile remove the peel and pith from the blood oranges and segment, drain and arrange in a pattern on top of the warm tart.  Alternatively slice the peeled oranges into thin rounds and arrange slightly over-lapping on top of the warm tart.  This looks prettiest but is slightly trickier to slice.  Either way paint evenly with apricot glaze.  Serve warm with a bowl of softly whipped cream.

 

Citrus Fruit Salad

 

In the winter when many fruits have abysmal flavour the citrus fruit are at their best, this delicious fresh tasting salad uses a wide variety of that ever expanding family.   It’s particularly good with blood oranges which appear in the shops for only a few weeks, so make the most of them.   Ugli fruit, Pomelo, Tangelos, Sweeties or any other members of the citrus family may be used in season.

 

Serves 6 approx.

 

1/2 lb (225g) Kumquats

12 fl ozs (350ml) water

7 ozs (200g) sugar

1 lime

1/2 lb (225g) Clementines

1/4-1/2 lb (110g-225g) Tangerines or Mandarins

2 blood oranges

1 pink grapefruit

lemon juice to taste if necessary

 

Slice the kumquats into 1/4 inch (5mm) rounds, remove pips. Dissolve the sugar in the water over a low heat, add the sliced kumquats. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool. Remove the zest from the lime with a zester and add with the juice to the kumquats.  Meanwhile peel the tangerines and clementines and remove as much of the white pith and strings as possible. Slice into rounds of 1/4 inch (5mm) thickness, add to the syrup. Segment the pink grapefruit and blood oranges and add to the syrup also. Leave to macerate for at least an hour. Taste and add a squeeze of lemon juice if necessary. Serve chilled.

 

Almond and Orange Florentines

 

Makes about 20

 

vegetable oil for brushing

2 organic egg whites

100g (3 1/2oz) icing sugar

260g (9 1/2oz) flaked almonds

grated zest of 1 orange

 

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF/Gas Mark 2.

 

Line a heavy baking tray with greaseproof paper and lightly brush with vegetable oil. Next to you have a small bowl with some cold water.

 

In a mixing bowl place together the whites, sugar, almonds and zest. Mix them gently until blended. Dip your hand in the bowl of water and pick up portions of the mix to make little mounds on the lined tray, well-spaced apart.

 

Dip a fork in the water and flatten each biscuit very thinly. You want to make the biscuits as thin as possible without creating many gaps between the almond flakes.

Place the baking tray in the oven and bake approximately 12 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown. Check underneath one biscuit to make sure they are cooked through.

 

Allow to cool down well. Gently, using a palette knife, remove the biscuits from the baking sheet and into a sealed jar.

 

Hot Tips

We picked the first of the wild garlic (Allium ursinum) leaves or ransoms this week and added them to salads, soups, sauces…Wild garlic butter is delicious with a piece of pan grilled fish. The first wild garlic grows in slightly shaded places, in woods and on the edges of fields. Allium Triquetrum looks more like a whote blue bell and more likely to be found on roadsides but a little later. Make the most of wild garlic while it’s in season for the next month or so.

 

Alicia Joy O’Sullivan had her first outing of the Skibbereen Farmers Market a couple of weeks ago.  She was inspired to bake by Rachel’s TV program ‘Bake!’ A beautiful little array of buns, cake and tarts. Let’s support and encourage our young food entrepreneurs. When we met Alicia she sweetly gave me a slice of her special cake to bring home to Rachel, her food hero.

The Dublin food scene is really hopping seems a new restaurant or café is opening every couple of weeks; I still haven’t got to Dylan McGrath Fade St Social in Dublin 2, which I hear is an exciting edition to the Dublin dining scene www.fadestreetsocial.com  I did however get to Hatch and Son beside the Little Museum of Dublin on Stephens Green (not to be missed) by 7pm on Thursday evening they’d had such a busy day that they’d almost run out of food!  Find them at 15 St Stephen’s Green Dublin 2. Telephone +353 1 6610075 – hatchandson1@gmail.com Hugo Arnold and the Dominic and Peaches Kemp are behind this enterprise, cool space and a real emphasis on Irish artisan ingredients, what Hugo describes as ‘No fuss, just good, honest Irish food.’

The demand for places on the Transition Year Work Experience Program at Ballymaloe Cookery School  in recent years has been phenomenal. In response, three new One Week Transition Year Cookery Courses before Easter 2013, have been added to the course schedule. TY Students will learn a variety of skills and cover a range of topics both in demonstration and Hands-On sessions. In one busy week students will learn how to make homemade bread, jam, soups, yummy starters, main courses, desserts, biscuits and even a cake or two plus how to make butter and yoghurt from our own Jersey cow’s milk and cream. Please phone 021 4646785 to book. Dates of courses are 25th February  – 1st March and  4th to 8th March and 11th to 15th March 2013.

Jez Felwick, lives my dream job I so want to have a food truck…ever since I saw the first food truck in California about 10 years ago I have longed to be 40 maybe 45 years younger and head off into the sunset with my Airstream, setting up here and there on street corners, at markets and festivals doing great food with local produce, pickles, relishes and crusty artisan bread. Who would have thought it!

Since it doesn’t look like it will become a reality for this aged hippie, I’ve been encouraging my students to consider it as an option and several have with considerable success.

The aforementioned, Jez Felwick AKA The Bowler – a spirited student who did the 12 Week Certificate Course at Ballymaloe Cookery School in April 2006 – has a food truck that has created a street food sensation in London.

 

The ‘Lawn Ranger’ – his grass covered street food van has been rolling out meat ball classics at various markets, Summer festivals and music events all over the UK. Classic combinations include Pork and Fennel Meatballs, Sweaty Balls – so hot they make you sweat – and the Popeye – packed with spinach and beef chuck. Jez has great fun creating unusual and pun-laden recipes, such as Bjorn Balls (a Scandinavian take on a classic meatball) and Balls Games – Game Balls (made with pheasant and bacon). And it’s not all meat; fish lovers adore Jez’s recipes for Wasabi Salmon & Sesame Seed Balls and Tuna and Ginger Balls, and veggies queue up for Brown Rice and Lentil Balls and Bean Balls.

 

So meatballs are all the rage. Grazia Magazine recently wrote ‘Who knew meatballs could be so hip?’ and meatballs have been buzzing on the US street food scene for a few years now – so it was only a matter of time before they reached our shores. Meatballs – whether they are made from meat, fish or veggies – are really good for and are also deeply comforting. They’re easy and fun to make whether you’re 8 or 80 and they’re also brilliant for using up ‘fridge odds and sods’.

 

I can’t image how Jez got time to write his first cook book – The Bowlers Meat Ball Cookbook published by Mitchell Beazley but he did and it’s full of great advice and exciting recipes for meatballs, fish balls and veggie balls, inexpensive comforting food. Who knew that meat balls could be so popular and that truck food could be such an exciting scene.

 

Vietnamese Noodle Soup with Pork Balls

 

Preparation time 40 minutes Cooking time 1 hour

 

Serves 4-6

 

Whenever I travel abroad now, I always try to factor in a visit to a local cooking class. It’s a great way to get an insight into the food culture of a country, find out about new ingredients and come away with a few handy tips. I went to Vietnam on my honeymoon and couldn’t move for pork balls, especially in soups, skewers and grilled. Here I have dropped some into a fairly traditional Vietnamese noodle soup that would be eaten day, night and even for breakfast.

 

The balls

 

1 large free-range egg

2 tablespoons plain flour

500g (18oz) pork shoulder, minced

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1 tablespoon chopped coriander

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

3 tablespoons Nuoc Cham (see recipe)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2.5 litres chicken stock

1 stick of cinnamon

4 spring onions, sliced lengthways

1 x 5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 star anise

200–300g (70z – 10 ½ oz) rice vermicelli noodles (allow 50g (2oz) dried weight per person)

1 red Thai chilli, seeds removed and sliced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 shallots, thinly sliced

150g (5oz) beansprouts, blanched

 

Beat the egg with the plain flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the minced pork, spring onions, coriander, ginger and Nuoc Cham and mix with your hands until well combined.

Heat a small frying pan over a high heat. Break off a small amount of the mixture, flatten between your fingers and fry until cooked. Taste to check the seasoning and add more if necessary. Form the mixture into 16–18 balls each 4cm in diameter, packing each one firmly.

Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan and add the balls in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Brown the balls for 3 minutes on each side then remove them from the pan and set aside. In a large pan, add the Chicken Stock, cinnamon, spring onions, fresh ginger, sugar, salt, fish sauce and star anise, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes to let the flavours infuse. Strain the broth into another pan and taste for flavour – you can add a little Nuoc Cham if it needs a boost. Turn the heat back on, drop in the pork balls and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the balls are cooked through. Meanwhile, drop the noodles into a pan of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes, then drain, refresh under cold water and drain again. Pour the soy sauce into a little dish and add the sliced chilli.

Drop the beansprouts into a saucepan of boiling water. Return to the boil and cook for 1 minute, then drain. Refresh in ice cold water and drain again.

Divide the noodles, shallots and beansprouts between your serving bowls, then pour over the broth and balls and garnish with coriander, basil and a wedge of lime. Serve the chilli soy sauce on the side to mix in if you require an extra flavour kick.

 

Nuoc Cham

 

Preparation time 10 minutes Cooking time none

 

Makes 200 ml (7fl oz)

 

This sauce is a staple in Vietnam. Primarily a dipping sauce for just about everything,

it balances the sweet, sour, salty and spicy elements that make Asian cooking so good

and gives a nice flavour to the pork balls used in Vietnamese Noodle Soup.

 

125ml (4floz) water

50g (2oz) granulated sugar

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 small garlic cloves

2 red Thai chillies, seeds removed and finely chopped

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons fish sauce

 

Put the water, sugar, lime juice and vinegar into a bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Taste to check the balance of sweet and sour, making adjustments if necessary. Combine the garlic, chillies and salt, using a pestle and mortar to create a smooth paste. Mix the garlic paste with the liquid in the bowl and add the fish sauce. Stir and taste again, checking the balance of sour, sweet, salt and spice.

 

 

Beef & Chorizo Balls

 

Preparation time 20 minutes Cooking time 30 minutes

 

Serves 6–8

 

Chorizo is one of my favourite ingredients. I love it. Sweet, spicy and smoky. I will keep a cooking chorizo on hand to add to just about anything, in order to take it to the next level. A starter for ten is to finely slice or dice it, fry it until crispy and use it like a crouton on soups, salads and in sandwiches. It makes a great partner to beef, so it was thrown into the mixer for this recipe early on.

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 large free-range egg

500g (18oz) beef chuck steak, minced

200g (7oz) cooking chorizo, sweet or spicy, finely diced

400g (14oz) white rice, cooked weight (100g uncooked)

200g (7oz) Manchego cheese, coarsely grated

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

100g (3 ½ oz) breadcrumbs

grated zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

 

Preheat the oven to 220ºC (425ºF), Gas Mark 7 and line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking parchment.

Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan. Add the shallots and cook on a low heat for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the shallots are soft and translucent. Beat the egg in a large bowl. Add the minced beef, shallots, garlic, chorizo, rice, cheese, smoked paprika, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, salt and parsley and mix with your hands until well combined.

 

Heat a small frying pan over a high heat. Break off a small amount of the mixture, flatten between your fingers and fry until cooked. Taste to check the seasoning and add more if necessary. Form the mixture into 28–30 balls each about 5cm in diameter, packing each one firmly, and place them on the prepared baking trays.

 

Bake for 18–20 minutes, turning the trays halfway through – the balls should begin to brown on the top. Keep an eye on them to make sure that they don’t get burnt underneath. I often serve these Bap ’n’ Ball style. Choose a bread roll of your choosing (I like a toasted ciabatta or brioche burger bun).

 

Great Balls of Fire

 

Preparation time 20 minutes Cooking time 35 minutes

 

Serves 4–6

 

This is the first ball I developed, and the first ball that I served to a member of the paying public. That was the moment when things really started to roll, with my cooking truly exposed and the adrenaline pumping. It felt good. This is a ball with plenty of flavour and texture, and I like to load up the chilli to increase the fire. The balls can take a good braise in any sauce, but I serve them in my spiced red onion and tomato version.

 

100g (3 ½ oz) ricotta cheese

2 free-range eggs

400g (14oz) pork shoulder, finely minced

200g (7oz) beef chuck steak, finely minced

100g (3 ½ oz) Japanese panko breadcrumbs or fresh breadcrumbs

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander stems, leaves reserved

2 teaspoons sea salt

½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes

1 x recipe Spiced Red Onion & Tomato Sauce (see recipe)

 

Preheat the oven to 220ºC (425ºF), Gas Mark 7 and line a large baking tray with non-stick baking parchment. Put the ricotta into a large bowl and fork through to break it up. Add the eggs and whisk together. Add the minced pork and beef, panko crumbs (or breadcrumbs), garlic, coriander stems, salt and chilli flakes, and mix with your hands until well combined. Heat a small frying pan over a high heat. Break off a small amount of the mixture, flatten between your fingers and fry until cooked. Taste to check the seasoning and spice levels and add more salt and chilli flakes if necessary. Form the mixture into about 18 balls each 4–5cm in diameter, packing each one firmly, and place them on the prepared baking tray. Bake in the oven for 15–18 minutes, turning the tray round halfway through – the balls should begin to brown on the top. Keep an eye on them to make sure that they don’t get burnt underneath. Meanwhile, heat the sauce in a large pan over a medium heat. When the balls are cooked, add them to the sauce and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with soured cream on the side and a few leaves of coriander scattered on top, and a baby spinach and rocket salad.

 

Spiced Red Onion & Tomato Sauce

 

Preparation time 10 minutes Cooking time 1 hour

 

Serves 4–6

 

When I’m asked what gives this sauce its flavour, I simply say, ‘I just get all the spices you can buy whole, toast them, grind them and put them into the sauce.’ Although this is a slight exaggeration, it’s pretty much the case. Be sure to take your time with this sauce, making sure the onions cook down slowly, then let the sauce reduce for a rich flavour.

 

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 onions, thinly sliced

1 x 5cm piece of fresh root ginger,

peeled and finely chopped

3 medium red chillies, seeds removed, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander stalks

2 tablespoons Bowler’s Dry Spice Blend (see recipe)

1 tablespoon tomato purée

2 x 400g (14oz) tins of Italian/quality chopped tomatoes

400ml (14fl oz) Chicken Stock

25g (1oz) soft light brown sugar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

75g (3oz) dried cranberries or sultanas/raisins

juice of 1 lime

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep pan over a low-medium heat. Add the onions, stir, then cover the pan and leave to cook gently for 10 minutes, or until very soft, but not browned. At this stage, I would always add a few pinches of salt and several grinds of pepper so that the onions are seasoned from the start, meaning that you won’t have to add so much later in the recipe.

Add the ginger, chillies, garlic, coriander stalks and Bowler’s Dry Spice. Blend and stir for 4 minutes, or until the chillies start to soften, making sure nothing catches on the base of the pan and burns. Then stir in the tomato purée and cook for 3 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock and a few pinches of salt and bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the sauce from sticking. Add three-quarters of the sugar, the soy sauce and the dried fruit. Stir and simmer for a further 15 minutes, then taste. The sweetness of the sauce can vary depending on the flavour of the tomatoes, so add more sugar or soy sauce if necessary. Taste again and add some or all of the lime juice. You should now have a thick, rich sauce that has a deep, sweet and sour flavour with warmth from the chillies and spices. Best served with Great Balls of Fire.

 

The Bowler’s Dry Spice Blend

 

Preparation time 5 minutes Cooking time 10 minutes

 

Makes approximately 135g (5oz)

 

This is a great way to add some deep spice to your sauces and other cooking. It really pays to buy all these spices whole and toast them in a dry non-stick heavy-based pan. Once toasted, the spices can be ground in a pestle and mortar, coffee grinder or food processor. The flavour you get from whole spices is much more intense and fresh than that of their ready-ground brothers, which will lose flavour once they hit the packet and certainly once opened. Heat a heavy-based non-stick frying pan over a medium heat until it starts to smoke.

 

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds

½ a star anise

1 whole cardamom pod

1 dried bay leaf

1 x 4cm stick of cinnamon, broken

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon black or yellow mustard seeds

½ teaspoon nigella seeds

 

Add all the ingredients to the dry pan except the mustard seeds and nigella seeds, and shake the pan every few seconds to keep the spices moving. After 1 minute add the mustard seeds and nigella seeds. After a further minute there will be a nutty, fragrant aroma coming off the pan and the coriander seeds and fennel seeds will start to turn a red-brown colour. Once this happens and the seeds begin to pop, remove the pan from the heat and tip the spices on to a plate to cool down. (If you leave them in the pan they will continue to cook and will quickly burn.) If using an electric grinder or processor, make sure the spices are cool to the touch before grinding in batches – if they are still hot they can give off a bit of moisture and stick to the sides of the machine. Alternatively use a pestle and mortar and grind the spices to a fine powder by hand. Once ground, you can keep this spice mix in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks.

 

Green Chilli Chicken Balls

 

Preparation time 20 minutes Cooking time 25 minutes

 

Serves 4–6

 

I love these balls because you can really taste the green chilli in them – it adds a great freshness. I use chicken thighs here because they have much more flavour and the result is a lot moister compared to using breast meat, which can sometimes dry out too quickly.

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

8 fresh green chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped

1 x 4cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

20 cashew nuts

3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander, plus extra leaves to garnish

2 free-range eggs

2 tablespoons milk

750g (1 ½ lbs + 2oz) boneless chicken thighs, minced

2 teaspoons Garam Masala

150g (5oz) breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons salt freshly ground black pepper

 

lime wedges, to serve

 

Preheat the oven to 220ºC (425ºF), Gas Mark 7 and line a large baking tray with non-stick baking parchment. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan. Add the onion and cook on a low heat for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, chillies, ginger and cashew nuts and cook on a low heat for 3 more minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Remove from the heat, allow to cool a little, then put into a food processor with the coriander and blitz to a rough paste. You might have to add a splash of olive oil or water to help it blend properly. Beat the eggs with the milk in a large bowl, then add the paste, minced chicken, garam masala, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, and mix well. Heat a small frying pan over a high heat. Break off a small amount of the mixture, flatten between your fingers and fry until cooked. Taste to check the seasoning and add more salt and spices if necessary. Form the mixture into 20–22 meatballs about 5cm in diameter, packing each one firmly, and place them on the prepared baking tray. Bake for 15–18 minutes, turning the tray halfway through – the balls should begin to brown on the top. Keep an eye on them to make sure that they don’t get burnt underneath.

 

Hottips

 

Find of the Week – The Courgette and Ginger Jam I found in the Skibbereen Farmers Market is made on Loughbeg Farm near Schull in West Cork by Walter and Josphine Ryan-Purcell  – a completely delicious spread that was so good slathered on my morning toast. It’s also yummy with goat’s cheese, with black pudding, in a sponge cake…

Walter and Josephine Ryan-Purcell also run a residential course in April ‘The Good Life’ at Loughbeg Farm. Live for a week on a small working farm in West Cork. Learn how to grow vegetables, milk goats, make cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, chutneys, jams, and raise pigs, sheep, cattle, poultry, and look after horses. See www.loughbegfarm.com for details – sounds idyllic. 00 353 (0) 86 819 7188 – walter@localcampus.com

 

Food Writing Course with Clarissa Hyman – 1 Day Course on Saturday 23rd February 9:30am to 5:00pm – at Ballymaloe Cookery School – €175.00 lunch included. Clarissa Hyman is a multi-award winning writer and author. She writes for a wide range of newspapers, magazines and guides, and has published three books on food, cookery and culture: The Spanish Kitchen (2005), Cucina Siciliana (2002) and The Jewish Kitchen (2003). She also contributed to “How the British Fell   in Love with Food” (2010), and wrote a highly acclaimed column in Country Living magazine about British food. Phone 021 4646785 or online www.cookingisfun.ie

 

Valentine’s Day is coming up so if you haven’t popped a card into the post get onto it right away, all the youngsters are agog with excitement and don’t we all love a little romance in our lives.

Many restaurants are already booked out of ‘tables for two’ on the 14^th  February but there is always the 13^th and the 15^th or you could cook a sizzling supper at home on St Valentine’s Day and really clock up brownie points. Try to ‘suss out’ favourite dishes ahead of time it’ll probably be comfort food maybe even the rice pudding Mummy used to make. Well if it is, so be it. The golden skin, an irresistible blob of softly whipped cream and some soft Barbados sugar on top transforms this simple pud into a feast. However if you wanted to make it more edgy, how about scattering a few pomegranate seeds and coarsely chopped pistachio nuts on top – or maybe add a few cardamom pods to the milk while cooking.

Blood oranges are in season just now, this little salad is fresh tasting and will flit across the lips and wake up the palette. I also love dips; they’re good for sharing and can be made well ahead. We love this new puréed beetroot and yoghurt with za’atar from Ottolenghi’ s last book Jerusalem. Serve it with some flat bread or toast.

A warm and comforting soup can also do the trick, we have tons of kale in the garden at present so we’ve been eating it in every possible way, this kale soup got an enthusiastic response recently but if you don’t love the sound of that substitute watercress or cabbage for the kale – still great but Curly Kale Soup really hits the spot.

I chose a tagine for main course, a Moroccan stew so easy to serve with couscous and a dollop of yogurt.

Follow it with a salad of winter leaves and whatever pud you fancy – it’s hard to beat a little choccie mousse and you could always put it in a heart shape dish – absolutely always a hit! And it might just bring on a proposal!

Curly Kale Soup

If you have curly kale, you usually have lots of it. One way to use it up is in this delicious soup. When I eat this, I feel like every mouthful is doing me good. Note that if this soup is to be reheated, just bring it to the boil and serve. Prolonged boiling spoils the colour and flavour of green soups.

Serves 6 

50g (2oz) butter

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

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

salt and freshly ground pepper

1.2 litres (2 pints) chicken stock or vegetable stock

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

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

 

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. When it foams, add the potatoes and

onions and turn them in the butter until well-coated. Sprinkle with salt and grind on some fresh black pepper. Cover and sweat on a gentle heat for 10 minutes. Add the stock and boil gently, covered, until the potatoes are soft. Add the chopped kale and cook with the lid off, until the kale is cooked, about 5 minutes. Keep the lid off to retain the green colour. Do not overcook or the vegetables will lose both their fresh flavour and colour. Purée the soup in a liquidiser or food processor. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the cream or creamy milk just before serving.

 

Ottolenghi’s Beetroot with Yoghurt and Za’atar

 

Serves 6

 

900g (2lb) medium beetroots – (500g (18oz) after cooking and peeling)

2 garlic cloves – crushed

1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

250g (9oz) Greek yoghurt

1 ½ tablespoon olive oil, plus extra to finish the dish

1 tablespoon za’atar

salt

 

To Garnish

 

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

15g (3 /4 oz) toasted hazelnuts, roughly crushed

60g (2 ½ oz) soft goats cheese, crumbled

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Mark 6. Wash the beetroot and place in a roasting tin. Put them in the oven and cook, uncovered, until a knife slices easily into the centre, approximately 1 hour. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel and cut each into about 6 pieces. Allow to cool down.

Place the beetroot, garlic, chilli and yoghurt in a food processor bowl and blend to a smooth paste. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in the date syrup, olive oil, za’atar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Taste and add more salt if you like.

Transfer the mash onto a flat serving plate and use the back of a spoon to spread the mixture around the plate. Scatter the spring onion, hazelnut and cheese on top and finally drizzle with a bit of oil Serve at room temperature.

 

If the beetroot is watery and the dip ends up runny and doesn’t hold its shape, consider adding a little mashed potato to help thicken it.

 

Lamb Tagine with Jewelled Couscous with Pomegranates and Pistachio Nuts

 

Serves 4

 

1 kg lamb shoulder diced

2 tablespoons oil

30g (1 1/4 oz) butter

4 onions, chopped

2 celery stalks, sliced

4 garlic cloves, sliced

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon chilli powder

2 bay leaves

350g (12oz) stoned prunes, soaked in lots of water for at least an hour or overnight

175g (6oz) dried apricots

hot stock or water

chopped fresh coriander to garnish

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on a high heat, brown the lamb on all sides in batches.

Heat another few tablespoons of olive oil in the pan, add the onions and celery and stir and cook on a medium heat until soft and lightly coloured, about 8 -10 minutes.  Sprinkle in the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add the spices begin to stir for 2 – 3 minutes until they release their aromas.

Add the bay leaves and dried fruit and pour over enough hot liquid to just cover.  Bring to the boil, then simmer very gently over a low heat until very tender – 1 ½ hours. Sprinkle with plenty of chopped coriander and serve with couscous.

 

Jewelled Couscous

 

Serves 8

 

350g (12oz) couscous, precooked

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

50g (2ozs) dried apricots, soaked in cold water

50g (2ozs) raisins

450ml (16fl oz) homemade chicken stock or water

salt and freshly ground pepper

pomegranate seeds from 1/2 pomegranate

50g (2oz) pistachio nuts (or toasted almonds) halved

2 tablespoons flat parsley leaves

2 tablespoons coriander leaves

 

Freshly squeezed lemon juice, if necessary

 

Put the couscous into a Pyrex bowl.  Drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil over the couscous and rub with your hands.  Drain and chop the apricots and add with the raisins to the couscous.  Bring the stock to the boil, add 1/2 teaspoon salt, pour over the couscous and dried fruit.  Allow to soak for 15 minutes, stir every now and then.  Cover the bowl, heat through in a moderate oven 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 for about 10 minutes.   We usually put the bowl into a Bain-Marie.  Taste and correct the seasoning.  Add the pomegranate seeds, pistachio nuts and fresh herbs just before serving, taste and add a little freshly squeezed lemon juice if necessary.

 

 

Valentine’s Day Rice Pudding

 

A creamy rice pudding is one of the most nostalgic comfort foods. You need to use short-grain rice, which plumps up as it cooks. This is definitely a forgotten pudding and it gets an unbelievable reaction every time!

 

Serves 6–8

 

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

50g (2oz) sugar

small knob of butter

1. 2 litres (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.

 

Three good things to serve with rice pudding:

•           Softly whipped cream and soft brown sugar (make a heart stencil to sprinkle the sugar over)

•           Compote of apricots and cardamom

•           Compote of sweet apples and rose geranium

 

Hottips

Seems like it’s all happening in Ringsend and Stoneybatter – the Shoreditch and Hackney of Dublin. Recently I popped into Food Game on Lotts Road near the Aviva Stadium, a tiny, cute little café and foodstore with a signal red awning and a couple of tables on the pavement. The interior is hip and cool, the menu is short, simple and well-chosen and the home baking pretty damn delicious, try their choccie dipped oatcakes or bacon and egg pies. Bring along your special pet. www.foodgame.ie

Winter Suppers – Michelle Darmody’s Cake Café in Dublin is offering another treat this year – Giles Clark whose impressive CV includes stints at Noma in Copenhagen, Alinea in Chicago and St Johns Bread and Wine in London – will cook a series of Winter Suppers on 13^th, 14^th, 15^th and 16^th February. Tickets cost €35.00 which includes a four course meal – you’ll need to book fast – 01- 4789394.

The buffaloes at Toonsbridge Dairy near Macroom, West Cork are milking again so we can look forward to Irish Mozzarella within the next few weeks. I recently picked up some plump Turkish figs and unsulphured apricots as well as olives from the Olive Stall close to the Midleton Farmers Market – 026 41471.

Come and make some noise at Ballymaloe Cookery School! East Cork Slow Food are having a Wassailing ceremony of eating, drinking and singing to scare away evil spirits and ensure a bountiful harvest of apples in the Autumn – today at 5.30pm in the orchard near the Shell House. Delicious free range pig on a spit and mulled apple juice with lots of dancing and singing around the bonfire, bring something to make music and noise and wear your wellies! Slow Food Members – €4.00 – Non Slow Food Members – €5.00. Pulled free range pork sandwich €10.000. Proceeds to the East Cork Slow Food Educational Project. Enquiries 085-2295237.

Marmalade seems to be a very personal taste. More than any other preserve it seems to evoke real passion. You don’t find people getting enthused in the same way about how they like their blackcurrant or raspberry jam. On the other hand a discussion on marmalade often elicits very firmly held view points and definite preferences. For some it must be totally traditional, made with Seville oranges and be dark and bitter. Others opt for fresh and fruity, some of us favour chunky peel, for others its slivery shreds. Another whole group hate any peel at all and just want bitter/sweet orange jelly to slather on their morning toast.

Marmalade is after all, mostly a breakfast thing – so it must be quite right at the time of the day when we are doing our best to wake up and come to terms with the world – one wrong note can upskuttle the whole day!

Marmalade making like barbequing and grilling, also appeals to guys, maybe it’s something to do with all that chopping, for some it brings back memories of childhood.

For whatever reason, marmalade definitely presses buttons for many, which may help to explain the extraordinary success of the annual Marmalade Festival launched in 2005 in Cumbria. The first Amateur Award had just 60 entries, in 2012, 1,800 jars were entered! The precious jars were posted from all over the world, including The British Virgin Islands, Japan, America, Canada, Spain, France, Gibraltar, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland, Alaska, Austria and South Africa.

This year there are eleven categories in the Amateur Awards and five in The Artisans’ Category – commercial marmalade makers who use the traditional open-pan method. There’s even a children’s competition and for home-bakers there is a new marmalade cake category.

This year for the first time there is a Marmalade Literary Competition so if you’d rather wield a pen than a chopping knife or wooden spoon that category might well appeal to you – you never know you might win a signed copy of a Paddington Bear book, children may also enter.

A few months ago I got a review copy of Marmalade – Sweet and Savoury Spreads for a Sophisticated Taste by Elizabeth Field published by Running Press.

I’ve been saving it until the marmalade oranges came into the shop so I could test some of the recipes.

 

Darina Allen’s Old Fashioned Seville Orange Marmalade

 

For those of you who are too busy to make marmalade at present, just buy the fruit and pop it in the freezer until you can snatch a few spare moments.

This is my classic marmalade recipe which I people repeatedly ask me for and the Seville Whole Orange Marmalade below. Seville and Malaga oranges come into the shops after Christmas and are around for 4-5 weeks, these bitter oranges are traditionally used for marmalade.

 

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.

 

Whiskey Marmalade

 

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

 

Seville Whole Orange Marmalade 

 

Most recipes require you to slice the orange peel first, but with this one you boil the oranges whole and then slice the cooked peel later. With any marmalade it is vital that the original liquid has reduced by half or, better still, two-thirds before the sugar is added; otherwise it takes ages to reach a set and both the flavour and colour will be spoiled. A wide, low-sided stainless-steel saucepan is best for this recipe, about 35.5cm (14 inches) deep and 40.5cm (16 inches) in diameter. If you don’t have one that big, then cook the marmalade in two batches.

 

Makes about 5.8–6.75kg (13–15lb)

 

2.25kg (4 1⁄2lb) Seville or Malaga oranges (organic if possible)

4kg (9lb/8 cups) sugar, warmed

 

Wash the oranges and put them in a stainless-steel saucepan with 5.2 litres (9 pints/22 1/2 cups) of water. Put a plate on top of the oranges to keep them under the surface of the water. Cover the saucepan, then simmer gently until the oranges are soft, about 2 hours. Cool and drain, reserving the water. (If more convenient, leave overnight and continue next day.)

 

Put a chopping board onto a large baking tray with sides so you won’t lose any juice. Then cut the oranges in half and scoop out the soft centre. Slice the peel finely and put the pips into a muslin bag.

 

Put the escaped juice, sliced oranges and the muslin bag of pips into a large, wide stainless-steel saucepan with the reserved cooking liquid. Bring to the boil, reduce by half or, better still, two-thirds. Add the warmed sugar and stir over a brisk heat until dissolved. Boil fast until setting point is reached. Pot in sterilised jars and cover immediately. Store in a dark, airy cupboard.

Bitter Orange, Rose Water and Almond Marmalade

 

Rose water varies in intensity; we found 2 tablespoons ample here and reduce the sugar by half or even one cup for a less sweet result.

 

 

Makes 5 jars

 

 

3 Seville oranges (about 675 g (1 ½ lbs) thinly sliced with seeds reserved

1 lemon, thinly sliced with seeds reserved

900g (2lb) granulated sugar

30ml (1 fl oz) rose water

35g (1 ½ oz) slivered almonds, toasted in a dry skillet until lightly golden

 

 

Put the orange and lemon slices in a medium bowl and cover with 1.5 litres of cold water. Put the seeds in a small bowl and cover with 237mls of water. Leave both to soak at room temperature overnight.

 

Transfer the citrus slices and their soaking water into a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan. Strain the soaking water from the seeds and add to the saucepan. Place the seeds on a 12 inch (30cm) square of double thickness cheesecloth. Gather up the corners and tie them shut with kitchen string. Add the bag to the saucepan.

 

Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and gently simmer the mixture for 1 ½ hours or until the citrus peel is tender when pierced with a fork. Turn off the heat. Remove the bag of seeds and when cool enough to handle, squeeze to extract as much pectin into the saucepan as possible. Discard the bag.

 

Add the sugar and stir over a low heat to dissolve. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a candy thermometer reads 104°C220°F. Use the ‘wrinkle test’ to double check for set. Skim off any scum or floating seeds. Stir in the rose water and almonds. Let stand in the saucepan for 5 minutes before ladling into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 6mm (1/4 inch) of headspace. Turn the jars upside down for a few minutes to ensure even distribution of the fruit. Process the jars in a hot water bath for 5 minutes. When thoroughly cool, label the jars. Store in a cool, dry place.

 

Blood Orange Marmalade

 

This recipe comes from the Marmalade Book by Elizabeth Field. We used 2 teaspoons of Campari which we felt was adequate, but you will want to add the liquor to taste or omit altogether.

 

Makes 4 jars

 

675g (1lb 6oz) blood oranges approximately, we used two

finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime – we used 2

720g (1 1/2lbs/4 cups) granulated sugar, or more to taste

3-4 teaspoons Campari, Cointreau or Grand Marnier (optional) (we used two teaspoons Campari)

 

Slice the tops and bottoms off each orange and discard.  Slice the oranges crosswise as thinly as possible, then cut each slice into four or six wedges.  Discard the seeds.  Place the orange wedges and 1.2 litres/5 cups  of water in a medium mixing bowl, cover, and let stand for 12-24 hours.

 

Transfer the mixture to a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Bring quickly to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the peel is tender when pierced with a fork.  Stir in the lime juice and zest.

 

Measure out the cooked citrus and liquid: to every cup – measure 150g (3/4 cup) – 175g (1 cup) sugar, according to your preference of sweetness.  Transfer the mixture to a clean, heavy-bottomed saucepan, and add the sugar.  Over a low heat, stir until the sugar has dissolved.  Increase the heat to medium-high and boil for 15-30 minutes or the mixture has thickened and a sugar thermometer reads 220°F/104°C.  Use the ‘wrinkle test’ to double-check for a firm set.  Stir in the Campari, Cointreau or Grand Marnier if you are using it.

 

Allow stand in the saucepan for 5 minutes before ladling into hot, sterilized jam jars leaving 5mm (1/4 inch) of headspace.  Seal.  Store in a cool, dark place.

 

Marmalade Cake with Honeycombed Filling

 

How delicious does this cake sound it comes from The Duchy Originals Cookbook by Johnny Acton and Nick Sandler published by Kyle Books.

 

Makes a large cake – 16 slices approx.

 

 

Equipment

Silicone sheet or baking tray lined with greaseproof paper

4 litre (7 pint) thick-bottomed saucepan

Sugar thermometer

Round Cake tin with removable base, 24 x 8cm (10x 3in)

 

For the honeycomb

75g (3oz) Duchy (or good quality local) honey

150ml (¼ pint) liquid glucose

400g (14oz) castor sugar

100ml (3½ fl.oz) water

15g (¾oz) bicarbonate of soda

 

For the Cake

250g (9oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

250g (9oz) caster sugar

3 large eggs and 1 extra yolk (about 250g/9oz in total)

250g (9oz) flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

50g (2oz) ground almonds

150g (5½oz) Duchy Originals (or home-made) Seville orange marmalade, plus 2 extra tablespoons

100ml (3½ fl.oz) double cream

50ml (2fl.oz) crème fráiche or sour cream

 

Start with the honeycomb.  First loosen the honey and glucose syrup by dipping their containers in warm water, then weigh out into your saucepan.  Then add the sugar and water and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.   Gradually raise the temperature of the pan’s contents to 150C (300F).  Something dramatic is about to happen.

Carefully sprinkle the bicarbonate of soda into the pan.  The contents will fizz up like lava from the underworld, but don’t be alarmed; this is what puts the tiny air bubbles into the honeycomb.  Stir the mixture to make sure all the powder is incorporated, then pour it out onto your silicone sheet (or baking tray).  Leave to set for at least 30 minutes, then break the brittle mass into small pieces.

Then take 100g (3½ oz) of the honeycomb and blend it in a food processor.  Stir the remainder in an airtight jar – you will have more than you need  – and you are unlikely to regret it.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350G/gas mark 4.  Grease the cake tin with butter, and then shake a little flour over it to form a non-stick barrier.  Turn the tin upside down and pat it so that any excess flour falls off.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl for 3-5 minutes until pale, light and fluffy.   Lightly beat the eggs, and slowly add them to the butter and sugar, mixing them as you go.   If the mixture starts to curdle, beat a little flour into it to bring it back.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and add the almonds.  Mix until the contents are smooth.  Fold in the marmalade with 4 swirls of the spoon to ensure that the cake is marbled.  Then gently pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake in the oven until cooked and firm (about 50 minutes).

Turn the cake onto a wire rack.  When it has cooled, cut it through the middle with a long serrated knife and lift off the top half.

Spread the bottom half of the cake with the 2 extra tablespoons of marmalade.  Then whip up the honeycomb with the cream and crème fraîche until stiff, and blob it over the marmalade.   Replace the top of the cake and leave it to set in a cool place for an hour.

 

 

Hottips

 

Date for your diary

The Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine – Friday 3^rd to Monday 6^th May 2013 will bring some of the world’s best known chefs, critics, commentators, kitchen gardeners, foragers and wine experts to East Cork – Ballymaloe House and Ballymaloe Cookery School. The objective of the Festival of Food and Wine is to bring together a wide, varied and international group of cookery writers, journalists, bloggers and critics including Alice Waters, Stephanie Alexander, Claudia Roden, Matthew Fort, David Thompson, Ruth Rodgers, Madhur Jaffrey , Jancis Robinson, Nick Landers, Klaus Meyer… www.litfest.ie

 

Want to write a blog but don’t know where to start? Join Lucy Pearce at Ballymaloe Cookery School Saturday 2nd February 2013 from 9:30am to 1:00pm for ‘Get Blogging’ a fast-paced, information-rich course, in just 3 hours you’ll be fired up and ready to go. Take a whistle-stop tour of the food blogging world and see what’s hot and what’s not. Learn just how diverse food blogging is. www.cookingisfun.ie or phone 021 4646785

 

O’Connells in Donnybrook – winners of the Best Casual Dining, Irish Restaurant Awards  2012 – News Years resolution for 2013 is to set themselves a mission to buy at least 65% of their core food produce from small Irish Artisan Food Producers. From Skeaganore West Cork Duck to Wexford Lamb and Sally Barnes Smoked Pollock to Free-Range Eggs from The Bergins in Co Laois… and lots of other delicious local food products on their menu. There is also an extensive coeliac menu. Tel (01) 269 6116 & 269 6125 www.oconnellsdonnybrook.com

 

I have to say my heart sinks when I consider the potential damage to the reputation of Ireland the green, clean, food island by the recent betrayal of trust

Unfortunately it is unlikely to be the last such incident now that we have virtually handed over control of what we eat to the multinationals. Understandably their primary concern is to their shareholders rather than the health of the nation, so the downward pressure on prices continues.

Food could be as cheap as would like it to be if there wasn’t such ludicrous amount of waste  in very stage from the field to the fork.

 

Everyone, every single citizen, doesn’t matter what the circumstances deserves to have access to nourishing wholesome food. We are not talking fancy food. I’m talking simple fresh food that is health giving food that satisfies and energises rather that empty nutritionally deficient food that leaves us with a perpetual craving and in some cases actually damages our health.

 

This challenge creates a terrible dilemma; food must be affordable for everyone so the downward pressure on prices is relentless.

Animals, plants even fish and shellfish are being produced ever more intensively. Processors are being challenged to produce ‘food’ ever more cheaply but beyond a certain point it simply cannot be done without  resorting to totally unacceptable  practices.

Whether we are prepared to admit it or not ‘cheap food is a myth’, the cost in health terms and socio –  economic terms is incalculable.

Take for example the 20 cent burger so much in recent news. Out of that 20 cents, 30+% goes to the retailer, 20% goes to the distributor, now we are down to 10 cents. The manufacturer’s costs must come of that, food cost, labour, packaging, insurance……………so we’re lucky if the value of the meat in the burger is as much as 5 cents –you might ask,  how can it be done?  Well now you know!

 

In the midst of all the furore, I telephoned my  local butcher and asked how much a kilo of mince from the cheapest cuts, say brisket, beef cheek, maybe shin, would cost with a nice proportion of beef fat to make it succulent and juicy – the answer €7.50 a kilo.

 

Out of that, I could make 10 tasty wholesome burgers but the meat cost alone would be 75 cents each. Of course I could spin that out by adding bread crumbs, a bit of sweated onion, some seasoning, some fresh  herbs and or spices to make them extra delicious – maybe get another 4 but we’re still talking 50 cents plus. The price of one good burger and there are some good burgers would realistically be about €1.50, so how can one possibly produce 8 burgers for €1.50 – well now we know – the answer is loud and clear.

 

There’s a huge difference in price and one that impacts significantly on a cash strapped family doing their utmost to stretch their food euros.

So what to do – I certainly don’t have a magic bullet but this much I do know – it’s a damn site easier if you are fortunate enough to be able to cookand have the almost forgotten skills of how to turn fresh inexpensive ingredients into a decent nourishing meal.

A fundamental change in our attitude to education is hugely needed, it’s not enough to teach our kids reading, writing and basic maths – we must teach them basic life skills of which cooking is the most important. We have failed to prepare the next generation by not giving them the simple skills to feed themselves properly and we are paying a very high price. Practical cookery classes and food education need to be embedded in the school curriculum as a fundamental of a rounded education. As in other countries references to food can be included in almost every subjects, history, geography, languages, maths (the recipe measurements)…..

Every week from now on I will do a recipe to feed four for max €5.50. Vegetables were never so cheap I saw a 10 kilo bag of rooster potatoes for €7.99 in a shop inWaterford,  the same quality of Kerrs Pinks was €8.95.

Cabbage is a nutritional marvel – a full head costs 50 cents, four parsnips 89 cents….our bodies are designed to eat a lot more vegetables and fruit, we can do with less meat but let’s make sure it’s the real thing, doesn’t have to be prime cuts, many of the tastiest and must succulent joints like shin of beef, lamb shanks, cheek oxtail, neck of lamb, shortribs, streaky bacon, ham hocks, pigs head are cheap and flavoursome of which more anon

 

Gratin of Potato Cheddar Cheese, Spring Onion and Bacon

 

Potato gratins are a tasty, nourishing and economical way to feed lots of hungry people on a chilly evening, This recipe could also include little pieces of  a lamb chop cut into dice, so it can be a sustaining main course or a delicious accompaniment.

Streaky bacon either smoked or unsmoked is always good value and a terrific store cupboard staple.

 

Serves 4 as a main course

Serves 6 as an accompaniment if you omit the bacon.

 

3 lbs (1.5kg) ‘old’ potatoes, eg. Golden Wonders or Kerrs Pinks

4-6ozs streaky bacon, cut into 1/2 inch lardons, strips.

2 bunches of spring onions, use both white and green parts, OR

I large onion, chopped

A knob of  butter, maybe 1 oz or so,

4-6 ozs (75-175g) Irish mature Cheddar cheese, grated

salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 – 3/4 pint (300-450ml/1 1/4 – 2 cups) homemade chicken, beef or vegetable stock

 

Oval ovenproof gratin dish – 12 1/2 inch (31.5cm) long x 2 inch (5cm) high

 

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

Slice the peeled potatoes thinly, about 1/4 thick. Put into a saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil for a minute or two, drain, refresh with cold water and drain well. (This removes the starch)

Trim the spring onions and chop both the green and white parts into approx. 1/4 inch (5mm) slices with a scissors or a knife. If you decide to use an ordinary onion, cook it in a little melted butter for a few mins until it softens

Rub an oven proof dish with a little butter, scatter with some of the bacon lardons and spring onions, then a layer of potatoes and some grated cheese.  Season well with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Continue to build up the layers finishing with an overlapping layer of potatoes, . Pour in the boiling stock, scatter with the remaining cheese .

Bake in a preheated oven for 1-1 1/4 hours or until the potatoes are tender and the top is brown and crispy.

Note: It may be necessary to cover the potatoes with a paper lid for the first half of the cooking.

 

Basic Beefburgers

 

Serves 4-6

 

After the recent revelations we scarcely need to be reminded that the secret of really good beefburgers is the quality of the mince, Find a local butcher that you can trust. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, after all its your health and the nourishment of your family thats at stake here. It doesn’t need to be an expensive cut but it is essential to use the beef on the day it is minced. A small percentage of fat in the mince will make the hamburgers sweet and juicy. The egg is not essential although it helps to bind the burgers and increases the food value. Fresh herbs are a delicious addition but not essential but seasoning is .

 

15g (½ oz) butter

 

55g (2oz) onion, chopped

 

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

 

½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

 

½ teaspoon finely chopped parsley

 

1 small egg, beaten, free-range and organic, optional

 

salt and freshly

 

oil or dripping

 

Melt the butter in a saucepan and toss in the chopped onion, sweat until soft but not coloured, allow to get cold. Meanwhile mix the mince with the herbs and beaten egg, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, add the onions and mix well. Fry off a tiny bit on the pan to check the seasoning, correct if necessary.  Then shape into hamburgers, 4-6 depending on the size you require. Cook to your taste on a medium-hot pan or grill pan in a little oil, turning once.

Serve on or off a bun or a Bla or even on toast  with or without chips and your favourite accompaniment, slices of cheese,  maybe tomato sauce , how about making that yourself .

 

 

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

Home-made hamburgers are a vast improvement on most mass produced burgers.  There are endless ways to serve them – cheese burgers, bacon burgers, chilli burgers, blue-cheese burgers, mushroom burgers.  The following are a few of our favourites, always served with lots of crispy Frites

crispy chips.

 

Tomato and Chilli Fondue

 

Reduce it a little more for pizza topping or to serve with burgers or it may be too sloppy.

 

4 ozs (110g/1 cup) sliced onions

A clove of garlic, crushed (optional)

1-2 chopped fresh chillies Jalapeno or less of Thai

1 dessertspoon (2 American teaspoons)  olive oil

2 lbs (900g) very ripe tomatoes, or  ½ fresh and ½ tinned

1-2 tablespoon (1-2 American tablespoons + 1-2 teaspoons) of any of the following chopped, thyme, parsley, mint, basil, lemon balm, marjoram

Salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar to taste

 

Sweat the sliced onions and garlic and chilli (if used) in oil on a gentle heat. It is vital for the success of this dish that the onions are completely soft before the tomatoes are added. Remove the hard core from the tomatoes. Put them into a deep bowl and cover them with boiling water. Count to 10 and then pour off the water immediately; peel off the skins, slice and add to the onions. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar and add a generous sprinkling of chopped basil. Cook for just 10-20 minutes more, or until the tomato softens.  Taste, correct seasoning.  May be served immediately or reheated later.

 

Tomato Fondue VVC

Omit the chilli from the above recipe.

Tomato Fondue with Chilli and Basil   VVC

Add torn basil instead of mixed herbs to the Tomato Fondue.

 

 

 

 

American Popovers

 

This is a gem of a recipe which can be made in seconds and used for breakfast or as a pudding or just to go with a cup of tea.  There are many variations on the theme, they can have sweet or savoury fillings and the ingredients for the batter only cost a few cents. Popovers can also be cooked in a 6 or 7 inch sponge cake tin until crisp and bubbly, then filled with a salad or anything you fancy…..

 

Makes 14 popovers

 

4 ozs (110g flour

2 free range eggs

10 fl ozs (1/2 pint/300ml )whole milk

1/2 ozs (15g/1/8 stick) butter, melted

Filling

1/2 pot homemade raspberry or blackcurrant jam

5 fl ozs (1/4 pint/150ml/generous 1/2 cup) cream, whipped

icing sugar, to dust

 

Sieve the flour into a bowl, make a well in the centre of the flour, drop in eggs.  Using a small whisk or wooden spoon, stir continuously, gradually drawing in flour from the sides and, add the milk in a steady stream at the same time.  When all the flour has been mixed in, whisk in the remainder of the milk and cool melted butter.  Allow to stand for one hour.  Grease Hot Deep Patty Tins with pure beef dripping or oil and fill half full.  Bake in a hot oven 230°C/450°F/regulo 8, for 20 minutes approx.

Remove from the tins.  Cool and fill with a blob of homemade raspberry jam and whipped cream.

Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

 

Note: If serving for breakfast fill with a spoon full of homemade marmalade, omit the cream.

 

Yorkshire Pudding: Follow the above recipe, use beef dripping or olive oil to grease the tins.  I sometimes put 2 or 3 stoned olives into each one.

 

Cheese Popovers: Add 2 ozs (50g) grated cheddar cheese and 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard and a good pinch of salt to the mixture, season well and proceed as above, omit the jam and cream!

 

Hot Tips

 

I found myself in Dalkey recently in need of a cup of tea and stumbled upon the Tramyard – apart from really good cup of tea in the cute café and a slice of barmbrack (we fought over the crumbs) There were several other little shops in individual timber beach huts across the cobbled yard and a BBgrill which seems to be swinging into action.

 

Knockdrinna Farm Shop

– not sure if you know about this little gem in the littlevillageofStoneyfordin Co Kilkenny. Coming fromDublinyou’ll need to swing off the road at Junction 9.  It’s on the main street a little farm shop with a tiny café behind. Here  multi award winning cheesemaker, Helen Finnegan makes cows, goats and sheeps milk cheese, I bought a deliciously oozing Knockadrinna Snow a piece of Abbot, a washed rind cheese only made around Christmas , a Lavistown and a ewe and goats milk both surface ripened for my students  to taste plus some of Helens rare breed dry cured rashers. There are homemade cakes, good chocolates, Paddy’s Granola, free range eggs and a range of local produce in season.

Tel: 056 7728 446

Sandbrook House Bed & Breakfast inCountyCarlowis close by, just the kind of comfy country house where you can curl up in a deep sofa in front of a roaring fire to read a good book and forget about the winter blues. Most country houses are quiet at the moment so you may even have the house to yourself and enjoy Sophia’s suppers.

Tel: 059 915 9247 or www.sandbrook.ie

www.irelands-blue-book.com

www.hiddenireland.com

 

The Coal Quay Farmers Market on Saturday morning is one ofCork’s best kept secrets, check it out once and I guarantee it’ll become a weekly habit, check out  Caroline Robinson ‘s stall

Country Markets – weekly all around the country, another place to find food of consistently good quality that you really can trust – Find out where your nearest country market is, the money goes directly to the producer or home baker and the high standard is rigorously adhered to. You’ll find excellent value for money

 

A date for your diary: Tues March 5^th. Neven Maguire one of the nicest guys on the whole Irish food scene is coming to Trabolgan to do a cookery demonstration in aid of the Aghada GAA. Doors open at 8pm. Cheese and Wine reception, craft and artisan food producer stalls. Tickets €20 per person

Tel: 021 4661223 Day’s Spar Whitegate