ArchiveMay 2014

We’ve gone crazy for seaweed in recent times; I’ve woken up to phenomenal variety of sea vegetables around our coast. We were always big fans (and still are) of carrageen moss and dilisk but that was pretty much the limit of my knowledge up to relatively recently. Dr Prannie Rhatigan whetted my appetite when she wrote Irish Seaweed Kitchen in 2009. Occasionally, I would meet Oliver Beaujoran on his market stall in Kenmare or at Food Festivals around the country – Oliver from France had an innate knowledge of seaweed and was permanently perplexed as to why we Irish didn’t seem to be particularly excited or knowledgeable about the wealth of free and delicious food along our coast lines. Since 1999 he has been selling seaweed tapenade, sea spaghetti at farmers markets to his devotees and chefs.
More recently several companies including Algaran Seaweed Products, Co Donegal and Wild Irish Sea Veg. Co Clare have developed very successful seaweed processing companies and there’s lots more in the pipeline.
The big break through for me was when Sally McKenna who wrote the excellent book Extreme Greens: Understanding Seaweeds explained that all seaweeds are edible, some may not be particularly palatable to nibble but none are poisonous and they are all immensely nutritious. Ever since I’ve been prowling along the coastline and seashore snipping and nibbling and having so much fun.
We’re making seaweed salads, adding seaweed to bread, sauces, stews and drinks, sometimes fresh, sometimes dried always with interesting and mostly delicious results. Recently I met Kate Burns whose family have lived and fished sustainably on Rathlin Island off the coast of Antrim for four generations. Kate with a ton of letters after her name has been involved in rural and marine development not just in Ireland and the UK but also Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania….for decades.
She introduced me to Rathlin Island kelp which is being harvested sustainably by Benji McFaul in the same time honoured way as it was by his father, grandfather and great grandfather before him. The cold waters are clean and pure due to the mix of Irish sea and Atlantic currents. It comes ready to use in packets, shredded like fettuccini and I love it. The environment creates ideal conditions for growing kelp. The McFaul family are well known for their commitment to the caring for the environment. Benji’s father Jim and brother Fergus won Northern Ireland organic farmers of the year in 2010 and their fishing and seafood business is earned out to responsible harvesting principals.
Kelp is amazing stuff, it has more calcium, iron and roughage than any other vegetable, a kind of a wonder food, I know I advise people against buying anything that makes a health claim but this time I really believe it.
There are three types of kelp – alaria, digitata and laminaria saacharina – you can get it fresh or frozen, noodle cut salad cut and wraps.
Kelp is just one of the myriad of seaweeds around our coast. We also love pepper dilisk, sea lettuce, sea spaghetti, kombu. We’re no longer surprised to find stinging nettles, elderflowers or dandelion leaves on restaurant or country pub menus so watch that space because many chefs have discovered the magic of seaweeds and are having lots of fun. Meanwhile you too can experiment.

Kelp Seafood Wrap
Serves 4

4 large pieces of Rathlin Island Kelp
150g fresh cooked crab meat
2 ripe avocados, thinly slices
1 chopped tomato
Extra virgin Olive oil to drizzle

Lay out the kelp flat on a cutting board or plate. Add crab, avocado and tomato down the centre of the kelp and drizzle with olive oil. Taste and season if necessary. Wrap the ingredients with the kelp, chill and enjoy.

Kelp Noodle Salad
Mix kelp noodles with teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds and serve.

Dilisk Bread

White Soda Bread (see recipe below)
15-25g (1/2-1oz) dilisk

Chop the dilisk and add to the dry ingredients of the soda bread.

 

White Soda Bread and Scones

Soda bread only takes 2 or 3 minutes to make and 30 – 40 minutes to bake. It is certainly another of my ‘great convertibles’. We have had the greatest fun experimenting with different variations and uses. It’s also great with olives, sun dried tomatoes or caramelized onions added, so the possibilities are endless for the hitherto humble soda bread.

450g (1lb/4 cups) white flour, preferably unbleached
1 level teaspoon (1/2 American teaspoon) salt
1 level teaspoon (1/2 American teaspoon) breadsoda
sour milk or buttermilk to mix – 350-400ml (12-14 fl ozs/1/2 – 1 3/4 cups) approx.

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

Sieve the dry ingredients. Make a well in the centre. Pour most of the milk in at once. 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 onto a well-floured worked surface. WASH AND DRY YOUR HANDS. Tidy it up and flip over gently. Pat the dough into a round about 1 1/2 inches (4cm) 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 a hot oven, 230ºC/450ºF/Gas Mark 8 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: if it is cooked it will sound hollow.

Dilisk Scones
Gently roll out the dough, cut into scones and bake as normal.

BROWN CRAB WITH PICKLED RED DULSE SEAWEED, CUCUMBER WITH SUMMER PEAS AND CORIANDER OIL

Taken from Chapter One an Irish Food Story – Ross Lewis

We know summer is here when the best crab starts to arrive, matched by sweettasting seasonal peas. We get a wonderful crop of seaweed from Manus
McGonagle in Donegal. We pickle it and combine it with cucumber jelly, so this dish is fresh, summery and salty, with a sweetness from the crab. There is a deep umami flavour from the seaweed with the sweet-popping peas and the cucumber jelly makes it a real summer favourite at the restaurant for the crab.

2 litres water
40 g salt
1 kg crab claws
splash of spirit vinegar
40 g mayonnaise (Ross uses an egg white mayo (see hot tips for details of Chapter One book)
1 spring onion, very finely sliced
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
4 drops Tabasco sauce
juice of 1/2 lemon
pinch of cayenne pepper or smoked sweet paprika
for the cucumber jelly
1.5 gold leaf gelatine leaves
2 cucumbers
2 tsp mirin
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 g salt
for the marinated cucumber
1 cucumber
1 tbsp mirin
for the fresh peas
50 g shelled fresh peas
to serve
125 g pickled red dulse and sea spaghetti
(page 282)
about 2 tsp coriander oil (page 281), in a small
squeezy bottle
400 ml crab juice

Serves 8

CRAB
Put the water in a large pan with the salt and vinegar, and bring to the boil. Blanch the crab claws. For medium claws, cook for 5 minutes; if they are larger or smaller, add or subtract a minute. Lift out and transfer into iced water.
When cool use the back of a heavy knife to gently crack the shells and remove the meat, picking out any bits of shell. (This amount of crab claws should yield at least 200 g of meat.) In a bowl, combine the crab with the mayonnaise, spring onion and chives. Season with the Tabasco, lemon juice, cayenne pepper or paprika and a pinch of salt.

 

CUCUMBER JELLY
Put the gelatine into a bowl of cold water and set aside. Juice the cucumbers, skin on, and pass the juice through a double layer of muslin. Measure out 200 ml of juice and add the mirin, soy sauce and salt, mixing well and checking the seasoning. Heat 100 ml of the mixture in a small pan until hot but not boiling and then take it off the heat. Gently squeeze the gelatine to remove excess water
and whisk it into the hot cucumber juice. When dissolved combine with the rest of the mixture and whisk together. Pour into a bowl and place in the fridge to set.
MARINATED CUCUMBER
Square off the cucumber and use a mandolin to cut it into ribbons – you’ll need 3 per portion. Lay the cucumber ribbons on a tray and sprinkle over a teaspoon of salt and the mirin. Leave for an hour and then freeze, covered with clingfilm. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving, then drain, reserving the liquid.

Bring a small pan of water to the boil and prepare a bowl of iced water. Blanch the peas until just cooked and refresh in the iced water, then drain.
SERVING
Spoon an eighth (about 30 g) of the crab mayonnaise mixture into the centre of each shallow serving bowl. Put 3 pieces of the marinated cucumber on top of this and then add 2–3 pieces of the pickled red dulse on the crab and 2 pieces of the sea spaghetti around the plate. Use a teaspoon to put small spoonfuls of cucumber jelly around the plate and add a few of the peas. Finish with a little of
the reserved cucumber liquid, 4–5 spoonfuls of crab juice and some dots of coriander oil around the crab.

PICKLED RED DULSE OR SEA SPAGHETTI
Makes 150 g
150 g red dulse or sea spaghetti
600 ml rice vinegar
4 g salt
40 g sugar
3 g lemon zest
Wash the red dulse or sea spaghetti and carefully sort through it, discarding any damaged pieces. Put the rice vinegar in a pan large enough to hold all the ingredients, and add the salt, sugar and lemon zest. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and add the red dulse or sea spagetti. Return to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before serving.
DILL, CHIVE, BASIL, CORIANDER OR ROCKET OIL
Makes about 400 ml
500 g fresh herb leaves (dill, chive, basil, coriander or
rocket)
400 ml light olive oil or any neutral oil like rapeseed

Blanch the herb sprigs in boiling unsalted water, lift out using a spider and refresh in a bowl of iced water. Drain and squeeze really tightly in a cloth, draining off as much of the water as you can. This will give you approximately150g of blanched herb. Combine this with 400 ml of oil in a Pacojet container and freeze overnight.
The next day, blend 2–3 times and hang in a muslin. The result is a deep green and strong herb-flavoured oil. If you haven’t got a Pacojet, half the quantities, so use 250 g of fresh herb sprigs and 200 ml light olive oil or any neutral oil like rapeseed. Blend together on a high speed for 3–4 minutes and hang in a muslin. Using a funnel, put into a squeezy bottle. These will keep for up to 1 week.

CRAB JUICE
Add a little thickener, a pinch at a time, to a crab stock until slightly thickened. Use as required.

Hot Tips
Ross Lewis’s Chapter One, an Irish Food Story has the most beautiful photos of his artisan producers by Barry McCall as well as Ross’s exquisite food published by Gill and MacMillan

Joe’s Farm Crisps
I love the creativity that’s bubbling up in start-up business an interesting number of farmers are adding value to their produce and coming up with yummy products. Look out for Joe’s Farm Crisps grown and handcooked on their farm in Killeagh, Co Cork – Phone: 087 6329334.

Colm Falvey at the Goal Post in Shanagarry – Devotees of chef Colm Falvey of whom I am one, will be delighted to hear that he is cooking at the Goalpost in Shanagarry, yummy fresh seasonable bar food,–fresh fish from Ballycotton Habour, homemade breads….. Cheap and cheerful & family orientated – well worth a visit. Open 4pm – 8pm Wednesday – Saturday and all day Sunday
– phone: 021 4646492

Rathlin Island Kelp – telephone: Tel: 028 2076 5082
Email: islanderseafood@gmail.com

If you’ve never taken the train from Dublin to Belfast, put it on your ‘must do’ list immediately, it’s certainly one of the loveliest train journeys I have ever experienced, all along the North Dublin coast into Dundalk. The countryside was looking particularly beautiful – with the fresh green growth of early summer and the whin (gorse) in full bloom.

 
I was on my way to Portaferry to attend a Slow Food dinner at The Narrows, a destination which has been saved from an advanced state of dereliction by a feisty girl called Celia Spouncer. To celebrate the awakening of The Narrows, Celia who is leader of Slow Food Northern Ireland organised a feast to highlight the extraordinary richness of local produce available on the Ards Peninsula and around Strangford Lough. It was a truly memorable evening and a taste of what’s happening on the Northern Ireland food scene. For many years our Northern Ireland friends looked on enviously at the range of farmhouse cheese and artisan foods available ‘in the South’. The climate in the North was not conducive to this kind of enterprise until relatively recently but now there is a virtual explosion of new food enterprises and a renewed confidence in the future. Young entrepreneurs have responded and the results are very exciting indeed.

 
On our way to Portaferry we called in to see St George’s Market, recently short listed for the BBC Food and Farming awards, the buzz and energy is palpable, Saturday is the big day for food stalls. Then we swung by to see Mike Thompson’s dairy in Newtownards where he makes a raw milk blue cheese called Young Buck. The dairy is tiny with a series of curing rooms full of enticing looking mouldy cheese, Mike a self-professed ‘dairy nerd’, learned his craft in Welbeck School of Artisan Food and was of course inspired by Jo Schneider who makes the beautiful Stichelton cheese also on the estate.
At the Slow Food dinner later, Celia proudly presented a cheeseboard of Northern Ireland Farmhouse cheese for the very first time, it also included a delicious Kearney blue made by Paul McClean and a mild and creamy Leggygowan goat cheese made by Adam and Jason Kelly.

 
The canapés included local smoked salmon, sweet Strangford Lough crabs and Portavogie prawns from Something Fishy whose mobile fish shop we had passed on the roadside by Portavogie village earlier.
The Slow Food Northern Ireland supper also reflected the wild and foraged food of this beautiful area, Ardkeen Nettle and and Wild Garlic soup, Strangford Lough mussels and Rathlin Island kelp, I met Jane Somerville whose family live, fish sustainably and harvest the kelp on Rathlin Island the same time honoured way as their ancestors, it’s a beautiful product which I also used in my cookery demonstration on St George’s Market next day. The beef came from Arthur’s local butchers and veg from the country garden grocer in Portaferry.

 
Paula McIntyre the much loved chef and broadcaster, created a delicious pannacotta from Abernethy’s buttermilk and paired it with new seasons rhubarb, shortbread and Glastry ice-cream. Guests practically licked their plates! Even the wine came from Winemark in Portaferry. The homemade breads which included local dillisk were made by David Semple and slathered with the beautiful Abernethy’s hand made butter – another contender for the BBC Food and Farming awards. It was a wonderfully convivial event where there was real excitement about the renaissance on the Northern Ireland artisan food scene. The word is spreading. In fact, the Radio 4 Food progamme did a 30 minute segment on ‘Food in Northern Ireland: A Golden Era’ a few weeks ago, the word is out, watch this space.

Ardkeen Nettle and Wild Garlic Soup

Serves 4

2oz butter
1 onion
1 leek
4 sticks table celery
3 carrots
2 potatoes
2 pt chicken stock or veg stock cubes and water
20 – 30 nettle tips
A small handful wild garlic leaves
Double cream to garnish

Sweat chopped onions in butter in a heavy based saucepan over low heat till soft and transparent.

Add sliced leek, celery, carrots and potatoes and close lid on pan. When hot add hot stock or cubes and boiling water. Simmer till cooked through.

Add nettle tips and wild garlic leaves.

Blend until fairly smooth with a hand blender or liquidiser and serve hot with a swirl of double cream.

Slow Food Northern Ireland Supper

 

 

Seabeet Salad

Seabeet or sea spinach as its sometimes called grows grows wild along the sea shore – its particularly fresh and lush at present. The texture is less tender than ordinary spinach so slice very thinly.
Seabeet leaves and stalks
French dressing

Wash seabeet leaves and stalks then slice in 1cm ribbons. Toss together with french dressing to make the leaves glisten, just before eating.
French Dressing

4oz olive oil
1oz balsamic vinegar
1oz white wine vinegar
1oz brown sugar
1tsp Dijon and 1tsp whole grain mustard
salt and black pepper
Add vinegars to dry ingredients and mix well.
Slowly add olive oil whisking briskly till all combined.

12/5/2014 (17089) Slow Food Northern Ireland Supper

 

 

 

 Kelp and Smoked Seafood Salad

My nephew Ivan Whelan used to serve this lovely salad at his restaurant, Grapefruit Moon, in Ballycotton. If you can’t find kelp then try wakame, a Japanese seaweed that can be found in health-food shops. Serves 6–8

50g dried kelp or wakame
150g (5oz) Cold-smoked Salmon
150g (5oz) smoked eel, weighed after skinning and boning
50g (2oz) pickled ginger (gari)
60g (21⁄2oz) pine nuts
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
11⁄2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander
30 Smoked Mussels

Soak the seaweed in cold water for about 30 minutes to reconstitute. Drain very well in a colander and press out all the excess water. Put into a large mixing bowl.
Cut the smoked salmon and eel into small pieces and chop the ginger. Add these to the seaweed, along with the pine nuts, soy sauce, sesame oil and rice wine vinegar, coriander and salt and pepper to taste. Mix gently to avoid breaking up the fish. Serve stacked on a plate with smoked mussels dotted around.

02/09/2010 (CS) Forgotten Skills Book (14244)

Paula McIntyre’s Shortbread made with Abernethy’s Handmade Butter

Makes 34 – 36 biscuits

100 g (3½ ozs) Abernethy’s hand made butter
50 g (2 ozs) icing sugar
50 g (2 ozs) cornflour
100 g (3½ ozs) plain white flour
1 teaspoon lavender (optional)

Cream the butter well, add the icing sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Stir in the cornflour and flour and bring together into a ball. Cover with cling film and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes minimum.
Just before baking preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
Roll the dough to a thickness of ¼ inch (5 mm) stamp out the cookies. Paula used a 2 inch (5 cm) round cutter but it can be whatever size or shape you need.
Spread on a parchment lined baking tray. Cook for 10- 12 minutes approximately or until they are a very pale gold colour. Remove and cool on a wire rack. Serve dusted with icing sugar – Paula sandwiched them together with raspberry jelly from Castlerock on the North Coast but they are delicious served just as they are.

Slow Food Northern Ireland Supper
Hot Tips
A recent trip to Deelish Garden centre outside Skibbereen, yielded a couple of angelica and kaffir lime leaf plants. They also had cardoons (the hottest ‘new’ veg), lots of citrus, banana trees, a huge variety of herbs, watercress and a range of scented sweet geraniums as well as lots of choice plants, shrubs and trees for your non edible garden.
Deelish telephone 028 213 74 or www.deelish.ie
While you’re down there pop into Glebe Gardens (telephone: 028 20232) and get inspired by their edible garden, then treat yourself in the chic café closeby.
Sources
www.maraseaweed.com
www.heritage-potatoes.co.uk
Recently I picked up a super little book – A beginners guide to Ireland seashore. It’s a Sherkin Island Marine Station publication, lots of photos of seaweeds but no emphasis on the culinary aspects of the seashore finds – none the less invaluable for foragers.
The Grow your Own Food Movement (at least some of) is really catching on all round the world, in towns, cities, on roof tops, window sills, balconies, apartment blocks so hope you’ve all caught the bug and got planting even if it’s just a packet of radish seeds or a few salad leaves. At least you’ll know they haven’t been sprayed or boosted with lots of artificial fertilisers plus you’ll taste fresh once again and that’s a revelation in itself. For advice and tips see www.giyireland.com

 

 

After months of exciting plotting and planning the Kerrygold Ballymaloe Litfest got underway at the Grain Store in Ballymaloe last night. Cooks and chefs, winemakers, craft brewers, distillers, cidermakers, food writers, bloggers, food and drink lovers and bon viveurs converged on Ballymaloe from all over the world to meet and mingle.
Kerrygold Ballymaloe Litfest 2, promises to be even more exciting, stimulating and fun-filled than last year’s festival. The Litfest team have planned another weekend packed with cookery demos, wine tastings, readings, workshops, debates, literary lunches and dinners. We are thrilled and delighted to have yet another star studded list this year – a mixture of international guest speakers and a strong Irish presence in both food and wine. There are 60 speakers and more than 100 events to choose from. Check out www.litfest.ie.
The winners of the Ballymaloe Cookery School Moth International Poetry Prize were announced last night. First prize went to Ann Gray from Cornwall for her evocative poem My Blue Hen.
Children from local schools involved in the East Cork Slow Food Educational Project wrote about their favourite farmers, fishermen and food producers, the results were enchanting and winners will be announced on Saturday at 6pm in the Grainstore.
The Fringe Festival will be held in the Big Shed (virtually the size of an airplane hangar) once again . It was the throbbing heart of the event last year. Here you will find a host of free activities – the fringe programme will be jam-packed with child friendly activities, crafts, art, music, food, conversation and fun. Camilla Houstoun who creates magic everywhere she goes has so many exciting events and projects planned for the Children’s Area. Anyone who has purchased tickets to any event has free entry. Gardeners, foragers, bakers, brewers, artisans, bloggers and fans will eat, drink, boogy and be very merry.
What’s unique about the Kerrygold Ballymaloe Litfest is the opportunity to rub shoulders with your favourite food writers and chefs.
So head for Shanagarry this weekend, there’s literally something for everyone, it’s an all weather event held in the Grain Store, the Big Shed at Ballymaloe House and the Ballymaloe Cookery School – and there’s a shuttle bus between the two for ease of transport.

Lilly’s Quinoa Salad with Pistachios and Pomegranate

Taken from Lilly Higgins – Dream Deli – don’t miss her discussion in Ballymaloe House on Saturday at 11.30am

You can use any sprouted seeds or peppery rocket or watercress instead of the brocco shoots

650g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
3 tbsp olive oil
200g quinoa
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp sumac
450ml stock or water
120g pistachios, shelled, toasted and chopped
50g brocco shoots (a mixture of alfalfa, broccoli, clover and radish sprouts)
20g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 pomegranates, seeds only

Serves 6

Preheat the oven to 200C
Toss the cubed butternut squash in the olive oil and place in a roasting tin. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until golden around the edges. Stir halfway through the cooking time to ensure an even colour.
Place the quinoa in a medium pan and dry fry with no oil over a high heat for a minute or so. Add the spices and stir to coat evenly, then pour over the stock. Bring to the boil, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to stand for a further 30 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and gently mix through the pistachios, brocco shoots, parsley and butternut squash cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Scatter the pomegranate seeds over the top before serving.

Donal’s Beef Carpaccio with Beetroot and Fennel

Taken from Donal Skehan Homecooked – don’t miss his Food Photography in Ballymaloe Cookery School on Sunday at 3pm.

Serves 6-8

2 tbsp oil, for frying
900g beef fillet, trimmed
4 tsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary leaves
50g Parmesan cheese shavings, to garnish

For the beetroot and fennel
675g raw baby beetroots
3 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and ground black pepper
1 small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced
50g watercress, well picked over
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ lemon

For the horseradish dressing
4 tbsp grated or creamed horseradish
100g crème fraiche
75ml single cream
2 tbsp snipped chives

Preheat the oven to 220C (425F), gas mark 7. Remove the beef from the fridge 30 minutes before you intend to use it to allow it to come back to room temperature.
Scrub the beetroots, then trim off the tops. Pat dry with kitchen paper. Place in a roasting tin and drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper, then cover with foil and roast for 20-30 minutes until tender. They are done when you can pierce them easily with a sharp knife. Leave to cool, then cut each beetroot in half and toss back into the cooking juices to keep them moist.
Smash the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar until roughly ground and then sprinkle on to a board with the rosemary and half a teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Mix together and then roll the beef all over it, pressing onto the meat to encrust it.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat until it is smoking hot. Add the meat to the pan and sear for about 6 minutes until well browned all over and slightly crisp, turning regularly. Remove from the heat and leave to rest on a board, uncovered for at least 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the horseradish dressing. Place the horseradish, crème fraiche, cream and chives in a bowl and mix well to combine, then season to taste. Add a few tablespoons of water to loosen the sauce, if needed.
When the beef has rested, slice it as thinly as you can (see the freezing suggestion in the recipe introduction) and arrange in an overlapping layer on large plates. Scatter over the roasted beetroots and drizzle some of the beetroot cooking juices on top, then dribble over the dressing.
Dress the fennel and watercress with the extra virgin olive oil. Squeeze over lemon juice and then scatter the salad over the finished plates. Garnish with the Parmesan shavings, a good dollop of crème fraiche and add a grinding of black pepper to serve.

Raspberry Macaroon Tart

Taken from Lilly Higgins – Make Bake Love

Serves 8-10

This is a lovely light tropical tart. The lime zest in the coconut topping is fresh and summery. It’s so easy to make and is a great recipe for kids to help with. You can leave out the lime zest and jam if you like and drizzle the top with melted chocolate instead.

For the base
75 g caster sugar
50 g butter, softened
1 egg yolk
90 g plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
200 g raspberry jam

For the topping
2 eggs
60 g caster sugar
Zest of 1 lime
160 g desiccated coconut
20 g flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter and flour a 28 cm loose-bottomed tart tin.

Cream the sugar, butter and egg yolk together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Sieve the flour and baking powder into the bowl and stir until the mixture clumps together and resembles breadcrumbs. Press into the base of the tin with floured fingers. Spread the base with the jam.

To make the topping, lightly beat the eggs and sugar together to combine. Fold in the lime zest and coconut. Spread the topping over the jam. Sprinkle with the almond flakes and press down gently.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until slightly browning and golden. Cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a serving plate.

Hot Tips
Ballycotton is buzzing with excitement. The Mary Standford Lifeboat has returned to Ballycotton for restoration after 78 years. Cor Cois Farraige Choral Group are holding a fundraising concert in Garryvoe Hotel on Sunday 25th May, to raise money so the renovation work can begin – Tickets for sale on the night.

A date to keep free for your diary;
Sheridans Irish Food Festival continues to gather momentum every year. This year’s event is on Sunday 25th May in Pottlereagh, close to Kells, Co Meath. Meet many of the real Irish producers in a beautiful rural setting with a fun and informal ambiance – not to be missed.
For a full schedule of events www.sheridanscheesemongers.com