How fortunate are we here in Ireland to have such an abundance of artisan products and more emerging virtually every week. This sector is incredibly creative and has helped to enhance the diversity and image of Irish food hugely, both at home and abroad. Visitors to Ireland are thrilled to taste the farm house cheese, charcuterie, preserves, pickles, ferments, smoked fish and increasing real bread from the growing number of artisan bakeries who are making real natural sourdough bread free of the almost 20 additives, enzymes, improvers and processing aids, which can be legally included without being on the label. No wonder so many people are finding they have a gluten intolerance.
In their 25 years, several awards recognise the efforts and creativity of this sector, Eurotoque, Dingle and The Food Writers Guild…..
The latter awards were held recently at Glovers Alley restaurant in Dublin. The selection process is meticulously conducted. Nominations are in confidence, received from Guild members, shortlisted, tasted and chosen individually to a carefully agreed list of criteria.
An Irish Food Writers Guild award is much coveted by the recipients.
This year three of the eight biggest awards went to Cork – just saying! One of the awards went to Hegarty’s Cheese for their new Teampall Gael cheese. The Hegarty family are fifth generation dairy farmers in Whitechurch in North Cork. To add value to the milk of their large Friesian herd, they experimented first with yogurt and cheese and eventually launched a traditional cloth bound truckle of Cheddar in 2001. Jean-Baptiste Enjelvin from Bordeaux in France joined them in 2015 and a Comté style cheese, Teampall Gael is the result of this collaboration. This sweet, delicate, nutty, alpine style cheese is made only from the raw milk of pasture fed cows (no silage). The huge 40kg wheels are matured for at least nine months-a really exciting addition to the Irish farmhouse cheese family.
Mike Thompson’s beautiful Young Buck Cheese from Co Down also won an award. This raw milk, Stilton type blue cheese, comes from a single herd and was the first artisan cheese to be made in Northern Ireland.
The Irish Drink Award also went to Cork’s Killahora Orchards near Carrigtwohill for their Rare Apple Ice Wine. A really exciting ice wine, delicious to serve with desserts or made into a granita. Andy McFadden and his team at Glovers Alley served it with a sheep’s yoghurt mousse, honey and lime.
David Watson and Barry Walsh grow over 130 varieties of apple used to make craft cider, and 40 pear varieties to make Perry. Look out for their apple port also…. It tastes like the best white port, delicious to sip on its own or with a good tonic water http://www.killahoraorchards.ie/#contact
The Community Food Award went to Cork Penny Dinners which was founded during the famine in the 1840’s. This much loved Cork charity provides up to 2000 nourishing hot meals every day of the year in a safe and nurturing environment for all those in need. Catherine Twomey and her team also run five classes a week, the Cork Music Dojo, High Hopes homeless choir, the Food for Thought mental health initiative for students, mindfulness classes and French classes. They are about to expand their facilities to include other educational opportunities, plus a clinic run by GP’s who donate their expertise for one day a year. A third accolade for Cork and
a hugely deserving winner of the Community Food Award. If you would like to donate your time or money go to http://corkpennydinners.ie/untitled-2/untitled-copy
The Outstanding Organisation Award went to 3fe Coffee in Dublin. What most impressed the Irish Food Writers Guild about 3fe is not only the fact that the 3fe brand has become synonymous with the best quality coffee in Ireland, but also the company’s commitment to sustainability in the areas of waste and energy use, purchasing principles, staff welfare and community. Colin Harmon and his team have recently opened an all-day restaurant, Gertrude to add to their cafes, add it to your Dublin list…..
The Environmental Award went to Charlie and Becky Cole of Broughgammon Farm in Ballycastle, Co Antrim. The Irish Food Writers Guild recognises them for their exceptional commitment to the environment and for rescuing male kid goats who would normally have been put down at birth. They now rear free range rose veal and seasonal wild game as well and make an exceptionally good rose veal salami. There’s also an eco-farmhouse, on-site butchery facility and farm shop that use solar thermal heating, low-flow appliances and photovoltaic solar panels.
The inspirational Workman family of Dunany Farm in Co Louth have been growing heirloom wheat varieties and milling their own organic flour for four generations. Recently they recognised a gap in the market for spelt, a challenging crop to grow and harvest but nutrient dense and low in gluten, high in fibre and B vitamins and rich in essential fatty acids and amino acids. Dunany organic spelt grains are my new best find and here I share the recipe for the spelt risotto that we enjoyed for lunch at Glovers Alley in the Fitzwilliam Hotel. I can’t wait to experiment more.
Last but certainly not least the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Peter Hannan of Hannon Meats near Moira in Co Down in recognition of his continued work as one of Ireland’s most dedicated food champions. Peter has dedicated his life to producing superb quality beef and is 50% stakeholder in the renowned Glenarm Southern Beef Scheme. Hannon Meats are dry aged in four Himalayan salt chambers for an average of 35 – 45 days but they provide an extra aged product for special clients who want 80 – 100 days. Peter too was a worthy recipient of this award, one of numerous awards he has deservedly won over the years.
Dunany Organic Spelt Risotto
Serves 4
200g Dunany Organic Spelt Berries
25g dried porcini mushrooms
1½ tsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
100ml white wine
1 litre hot vegetable stock
1 tbsp crème fraîche
handful of grated Parmesan cheese
finely snipped fresh chives
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
parsley oil or fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, to serve
Cover the spelt with cold water. Put the dried mushrooms in a separate heatproof bowl and soak in 100ml of just-boiled water. Allow the spelt and mushrooms to soak for 20 minutes.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Drain the spelt and add to the pan along with the wine. Simmer until almost all the wine has evaporated, stirring often.
Drain the porcini mushrooms over a bowl so that you can reserve the soaking liquid, then discard the mushrooms. Add the soaking liquid to the vegetable stock. Stir the stock into the spelt berries a ladleful at a time and simmer, stirring often, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the spelt is tender. This will take about 20 minutes in total.
Stir in the crème fraîche, Parmesan and chives, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the risotto between warmed bowls and drizzle over the parsley oil or scatter over some chopped fresh parsley. Serve straight away.
Recipe created for the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards 2019 by executive chef Andy McFadden of Glovers Alley, 128 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.
Peter Hannan’s Salt-Aged Glenarm Beef Sirloin with Salt-Baked Celeriac, Hazelnuts and Truffle
Serves 4
1kg thick slice of Peter Hannan’s Salt-Aged Glenarm Beef Sirloin
plenty of sea salt
soft butter, for cooking
100g hazelnuts, toasted and halved, to serve
Périgord black truffle, for slicing
For the salt-baked celeriac:
1 large celeriac
700g table salt
110g free-range egg whites
5 sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Take the beef out of the fridge and put it on a tray without any covering or cling film. Allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before you intend to start working with it so that it has a dry surface and is not too cold when cooked.
Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Place the celeriac in a roasting tray. Mix the table salt, egg whites and rosemary together in a large bowl until the mixture forms a paste. Cover the celeriac in a 2cm-thick layer of the salt paste, ensuring there are no gaps. Bake in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven, chip away the salt crust and scoop out the baked celeriac. Portion into nicely sized wedges and reserve until ready to plate.
A little while before you’re ready to start cooking, season the beef with plenty of salt. As it is a very big piece you will need more salt than you think. You will find that if you let the salt dissolve a little, the meat will brown more easily and uniformly.
Melt a large spoon of butter in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. When the butter has lightly browned, add the beef and cook until the first side is perfectly caramelised. The meat and the pan need to be kept moving at all times so that no part of the pan warms up too much, causing the fat in that part to burn, and so that no part gets too cold and stops the meat from browning.
When the first side is perfect, repeat the process with the second side, adding a little more butter as you turn it. Let the meat rest somewhere warm but not hot, brush with some butter and leave it to rest.
While the meat is resting, pour the butter and fat that have rendered out of the beef through a fine mesh sieve into a container and clean the pan. When the meat is no longer hot to touch, fry it once more in the clean pan, brush it with butter and leave it to rest again. Repeat this process until the meat is cooked to your liking.
To finish the meat, reheat the frying pan and put back the fat strained from the pan earlier. Fry the beef on both sides once more and add some more butter. Let the new butter brown, then immediately lift the meat out and place on a preheated chopping board. Cut it into four strips straight away using a very sharp knife and serve with the salt-baked celeriac, toasted hazelnuts and some shaved truffle.
Recipe created for the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards 2019 by executive chef Andy McFadden of Glovers Alley, 128 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.
Killahora Orchards Rare Apple Ice Wine Granita, Sheep’s Yogurt Mousse, Honey and Lime
Serves 4
For the granita:
200g caster sugar
100ml lemon juice
100ml water
800g Killahora Orchards Rare Apple Ice Wine
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For the sheep’s yogurt mousse:
6 gelatine leaves
500g sheep’s yogurt
130g caster sugar
500g cream
To serve:
Irish honey
zest of 1 lime
To make the yogurt mousse, bloom the gelatine in a bowl of cold water. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt and sugar. Lightly whip 400g of the cream and boil the remaining 100g of cream (weigh the cream instead of measuring it by volume). Dissolve the gelatine in the boiled cream, then pour onto the yogurt. Fold in the whipped cream and allow to set in the fridge.
To make the granita, place the sugar, lemon juice and water in a pan and heat just until the sugar dissolves. Add the apple ice wine and warm until the mix comes together. Pour into a baking tray or large plastic container. Place in the freezer for about 30 minutes, until it’s becoming icy around the edges. Stir with a fork and place back in the freezer for another 90 minutes, stirring it every 20 or 30 minutes with a fork to scrape the granita into icy crystals, until the granita is completely frozen. This can be made a day ahead and kept tightly covered in the freezer.
To serve, pipe the yogurt mousse into the centre of a serving bowl. Drizzle the honey over the top. Spoon the granita on top and finish with freshly grated lime zest.
Recipe created for the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards 2019 by executive chef Andy McFadden of Glovers Alley, 128 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.
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Teampall Gael and Young Buck Cheese with Rhubarb and Apple Chutney
10 cloves
4 star anise
3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
250g rhubarb, chopped
250g Bramley apple, peeled, cored and chopped
100g Demerara sugar
100ml balsamic vinegar
100ml water
zest of 1 orange
Teampall Gael cheese, to serve
Young Buck cheese, to serve
To make the chutney, wrap the cloves, star anise, bay leaves and cinnamon stick in a piece of muslin. Put the rhubarb, apple, sugar, balsamic vinegar, water and the muslin of spices in a pan on a medium heat. Cook until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and cook until thick and syrupy and the rhubarb and apple have softened. Stir in the orange zest and allow to cool.
Serve the Teampall Gael and Young Buck cheese on a cheeseboard with the rhubarb and apple chutney alongside.
Recipe created for the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards 2019 by executive chef Andy McFadden of Glovers Alley, 128 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.