Such a wonderful time of the year to snatch a few days break. Hotels, restaurants and cafés who were fortunate to be super busy during the summer have had a chance to recover from a hectic season and are extra delighted to welcome back Autumn visitors. Recently, my sisters and I spent a couple of windy days in lovely Lahinch amongst frustrated golfers and exhilarated surfers. As you know, I’m neither a golfer nor a surfer…Yes, I know there are some 70-year-old olds who still ride the waves but sadly not me. I was more interested in checking out the food, the makers and the farming scene in West Clare. How random does that sound?
At Vaughan’s Lodge in Lahinch, Wild Atlantic Wagyu beef was on the menu. This is originally a Japanese breed, marbled with little veins of fat which make it deliciously succulent but more importantly, it tastes rich, buttery and intensely beefy which I’m sad to say, a lot of Irish beef doesn’t nowadays. Days earlier at a lunch during Joseph Walsh’s inspirational Making In at his studios in Riverstick, Sheamus O’Connell served a West Cork Wagyu tri-tip steak from Michael Twomey, once again superb favour, this time a Wagyu/Friesian cross, reared by one of twenty West Cork Wagyu farmers – www.facebook.com/people/Wild-Atlantic-Wagyu/.
Hugo’s artisan bakery in Lahinch was high on my list of ‘must visit again’ places. It’s a fantastic little bakery which just gets better and better with an almost constant queue, not just for the sourdough and their famous pastel de nata (Portuguese custard tarts) but for the growing range of sweet and savoury pastries and focaccia sandwiches bursting with juicy local fillings. One of our past students, Shannon, popped up from behind the counter and she was super excited to see us out of the blue.
We went onto Dodi, a little café on the main street in Lahinch for breakfast. Delicious freshly squeezed and I mean freshly squeezed orange juice, excellent espresso and tempting brunch dishes. I hadn’t realised that it was owned by another BCS alumna Doria Orfali who also brought us across the road to see The Storeroom, her charming new wine shop packed with well-chosen natural wines and other good things.
The West Clare countryside is so beautiful, so we drove to Pot Duggans in Ennistymon for lunch and shared several ‘pizza bread’ sandwiches, so, so good. Shannon O’Rourke had popped over from Hugo’s to work with Ashley Gribben, her fellow BCS alumna and Darren Kirwan eager to learn and absorb as much as possible in these exceptional places, all of which are definitely worth a detour.
And while we were in Ennistymon, we popped into The Cheese Press as well. It’s a funky, hippish shop with a lovely random selection of food and crafts. I picked up one of Oliver Beaujouan’s homemade salamis there as well as some superb St. Tola goat’s cheese.
Next a pilgrimage to Moy Hill Farm where Fergal Smith and his community of growers produce a wide variety of the most beautiful vibrant vegetables and herbs from their rich fertile soil enhanced by Korean farming methods.
How fortunate are the people of Lahinch to have such an extraordinary community of passionate organic growers in their midst to supply vegetable boxes, salads and produce for some of the restaurants and hotels also.
There is so much going on in the local area…We visited Sam Gleeson, knife maker extraordinaire, called into newly opened Dolly’s in Liscannor where Karen O’Donoghue of The Happy Tummy Co fame was giving tastes of her super gut boosting bread and teff scones. We also managed to fit in a visit to Common Knowledge near Kilfenora where Harrison Gardner and his team, teach DIY and building skills to eager students from all over the world, once again enhancing people’s lives.
We also made a spontaneous visit to the wonderful folk at St. Tola Farmhouse Cheese near Inagh, now in operation for 45 years. I love their goat cheeses but have only just discovered their goat curd which they call St. Tola Divine – it’s widely available in shops and supermarkets so you probably know about it already but it’s my favourite ‘new find’.
We ran out of time to visit several other cafés, restaurants and producers in the area… must plan another ‘sister skite’ soon.
Seamus O’Connell’s Wagyu Beef
The first time I tasted Wagyu beef was when I was studying keiseiki in Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost island, and it was a palate changing moment, the nutty rich fat marbling yielding heavenly meaty pleasure…In Macroom, find Michael Twomey butchers who specialize in Irish Wagyu raised largely in north Cork, crossed with Irish Friesian and winning many world steak awards. In my restaurant Malarkey in Killarney, we were cooking many obscure cuts for steaks, such as the tri tip which is called a rump cap in Ireland, alongside back steak, or hangar, Denver, bavette, and skirt. I like to age my steaks for at least 40 days, and usually up to 90. I use hazel and beech charcoal on my grill which is unparalleled for the smoked char flavours. If you render the fat on low heat in a heavy pan before cutting your steaks, you will have amazing roast potatoes’.
Serves 4
1kg rump cap of Wagyu
flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sauce
200ml white wine
800ml beef stock
500ml cream
2 cloves garlic smashed
30g fresh tarragon, chopped or one tbsp dried
sea salt and white pepper
20g dried black trumpets or porcini mushrooms (soaked in cold water, drained and chopped)
400g fresh chanterelle, crepe or chestnut mushrooms
a little butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
First, make the sauce.
Combine wine, stock, cream, garlic and the soaked, dried and drained mushrooms in a large saucepan and simmer for 30 minutes, add tarragon and if needed thicken with 1 tablespoon arrowroot dissolved in 2 tablespoons water.
Chop the fresh mushrooms into bite sized pieces, fry in butter and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, cover and cook for three minutes. Add to the sauce.
Season the steaks with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Heat a pan grill on a high heat.
Cook the steaks rare or medium rare but not well done.
Alternatively, cook over fire. Allow to rest.
Serve on a bed of sauce with the mushrooms and garnish as desired.
Serve with seasonal vegetables.
Gnudi with Spinach and St. Tola’s Goat Curd
Don’t confuse these little ricotta dumplings with gnocchi, which are usually made using polenta or potatoes. They are super simple to make and take just a few minutes to cook.
Seems like a lot of semolina but you need it to toss the fragile gnudi (and so they don’t stick to the plate) – you can save the excess for the next time. Once you taste these, there will definitely be a next time…
Serves 6 – 8
Makes 24 gnudi
For the gnudi
500g buffalo ricotta
1 organic egg yolk
30g ‘00’ flour
30g freshly grated Parmesan
zest of 1 lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ½kg semolina flour, for dusting
Sauce
80g butter
100ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
500g spinach, stalks removed (225g after destalking)
120-160g goat’s curd or cottage cheese, preferably made with raw milk zest of 1 lemon
To Serve
grated lemon zest
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
Mix the ricotta, egg yolk, ‘00’ flour and Parmesan together in a bowl, then add the lemon zest and salt and pepper and mix again.
In a wide, deep baking tray or plastic container, spread out a generous layer of semolina flour, about 5mm thick.
Roll the gnudi mixture into 18–24 balls (25g approx.) and then lay each one on the semolina flour in a single layer, making sure they do not touch each other.
When you have used up all the mixture, completely cover the gnudi with the remaining semolina flour and chill in the fridge for 24 hours. By then, the semolina will have formed a crust on the gnudi – this helps the dumplings hold their shape. You can sieve and save the remaining semolina and use again.
When you’re ready to cook the gnudi, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, dust off the excess semolina flour (any excess semolina flour can be kept in the fridge and used again) and boil the gnudi for about 3 minutes, in batches, until they rise to the top of the saucepan, reserving some of the cooking water.
To serve, heat the butter and extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat until the butter begins to foam. Add the spinach leaves and a couple of small ladles of the gnudi cooking water (200ml approx.) and stir gently. As soon as the spinach starts to wilt, add the goat’s curd or cottage cheese and give it another stir (you may need to add a little more of the gnudi water to thin the sauce slightly).
Drain the gnudi and add to the sauce. Stir very gently, careful not to break the gnudi. Divide the gnudi and sauce between 6–8 warm bowls, finish each bowl with a grating of lemon zest, a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a few twists of black pepper.
Enjoy
immediately.
Una’s Orange and Almond Cake
My sister-in-law Una O’Connell baked this delicious cake for afternoon tea in Lahinch and kindly shared the recipe with us all.
This cake is delicious on its own or with a dollop of thick natural yoghurt.
Serves 6-8
200g soft butter, diced
275g caster sugar
finely grated zest of 2 oranges (preferably organic)
finely grated zest of 1 lemon (preferably organic)
5 eggs
350g ground almonds
For the syrup
juice of 2 oranges and 1 lemon
75g caster sugar
23cm round spring form tin with a removable base
Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas Mark 3.
Line the base and sides of the tin with a disc of parchment paper or grease with butter.
Cream the butter until soft. Add the caster sugar, orange and lemon zest and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy (use a food mixer if available). Beat in the eggs, one at a time, before stirring in the ground almonds.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 60-80 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a cake plate or stand.
While the cake is cooling, make the syrup.
Pour the orange and lemon juice into a saucepan, add the sugar and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil for about 10 minutes or until the liquid has thickened to a syrupy consistency.
Use a skewer to make little holes in the top of the cooled cake, gradually spoon the boiling syrup over the cake so that it absorbs it evenly – it will be deliciously rich and moist. Cut into small slices and serve with softly whipped cream or a dollop of thick natural yoghurt.