ArchiveOctober 2025

I wonder how on earth Jamie does it? Book number 30 with an accompanying TV series Eat Yourself Healthy has just been launched. Of course, he’s got an ace team behind him but nonetheless his continued commitment and achievements are super impressive. He too believes deeply that our health is our wealth. We all agree but I’m sure you’re asking yourself the same question, how do we help our bodies to be the very best they can be?
How do we maintain a healthy weight? How do we sleep better? How do we support our immune system so it can protect us from common illnesses?
Ultimately, how do we become healthier and happier in a world full of cheap, ultra-processed foods designed to be addictive and make us unhealthy.
Have you noticed the extraordinary increase in the number of pharmacies in virtually every town and village around the country over the past couple of decades. It would seem the less we invest in real food, rather than edible food like substances, the more we spend on meds.
We’ve never had more information at our fingertips on what is deemed ‘healthy’ with new trends flooding our feeds every day and an overwhelming  list of new supplements, diets and products promising quick health fixes, yet obesity and diet related illnesses continue to spike.
In true Jamie fashion, he’s stripping things right back to the bare essentials on how to live a more healthy life. He’s been a chef for over 40 years now but I didn’t know until recently that he had studied for a Royal Society of Public Health Level Four Award in nutrition at St. Mary’s Twickenham University under Professor Ann Kennedy, which gave him a deeper understanding of our bodies relationship with food and how what we eat affects us and the impact it can have.
He’s poured everything he’s learnt into the pages of this most recent book, a fantastic reminder of the power of food to make us feel good.
It’s obvious that an enormous amount of thought has gone into the layout of Eat Yourself Healthy.
There’s a brilliant Pantry Kit, 50 Healthy Hacks and in a food environment that markets junk food right to our doorstep and into our shopping baskets, he’s asking us to look at the way we shop for food. We can shift the way we eat and live, one small habit at a time!
For those of us who would like to take a deep dive into Jamie’s philosophy, he’s created a two-week Kickstarter. This is about making a commitment to 3 delicious meals a day, all of which promote healthy eating and good ingredients. For many, it’ll actually be about a change of lifestyle, not a diet, a chance to focus on yourself and put your health first.
In Jamie’s own words ‘For me, Eat Yourself Healthy is about helping you to have a joyful relationship with food, and proving that healthy cooking should be a celebration, not a commiseration! I’m talking generous, colourful, undeniably delicious platefuls that I just know you’ll want to tuck into. In a time where there is an avalanche of information out there, I want to help you cut through the noise with easy ideas to satisfy, nourish and revitalise you. With every recipe you can be confident you’re getting lots of good stuff, plus I hope to empower you with simple bitesized nuggets of nutritional knowledge, too. This is about food to change your life’.

*Due to copyright, we are unable to include recipes from Eat Yourself Healthy by Jamie Oliver, published by Penguin Michael Joseph.

Don’t we all wish that there was some magic pill we could take to boost our brain power, improve our memory and prevent cognitive decline. Well, seems like no such thing has been invented, as yet.
However, there does seem to be a certain amount of consensus about foods that actually help us rather than do a damage, often the same ones that protect the  heart and blood vessels.
Fish particularly oily fish are high on that list, brilliant sources of omega-3 fatty acids, so try to eat fish at least twice a week and if you can’t get fresh fish, that could be canned sardines or albacore tuna (checkout Aisling Moore’s column).
Sadly there were virtually no herring or sprats landed in Ballycotton this year and precious few mackerel this Summer.
Flax seeds, avocados, and walnuts are all good sources of omega-3 too. Pumpkin seeds also get an honourable mention.
Berries, particularly blueberries and strawberries in season are a terrific source of beneficial flavonoids.
Feast on leafy greens – kale, spinach, chard, cavolo nero, broccoli, also a  rich source of brain boosting nutrients like vitamin K, lutein, folate and beta carotene.
All in full season now but remember the inconvenient truth,  they must be organic otherwise they are likely to contain chemical residues in abundance, unlikely to boost brain power…
Walnuts are an excellent source of protein and healthy fats, the shape even resembles the brain, lots of research to confirm this fact, apparently they are good, both for heart and brain health just nibble or add to your breakfast granola.
Make sure they are fresh and in the shell if possible, a high percentage of walnuts even in health food shops are rancid so be vigilant, they should taste fresh and sweet like they do around Halloween.
Pumpkin seeds also get an honourable mention, sprinkle over your muesli or add to breads.
Coffee also gets the thumbs up as does green tea. The two main components, caffeine and antioxidants help to support brain health, sharpen concentration and help to protect against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Turmeric is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, also accompany with a little black pepper and oil for maximum benefit and absorption.
There’s also good news for those of us who love some good dark chocolate, 70% cocoa butter or even higher. Lots of studies confirm that it is a super source of brain boosting compounds including flavonoids, caffeine and antioxidants.
Oranges, once again organic, the high vitamin C content reduces the  free radicals that can damage brain cells.
Eggs from happy, free-range hens, fed on organic food are a super food and last but not least wholegrains and pulses like peas, beans, and lentils are also associated with improving memory loss and a lower risk of dementia. As ever seek out an unprocessed organic option rather than refined grains for a slow consistent release of energy and nutrients.
So there you have it, how about a delicious bean stew for supper?

Cavolo Nero with PX-Soaked Raisins and Pine Nuts

A slight adaptation on a recipe from The Kai Cookook/A Love letter to the West of Ireland by Jess Murphy published by Nine Bean Rows.

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients

50g salted butter

3 shallots, sliced (75g)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

600g cavolo nero, stalks removed and leaves roughly chopped (400g after stalks have been removed)

3 tbsp white wine

130g pine nuts or cashew nuts, toasted

15g fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 stalk of fresh lovage, chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the PX raisins:

200g golden raisins

200ml Pedro Ximénez (PX) sherry

Method

Put the raisins and sherry in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside to let them soak and cool.

Melt the butter in a large stainless wok or frying pan on a medium heat. When the butter starts to foam, add the shallots and garlic and cook for 90 seconds, just until fragrant. Add the cavolo nero and white wine and season with salt and pepper. Cook down the cavolo nero for about 5 minutes, then stir in the drained raisins, pine nuts and fresh chopped herbs (save the leftover PX sherry for a dressing with some extra virgin olive oil).

Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot.

White Bean Stew with Tomato and Rosemary and lots of variations

This bean stew freezes brilliantly in all its incarnations – see variations below. Serve as a vegetarian main or as a side dish to roast lamb or pork, or roast vegetables.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

225g dried haricot beans or cannellini beans

Bouquet garni made from a bay leaf, parsley stalks, thyme, celery stick (optional)

1 onion, halved

1 carrot, halved

175g chopped onion

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, crushed

400g can chopped tomatoes

1-2 large sprigs of rosemary, chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

sugar

Method

Soak the beans overnight in plenty of cold water.

Next day, strain the beans and cover with fresh cold water, add the bouquet garni, onion and carrot, cover and simmer for 30 minutes – 1 hour until the beans are soft but not mushy. Just before the end of cooking, add salt to taste. Remove the bouquet garni and vegetables and discard.  Save the cooking liquid for later. 

Meanwhile, sweat the chopped onion gently in the oil in a wide saucepan for 7-8 minutes until soft but not coloured, add the garlic and cook for a further minute or two. Then add the chopped tomatoes, cooked white beans and finely chopped rosemary. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, add some of the bean liquid if necessary and season well with salt, freshly ground black pepper and sugar.

The mixture should be loose and juicy but not swimming in liquid.

Variations

Haricot Beans with Tomatoes, Rosemary and Cauliflower

Blanch and refresh 450g cauliflower or broccoli florets, add to the main recipe 5 minutes before the end of cooking.

Haricot Bean with Tomatoes, Rosemary and Chilli

Add 1 chopped red or green chilli to the chopped onions and proceed as in the main recipe.

Haricot Beans with Tomatoes and Rosemary with Chorizo

Add 1 chorizo, sliced, to the tomato base with the beans and rosemary.

Rory’s Chocolate and Caramel Mousse with Nougatine Wafers

In Rory’s words – ‘this is a rich and concentrated mousse with a texture that I really like. The combination of the chocolate and the burnt sugar caramel works really well. I like to serve this with caramel sauce and thick pouring cream.  Sometimes I can get Jersey cream, and that’s just heavenly.

62% or 70% chocolate is called for here to give the depth of chocolaty flavour that will counteract the sugar in the caramel’.

Serves 6

Ingredients

Chocolate Mousse

225g chocolate chopped into 1cm pieces

50g butter diced

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel

225g granulated or caster sugar

225ml water

Method

Place the chocolate and butter in a Pyrex bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of cold water, making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl and place the pan on the heat. Bring the water to a simmer and immediately turn off the heat, allowing the butter and chocolate to melt gently in the bowl.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites into a spotlessly clean bowl for whisking later. Whisk the yolks to a pale mousse.

To make the caramel, put the sugar and 125ml of water into a heavy-based saucepan and place on a low heat. Stir occasionally to encourage the sugar to dissolve before the liquid comes to a boil. Once it boils and has become a syrup, remove the spoon and do not stir again. Allow the syrup to become a dark chestnut coloured caramel. If it is colouring unevenly in the saucepan, tilt the pan gently to and fro to get it to even out by running the dark caramel into the paler syrup. Do not be tempted to stir as if you put a cold spoon into the caramel, it will “block” and go solid- a disaster. Keep going until the caramel is a deep chestnut colour and almost burnt.* Then immediately and quickly add the remaining 100ml of water, hot, if possible, to prevent less spluttering.

*For safety, I usually place the saucepan sitting in the dry sink before adding that 100ml of water as it is in a deeper place and the spluttering caramel just splashes onto the sides of the sink rather than the work top.

Now the caramel will look a bit odd, but once you put the saucepan back on the heat it will cook out to a single consistency again. Cook it until it thickens again – when you dip a spoon into the caramel and allow it to drop off, it will fall in a thickish thread.  Pour this gradually on to the whisked egg yolks, whisking all of the time. A food mixer with

a whisk attachment or a hand-held electric whisk will do this job perfectly. The mixture will whisk to a mousse in a matter of minutes.  Stir the melted chocolate and the vanilla extract into the mouse. You may need to be a little vigorous with the stirring.

Whisk the egg whites to a stiff peak. Do not allow them to over-whip and become grainy.  Stir a quarter of the egg white into the mousse to soften it and then fold in the remaining three quarters lightly yet thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into a shallow serving dish. There will not be a lot of mousse, but it is rich so the servings should be small. Place the mousse in the fridge to chill for 4 hours.

Garnish the chocolate mousse with a nougatine wafer and thick pouring cream. 

Note

Perfectly ripe raspberries, particularly the autumn varieties are delicious served with this mousse.

Rory’s Nougatine Wafers

Ingredients

175g nuts, a mixture, or the entire quantity of a single nut such as pistachios, almonds, walnuts, pecan nuts and Brazil nuts. Hazelnuts may also be used but should be roasted and peeled before chopping

150g caster or granulated sugar

¾ tsp apple pectin (available in health food shops)

125g butter

50g glucose syrup

2 tsp water

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5.

Chop the nuts in a food processor using the pulse button to render them to a semi-coarse texture. It is important you do not render the nuts to a powder and equally if the texture is too coarse, the mixture does not knit together so well. So, think grit rather than gravel.

In a small saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients, and cook on a very low heat just until the mixture is melted and smooth.

Add the nuts and stir to mix.

Using a silicone baking mat or an oven tray lined with parchment paper, drop on scant teaspoons of the mixture allowing plenty of room for the mixture to spread as it cooks. A standard oven tray, approximately 40cm x 35cm, will accommodate about 4 biscuits this size. You can of course make smaller biscuits by reducing the amount of mixture.

Cook for about 10 minutes or until the biscuits have spread into lacy and lightly caramelised flat crisps. They will be the colour of toasted hazelnuts.

The cooked biscuits will be soft and molten when removed from the oven so allow the biscuits to cool until set on the cooking tray before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Any remaining uncooked mixture will store perfectly in the fridge for up to one month. It will solidify but you simply prise off bits and cook as above.

Let yourself dream of your absolutely favourite dinner…What might it be?
Which dishes would you ask your mum to cook specially for you when you’re coming home from abroad or from college at the weekend?
Chances are, for many of us it’s a roast dinner and an apple tart.
Roast stuffed chicken with all the trimmings is right up there, lots of crispy roasties, maybe glazed carrots and tons of tasty gravy. Or maybe it’s roast lamb, a deliciously burnished leg of lamb, sprinkled with flaky sea salt or maybe spiked with little tufts of rosemary and slivers of garlic. I particularly love a shoulder that’s roasted slowly to melting tenderness so the meat can be lifted gently in tender chunks off the bone with tongs. Lots of gravy too and mint chutney, mint jelly or a simple mint sauce. Made with freshly chopped mint, about 25g, add 1 tablespoon sugar, 110ml of boiling water and 25ml of white wine vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice – made in a twinkling and so good with lamb. Redcurrant jelly is another favourite accompaniment.
I’m very partial to a gratin of potatoes and mushrooms with lamb, a brilliant dish which can be made ahead and reheats beautifully, the perfect stand-alone dish for a vegetarian also.
Who doesn’t love a roast loin or succulent belly of pork with irresistible crunchy crackling.
Bramley apple sauce is my favourite with this, comforting and old-fashioned but so good. Just peel and core the apples (450g) and chop coarsely, add 1-2 dessertspoons of water and 50g of sugar (or more depending on the tartness of the apples), cover and pop onto a medium heat. The apples will break down into a fluff, all you’ve got to do is stir. Hey presto – apple sauce!
Bramley apples, now in season are best, with their bittersweet flavour, perfect to cut the richness of the pork.
While you are at it, cook a big potful of apples, if you have some leftover, change the name and you have old-fashioned stewed apples, enjoy it for pudding with a dollop of softly whipped cream and soft dark brown sugar, a simple feast. And the ultimate roast rib of beef with three sauces – garlic mayo, béarnaise and horseradish sauces – a very, very special treat for a celebration.
A roast dinner tastes best when it’s shared around the kitchen table with family, maybe gran and grandad and a few grandchildren too. Even if you’re only amicably arguing, you’re keeping the vital lines of communication open, this is what memories are made of.
If possible, carve at the kitchen table so you can give everybody their favourite piece. Mine is the outside slice of the roast or the knuckle of the leg of lamb.
A roast dinner takes quite some time and considerable love and effort to get onto the table so don’t forget to lend a hand, enjoy the process while you discover the secrets. Organise some help with the washing up too while you enjoy the chats.

Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Gratin of Potato and Mushroom

The hard working and muscular shoulder has marvellous flavour but needs long and slow cooking to gently tenderize it so that the flesh becomes sweetly succulent. The cooked lamb in this dish should be soft and melting and will be gently pulled apart for serving rather than being carved.  This recipe needs time. You can’t rush the cooking of a shoulder of lamb, but once it is in the oven, there is plenty of time to prepare sauces and vegetables to accompany it.  The shoulder is cooked whole with just a sprinkle of sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. If the shoulder is excessively fatty, as may be the case later on in the lamb season, trim some of it off, or ask your butcher to do it for you.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 whole shoulder of lamb on the bone, weighing 3.6kg

Maldon sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

Place the lamb shoulder in a wide roasting tin or oven tray with the skin side up. Score the skin several times to encourage the fat to run out during the cooking and to crisp up the skin. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes before turning the temperature down to 160°C/Gas Mark 3 for a further 3 ½ hours.

To test if the lamb is cooked to a melting tenderness, pull the shank bone and it and some of the meat should come away easily from the bone.

When the lamb is cooked, remove from the oven. There will be plenty of fatty cooking juices. Strain these off the roasting tin through a sieve into a bowl. Keep the lamb warm in the oven with the temperature reduced to 100°C/Gas Mark ¼.

When the fat has risen to the surface of the lamb cooking juices, skim off the fat carefully and thoroughly with a large spoon.

Bring the juices to a simmer and taste and correct seasoning.

To serve the lamb, a tongs or serving fork and spoon is the best way to remove the meat from the bones.  Prise largish pieces off the bones and serve on hot plates with some of the hot cooking juices.

Serve with a gratin of Potato and Mushroom.

Gratin of Potato and Mushroom

If you have a few wild mushrooms e.g. chanterelles or field mushrooms, mix them with ordinary mushrooms for this gratin. If you can find flat mushrooms, all the better, one way or the other the gratin will still be delectable. This gratin is terrifically good with a pan-grilled lamb chop or a piece of steak.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1kg ‘old’ potatoes, e.g. Golden Wonders or Kerr’s Pinks

225g flat mushrooms

butter

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground pepper

200ml cream

100ml milk

3 tbsp mixture of grated Parmesan AND Irish mature Cheddar cheese

ovenproof gratin dish 25.5cm x 21.5cm

Method

Slice the mushrooms. Peel the potatoes and slice thinly into 3mm slices.   Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil.  Add the potato slices to the boiling water.  As soon as the water returns to the boil, drain the potatoes.  Refresh under cold water.  Drain again and arrange on kitchen paper or a clean tea towel. 

Grease a shallow gratin dish generously with butter and sprinkle the garlic over it. Arrange half the potatoes in the bottom of the dish, season with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Cover with the sliced mushrooms. Season again and finish off with a final layer of overlapping potatoes.

Bring the cream and milk almost to boiling point and pour over the potatoes. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for 1 hour approx. at 180°C/Gas Mark 4, until the gratin becomes crisp and golden brown with the cream bubbling up around the edges.

Roast Belly of Pork with Bramley Apple and Sweet Geranium Sauce

Streaky pork makes the sweetest and juiciest roast of pork; make sure to buy it with the skin on to get the crackling.  Seek out pork from heritage breeds, e.g. Gloucestershire Old Spot, Saddleback, Tamworth, Red Duroc, Berkshire, Mangalica…

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

1 x 2.3kg joint of streaky pork

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Gravy

600ml homemade chicken stock

roux (optional) (made with equal quantities of flour and butter, cooked for 2 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally)

Method

Score the skin at 5mm intervals – let your butcher do this if possible because the skin is quite tough. (This will also make it easier to carve later).

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

Put the joint skin side down on the work top sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Rub into the cuts.  Roast on a rack, allowing 28-30 minutes per 450g.

Pour off the pork fat and save in a bowl – this is delicious lard.  Then just before the end of cooking turn up the temperature to very hot, 230°C/Gas Mark 8, to get crisp crackling.

To make gravy, de-grease the roasting pan and add the chicken stock to deglaze the pan. Bring to the boil. Season and thicken with a little roux if desired.  Serve with Bramley Apple Sauce (see method in my column).

Mummy’s Apple and Blackberry Pie

Apple pie is virtually everyone’s favourite pudding. My famous break-all-the-rules pastry taught to me by my mother is made by the creaming method, so people who are convinced that they suffer from ‘hot hands’ don’t have to worry about rubbing in the butter.  I make this pie year-round with whatever fruits are in season: pears, plums and damsons are also in season now…

We are coming to the end of the blackberry season so get out into the countryside and pick the last of the berries before they disappear for another year (they freeze brilliantly too).

Enjoy with a blob of softly whipped cream and soft brown sugar, it’s obligatory!

Serves 8-12

Ingredients

Break-all-the-Rules Pastry

225g butter, softened

40g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

2 organic, free-range eggs

350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1 organic, free-range egg, beaten with a dash of milk

Filling

600g Bramley cooking apples, peeled and cut into large dice

110g wild blackberries

150g granulated sugar

To Serve

softly whipped cream

dark soft brown sugar

1 x 18cm x 30.5cm x 2.5cm deep square tin or 1 x 22.5cm round tin

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.

To make the pastry, cream the butter and sugar together by hand or in a food processor.  Add the eggs one by one and beat for several minutes. Reduce the speed and mix in the flour slowly.  Turn out onto a piece of floured baking parchment, flatten into a round, then wrap and chill.  This pastry needs to be chilled for at least 2 hours otherwise it is difficult to handle – better still, make it the day before.

Roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick, then use about two-thirds of it to line the tin.

Fill the pie to the top with the apples and blackberries and sprinkle with the sugar – brush the edges with water.  Cover with a lid of pastry, press the edges together to seal.  Decorate with pastry leaves, brush with the beaten egg mixture and bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour until the apples are tender.  When cooked, sprinkle lightly with caster sugar, cut into pieces and serve with softly whipped cream and sugar.

In this article, we celebrate garlic, the beautiful bulb prompted by our excitement on receiving a recent delivery of gorgeous fat bulbs of new seasons’ garlic from a local farmer here in East Cork.
Traditionally, the bulbs were planted on the shortest day of the year and harvested on the longest day of the year, then dried and cured. Garlic, native to Central Asia, can withstand temperatures of down to -15° and drought. It doesn’t need any special care and adapts to almost all types of soil.
For us, it’s so brilliant to have a local supply of beautiful chemical-free, garlic cloves. This initiative is the result of a collaboration between us and an entrepreneurial young farmer Matthew Fitzgerald, whom we commissioned to grow several varieties of chemical-free garlic for the Ballymaloe Cookery School. His farm is just outside Shanagarry village, so it is super local to us. He grows two varieties at present (Messidrome and Gerimidour) but is still experimenting.
Can you imagine life without garlic?
Well, I certainly remember a time, it doesn’t seem so long ago either, when garlic was considered to be very exotic and somewhat weird. Something the French were crazy about, but according to popular belief, it was a malodorous compound that made their breath smell rank.
I first came across garlic when I was an au pair in France in the mid-60s. When I came to Ballymaloe House in 1968, Myrtle was already incorporating garlic deliciously into her dishes.  She showed me how to use it judiciously, so it perfumed rather than overwhelmed, we crushed it finely with a few grains of salt to make it into a soft paste to transform a homemade mayo into a fragrant Aioli. She showed us how to spike a leg of lamb with slivers of garlic and tiny sprigs of rosemary before roasting it to melting tenderness in the oven. I learned how a simple garlic butter could perk up so many dishes, not least Moules Provençale. We have confit, roasted and sautéed the versatile bulb, even poached whole garlic heads and individual cloves to tease out different levels of flavour.
A garlic press was an impressive gadget in any home kitchen but It has to be said that garlic was not an instant hit in Ireland.
When I started the Ballymaloe Cookery School in September 1983, many cooks were still deeply suspicious of garlic at that stage, convinced that garlic didn’t agree with them and of course chilli was an even bigger challenge but as folks travelled more, our palettes developed and now we can’t get enough of hot spicy food and even specify the difference types of chilli and varieties of garlic we enjoy.
Apart from culinary uses, garlic has many medicinal uses, it’s known to be antiviral, anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory and it frightens away vampires, so altogether worth having.
Garlic is steeped in folklore and myth and associated with all kinds of legends. Apart from warding off evil spirits and bad luck, it was also used in folk medicine to cure sickness and stave off the common cold, it was considered a symbol of strength and helped to ensure fertility. Garlic was worn as an amulet by soldiers going into battle and was hung over doorways to ward off the evil eye. It can even be found on paintings in some Egyptian pyramids, an illustrious history.
It’s good to know that there are several other very good Irish garlic growers (seek out one local to you) but remember it’s really easy to grow your own garlic too.  Just plant the bulbs, root end down in dry ground in mid-December, about 8-9 inches apart in your garden or through your flower bed. But be aware that if the garlic is planted in very wet ground, it will rot.  
I’ve chosen three garlic infused recipes, which I hope you’ll enjoy.

Portobello Mushrooms with Garlic and Parsley Butter

A super simple recipe, delicious on its own as a starter or for supper but also makes a great accompaniment to a steak, lamb chop or chicken breast and are of course vegetarian.

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 large, flat portobello mushrooms (about 400g in total)

85g approx. soft butter

2 garlic cloves, crushed

3 heaped tbsp parsley, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. 

Wipe the mushrooms and cut off the stalks with a sharp knife. 

Mash the butter in a bowl with the crushed garlic and finely chopped parsley, season with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  

Pour 1 tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil in a roasting tin large enough to take the mushrooms in a single layer.  Arrange the mushrooms, stalks upward. 

Divide the garlic butter between the mushrooms, spreading it evenly inside the surface.  Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the edges of the mushrooms. Bake for about 25-30 minutes until they are cooked through and enjoy as soon as possible.

Chicken Roast with Whole Cloves of Garlic

If you ask what ingredient immediately springs to mind when one French food is mentioned, the spontaneous reply of many people will be garlic.  We often start by using it timidly, perhaps rubbing a cut clove over the salad bowl just to give a hint of garlic to a salad, but garlic has many different flavours depending on how you use it. Here we go to the other extreme and seemingly throw caution to the wind, roasting our chicken with lots and lots of plump garlic cloves. They will cook long and slowly, and the flavour of the garlic will be transformed to a mellow sweetness which is quite addictive – a classic French recipe.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 free range chicken, 1.5-1.8kg

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 sprig of thyme (or rosemary)

55g peeled plump garlic cloves

15g soft butter

a good drizzle of olive oil

450g unpeeled plump garlic cloves

Gravy

450ml homemade chicken stock or two-thirds stock and one-third dry white wine

cotton string

Method

Season the cavity of the chicken with the salt and freshly ground black pepper, then put in the sprig of fresh thyme (or rosemary) and the peeled garlic cloves.  Smear the breast and legs with some soft butter, season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Truss lightly with cotton string.

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

Put the chicken breast side down into the roasting tin and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Roast for 30 minutes, then turn breast side up and continue to roast. After about 15 minutes add the unpeeled garlic to the roasting tin – toss in the oil and chicken fat and add a little more olive oil if necessary.  Continue to roast until the chicken is golden and fully cooked.  Watch the unpeeled garlic cloves to make sure they don’t overcook – the garlic inside the skins should be soft and sweet. 

When the chicken is cooked, remove to a serving dish. Surround with the unpeeled garlic, spoon out all the garlic from the cavity and test to make sure the cloves are cooked. I often find that they need a little longer, so I put them into a saucepan with a little chicken stock and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes more or until they are soft, then add them to the carving dish.

Meanwhile make the gravy. Degrease the roasting tin, add the homemade chicken stock to the juices, bring to the boil and whisk gently to help to dislodge and dissolve the caramelised juices on the tin. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. If you like, thicken slightly by whisking in a little roux but I usually serve it just as it is. Serve the gravy and whole garlic cloves with the chicken.

Oven-Roasted Garlic Confit

Long slow cooking transforms garlic cloves into soft golden brown nuggets. We love to spread them over toast or crostini, serve them whole with grilled meat, vegetables, fish or scatter over a dish of pasta.

Ingredients

400g garlic, cloves peeled (5 heads of garlic approx.)

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 sprigs thyme

1 tsp salt

5 peppercorns

400ml olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas Mark 3.

Place the garlic cloves, herbs, salt and pepper into a low sided stainless-steel saucepan. Pour the oil on top. The garlic should be at least 75% submerged in oil. If it’s not, switch to a smaller container or add more oil. Bring to a gentle simmer, do not boil. Cook the garlic uncovered, for 45 minutes or until the cloves are soft and golden in colour. Allow to cool completely before serving or storing.

Store in sterilised jars in the fridge, making sure the garlic is submerged in the olive oil.  The confit garlic will keep for one month approximately and is a brilliant standby.