I’m absolutely thrilled to read about big plans to give the humble spud a make-over, a one million pound boost to be precise. This is big – a collaboration between Bord Bia, Department of Agriculture, Ireland’s potato industry, The British Potato Council and the EU.

Everyone concerned has become increasingly dismayed by the 25% drop in potato consumption in the past decade. Sales to the under 45’s account for an even more dramatic drop of 33%.  Even though the potato is inextricably linked with Irish food culture our national love affair with the spud has been waning for quite some time.

Many young people have ditched the ‘unsexy’ potato in favour of ‘cooler’ carbs like rice and pasta but prepare to be dazzled – the humble spud is about to get a full-on makeover.  The campaign sprang into action on October 2^nd – National Potato Day with a ‘cheeky’ potato character and a saucy line ‘Potatoes – more than a bit on the side’.

The quality of much of the Irish potato crop dipped dramatically in the 1980s as the Irish potato growers boosted crops with nitrogen in a frantic attempt to compete with the cheap imports from Cyprus where the climate lends itself to higher yielding varieties.

The result was a larger, watery, potato with poor keeping quality. Spud lovers felt cheated and bewildered. Was it any wonder then that many hitherto devotees turned to the more reliable and for many more convenient fast food.  The reality is that if we want beautiful Irish floury potatoes as we remember them, we need to pay more because the varieties are naturally low yielding.

Potatoes were also damned as fattening, a complete and utter myth which badly needs to be dispelled.

Instead we need to ramp up the message that potatoes are a fab ‘superfood’, the only one that can sustain life, remarkable for both its adaptability and its nutritional value.  As well as providing starch, an essential component of the diet, potatoes are rich in vitamin C, high in potassium and an excellent source of fibre.  In fact, potatoes alone supply every vital nutrient except calcium, vitamin A and D.  The easily-grown plant has the ability to provide more nutritious food faster on less land than any other food crop, and in almost any environment.  So easy to grow yourself – you don’t need a farm or a garden, we’ve had fun showing school kids how to plant potatoes in old hessian sacks and willow baskets and even galvanised dustbins. I’m not so keen on the rubber tyre tower, somehow I’m suspicious that some of the toxins could leach into the soil, hopefully I’m wrong.

Digging a stalk of potatoes is pure magic for anyone from the Minister of Agriculture to my 12 year old grandson, all those beautiful earthy jewels where originally you planted just one potato. And from the cook’s point of view, potatoes are phenomenally versatile. As we all know they can be boiled, steamed, roast, fried, grilled, and deep fried. They take on a myriad of flavours and herbs, spices, chilli, but and it’s a big but you really have to source carefully. As ever, I seek out traditional varieties that are suited to Irish growing conditions usually lower yielding – varieties like Homeguard, British Queens and Sharpe’s Express in Summer and Golden Wonders, Kerrs Pinks and in Winter we also love the waxy Pink Fir apple. Michael McKillop of Glens of Antrim potatoes tells me that he will have new season Lumpers in the shops within the next couple of weeks. http://www.goapotatoes.co.uk/news/. We choose blight resistant varieties because as organic farmers we don’t wish to spray – we have had considerable success with early crops of Colleen and Orla. Santé, Setanta, Rudolph and Cosmos have given delicious main crop results.

 

 

Hot Tips

Check out the cool Food Truck parked outside the Ballymaloe Cookery School every Sunday from 11am-6pm.  Julia and Igor serve up simple and delicious Eastern European food – Shashlik, Chinahi, & Granny Pancakes. You can choose from small bites or main plates, or just sit and enjoy a coffee. Combine it with a visit to our gardens and Celtic Maze – a perfect way to spend a Sunday!

 

Make your way to Dingle this weekend to catch the Dingle Food Festival – there are taste trails, cookery demos, workshops, wine tastings, food markets, charity cook off and lots lots more…. http://www.dinglefood.com/ is choc a bloc full of info……

 

Philip Dennhardt’s Saturday Pizzas from the wood burning oven here at the Ballymaloe Cookery School have a cult following, want to know the secrets? Sign up for Philip’s three hour, Pizza Masterclass on Friday 9^th October.  All the basics will be covered from choosing the ingredients, making the dough, getting the best results from your oven, lots of delicious toppings – the classic Margherita, Pepperoni and Calzone and contemporary pizzas – think Shrimp with watercress and homemade dill mayo, caramelized red onion and salsa verde, homemade cottage cheese with mint……

Good to Know: Philip will be cooking pizzas for the duration of the class, so there will be lots of sampling. www.cookingisfun.ie for more information about Philip and Saturday Pizzas, read our interview with him on The BCS Blog

 

Jordan Bourke is another young Irish chef who’s really making waves in the UK. His new cookbook Our Korean Kitchen which he co-wrote with his wife Rejina Pyo is creating quite a stir. He will teach a Guest Chef course at the Ballymaloe Cookery School on Saturday 10^th October.

This is Jordan’s third book. The Guilt Free Gourmet and the Natural Food Kitchen were also bestsellers.

Jordan is an experienced Korean chef having learned from the masters in Korean restaurants and home kitchens. Korean food is really having its moment and we’re all totally hooked.

In this course Jordan will share some of his other favourite recipes a delicious Moroccan harira soup; crab cakes with saffron aioli as well as Korean bibimap; and a gorgeous Almond, Coconut & Date cake with Rosewater and Cardamom and much more……see www.cookingisfun.ie for the details.

 

 

Homemade Potato Crisps or Game Chips

 

Potato crisps can be nutritious as well as delicious. It’s definitely worthwhile to make them yourself– a few potatoes produce a ton of crisps and nothing you buy in any shop will be even half as delicious. A mandolin is well worth buying for making chips – but mind your fingers!  When these are served with roast pheasant they are called game chips

 

Serves 4

 

450g (1lb) large, even-sized potatoes

extra virgin olive oil or beef dripping for deep-fat frying

salt

 

Wash and peel the potatoes. For even-sized crisps, trim each potato with a swivel-top peeler until smooth. Slice them very finely, preferably with a mandolin. Soak in cold water to remove the excess starch (this will also prevent them from discolouring or sticking together). Drain off the water and dry well.

 

In a deep-fat fryer, heat the oil or dripping to 180ºC/350ºF. Drop in the dry potato slices a few at a time and fry until golden and completely crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat until they are all cooked.

 

If they are not to be served immediately, they may be stored in a tin box and reheated in a low oven just before serving.

 

 

Aloo Tikki (Potatoes and Pea Cutlet)

Aarudhra Giri from Tamil Nadu in India made this delicious pea and spicy potato cakes for us – they’re now a firm favourite.

 

4 potatoes, boiled and peeled

150g (5oz) green peas, boiled

1 onion, finely chopped

3/4 green chilli

3 teaspoon ginger grated very finely

1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) fresh coriander, chopped

1 level teaspoon cumin powder

1 level teaspoon coriander powder

1 level teaspoon chilli powder

salt and pepper to taste

 

To Serve

Mint and Coriander Chutney (see recipe)

 

Fry the onion in a little olive oil until golden.

 

Mash the boiled peas and potatoes with the other ingredients.

 

Form small balls with the dough, roll it in some flour and line them in a tray. Keep this in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

 

Just before serving, heat olive oil/ sunflower oil in a frying pan and shallow fry them until golden.

 

Serve with mint and coriander chutney

 

Mint and Coriander Chutney

 

1 bunch of fresh mint

1/2 bunch of fresh coriander

1 red onion, chopped

1 green chilli, chopped

juice of 1/2 lemon

a pinch of sugar

salt to taste

2 tablespoons (2 1/2 American tablespoons) natural yoghurt

 

Blitz everything in a liquidiser until smooth. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

 

 

Papas Bravas

 

Serves 10-12 as a tapa

 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 red chilli, chopped (with seeds)

1 x 400g (14oz) tin of tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon homemade tomato purée

2 teaspoons paprika

salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar

extra virgin olive oil

900g (2lbs) potatoes (e.g. golden wonder) peeled or unpeeled, which ever you prefer

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

sea salt

 

To Serve

Aioli – homemade mayonnaise with crushed garlic and chopped parsley to taste

 

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan.  Add the chopped garlic and chilli and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add the chopped tinned tomatoes, tomato purée and paprika.  Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar.  Simmer for 5-8 minutes or until slightly reduced.

 

Meanwhile, heat 1 inch (2 1/2cm) olive oil in a frying pan.  Dice the potatoes into 1 inch (2 1/2 cm) pieces.  Dry on kitchen paper.  Cook the potatoes in the hot oil until light golden brown in colour and tender all the way through.

 

While the potatoes are cooking, liquidize the sauce and add the sherry vinegar.  Return to the pan.  When the potatoes are cooked, remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper.  Season lightly with some sea salt.

 

Heat the sauce, taste.

 

Serve the potatoes on a plate, drizzle with the sauce and a good dollop of aioli.

 

 

Potatoes with Smetana and Dill from Transylvania

 

We ate this simple potato salad in the courtyard restaurant of Hanul Cetatii, Saschiz in Transylvania.

 

Serves 6

 

6-12 freshly cooked potatoes, depending on size

salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Smetana (sour cream) (or crème fraîche)

lots of chopped dill and dill sprigs

 

Peel and cut the freshly cooked potatoes into 1 inch pieces. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and chopped dill. Toss.

 

Serve on a platter, drizzle with smetana or crème fraîche and lots of dill sprigs over the top.

 

 

Claudia Roden’s Potatoes with Chorizo

 

This is an earthy, strongly-flavoured dish that is served as a first or main course. By tradition the potatoes are cut only half way through with a wide knife then snapped open by twisting the blade. This is meant to release more starch so as to make the sauce thicker and to allow the potatoes to absorb more flavour. Small pork ribs, shallow-fried or roasted in the oven are sometimes added to make it a more meaty dish.

 

Serves 2 as a main course

 

1 large onion, chopped

3 – 4 tablespoons (4-5 American tablespoons) olive oil

200g (7oz) spicy chorizo (fully cured or semi-cured cooking type) cut into 1cm (1/2 inch) slices

2 garlic cloves, chopped

500g (18oz) new potatoes, peeled and cut into 2.5 – 4cm (1- 1 1/2 inch) pieces

1/2 – 1 teaspoon sweet pimentón, or sweet paprika (optional)

salt

 

Sauté the onion in the oil over low heat in a wide frying pan, stirring often until it is really brown – almost caramelised – about 20 minutes. Add the chorizo and garlic and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Put in the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, turning them over.

 

It is usual to add pimentón, but I do not add any when there is enough pimentón from the chorizo. Add salt and pour in enough water to cover. Simmer over low heat for about 25 – 35 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the liquid is very much reduced, turning the potatoes over if necessary so that they are well cooked right through. You should be left with a sizzling sauce that coats the potatoes and chorizo slices. If there is too much liquid, increase the heat towards the end to reduce it.

 

Variations

• Chop 1/2 a green and 1/2 a red bell pepper and put them in when the onion is soft and continue to cook until lightly browned.
• Add 1 peeled chopped tomato to the onions when they are brown
• Put in a whole dried or fresh chilli pepper

Fermentation, the hottest ‘new’ trend in food for the past few years is gradually becoming main stream as the word gets out that fermented foods are one of the easiest ways to enhance our gut flora. So if you haven’t already started to experiment, now could be the time.

Our Western diet is sadly lacking in fermented foods but many popular foods are in fact fermented including yoghurt, beer, salami, vinegar, fermented black beans, tempeh, miso….

Problem is some of these foods like yoghurt are so hugely processed and sweetened and refined that there’s very little value left.  In fact there’s quite a school of thought that would argue that they are downright damaging to one’s health rather than beneficial.

So avoid hugely processed food totally, I can’t be stronger than that but as time passes I am increasingly concerned  that there’s a real and growing problem. The number of people I encounter on a daily basis who have  a number of intolerances or allergies or worse still a combination is truly alarming. People are confused and in some cases down right desperate trying to find and choose foods that they can eat without ill effects. Many are see-sawing from one ‘super food’ or whacky diet to another grasping at straws. Well for what it’s worth here’s my advice which of course you are welcome to take or leave, agree or disagree but it comes from my observation over 50 years or more, 31 of which I’ve been running a cookery school where students come for both short but also three month courses, from a wide range of ages, backgrounds and nationalities. The number of students arriving with allergies and intolerances has skyrocked in recent years. While they are with us, they have the option to eat raw butter and drink raw organic milk and thick Jersey milk yoghurt. Those  with wheat intolerance (not coeliac)  seem to be able to eat totally natural sourdough bread made with organic flour without ill effects. Several who couldn’t tolerate eggs seem to be able to enjoy our free range organic eggs; Vegetarians decide to try meat when they know the provenance.

Those with gut problems of which there seem to be alarming numbers nowadays, report a dramatic improvement in their condition when they eat natural yoghurt made with no additives.

So what’s going on, this is simply my observation or anecdotal evidence of little or no value in the scientific world but research is urgently needed. Can it be that increasingly people are allergic to the process rather that the initial natural food, certainly there’s enough anecdotal evidence to make it worth investigating. Sadly unless there’s a perceived commercial benefit it’s difficult to get a research project going nowadays.

Meanwhile, we can all take back power over our food choices and start to ferment some simple foods at home.

Here at the Ballymaloe Cookery School we’ve been offering three Fermentation courses a year and the fascinating journey continues. Each new class builds on the previous one as we experiment more and our knowledge deepens.

If you are beginning your journey, a brilliant new book Fermented by Charlotte Pike , a beginners guide to making your own sourdough, yoghurt, sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi and more has just been published by Kyle Books. I so wish the book had been available when I was starting, clear, concise and confidence boosting.

 

Hot Tips

Learn how easy it is to make many of your own fermented foods at home on Wednesday 14^th October at the Ballymaloe Cookery School. From kefir to kombucha; German sauerkraut to Korean kim chi, krauchi ….learn how to make and look after these superfoods, as well as discovering a selection of our favourite recipes that use them. If you grow your own produce you will discover myriad ways to preserve the bounty of your harvest and enjoy it through the winter. This course will familiarise you with a wide variety of fermented foods and you will get to see and taste them for yourself. www.cookingisfun.ie for further information

Taken from Fermented, by Charlotte Pike. Published by Kyle Books. Photography by Tara Fisher.

 

Kimchi

 

Kimchi is an essential component of Korean cuisine, as it is served with almost every meal. It is still made in the autumn, in a UNESCO-protected process called Kimjang, when families come together to make their own recipes, which are passed down through

the generations. With many regional differences in ingredients and methods, making and eating kimchi is a firm part of Korean heritage. My recipe is for a slightly sweet, tangy kimchi with a crunchy texture. I prefer to thinly slice the cabbage, but you could chop it into chunky pieces if you wish. Personally, I like everything cut up quite small.

 

MAKES 1 X 1.5-LITRE JAR

825g total weight of organic white cabbage, thinly sliced and Chinese leaf, cut into 5cm chunks, using more or less of each, as you prefer

50g fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated

6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

50g fresh red chillies, such as fresno or serenade, thinly sliced (leaving the seeds in)

3 organic carrots, peeled and coarsely grated

1 bunch of organic spring onions, thinly sliced

400ml fish sauce

65g palm sugar

zest and juice of 2 limes

200ml filtered water

you will need a 1.5-litre glass Le-Parfait-style jar with a rubber seal, sterilised

 

Place the cabbage, Chinese leaf, ginger, garlic, chillies, carrots and spring onions in a large mixing bowl and mix well together with your hands until evenly combined. Transfer the mixture to a 1.5-litre jar.

Add the fish sauce, sugar, lime zest and juice and water to a jug and stir to dissolve the palm sugar. Pour into the jar, stir well with a wooden spoon or

spatula and press down any vegetables that are poking out of the liquid. Close the lid and set aside to ferment on the kitchen worksurface for at least a week. When the kimchi is ready it should smell strongly of its component ingredients, but not be unpleasant. It won’t change drastically in appearance, but the vegetables will soften a little.

The kimchi keeps for up to 2 months in a cool, dark place. Once opened, store in the fridge and eat within a month.

 

TIP:

Ensure the vegetables are submerged in the brine at all times to inhibit mould from forming on the surface.

 

Korean tofu stir-fry with kimchi

 

This stir-fry is Charlotte’s version of a classic Korean dish known as Japchae. It uses sweet potato noodles, which are an important staple in the Korean diet, and which are gluten free. Often called glass noodles, as they become clear when cooked, they are quite neutral in flavour and have a rather moreish sticky texture.

 

SERVES 4

200g marinated tofu, cut into 1.5cm cubes

50g sweet potato noodles (available from

ethnic food shops and online), or vermicelli

200g baby spinach leaves, stalks removed

4 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon caster or light brown soft sugar

1½ tablespoons sunflower oil

1 bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced

200g shiitake or chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 small carrot, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

1 courgette, cut into thin matchsticks

TO SERVE

toasted sesame seeds

4 heaped tablespoons Kimchi

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C electric/gas mark 6 and line a baking tray with non-stick baking parchment. Arrange the tofu cubes in a single layer on the baking tray and bake for 20–30 minutes or until golden, firm and crisp around the edges.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and set aside.

Place a large wok over a high heat. Add the sunflower oil and allow it to heat for a minute. Put in all of the remaining ingredients, except for the noodles and stir-fry for 3–4 minutes. Add the noodles and continue to stir-fry for a further 2 minutes or until they are heated through.

Serve the stir-fry in large bowls, topped with the baked tofu. Finish with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and a generous spoonful of kimchi on top.

 

Coconut Milk Kefir

 

MAKES 400ML

2 tablespoons milk kefir grains (available  online)

1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk

you will need a 500ml glass Le-Parfait-style jar with a rubber seal, sterilised

 

This kefir is delicious made with coconut milk instead of cow’s milk. Coconut milk can be fermented using milk kefir grains. It can be enjoyed as a thin, pouring yogurt for breakfast, or as a drink. To use milk kefir grains to ferment coconut milk, you’ll need to do a cow’s milk ferment first with your milk kefir grains and repeat this process once every four ferments to keep your grains healthy and active. There’s no need to rinse your milk kefir grains once they’re fermented; use them as they are. The milk kefir grains will eat the lactose in the milk, meaning that anyone suffering from lactose intolerance should be fine with this. If in doubt, you may be best sticking to a powdered starter culture to ferment coconut milk.

Put the milk kefir grains and coconut milk in the jar, stir well with a wooden spoon and close the jar. Place in the fridge to ferment for 12–24 hours. The coconut milk kefir should thicken slightly, and the milk kefir grains may multiply slightly. Strain through a nylon sieve and drink as it is. Start with a glass of up to 150ml initially. Best served chilled.

 

Kraut-chi

 

Kraut-chi is a popular hybrid of German sauerkraut and Korean kimchi. It sounds a bit odd, but it is a lovely blend of flavours and textures and is extremely versatile. It makes an excellent side served with salads, omelettes or all manner of spicy dishes.

 

MAKES 1 X 1-LITRE JAR

300g organic white cabbage, very thinly

sliced

1 bunch of organic spring onions, thinly sliced

2 organic carrots, peeled and coarsely grated

2cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and

finely grated

4 teaspoons sea salt

1 red chilli, finely chopped

2 tablespoons Water Kefir

you will need a 1-litre glass Le-Parfait-style

jar with a rubber seal, sterilised

 

Place all the ingredients in a large ceramic or glass mixing bowl and toss together with your hands until all the ingredients are well combined. Pack into a 1-litre jar, pressing down well to pack the vegetables in. Close the lid. Set aside on the kitchen worksurface for 5 days. After this time the kraut-chi will smell lightly vinegary and the vegetables will have softened a little. The kraut-chi will keep for up to 2 months. Once opened, store in the fridge and eat within a month.

Kombucha

Kombucha is a delicious fermented sweet tea. It is made using a scoby (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast), which can either be bought or passed on from a friend. The scoby looks most unusual, but it produces the most delicious drink that is lightly effervescent and tastes of apples.

You will need a small amount of kombucha to start a batch, so this is a great recipe to do with your friends and share amongst one another.

Scobies can be peeled in half, or cut into quarters and pieces.

 

MAKES APPROX. 2.5 LITRES

2 heaped tablespoons black loose-leaf tea

(I use English Breakfast)

200g organic cane sugar

1 litre boiling water

1 litre filtered water

1 scoby or scoby piece (available online)

250ml Kombucha (available online, or from  a friend)

you will need a 3-litre glass Le-Parfait-style jar with a rubber seal, sterilised

 

Put the tea, sugar and boiling water in a jug and stir well to dissolve the sugar. Set aside to infuse and cool to room temperature. Strain the tea into a 3-litre glass jar and add the remaining ingredients. Stir well with a wooden spoon and then fasten the lid.

Set aside to ferment on the kitchen work surface for 5 days, after which time the kombucha will smell appley and lightly vinegary, and look clearer and more orange in colour. I prefer to drink the kombucha at the younger stage, after 5 days, however you can leave it to ferment for up to 2 weeks if you wish. You will find that the flavour will become progressively more vinegary and effervescent the longer the kombucha ferments. I recommend starting by drinking a 150ml glass (no larger) of kombucha. Reserve 250ml of the kombucha to make a second batch.

 

Flavoured Kombucha

Once you’ve perfected making kombucha, you can start experimenting with different flavours. Pour off 1 litre of kombucha into a clean glass jar and stir in the flavouring

of your choice. Set aside to ferment on the kitchen worksurface for 12 hours. Drink as it is, or strain. Best served chilled.

 

MAKES 1 LITRE

1 litre fermented Kombucha

FOR THE FLAVOURINGS

EITHER 3 large hibiscus flowers

OR a few sprigs of fresh mint or lemon balm

OR 2 teaspoons dried chamomile leaves

 

TIP: You can leave the lid on or off the bottle as it ferments. It can be more effervescent if the lid is fastened.

 

Just heard the sad news of Mary Keane’s passing. Mary was often referred to as John B Keane’s wife as indeed she was for 47 years until his death in 2002 but Mary was a legend in herself. I only met her a couple of times but each encounter imprinted itself on my mind and I felt so fortunate that our paths had crossed. Mary had a wonderful way with words, I loved the colloquial language she used and how she seems so totally happy and confident in her own self and place. You might say, Well of course,  but it was an extra intangible something that was both inspirational and endearing and a rare enough quality.

In 2009 I had a wonderful morning with Mary learning how to make traditional Listowel Mutton Pies.  I was in the town for the annual Food Fair and of course strayed into the legendary family pub, I fell into lively company and we took to discussing food, local butcher turned bookie, Eric Brown regaled me with stories of the beef and kidney stew and the hare soup his mother used to make after the local coursing meeting. He taught me a new technique of skinning rabbits and slipped me a few tips for the next race meeting. Then who should come to the scene but the matriarch of the Keane dynasty, the doyenne of mutton pies herself, she being the winner of the Listowel Mutton pie competition in 2007, an accolade she was very proud of.  A spirited exchange took place between Mary, her son Billy, Jimmy Deenihan and several other punters about the traditional mutton pie. It was wonderful stuff, everyone had an opinion but what was most thrilling for me was the discovery that the pie tradition is still alive and well in Listowel, Co Kerry. I wished I’d had a video camera to record this exchange. I was still thinking about it when I woke the following morning, so on impulse I picked up the phone and asked Mary to show me herself – I thought the worst she could do was say no if it didn’t suit her. She was still in ‘her nightdress’ and  hadn’t even had a cup of tea when I rang but she said she’d do her best to find someone to stand behind the bar while she ran out to the butcher to get some mutton, “I have the self raising flour and the margarine but I’ll need a drop of buttermilk”

We met in the little kitchen behind the pub around 11am.  All the ingredients, plus salt, ground white pepper and a rolling pin were laid out on the table. Mary had already started to chop and was sharpening a knife on a fragment of whet stone as I arrived. She put me to work right away “Cut the meat cut into tiny cubes, not more than 1/8 of an inch” There was a mixture of shoulder, lap and shank in what we had. The chopped meat went into a green Tupperware bowl and was seasoned liberally with salt and finely ground white pepper. Next the pastry, Mary put about 1 ½ lbs self raising flour into a bowl, a pinch of salt and enough buttermilk to mix. It was more like bread dough really than a pastry. Mary gathered it all together, then kneaded it for a minute or two, before rolling out to a thickness of about ¼ inch with the wooden rolling pin. Then she took a saucer out of the cupboard and used it as a template to cut out rounds of dough

Mary was taught how to make traditional pies by her mother in law, Hannah Purtill a member of Cumann na mBan, who lived in a house in Church Street. One at a time each circle of dough was rolled into a thinner round. Mary put a generous half fistful of mutton into the centre, brushed the edges with buttermilk and then pressed another round onto the top, the edges were pressed together to seal and then pricked with a fork 4 or 5 times.

By now the oven had been preheated to 230°C (450ºF) so the pies were baked 3 or 4 at a time on a baking tray – we made 8 in all.

According to Mary, the tradition of pie making in Listowel came about because the women wanted to go to the races, they didn’t want to be deprived of their fun so they made a ‘blast of pies’ a few days before the famous Listowel races. The way Listowel mutton pies are eaten is unique.  The pastry is quite robust because of the small proportion of shortening to flour, not at all fragile. A big pot of mutton broth is made from the bones with maybe an onion or two added. On race day, the pies are slipped, a couple at a time into the pot of strained broth. They simmer away gently for 15 or 20 minutes and are then served into wide shallow soup bowls with a ladle full of hot broth on top. They are eaten with a spoon and a fork and some extra salt and pepper if you like.

Mary told me that her pies were never quite right for John B, “he was always cribbing that the pastry was always a bit too thick or too thin, not like his mothers”, so eventually she said “Well you can try your hand at it yourself.” So for a whole day before race week in Listowel, in the little kitchen behind the pub, ‘I’d put a bib on him’ and we’d cut up the meat for the pies to have a supply for the pub for race week’. Can you imagine the chat and banter while the two of them made pies together – wish I’d been a fly on a wall?

 

Listowel Mutton Pies

 

Despite the fact that mutton is having a terrific revival in the UK it is still very difficult to find mutton in Ireland so use hogget instead (the name for more mature lamb between Christmas and Easter.)

 

Makes 8

 

450g (1lb) mutton or hogget–a mixture of neck, shank and scrag end buy a bit more to allow for trimming.

lots of salt and ground white pepper

 

Pastry

900g (2lb) white flour

½ teaspoon salt

110g (1/4lb) Stork margarine or butter

850ml (1½ pints) buttermilk

 

Mutton Broth

2-2.5kg (4-6lb) mutton or hogget bones approximately

3-4 large onions, peeled and quartered

a couple of carrots, stalks of celery, parsley stalks, a couple of sprigs of thyme and pepper. OR a stock cube, which Mary occasionally uses.

 

First prepare the lamb. Trim off the fat and any gristle or membrane. Cut into tiny pieces (roughly 1/8 inch) and put into a shallow bowl. Season well with salt and ground white pepper (the kind that comes in a little cardboard shaker). Toss to make sure the meat is evenly coated.

Then, make the pastry. Put the flour into a bowl. Rub in the margarine or butter, add the buttermilk and mix with your hand to a firm dough, similar though drier than the texture of white soda bread. Mary kneaded the dough for 30 seconds to 1 minute to firm it up. Divide into two pieces. On a floured board, roll the pastry out as thinly as possible, to about 5mm (¼ inch). Mary used a saucer as a template and cut out 8 circles. Take one round and roll it out a little further to thin the pastry to approximately 2-3mm (1/8 inch).  Put a good half fistful of seasoned mutton or hogget into the centre. Brush the edge of the pastry with a little buttermilk and cover with another round that has also been rolled to 1/8-inch thickness. Press the edges together with the tines of a fork, then prick the top several times.

Preheat the oven to 230ºC/450ºF/gas mark 8. Meanwhile, continue to make the remainder of the pies. When the first four are ready, cook on a baking tray in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes. Check occasionally and reverse the tray from back to front if necessary. Meanwhile, continue to make the pies until all the pastry and filling is used up. Cool the pies on a wire rack. At this point, they can be kept wrapped for several days or frozen for later use.

Meanwhile make a simple mutton stock.

Put the mutton or hogget bones into a deep saucepan, add a couple of peeled chopped onions, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 1-1½ hours. Strain. Mary said she adds a couple of stock cubes to add extra flavour but if you would rather not, I suggest adding a few thickly sliced carrots and a few sticks of celery, a sprig or two of thyme, some parsley stalks and maybe a sliced white turnip, if available, to add extra flavour to the broth.

Strain and taste, add salt and pepper to correct the seasoning. Save until needed. The broth will keep in a fridge for several days or may be frozen.

To serve the mutton pies – bring the broth to the boil in a deep saucepan, drop a couple of meat pies into the broth. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Transfer each pie into a wide shallow soup bowl. Pour a ladle of mutton broth on top. Eat with a fork and spoon and extra pepper and salt, depending on your taste.

 

Kerry Pies

 

Mutton pies, made in Kerry, were served at the famous Puck Fair in Killorglin in August and taken up the hills when men were herding all day. The original hot water crust pastry was made with mutton fat but we have substituted butter for a really delicious crust.

Serves 6

 

1 lb (450g) boneless lamb or mutton (from shoulder or leg – keep bones for stock)

9 1/2 oz (275g) chopped onions

9 1/2 oz (275g) chopped carrots

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

1/2 pint (300ml/) mutton or lamb stock

2 tablespoons flour

salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Hot Water Crust Pastry

 

12 oz (340g) white flour

6 oz (170g) butter

4 fl oz (100ml) water

pinch of salt

1 egg beaten with a pinch of salt to glaze

 

2 tins, 6 inches (15cm) in diameter, 1 1/2 inches (4cm) high or 1 x 9 inch (23cm) tin

 

Cut all surplus fat away, then cut the meat into small neat pieces about the size of a small sugar lump. Render down the scraps of fat in a hot, wide saucepan until the fat runs. Discard the pieces. Cut the vegetables into slightly smaller dice and toss them in the fat, leaving them to cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the vegetables and toss the meat in the remaining fat over a high heat until the colour turns. Stir the flour into the meat. Cook gently for 2 minutes and blend in the stock gradually. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Return the vegetables to the pan with the parsley and thyme leaves, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and leave to simmer, covered. If using young lamb, 30 minutes will be sufficient; an older animal may take up to 1 hour.

Meanwhile make the pastry. Sieve the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Dice the butter, put it into a saucepan with the water and bring to the boil. Pour the liquid all at once into the flour and mix together quickly; beat until smooth. At first the pastry will be too soft to handle but as it cools it will become more workable. Roll out to 2.5mm/1/4 inch thick, to fit the tin or tins. (The pastry may be made into individual pies or one large pie.)

Fill the pastry-lined tins with the slightly cooled meat mixture. Make lids from the remaining pastry, brush the edges of the base with water and egg wash and put on the pastry lids, pinching them tightly together. Roll out the trimmings to make pastry leaves or twirls to decorate the tops of the pies, make a hole in the centre and egg wash carefully.

Bake the pie or pies at 200C/400F/regulo 6 for 40 minutes approx. Serve hot or cold

 

 

Kerry Yellow meal Griddle Bread

 

Mrs McGillycuddy of Caragh Lake in Kerry described this griddle bread to me. It dates back to the middle of the 19th century. Two different grades of yellow meal can still be bought in Foley’s grocery shop in Killorglin so obviously it is still used in this area.

 

Serves 4

 

4ozs /110g yellow meal

good pinch salt

¼ teaspoon bread soda

6 fl ozs (175ml) buttermilk

 

griddle or 10 inch (25.5cm) non stick pan

Put the yellow meal, salt and sieved bread soda into a bowl, add the buttermilk and beat well with a wooden spoon.

Heat a griddle until hot.(I use a non stick pan.) Pour the  batter onto the griddle and cook until crisp and golden underneath about 4 or 5 minutes. Turn over carefully and continue to cook on the other side, cut into four. Serve warm with country butter. This is very good served with crispy bacon for breakfast or supper.

 

Traditional Kerry Apple Cake

 

Makes 25-30 pieces

 

450g (1lb) plain white flour

175g (6oz) butter

2 teaspoons baking powder

175g (6oz) castor sugar

3 free range eggs

225ml (8fl oz) milk

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

 

2 cooking Bramley apples

 

Baking tin 30x20cm 7.5cm deep (12x8in 3in deep)

 

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.

Peel, core and chop the apple into 5mm (1/4in) dice. In a large bowl, rub the butter into the flour. Add the baking powder, castor sugar, diced apple and 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves.  Whisk the eggs with a cup of milk in another bowl.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon, the mixture will be a soft texture.  Pour into the greased and lined roasting tin.  Bake at 200C/400F/gas mark 6 for 35 to 40 minutes or until the apples are soft and the top is golden brown.  Dredge with soft brown sugar while hot, cool and serve.

 

Hot Tips

 

Date for your Diary

Diana Dodog, winner of the 2014 Irish Masterchef, will host a Five Mile Dinner at Dunowen House, Clonakilty on Wednesday 9^th September at 7pm. Champagne cocktail on arrival followed by a  five course meal featuring local produce.

Dinner €60 per person. Contact bookings@dunowenhouse.ie or tel: 023 886 9099

 

One of my favourite Dublin eateries Brother Hubbard on Capel Street is now open in the evenings from Wednesday-Saturday. They are offering a Middle Eastern Feasting Menu featuring a vegetarian mezze platter to share, choice of main dishes and a dessert platter….

Brother Hubbard are also planning a separate evening concept for Sister Sadie next month.

Updates on twitter @brother_hubbard, facebook and Instagram brotherhubbard#MiddleEastFeast

 

You all know that I’m fans of Honey & Co., a teeny weeny but soon to be bigger restaurant in London. Sarit and Itamar have been over to us twice and we love their simple homesy Middle Eastern food.

Not sure how they do it but they’ve just come out with a new cookbook, their second in less than 12 months.

Their first, Honey & Co won the Sunday Times and the Fortnum & Mason cook book of the year awards.

This one is on Baking “our day is marked by what comes out of the pastry section, and there’s always something good on the way: sticky cherry and pistachio buns in the morning: loaf of rich dough rolled with chocolate, hazelnuts and cinnamon that comes out of the oven fresh for elevenses. Lunch is a crisp, crumbly shell of pastry filled with spiced lamb or burnt aubergine, and at teatime there are cookies, cheesecakes, fruit cakes – so many cakes that it’s hard to choose one. After dinner there might be poached peaches with roses or something more traditional – sweet and salty Knafe drenched in orange blossom syrup.  There’s something sweet, something in the oven for everyone, all day long – welcome to Honey & Co”.

So it’s not all cakes and sticky buns, there are good things for breakfast, elevenses, lunch, teatime and dinner and even some pretty irresistible suggestions for after dark.

At present the restaurant in Fitzrovia has just 10 tables it’s what you might call cosy, some of their customers come in several times a day. The downstairs kitchen is also tint, how five chefs and three pastry chefs, three kitchen porters and seven waiters and Louisa in the office, co-exist and run up and down the stairs is an astonishing feat in itself.

They are all united by a love for food, a zest for life “even though its only part of what we do the pastry section is the backbone of the operation the driving force and the powerhouse . What baking requires represents everything we want our staff to have and our customers to feel – consideration, concentration, experience, patience, of course, but also a lot of passion, greed, an eagerness to please on an industrial scale and a great big heart. Our days are governed now by the rhythm of the pastry: weighing, mixing, kneading, shaping, baking, chilling, glazing, serving.

Of course it’s not just sweet, there’s an excellent chapter at the beginning of the book on ingredients and particularly the quality of the ingredients for baking, the butter, the cream, the sugar and flour, the vanilla, the chocolate, the nuts, the gelatine. They quite rightly emphasize the  quality you choose has a major impact on the end result, a fact oft forgotten in our quest for the cheapest ingredients nowadays.

If we’re going to spend time in the kitchen, the end result might as well be as delicious as possible and of course on the quality of the ingredients and the recipe. There’s lots to tempt us in Honey & Co Baking Book by Sarit and Itamar published by Saltyard Book Company

 

Hot Tips

It’s Blueberry Time –

Irish blueberries are in season and in abundance this year so for goodness sake, check the label and don’t bring home blueberries that have travelled thousands of miles from Chile or Peru. My seven year old granddaughter Amelia made the most delicious blueberry pancakes for breakfast this morning from blueberries that she and her brother and sister had just picked in the blueberry patch. – They are made in minutes – here’s the recipe:

 

Amelia’s Blueberry Pancakes

Makes 12

 

110g (4ozs/1 cup) self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

25g (1oz/1/8 cup) caster sugar

pinch of salt

1 egg

110ml (4fl ozs/1/2 cup) milk

50 g (2 oz) blueberries

drop of sunflower oil, for greasing

 

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, add the sugar and salt and stir to mix.  Make a well in the centre, crack in the egg and whisk, gradually drawing in the flour from the edge.  Add the milk gradually, whisking all the time, to form a smooth batter. Fold in the blueberries gently.

Lightly grease a frying pan and warm it over a moderate heat.  Drop 3 tablespoons (3 American tablespoons + 3 teaspoons) of the batter into the pan, keeping well apart so they don’t stick together. Cook for about 2 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface and begin to burst and the drop scones are golden underneath, then flip them over and cook on the other side for a minute or until golden on this side as well.

Remove from the pan and serve warm with butter and a sprinkling of caster sugar. (If you wish, wrap the drop scones in a clean tea towel to keep warm while you make the rest.)

 

Taste of West Cork Festival events are now up on the web – what a line up. You’ll need to be pretty snappy to get a table for Andy McFadden of L’ Autre Pied and Luke Matthews dinner at the Mews in Baltimore on Friday 11^th September . Tel: 028 20572

But they’re just two of the star attractions. There are lots of other options Derry Clare, Carmel Somers, JP McMahon…..check out www.atasteofwestcork.com

 

Date for your diary: Slow Food Galway will visit Galway Goat Farm on Sunday August 23^rd at 12 noon. There is a tour of the farm and cheese and yoghurt making followed by a delicious lunch. For more information contact Kate O’ Malley kateomalleycat@yahoo.com or 087 931 2333

 

 

Burekas

 

This recipe makes twice the amount you need for a single batch of burekas, but it is a versatile dough that freezes well, so it is worth making the full amount and keeping some for another day. If you prefer, you can halve the quantities; the only problem

you face is halving an egg. The best way is to crack it into a little dish, whisk well and then use half. Use the remaining beaten egg to glaze the pastry before baking.

Waste not, want not. Made throughout the Balkans, burekas are savoury pastry parcels with different fillings, often potato, cheese or meat. The pastry varies as well, from short and crumbly to layered and crunchy, like filo or puff, or even doughy, more like bread

rolls. For home baking I have found none better than this, the pastry dough that will change your baking life – our famed ‘dough number 4’. It is easy to make, failsafe and extremely tasty. At Honey & Co we use this for a few of our breakfast

bakes, and it is great for canapés and pies. Alternatively, you could buy ready-made puff pastry and just make the fillings. It is cheating but the burekas will still be delicious, and no one need know. You can prepare your burekas in advance and

freeze them; just remember they need to be thawed before baking so that the filling is nice and hot by the time the pastry is cooked. The fillings here are a few tried-and tested suggestions. If you experiment with different fillings, be sure to over-season

slightly, to make up for the fact that they will be wrapped in pastry.

 

Makes about 1kg

500g plain flour

½ tsp caster sugar

1½ tsp table salt

1 tsp baking powder

250g cold unsalted butter, diced

125g full fat cream cheese

1 egg

125g/ml double cream

 

Place all the ingredients in a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment or in a food processor and work them together to form a nice smooth dough. (You could of course do this by hand, in which case you will need to rub the butter into the flour and other dry ingredients before mixing in the cream cheese, egg and double cream.) The idea is to keep everything cold and not to overwork the dough – you want some flecks of butter running through, as this will result in a lovely flaky texture once baked. Form the dough into a ball, press down to flatten it, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. You can prepare the dough up to 3 days in advance of baking – just keep it wrapped in cling film in the fridge until you need it.

If you are making a full batch but only need half for now, divide it in two, wrap both pieces in cling film, then put one in the fridge and the other in the freezer. It keeps well for up to a month; simply thaw before rolling and filling.

 

Lamb lahma with pine nuts & cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, peeled and diced

500g lamb mince

2 tbsp baharat spice mix

2 tbsp tomato purée

60g tahini paste

50g/ml water

a pinch of table salt

10 cherry tomatoes, quartered

50g pine nuts

 

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan on a high heat, then add the diced onions. Sauté until they are soft and starting to colour (this will take about 8–10 minutes), then add the minced meat. Keep the heat high and mix the meat around vigorously to break it into little pieces. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the spice mix and continue cooking until the meat has browned (this should take about 5–6 minutes). Stir in the tomato purée and cook for another 2–3 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary, then remove to a bowl to cool a little. Mix the tahini paste with the water and the salt, whisking it until it becomes smooth. Place a spoonful of tahini in the centre of each dough disc and spread it around a little. Cover with the cooked lamb, then top with the cherry tomatoes and pine nuts. Carefully lift each lahma onto the preheated tray and bake for 8–10 minutes. We like to serve this with extra tahini dip and a fresh tomato salad.

12/8/2015 (CS) (18509) Home & Co The Baking Book

 

Poached Peaches with Rose Jelly & Crystallised Rose Petals

We make this dessert in summer when peaches and roses are in high season. Since finding a constant supply of good unsprayed roses can be tricky, all our staff are under clear instructions to loot whatever gardens they have access to, so everyone comes to their shift bearing gifts of roses for Giorgia.

 

For the poached peaches

200g caster sugar

200g/ml water

some strips of peel and the juice of 1 lemon

some strips of peel and the juice of 1 orange

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp rose water

4 flat white peaches

50g/ml vodka

For the jelly

160g/ml peach cooking liquid

3 gelatine leaves (or the appropriate quantity for about 330g/ml liquid, according to the manufacturer’s instructions)

160g/ml cold water

1–2 tsp rose water

 

For the crystallised rose petals (if you like)

1 egg white

caster sugar

fresh garden roses

 

To elevate this dessert to something heavenly

a good splash of sparkling wine for each plate

 

To poach the peaches, place all the ingredients apart from the peaches and vodka in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Score the skin at the base of each peach with a little cross to just pierce the skin but not cut through the flesh. Once the liquid is boiling, place the peaches in it and cook for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and use a slotted spoon to remove the peaches to a bowl. Once they are cool enough to touch, peel off the skin; it should come away easily. Return the peeled peaches to the cooking liquid in the pan and bring to the boil again. Once it has come to the boil, turn the heat off (if the peaches you are using are very hard, you may want to cook them for 2–3 minutes before turning off the heat). Add the vodka, then leave the peaches and their poaching liquid in the pan to cool. While the peaches are cooling, strain 160g/ml of the poaching liquid into a small bowl (leave the peaches in the remainder). Soak the gelatine in cold water (follow the manufacturer’s instructions), then remove, squeeze out the excess water and add the gelatine to the hot poaching liquid to melt. Once it has melted, stir in the cold water and rose water. Pour into four individual moulds and place in the fridge to chill until the jelly sets. This will take at least 2 hours and anything up to 5 hours, depending on the gelatine used. If you are crystallising the rose petals, start by mixing the egg white with a pinch of sugar in a small bowl. Tip some caster sugar into a shallow saucer or dish. Dip a petal in the egg white mixture, then in the sugar, coating both sides. Lay the petals on a wire rack or a tray lined with baking parchment and leave to crisp and dry –this will take at least 6 hours, and up to 8 if the room is very cold. You can then keep

Makes 4 portions of the lightest, prettiest dessert them in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, but make sure not to refrigerate as they will soften. When you come to serve, the best way to get the jelly out of the moulds is to find a bowl that the jelly mould can fit into easily and to fill it with boiling water. Dip the mould in the hot water for 2 seconds and remove, then use your finger to pull the jelly a little to the side. This will allow air to come between the jelly and the mould; if you then flip the mould onto a serving plate, the jelly will slide out. Repeat with the other jellies. Place a peach at the side of each jelly and pour over a little of the cooking liquor. Then just splash with some sparkling wine and garnish with the rose petals, if using.

12/8/2015 (CS) (18506) Honey & Co The Baking Book

 

Courgette, Golden Raisin & Pistachio Cake

At the end of our street is the head office of Caprice Holdings Ltd, the group that operates some of the best and glitziest restaurants in London. Alvin and Kate work there, and treat us as their canteen. We know Alvin’s weird coffee order, and that Kate will have hot chocolate in winter and sparkling lemonade in the warmer months. They are both great lovers of cake, and whenever there is a birthday in the office we get an order for one with some silly writing on it – ‘Cheers, all the best’ or ‘Shiiiiiiiit’ – often private jokes that only they understand. This cake is their absolute favourite (they have a horrible nickname for it – ‘the green goddess’ or ‘green velvet’), so this recipe is for them, in the hope that they will never bake it themselves, but instead keep on coming to us for it.

Makes 1kg (2lb) loaf

60g pistachios

175g self-raising flour

a pinch of table salt

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground star anise

200g light brown soft sugar

50g caster sugar

175g/185ml olive oil

2 eggs

60g golden raisins

3 courgettes, unpeeled but trimmed,

grated (200g)

zest of 1 lemon

 

Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/gas mark 5. Butter a 1kg (2lb) loaf tin and line the base and long sides with a sheet of baking parchment, allowing a little overhang at the sides. Once the oven is hot, roast the pistachios for 8 minutes. Keep them whole and leave to cool a little. Mix the flour, salt, ginger and star anise together and add the pistachios. Place the sugars and oil in a large mixing bowl (or you could use a machine with a whisk attachment if you are super-lazy) and whisk together until combined. Whisk the eggs in one at a time and keep whisking until you have a lovely emulsified texture, a little like mayonnaise. Now add the rest of the ingredients, get rid of the whisk and use a large spoon or spatula to fold and combine to an even mixture. Transfer the cake batter to your lined loaf tin and bake for 35 minutes. Turn the tin around so that it bakes evenly and leave for a further 15–20 minutes. The end result should have a lovely springy feel. Allow to cool in the tin before removing. This will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days and for up to a week if you store it in the fridge.

12/8/2015 (CS) (18507) Honey & Co The Baking Book

 

We had our annual Long Table Dinner in the glasshouses a couple of weeks ago. It was completely sold out with a waiting list of people eager to come if there was a cancellation, even at the last minute. Six nationalities travelled here for it: English, South African, American, French, Swiss… as well, of course, as a large Irish contingent.

It was heaven sitting at a long table in the midst of the tomatoes and runner beans.

This is always a wonderful time of the year here in the Cookery School gardens, with everything looking lush and luxuriant. But I love the excuse of an event to polish everything up an extra notch.

Preparation starts several months ahead. After the early potato crop has been harvested, we plant grass seed in a couple of bays of the greenhouses. This lush lawn creates a beautiful green carpet for the Long Table Dinner. The field kitchen in the neighbouring bay was beautifully screened off with fresh beech branches and willow lattice.

For the past couple of weeks there has been a frenzy of activity – with Rory O’ Connell testing and tasting dishes made with the seasonal summer produce. A few students from the summer Twelve Week Course had asked to stay on to help at the dinner. They loved the experience, and being able to see the behind the scenes preparation, cooking and serving of a summer feast for a hundred people.

The weather forecast was pretty grim, so we all held our breath but despite our apprehension, we were fortunate with the weather. About an hour before the guests arrived there was the sort of sudden downpour that we’ve become accustomed to this “summer”. But after that it was blue skies all the way.

Guests started to arrive at 4pm and Sommelier Colm McCann and his team had some cava with elderflower or rhubarb cordial and fresh mint lemonade ready for the guests. Emer and Pat grilled sourdough bread and topped it with heirloom tomatoes and basil, or scrambled organic eggs dotted with Ballycotton lobster.

We welcomed the guests and thanked them for supporting the East Cork Slow Food Educational Project – and explained we are saving up to convert a disused shipping container into a prototype teaching kitchen for local schools to teach their pupils how to cook the produce they grow in their school gardens.

After the aperitif and nibbles, the guests walked through the organic farm and gardens. We explained that the Cookery School and farm are completely integrated: the School is our indoor classroom, we use the farm and gardens as an outdoor classroom. We showed them the photovoltaic system that generate electricity for the School, even on dull days, and the student beds where local children learn how to sow seeds and grow vegetables and herbs. Many were also fascinated by the dairy, where our Jersey cows are milked and the butter, buttermilk and yoghurt are made.

We wandered down through the herb garden, the wild flower meadow, and the vegetable and fruit gardens, arriving at the glasshouse just minutes after 6pm.

At this time of the year it looks like the Garden of Eden with kiwi and passionfruit overhead, and a wonderful variety of aubergines, sweetcorn, chilis, salad leaves, peppers, beans, heirloom tomatoes, beets, zucchini … as well as peach, fig, nectarine, pomegranate and grapevines around the edges – so beautiful.

The Gardeners were playing trad music as we arrived to add to the magic.

People took their seats. It was all very convivial, as is the nature of Slow Food events. There was no seating plan, so people could mix and mingle and make new friends.

And then the feast began. Here’s the menu Rory eventually chose, illustrated by Lydia Hugh -Jones (www.lydiahughjones.com)

 

 

We started with a Garden Leaf and Herb Flower Bouquet with Almond and Marjoram, Grape and Elderflower Mist served in little glasses, which had been assembled minutes earlier from the freshly picked leaves.

There was lots of freshly baked Ballymaloe Brown Yeast Bread and Jersey butter from the farm. The flavour of homemade butter was a trip down memory lane for many guests.

The second course was served family-style, the guests helped themselves and each other to:

• Beef Carpaccio with Horseradish and Tarragon
• Sushi Rice with Smoked Ballycotton Pollock and Ruby Beetroot
• Hot Smoked Wild Blackwater Salmon in Oeufs Mimosa
• and Mustard Seed Pickled Cucumbers.

The main course was also sensational, in the words of the guests around me: Grilled Breast of Nora Ahern’s Duck with Stonewell Tawny Cider, Roast Nectarines and Mint.

Rory had also braised the duck legs and wings with Indian spices, Llewellyn’s balsamic vinegar and tomatoes. That dish too was enthusiastically received., here’s the recipe if you’d like to try it yourself.The Jersey butter and sea salt on the table embellished the floury new potatoes, a variety called Colleen, and the green beans which had been dug and picked not more than a half an hour before dinner.

Next the cheese course:  Labne made with dripped natural yoghurt, served with Radishes, Savoury, Highbank Orchard Apple Syrup and Homemade Cheese Biscuits.

Then pudding, which was quite simply irresistible:

• Compote of Cherries with Kirsch
• An Iced Sandwich of Peach, Raspberry and Buttermilk
• And Crème Brulee peppered with Mark Kingston’s Single Estate Coffee

Needless to say, everyone had to have a taste, or rather several, of everything.

The music played on, and then there were JR’s raspberry marshmallows, candied chocolate orange peel, biscotti, and madeleines, still warm from the oven. Served with coffee and fresh herb tisanes. A real celebration of the food from the farm and gardens and local area and the blessings of Mother Nature.

 

Hot Tips

Clever and delicious ways to preserve your glut……

Hans Wieland will teach a Home Preserving course at the Organic Centre in Co Leitrim on Saturday August 29th  He will cover a wide range of methods to store and preserve your surplus garden crop from drying, fermenting, storing and freezing….

www.theorganiccentre.ie for more information

 

Date for your Diary:

A Taste of  West Cork (4th-13th September).The 10 day festival will include an open air street food market, food demonstrations, tastings, interactive workshops, cookery competitions….

 

-SAVE OUR SMALL SHOPS, support them or loose them. The whole country seems to be gone discounter mad, seems like people can’t talk about anything else- BMW’s, Merc’s, Audi’s, Toyotas, MIni’s, all lined up outside filling the boot with the latest bargains, but remember as the ad says when there’re  gone there’re gone and when there all gone there all gone…. Is this the kind of Ireland we want ? Remember we can all make a difference to our local town and community by how we CHOOSE to spend our euro….

 

Slow Food is an international organisation with members like you and I in over 150 countries world wide. If you are interested in food and food issues it’s really worth being a member to link into the global network. There are 15 Convivia (chapters) in Ireland. For further details on how to become a member check out www.slowfoodireland.com

 

Carpaccio with Rocket and Parmesan

 

Carpaccio is the ultimate recipe to make a little beef go a very long way. This sophisticated dish was invented in Harry’s Bar in Venice and named for Carpaccio, the great 15th century Venetian painter. There are many variations and this one is inspired by a version served at the Cipriani Hotel.

 

Serves 12

 

1 lb (450g) fillet of beef, preferably Aberdeen Angus (fresh not frozen)

fresh rocket or arugula leaves – about 5 per person depending on the size

6-7 very thin slivers Parmesan cheese per person (Parmigano Reggiano is best)

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Extra virgin olive oil or Mustard Sauce (see below)

 

Mustard sauce

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons (2 American tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) sugar

2 tablespoons (2 American tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) wine vinegar

1/4 pint (150ml/generous 1/2 cup) light olive oil or sunflower oil

1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) grated fresh horseradish

1 generous teaspoon chopped parsley

1 generous teaspoon chopped tarragon

 

If you are using Mustard Sauce, make it first. Put the egg yolks into a bowl, add the mustard, sugar and wine vinegar and mix well.  Whisk in the oil gradually as though you were making Mayonnaise. Finally, add the grated horseradish, chopped parsley and tarragon. Taste and season if necessary.

Chill the meat. Slice the beef fillet with a very sharp knife, 1/3 of an inch thick. Place each slice on a piece of oiled cling film or parchment paper, cover with another piece of oiled cling film or parchment paper. Roll gently with a rolling pin until almost transparent and double in size. Peel the cling film or parchment paper off the top, invert the meat on to a plate, and gently peel away the other layer of clingfilm or parchment paper.

 

Arrange the rocket leaves on top of the beef and scatter with very thin slivers of Parmesan over the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Drizzle with the Mustard Sauce or with very best extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately.

 

Note: Rocket and Parmesan Salad served without the carpaccio but drizzled with extra virgin olive oil is a very fashionable starter and very addictive it is too.

 

Wine Suggestion A full bodied red  eg. Sassicaia from Tuscany

 

24/06/2008 (JJ) 1876

 

 

Cherry Compote

 

450g (1lb) cherries

110g (4oz/1/2 cup) caster sugar

2 tablespoons (2 1/2 American tablespoons) kirsch

1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) lemon juice

 

Place the cherries, sugar, kirsch and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cover and place on the gentlest heat. The sugar needs to melt and the cherries need to cook and soften slightly. This takes about 20 minutes by which time you should have a lovely cherry compote with ruby coloured syrup.

 

Duck Legs Braised with Indian Spices and Llewellyn’s Balsamic Vinegar

Serves 4 – 6

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon ground cumin seeds

1 tablespoon bright red paprika (not smoked)

1 tablespoon ground coriander

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 ½ teaspoons garam masala

2 teaspoons sunflower oil

6 duck Legs and 6 duck wings.The thighs cut in half, wing bones and drumsticks trimmed of knuckles). Dry the prepared duck legs thoroughly. Yields 21 pieces

1 level teaspoon brown mustard seeds

¼ teaspoon whole fenugreek seeds

15 curry leaves (optional)

2 medium onions thinly sliced

2 tablespoons finely grated ginger

6 cloves of garlic crushed to a paste

2 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped

80 – 100 ml cider vinegar (Irish Balsamic Vinegar)

1 teaspoon salt and more to taste

1 tablespoon sugar

Water

Mix the turmeric, cumin, paprika, coriander, cayenne pepper and garam masala in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat the oil in a heavy casserole. Add the dry duck pieces skin side down and cook until hazelnut brown. Turn and repeat on the other side .Remove from the casserole.

Add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds and allow the mustard to pop, a matter of seconds. Now immediately add the curry leaves and sliced onions and cook until the edges of the onions are lightly browned. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for 1 minute. Add the spices and cook over a gentle heat all the while stirring for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes to slightly soften. Scrape the bottom of the pan as you go. Add the browned duck pieces, vinegar, salt, sugar and enough water to barely cover the duck, sir all to gently mix. Bring the contents of the casserole to a simmer and cover. Cook at this gentle simmer for 45 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook at a simmer for a further 30 minutes occasionally stirring and scraping the casserole bottom.

By now the sauce should have reduced and thickened slightly.

Taste and correct seasoning.  Serve with boiled rice or new potatoes. French beans or spinach are also a perfect accompaniment.

 

 

It’s become a bit of a tradition at the Ballymaloe Cookery School for the students to do a fundraiser during the term to support the East Cork Slow Food Education Project. We’ve had all kinds of events including a sponsored foraging walk over the cliffs at Ballycotton, and a pub quiz in the Blackbird. In recent times, a Pop Up dinner in the Garden Cafe at the Cookery School has been the most popular choice also chosen by this term’s students. Their theme was ‘A Midsummer Night’s Feast’. They drew up exciting and elaborate plans, divided the work between them and for the past few weeks they have been researching, planning and testing with youthful enthusiasm and terrific gusto. They read Shakespeare’s classic play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream several times over – and an Indian student from Mumbai read passages from the play at intervals during the meal in his charmingly dramatic way.

They planned the menu – incorporating as many fresh local foods as they could and seasonal produce from the farm, gardens and greenhouse. The succulent lamb for the main course came from Frank Murphy’s butcher shop in Midleton. They even picked the organic rose petals from the water garden and dried them for the spectacular dessert.

On Saturday and all of Sunday they worked with military precision. The teams were cooking all day having loads of fun. The bread makers started at 5.30 am on Sunday and made four lovely breads which were served with Jersey butter  fresh from the dairy.

They hung beech leaves and wild clematis from the rafters and did a paper installation that looked like fluttering birds over the doorway. The design team chose to transform the dining room into a midsummer forest scene and went off foraging round the gardens to find all sorts of summer foliage and blossoms.

Three long tables were laid with starched white linen table cloths. They had fresh banana leaves from the greenhouse down the centre as a runner topped with mossy logs wound round with the creamy white fragrant blossoms of philadelphus – mock orange – which scented the air so beautifully.

The Strawberry and Mint Cocktail and a Passion Fruit and Mango Non-Alcoholic Cocktails were both irresistible and they made a beautiful ice bowl full of roses to hold the ice.

Candles and twinkling night lights were lit in the conservatory and a student played the piano serenading the guests as they arrived. A Swedish student where midsummer night is a traditional celebration, had shown some other students how to make little herb and flower wreaths for the waitress’s hair.

The delicious canapés created set the scene: Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese and Cucumber; Indian Spiced Potato Cakes with Mint and Yoghurt Raita and Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Tamari Dipping Sauce  got an overwhelmingly positive response and there were gasps of admiration when the guests saw the transformation of the Cafe.

The beautiful summer starter incorporated beetroot in three ways: Chilled Beetroot Soup, Beetroot Carpaccio and Beetroot Jelly and Sour Cream.

 

The main course was the culmination of much thought and experimentation. Slow Roasted Shoulder of Lamb with Carrot Puree, Mashed Potato and an Apple and Mint Gel. It was much enjoyed; I’ve rarely seen so many plates with not a morsel left behind

The desserts Feta and Honey Cheesecake, Raspberry Spuma, Chocolate Soil and Meringue Shards… got compliments from every table.

All the students had been invited to enter a competition for the best midsummer night’s dream confection – it had to have some kind of flower connection – meringue lollipops, chocolate bark, rose petal cake, tarts and cupcakes there was scarcely a rose left in the garden after the event!

Some of the students had done a little cooking before they came to the school, a few having worked in professional kitchens. But many had scarcely made toast before they joined us 10 weeks ago – so we were bursting with pride at what they had achieved, having done all the planning and cooking, themselves, a view shared by the guests. They created a truly magical and memorable evening, a huge thank you to all involved.

 

Hot Tips

Great News! Ramen has opened its latest restaurant in Midleton. John Downey a past Ballymaloe Cookery School student and his chain of restaurants serving Thai food fast have been a great hit in Cork. Now he’s expanding again to Midleton’s Distillery Lane. Make sure to check it out if you are nearby www.ramen.ie

Roof Top Popups By the Creatives

Event stylist Jette Virdi and chef Johan van de Merwe love connecting people to each other and to their surroundings through the medium of food. In a new project taking place in late summer 2015, the pair are inviting Dubliners to see their city from a different perspective through a series of rooftop dinners.

Over the last three weekends of August 2015, Jette and Johan will combine their skills and take over three rooftops around the city. Jette will create a bespoke design for each venue whilst Johan will wow diners with a menu that reflects the best of local produce. Welcomed by cocktails crafted by Anna Walsh (Irish Bartender Champion 2015), guests will then be taken through a wonderful 4 course dinner all for €45.

Join Jette and Johan on the following dates:

14+15 August

21+22 August

28+29 August

Tickets @ €45 per person

Tickets: form Eventbrite Roof Top Popups

http://www.foodstyle.ie  and jettevirdi.com

 

Date for your Diary

Head for beautiful Donegal on the Wild Atlantic Way. The Donegal Food Festival runs from August 28^th-30^th, lots of cookery demos, cook offs, tastings, cheese masterclass, menu planning, seaweed masterclass….and lots lots more

http://www.atasteofdonegal.com/

 

Chilled Ruby Beetroot Soup with Beetroot Carpaccio

 

The students served this soup in small bowls with slivers of raw beetroot, a beetroot jelly made from the beetroot pickling liquid and sour cream.

 

Serves 8

 

800g (1 3/4lb) whole beetroot

225g (8oz) chopped onions

50g (2oz/1/2 stick) butter

salt, pepper and sugar

approx 1.2 litre (2 pints/5 cups) of light chicken stock

150ml (5fl oz/generous 1/2 cup) pouring cream

300ml (10 fl oz/1 1/4 cups) natural, unsweetened yoghurt

4 tablespoons (5 American tablespoons) of chopped chives and chive flowers if available

 

Wash the beets under a cold running tap with your hands being careful not to break the skin. Leave the little tail on and about 5cm (2 inches) of the stalks intact so as not to allow the beets to bleed.

 

Place in a saucepan that they fit snugly into and cover with boiling water. Add a pinch of salt and sugar. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer until the beets are cooked. The cooking time depends on the size and they can take anything from 20 minutes for tiny little beets to 2 hours for larger ones. They are cooked when the skin rubs off really easily. Don’t use a knife to test if they are cooked, as this will also cause bleeding.

While the beets are cooking, melt the butter and allow to foam. Add the onions, coat in the butter, cover tightly and sweat very gently until soft, tender and uncolored.

When the beets are cooked, peel, chop coarsely and add to the onions.

 

Add just enough boiling chicken stock to cover and season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for just 1 minute.

 

Now purée to achieve a smooth and silky consistency. Allow to cool completely. Add yoghurt and a little cream to taste. Check seasoning adding a little sugar if necessary.

Serve chilled with a swirl of yoghurt and lots of chopped chives and a few chive flowers if available.

 

 

Meringue Lollipops

 

Makes 8-10

 

4 egg whites

8 ozs (225g/generous 1 cup) castor sugar

 

Naural pink food colouring

Flat timber lollipops sticks

 

1-2 teaspoons Rosewater (optional)

 

Preheat the oven to 110°C\225°F\regulo ¼.

 

Put the egg whites into a spotlessly clean bowl of a food mixer.  Break up with the whisk and then add all the castor sugar in one go.  Whisk at full speed until it holds a stiff peak 4 – 5 minutes approx. Add a few drops of colouring and rosewater to taste (strength – varies, depending on the brand). Stir carefully to mix.

Meanwhile line 1 or 2 baking trays with parchment paper.    Lay the lollipop sticks well apart on the tray, pipe a solid circle of meringue about 12 mm in diameter on top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until they can lift easily off the parchment paper.   Allow the meringue lollipops to cool on the trays.

Serve with a bowl of cream.

 

 

John Pollard’s Potato and Buttermilk Dinner Rolls

 

Makes 30 x 90g (3 1/2oz) dinner rolls

 

350g (12oz) of riced steamed potatoes (a floury type of potato is best – Golden Wonder or Yukon Gold)

150g (5oz/1 1/4 sticks) soft butter

425ml (15fl oz/scant 2 cups) whole-milk buttermilk (37°C/99°F)

1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) of castor sugar

1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) of best quality honey

2 large eggs (room temperature)

3 teaspoons of salt

18g (3/4oz) dry yeast

880g (1lb 15oz/scant 8 cups) strong white flour (bread flour; will require the addition of more flour (up to 220g (7 3/4oz/scant 2 cups) depending on the type of potato used and humidity of day)

 

Boil or steam the potatoes until soft, peel and push through a ricer.

Transfer into the bowl of a mixer.  Add softened butter which will melt into the warm potatoes as you mix with a dough hook for 1-2 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, warm the buttermilk to 37°C/99°F, add to the potato.

 

With the machine running, add 2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon of castor sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey and 3 teaspoons of salt.

 

Add the dry yeast to the mixture and continue to knead for 1-2 minutes.

 

Allow to stand for 5 minutes and then gradually mix in 880g of strong white flour using dough hook. Add additional flour until the dough comes away clean from the mixing bowl (dough will be moist and will not clean completely from bowl surface depending on the type of potato used).

 

Continue to knead dough by hand, adding additional flour if necessary. Dough will be silky soft and light when hand kneading is finished (approximately 7 – 10 minutes).

 

Return the dough to a lightly oiled food mixer bowl and cover with cling film.

 

Allow to rise to double the original volume at room temperature (1 – 1 1/2 hours).

 

Deflate dough and shape into well formed 90g (3 1/2oz) rolls. Arrange on a buttered pan leaving approximately 2-4mm (1/8 – 1/4 inch) between the rolls to allow for rising.

 

Allow to rise into a continuous pan of rolls over a 1 1/2 hour period (rolls should double in volume and keep finger imprint when rise is finished).

 

Transfer the risen rolls into a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 for 25 minutes. Spray the base of the oven and sides with water.

The tops of the rolls will be well browned at the end of baking. Check that rolls are thoroughly baked and remove pan to cooling rack.

 

Brush the tops with melted butter immediately after removal from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

 

Note: if you can only find low fat buttermilk, add 50ml (2fl oz/1/4 cup) cream to compensate.

 

20/7/2015 (SH) (John Pollard – 12 Week May 2015)

 

 

Aaru’s Aloo Tikki

(Potatoes and Pea Cutlet)

 

Makes 10 small cutlets

 

Extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

4 potatoes, boiled and peeled

150g (5oz) green peas, boiled

3/4 green chilli

3 teaspoon ginger grated very finely

1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) fresh coriander, chopped

1 level teaspoon cumin powder

1 level teaspoon coriander powder

1 level teaspoon chilli powder

salt and pepper to taste

 

To Serve

Mint and Coriander Chutney (see recipe)

 

Fry the onion in a little olive oil until golden.

 

Mash the boiled peas and potatoes with the other ingredients.

 

Shape the dough into small balls. Roll them in some flour and arrange them on a baking tray. Refrigerate.

 

Just before serving, heat olive oil or sunflower oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Shallow fry on both sides until golden.

 

Serve with mint and coriander chutney

 

Mint and Coriander Chutney

 

1 bunch of fresh mint

1/2 bunch of fresh coriander

1 red onion, chopped

1 green chilli, chopped

juice of 1/2 lemon

a pinch of sugar

salt to taste

2 tablespoons (2 1/2 American tablespoons) natural yoghurt

 

Blitz everything in a liquidiser until smooth. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

 

17/7/2015 (SH) (18423) Aarudhra Giri (12 Week May 2015)

Aarudhra comes from Tamil Nadu in India. These potatoe and pea patties were a big hit at the Midsummer Feast – she sweetly shared the recipe with us all.

 

What a wonderful time of the year, I know the weather hasn’t been great but the garden is bursting with produce and I feel truly grateful to mother nature and our ace team of gardeners for sowing seeds, tending the plants and harvesting baskets full of beautiful things for us to enjoy and nourish all those around us with fresh wholesome healthy food. Meanwhile I’ve started another book – can you imagine! It’s not as if the world needs another Darina Allen cookbook but still I’ve got to write this one before I hang up my apron.

We still haven’t settled on a title  but it goes something like this, “Forget about all those crazy diets, just grow some of your own food, bring it into the kitchen and cook it, then sit down around the table and enjoy with family and friends”.

There are not too many problems and ills that can’t be solved in this way not to speak of enhancing the quality of the entire family life. Unless you have planted a potato yourself. It’s hard to describe the excitement and anticipation one feels when you dig the first of the new potato you planted  months earlier.  Picking them off the supermarket shelf, all scrubbed and clean doesn’t give anything like the same satisfaction plus you know exactly where they were grown and how….

Food labels are pretty selective yet none are yet required to tell you how many sprays and pesticides the crop has had but when you grow your own you know the provenance. Another bonus of growing your own is that you can get several dishes from just one vegetable take radishes for example, the fresh young leaves (as well as the radish itself) are delicious in salads and can also be cooked – they’re particularly tasty in radish leaf soup.

Beets are the same, we grow three varieties, Bolthardy, Chioggia with its candy striped flesh and gorgeous Golden Globe which is just that, can you imagine a salad of these with their contrasting colour and sweet beety flavour.

Again we enjoy the roots but also the stalks, just cooked simply in a little lightly salted water and tossed in olive oil. The young leaves are delicious in salads and the older ones cook down to a tender nourishing green, akin to spinach.

Zucchini or courgettes are either a feast or a famine, we’ve got lots and lots at present. Delicious raw or cooked – another that gives you three options, even four if you can’t keep up with the picking. Their flavour is at best at its sweetest when they are picked between 5-6 inches in length – the larger they get the more diluted the flavour becomes but even though there are lots of good things to do with oversized courgettes its best to keep on top of the  picking otherwise the plant will put all its energy into the big ones which diminishes the crop.

Of course the beautiful yellow blossoms also are edible. Tear them gently apart  to perk up an a green salad or stuff them to make fritters. It’s traditional to use the male zuchhini flowers rather than the female flowers which produce the zucchini. Most people are unaware that the leaves are also edible. They  make a delicious and nourishing green vegetable cooked in a similar way to spinach or kale or add to a bean stew or tomato fondue. In Italy they call them Cimi di Zucca.

I’d love to have any extra tips you gardeners have for the parts of the vegetables normally disregarded or what others consider to be weeds – chickweed, sheep’s tongue, sorrel, dandelions.  If you can grow and cook, it’s amazing how well and cheaply you can live and how cheaply you can make delicious meals and nourish your family.

 

Hot Tips

 

Marsh Samphire

look a little like mini cactus (without the prickles) and are also known as Glaswort is now in season. It is a succulent that grows in the salt marshes close to the sea and looks like tiny cactus though it’s not in the least prickly. It takes just 3-4 minutes in boiling water to cook, drain, toss in a little melted butter and serve with some wild Blackwater salmon or summer plaice for sublime seasonal treat.

 

A Walk in the Park

I’ve always loved St Anne’s Park in Dublin’s Raheny and the beautiful rose Souvenir de St Anne’s which seems to flower throughout the year.

However, there’s another reason to ramble through nowadays. Michelle and Liam Moloughney of Moloughney’s in Clontarf has paired up with  Michelle’s sister Angela Ruttledge of Woodstock in Phibsborough to open Olive’s Tearooms– a teashop and café in the Red Stables building open for breakfast and lunch every day and the kids are raving about the ‘jammy dodgers’

 

Blackwater Café

We hear terrific reports about the new Blackwater Garden Café just outside Youghal. Next time you are browsing the Garden Centre take a moment to enjoy a cup of coffee in the Café. The simple, fresh local food, is cooked  by Anne McKenna – soups, sandwiches, cakes and scones.

Open every day 10am-5pm.

Tel 024 927 25

 

 

Large Courgette, Chickpea and Kale Curry

 

Serves 6

 

900g (2lbs) overgrown courgette (zucchini) or marrow

200g (7oz) kale or spinach leaves

2 tablespoons (2 1/2 American tablespoons) extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 teaspoons mustard seeds

1 onion (175g/6oz), peeled and chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

2 1/2cm (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric

400g (14oz) tin of chopped tomatoes

400g (14oz) tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained

400ml (14fl oz) tin coconut milk

200ml (7fl oz/scant 1 cup) vegetable stock or water

handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

lemon juice to taste

 

Peel the courgette or marrow, remove the seeds and cut into 2 1/2cm (1 inch) pieces.

 

Destalk the kale or spinach.  Wash and chop the leaves roughly.  Keep aside.

 

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a wide saucepan over a medium heat.  Add the cumin and mustard seeds and allow to heat up for 1 minute – the mustard seeds will pop.  Add the onion, stir and fry until tender – approximately 5 minutes.   Add the garlic, chilli, ginger, freshly roasted ground coriander and turmeric and stir for a further minute.  Add the courgette or marrow, chopped tomatoes, vegetable stock or water.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Bring to the boil then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Finally, add the coconut milk, chickpeas and kale or spinach leaves.  Cook until the courgette or marrow and kale (or spinach) is tender.

 

Stir in the fresh coriander, taste, add freshly squeezed lemon juice and correct seasoning.

 

Note

The courgette or marrow could be replaced with butternut squash.

 

29/7/2015 (SH) (18473) (DA/SH)

 

 

Penne with Beets, Greens, Goat Cheese and Walnuts

 

Serves 6

 

4 cooked beets (beetroot) diced into 7mm (1/3 inch)

350g (12oz) Swiss chard or spinach

225g (8oz) penne

50ml (2fl oz/1/4 cup) olive oil

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) tarragon, freshly chopped

110g (4oz) soft goat cheese

150ml (5fl oz/generous 1/2 cup) cream or crème fraiche

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

To Serve

40g (1 1/2oz) walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) snipped flat parsley

 

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil (8 pints/4 litres/20 cups), add 2 tablespoons (2 1/2 American tablespoons) salt and the penne, stir, bring back to the boil for 4 minutes.  Turn off the heat, cover the saucepan tightly and allow to cook for 8-10 minutes until al dente.

 

Strip the leaves off the beetroot, slice the stalks of the beetroot and then the stalk leaves into 1cm (1/2 inch) but keep separate.

 

Heat the oil in a sauté pan.  Add the garlic and pepper flakes, stir for a few seconds then toss in the beet stalks.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, add the diced beets and leaves, stir and cook for a couple of minutes until the leaves are wilted.

 

Drain the pasta well.  Add to the pan, add the tarragon, the crumbled cheese and cream or crème fraiche.  Season with lots of salt and pepper.  Taste, I sometimes add a pinch of sugar depending on the sweetness of the beets.

 

Turn into a hot bowl.  Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and flat parsley.

Serve immediately.

 

13/4/2015 (SH) (17563)

Cimi di Zucca

Courgettes, Leaves and Flowers

 

Makes 6

 

4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 large scallions, use white and green parts, cut at an angle

1 lb (450 g) potatoes, peeled and diced

4-5 zucchini, grate at an angle

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

¼-½ teaspoon chilli flakes

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 lb (450g ) courgette shoots and tender leaves

A handful of orso

 

3-4 zucchini blossoms

1.8 litres (3 pints) vegetable or chicken stock or water

Lots of marjoram

 

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the sliced scallions, potato and  zucchini dice, garlic and chilli flakes. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss and cook gently while you chop the leaves, add to the base with a handful of  orso, cover with hot stock or water. Bring to the boil for 5 or 6 minutes or until the pasta,  potato is cooked. Add chopped marjoram, taste and correct seasoning.

Ladle into deep soup bowls and top with a slice of grilled sour dough rubbed with a clove of garlic. Sprinkle a few zucchini blossoms over the top, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve as soon as possible.

 

29/07/2015 (CS)  (18464)

 

Shaved Radish and Beetroot Salad

This is such a beautiful salad and made in minutes – also keeps the growing raw food affieciados happy.

 

Serves 4 as a starter

 

8 radishes, French breakfast

1 red beetroot

1 yellow beetroot

1 Chioggia beetroot

a few sprigs flat leaf parsley, leaves picked

golden marjoram and chervil

 

Dressing

6 tablespoons (5 American tablespoons) extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) Forum Chardonnay white vinegar or white balsamic vinegar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Make a dressing with the oils, vinegar, salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning.

 

Just before serving, wash the radishes and beets. Shave thinly on a mandolin. Toss the lot with the parsley and dress lightly.

Arrange slices of beetroot and radish overlapping haphazardly on white plates. Drizzle with a little dressing and top with a few rocket leaves and golden marjoram and chervil.

 

29/7/2015 (CS) (18465)

 

 

 

A breakfast picnic on the cliffs at Ballyandreen, a feast in a wildflower  meadow, a flask of strong tea and scones with a dollop of jam and cream on the Comeragh mountains or just the smell of a couple of lamb chops sizzling over the coals on a BBQ in the garden, it’s all about the sheer giddy joy of eating outdoors.

When I go fishing, I love to bring a smoking box. Spanking fresh mackerel are irresistible to eat, just pan grilled but I also love them  ‘warm smoked’ with a dollop of dill mayo or pickled beetroot and horseradish cream.

It’s so easy to do; you don’t even need a special smoker, an old biscuit tin works fine.  You’ll need some sawdust and a rack inside so the smoke can circulate around the food. We adapt a wire cake rack and that lasts for years, we’ve just replaced a rectangular biscuit tin that we’ve been using for over 5 years.

Pollock too, is transformed in the warm smoker. We love to serve it with marsh samphire and roast sweet red peppers at this time of the year.

Most people will have a barbecue of some type or other. Nowadays the gas ones are super convenient but I still love to cook over charcoal or wood. Admittedly it takes longer and considerably more skill to get the heat right but for me the flavour is immeasurably better. I love to order a couple of 1 ½ inch thick T bone steaks of well hung, dry aged beef from Frank Murphy in Midleton. Salt it well for at least 30 minutes and then dab dry. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and lots of freshly cracked pepper, then slap it on the rack over the hot coals. I sear it on both sides then barbecue for about 15 minutes and allow it to rest for a further 10 minutes or so. This resting period allow the juices to redistribute evenly through the meat. Then I cut the juicy, succulent meat off the bone and into slices across the grain. Absolutely delicious on a salad of rocket leaves with smoked potatoes or indeed wedges with Aioli or Béarnaise sauce.  Smoked tomatoes are also great and easy to do as you can see from the recipe below.

If you’d rather do mackerel on your barbecue, one of the easiest ways is to season the dry fish fillets well, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil. Lay them side by side on a wire cake rack, pop another on top and lay the lot on the barbeque about 4 inches from the glowing coals. Flip it over after a few minutes and just cook until the flesh is opaque. Serve immediately with a little green gooseberry sauce or a simple  harissa butter. Divine.

Or you can cheat and just simply gut and leave the fresh mackerel whole (of course you can chop off the head and tail if you’d rather). Season well, pop a sprig of dill and a blob of butter inside and wrap it well in a loose tin foil package. It will only take about 5 minutes to cook and you’ll have lots of buttery juices to mop with crusty bread or new potatoes. A simple parsley or nasturtium  butter is great with that if you can’t find green gooseberries.

 

Hot Tips

Feel Good Food: Let’s Cook; Debbie Shaw, our resident Naturopathic Nutritionist  has planned another 1½ day ‘transformative’ cookery course. You’ll also learn about raw food and fermentation, the whole idea is to equip you with the skills and delicious recipes to maximise nutrition and healthy gut flora.  Debbie’s witty practical approach demonstrates how, just a couple of simple changes to our daily routines can result in long-term health and vitality. Debbie will incorporate lots of fresh produce from the Ballymaloe Cookery School Organic Farm and Gardens – you can also expect some Middle Eastern and Asian flavours to perk up your day.

Visit www.ballymaloecookeryschool.ie for details.

 

The Mews in Baltimore – Word is spreading fast about the delicious exciting food that’s emerging from Luke Matthan’s kitchen at the Mews this summer.

He and his friends James Ellis, front of house and Robert Collender, responsible for the wine list and cool menu design have an impressive pedigree. Between them, this terrific trio have a had experience in The Harwood Arms, L’Autre Pied and Bentleys in London as well as Etto and Forest Avenue in Dublin. The no choice menu, changes daily, three starters for sharing, one main course and several desserts. We greatly enjoyed carpaccio of mackerel with roast gooseberry, warm lobster with wild garlic mayo, chicken wings with broad beans, Walsh’s succulent lamb with homeguard potatoes and Lisheen Salad and several very moreish desserts.  Simple, delicious food made from beautiful fresh local ingredients. These boys are not just ‘talking the talk’.  Between them, they are creating a memorable dining experience. Book ahead. Open Tuesday-Saturday 6pm to late. Tel: 028 20572

 

The festival season is in full swing but you might want to check out A Taste of Lough Derg, a summer-long programme of food events taking place in villages and towns on the shores of Lough Derg in Co. Clare, Galway and Tipperary. Enjoy BBQs, cookery courses, chocolate making with artisan chocolatier Patricia from Wilde Irish Chocolates, foraging, bread baking, beekeeping, tips on using and preserving your harvest, cheese-making tips and tastings too. The highlight is the Tipperary Food Producers Long Table Dinner taking place on 19 August at Cloobawn Quay where everything served comes fromTipperary.

Get http://www.discoverloughderg.ie/atasteofloughderg/

 

 

How to Smoke Mackerel, Chicken Breast or Duck Breast in a Simple Biscuit Tin Smoker

 

This is a simple Heath Robinson way to smoke small items of food. It may be frowned upon by serious smokers, but it is great for beginners because it gives such quick results. The fish, duck or chicken can be smoked without having been brined, but even a short salting or brining will improve flavour – 15–20 minutes should do it. Leave to dry for approximately 30 minutes before smoking.

 

mackerel or duck breast or organic chicken breast

sawdust

1 shallow biscuit tin with tight-fitting lid

1 wire cake rack to fit inside

pure salt or 80 per cent brine

 

Place a sheet of tin foil in the base of the biscuit tin and sprinkle 3 or 4 tablespoons of sawdust over it. Lay the fish or meat on the wire rack skin-side upwards, then cover the tin with the lid.

 

Place the tin on a gas jet or other heat source on a medium heat. The sawdust will start to smoulder and produce warm smoke that in turn both cooks and smokes the food. Reduce the heat to low. Mackerel will take about 8–10 minutes. Duck or chicken breast will take 20–30 minutes, depending on the size. Leave to rest before eating warm or at room temperature.

 

Alternatively, you could buy a simple smoking box from a fishing store or hot-smoke in a tightly covered wok over a gas jet in your own kitchen.

 

 

 

How to hot smoke fish

You don’t need any special equipment – even a biscuit tin will do.

Lay the fish fillets flesh side up on a tray, sprinkle the unskinned Pollock with salt as though you were seasoning generously.

 

Leave for at least an hour but not more than 3 hours. Dry the fillets with kitchen paper, place on a wire rack and allow to dry in a cool, airy place for 30 minutes approximately. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sawdust (we use apple wood) on the base of a rectangular biscuit tin or smoking box (www.nesbits.ie). Put a wire rack into the tin and lay the fish, flesh side up on top. Put the box on a gas jet over a high heat for a minute or so until the sawdust starts to smoulder. Cover the box. Reduce the heat and smoke for 6-7 minutes, turn off the heat and allow to sit unopened for 5 minutes.

 

Remove from the box and serve as you like.

 

Smoked Pollock with Roast Peppers and Marsh or Rock Samphire

Marsh Samphire is in season in July and early August.  Rock Samphire may be substituted in Spring and early Summer (April to July) before it flowers.  Failing that blanched and refreshed French beans or asparagus work well.

 

Serves 8 as a starter

 

1-11/2lbs (450g- 700g) warm smoked Pollock

4-5ozs (110g- 160g) marsh samphire

2 red and yellow peppers

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Roast the peppers in a hot oven, 250C/475F/Gas Mark 9.

Put the peppers on a baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes until the skin blisters and the flesh is soft.

 

Put a wire rack over a mild gas jet, roast the pepper on all sides. When they are charred, remove.  When roasted, put pepper into a bowl, cover tightly with cling film for a few minutes, this will make them much easier to peel. Peel and deseed and cut into strips.

 

Next cook the samphire.

Put the samphire into a saucepan of boiling water (not salted), bring back to the boil and simmer for about 3-4 minutes or until tender. Drain off the water (refresh in cold water if serving later).Toss in extra virgin olive – no salt because samphire has a natural salty tang.

 

To Serve

Divide the smoked pollock into nice flaky pieces, arrange on a serving platter with strips of red and yellow pepper and sprigs of samphire on top. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground pepper and a few flakes of sea salt.

 

Barbequed Mackerel in Foil Green Gooseberry Sauce

 

Salting fish before barbequing enhances the flavour tremendously.  I like to serve mackerel with the heads on, but if you are a bit squeamish remove them before cooking.

 

4 very fresh mackerel

sea salt

olive oil

 

Gut, wash and dry the mackerel and cut about 3 slits on either side of the back with a sharp knife.  About 15 minutes before cooking sprinkle the fish lightly with sea salt inside and outside.  Put a sprig of fennel in the centre and a knob of butter if you like.  Wrap in foil and seal the edges well.*

 

Put on the barbeque and cook for 4-6 minutes on each side depending on the size.  Serve with a segment of lemon and let each person open their own package.  There will be delicious juice to mop up with crusty bread or a baked potato.

 

* The mackerel could be prepared ahead to this point and refrigerated until needed.

 

Serve with Green Gooseberry Sauce

 

Green Gooseberry Sauce

 

Use the tart hard green gooseberries on the bushes at the moment, they make a delicious sauce.

 

10 ozs (285g/2 cups) fresh green gooseberries

stock syrup to cover (see below) – 6 fl.ozs (175 ml/3/4 cup) approx.

a knob of butter (optional)

 

Top and tail the gooseberries, put into a stainless steel saucepan, barely cover with stock syrup, bring to the boil and simmer until the fruit bursts.  Taste.  Stir in a small knob of butter if you like but it is very good without it.

 

Stock Syrup

You won’t need all the syrup so save for other uses. It’ll keep for months in the fridge.

4 fl ozs (120ml/1/2 cup) water

4 ozs (110g/generous 1/2 cup) sugar

 

Dissolve the sugar in the water and boil together for 2 minutes.  Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator until needed. Stock syrup can also be used for sorbets, fruit salads or as a sweetener in homemade lemonades.

 

Barbequed Toonsbridge Haloumi

 

Large fresh vine leaves

Toonsbridge Haloumi, Goat cheese, Feta, Gruyére, Emmenthal, Cheddar, Mozzarella, cut into ¼ inch thick slices

 

Tomato and Chilli Jam or Sweet Chilli Sauce

 

Wash and refresh the vine leaves quickly and dry with kitchen paper.

 

To Assemble

Take a vine leaf, put a piece of cheese in the centre of the ‘veiney’ side.  Fold over the edges to make a parcel, put the parcel on a second vine leaf and wrap tightly with the seam underneath.  Grill over the heat until the cheese starts to melt inside, about 5 minutes on each side.  Unwrap and eat.  Serve with crusty bread and tomato and chilli jam or sweet chilli sauce.

Note: The leaves may be eaten or discarded

 

Barbequed Steak with Roast Red Peppers, Anchoide and Rocket Leaves

 

Serves 6

 

3 x 175g (6oz) t-bone steaks, 1½ inch thick

1 garlic clove

salt and freshly ground pepper

 

a little olive oil

 

3 red fleshy peppers

 

 

Anchoide

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tins good anchovies

1 egg yolk

juice ½ lemon

200 – 250ml (7-9fl ozs) extra virgin olive oil

1 – 2 tablespoons hot water

 

To Serve

Rocket leaves

 

To prepare the steaks, about 1 hour before cooking, cut a clove of garlic in half and rub it on both sides of each steak. This simple step intensifies the beefy flavour. Then grind some black pepper and lots of salt over the steaks and sprinkle on a few drops of olive oil. Turn the steaks in the oil and leave aside. Score the fat at 2.5cm (1 inch) intervals.

 

Next roast the red peppers.

Preheat the grill or better still use a charcoal grill or barbecue.  Grill the peppers on all sides, turning them when necessary – they can be quite charred.  Alternatively, preheat the oven to 250°C/475°F/regulo 9.  Put the peppers on a baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes until the skin blisters and the flesh is soft.

 

Put them into a bowl and cover with cling film for a few minutes this will make them much easier to peel.

 

Pull the skin off the peppers, remove the stalks and seeds. Do not wash or you will loose the precious sweet juices.  Divide each into 2 or 3 pieces along the natural divisions.

 

Have the barbeque ready, the coals should be glowing. Season the steaks with a little salt and put them down onto the hot rack. Cook on one side for 5-6 minutes then turn over and cook to desired doneness.

When cooking a steak, also turn it over onto the fat side and cook for 3–4 minutes or until the fat crisps up nicely. Put the steaks onto an upturned plate; allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.

resting on another plate and leave them for a few minutes in a warm place.

 

Meanwhile make the anchoide.  Put the garlic, anchovies, egg yolk and lemon juice into a food processor, add the oil gradually as if making a mayonnaise.  Thin to required consistency with hot water.

Transfer the steaks onto hot plates. Cut off the bone and into thick slices.

Serve on a bed of rocket leaves, roast red peppers, rocket leaves and a little drizzle of anchoide.

The National Organic Centre in Co Leitrim is celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year.  The original concept was the vision of Rod Alston, one of Ireland’s organic pioneers who still lives close by.  It was he who asked me to join  the Board of the Organic Centre in 1995, which I did for a number of years and I’ve been a patron ever since.

Recently,  we packed up the van and drove north to Rossinver, passing through 10 counties on the way,  Cork, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Longford, Westmeath, Leitrim, Cavan and home via Sligo. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday and yet again we were reminded of the beauty and variety of our Irish landscape.

Loveliest of all, were the buttercup meadows of Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo – a heavenly sight and  rare in our neck of the woods where fields of nitrogen boosted rye grasses are more the norm.

Over the years, The Organic Centre has gradually established itself and built up the fertility of the soil in a 19 acre block of very marginal land close to Rossinver.

There are extensive herb and vegetable gardens, as well as fruit orchards with 50 native Irish apples, pears, plums and cherries specially selected to thrive in the north east.  There’s  a brilliant Horticultural Community garden scheme where local people can use the facilities, both raised bed and tunnels and tap into the considerable expertise of the Organic Centre team to grow some of their own vegetables, fruit and fresh herbs. For every hour they spend in the garden they donate an hour’s work to the Organic centre and help to pot up and plant seedlings for sale, a brilliant and mutually beneficial concept.

They run a year long Organic Horticulture Full-time Fetac Level 5 course and regular short courses on a variety of topics from Willow Workshop,  Home Preserving, First Aid from the Garden, Fermented and Cultured Food, Grow Your Own Fruit, Building a Cob Oven,  Foraging for wild herbs and plants …. Hans’ wife Gaby also runs courses on Fermentation, Cheesemaking and Sourdough. It’s quite remote but certainly worth the detour and there’s a little café where you can get a cup of tea or coffee http://www.theorganiccentre.ie

We were close to Blacklion so we couldn’t pass up Neven Maguire’s kind invitation to dine in his restaurant.  It was packed with glamorous diners in celebratory mood. Many had booked months ahead to celebrate a special birthday or anniversary and weren’t disappointed by the highly skilled and exotic food that Neven’s chef  Glen Wheeler and his talented young team prepared for dinner.

Many were also staying overnight in one of the nineteen bedrooms in Mc Nean House and the Neven’s lovely cookery School is next door. Neven’s combined enterprises highly enhance the image and prosperity of  Blacklion whose inhabitants are understandably proud of Neven’s many achievements. http://www.nevenmaguire.com

On our way home we swung by Sligo where three of our past students have cafes, and bakeries.

Catherine Farrell & Annette Burke at Gourmet Parlour in Bridge Street are celebrating 25 years in business, this year makes me feel old…… There was a queue when we arrived. The shelves and display case were packed with delicious cakes, bread and plump sandwiches and there was a queue. The kitchen works through the night to supply the demand and a new café is planned at the Cooloney roundabout. http://www.gourmetparlour.com

David Dunne of Café Knox in O’ Connell Street also gets great reviews but doesn’t open on a Monday so we headed for Sweet Beat on the corner of Bridge Street. Carolanne Rushe and her sister Deirdre and Simon the barista, were all beavering away in the recently opened Café that’s causing quite a stir in Sligo. There are just three tables on the ground floor but many more upstairs.

The fresh plant based salads and drinks are wooing vegetarians and everyone else besides.  http://www.sweetbeat.ie

We also picked up a pot of Wildwood honey from Tir na Nóg health food shop one of the first to be established in 1980.

Sligo is a buzzy, business town with lots of small shops and I was delighted to find that Cosgrove’s grocery shop was the same as ever, packed with produce with sausages and salami  hanging enticingly from the ceiling

 

Hot Tips

In response to many requests we’ve scheduled a week long ‘total immersion’ course at Ballymaloe Cookery School from Monday July 27^th to Friday July 31^st for those who would like to explore the organic farm and gardens as well as participate in both demonstration and hands on classes. You will learn how to cook many exciting dishes for family, friends and entertaining  but also how to sow a seed, the basics of organic growing and how to make compost. How to make your own homemade butter, cheese and yoghurt from the milk of our small Jersey herd. We’ll make sourdough and several other breads, pickles, jams, preserves……

We’ll spend lots of time in the kitchen but you’ll also help to pick vegetables and forage in the early morning and weather depending we may even go fishing……check out the details on the website www.cookingisfun.ie

 

How about this for a great idea …..Book-ears is a uniquely designed range of ‘book ears’ that save you from having to fold over the corners of a page. Orla Kerr, Bobby’s sister, came up with this brilliant concept. Each little cardboard sleeve is kept in place by a magnetic strip with enough space to write recipe notes or comments. See www.book-ears.com and amazon.co.uk.

 

How to Cook Well with Rory O’ Connell

Rory O’ Connell’s TV programme created lots of excitement, so why not come and meet him in person from 29^th-31^st July.  In this 2½ day course Rory will teach you simple but essential skills to transform you into a truly good cook. At the heart of his approach are good ingredients, carefully prepared with an eye to detail that will make your dishes a success, See the website www.cookingisfun.ie for the details.

A Slow Food Pop Up Dinner at the Ballymaloe Cookery School on Sunday July 12^th. Drink Reception at 6.30, dinner at 7pm. Our current 12 Week Certificate students will cook a ‘dream feast’….. Proceeds of the evening will go towards the East Cork Slow Food Educational Project.

Tickets €45.00. Booking Essential.

Phone 021 4646785 or email sharon@cookingisfun.ie for the details.

 

Neven’s Prawn and Avocado Wrap

Serves 4

 

100 g (4oz) mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce

1 tablespoon shredded fresh basil

½ lemon, pips removed

1 large ripe Hass avocado

4 large deli wraps or soft flour tortillas

50 g (2 oz) wild rocket

200 g (7 oz) large cooked, peeled prawns

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Place the mayonnaise in a bowl and add the chilli sauce, basil and a good squeeze of the lemon juice. Season to taste and mix until well combined.

Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone, then cut into slices and place in a bowl. Drizzle in a squeeze of the lemon juice to prevent it from discolouring. Heat a heavy-based frying pan. Heat each deli wrap or soft flour tortilla for 30 seconds on the frying pan, turning once.

Spread the flavoured mayonnaise all over each of the heated wraps or tortillas and stack the rocket, avocado slices and prawns down the centre. Season to taste and roll up to enclose the filling.

To serve, cut each one on the diagonal and arrange on plates or wrap in greaseproof paper to pack for lunch boxes.

 

The Nation’s Favourite Food by Neven Maguire

 

 

Neven’s Chicken Tikka Masala

 

Serves 4

 

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil

Knob of butter

2 onions, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

5 cm (2 inch) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated

100 g (4 oz) tikka masala curry paste

200 g (7 oz) canned chopped tomatoes

250 ml (9 fl oz) coconut cream

150 ml (¼ pint) chicken stock or water

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 4 skinless chicken breast fillets, cut into thick strips

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

200 g (7 oz) natural yoghurt, extra to garnish

Fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

 

Saffron Rice

1 teaspoon saffron threads

Knob of butter

350 g (12 oz) basmati rice

6 green cardmamom pods, cracked

 

Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy based pan with a lid. Add the onions, garlic, chilli and ginger and cook for 10 minutes over a medium heat, until soft and lightly golden. Stir in the tikka masala paste and cook for 1 minute. Season to taste. Add the tomatoes, coconut cream and chicken stock or water. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until reduced by half and thickened.

 

Tip in the chicken strips and yoghurt and stir well to combine. Bring back to a gentle simmer, then cover with a lid and cook for another 15-20 minutes, until the sauce is nicely reduced and the chicken is tender.

 

To prepare the saffron rice, place the saffron threads into a small bowl and pour over a little boiling water and leave to infuse. Melt the butter in a large heavy based pan with a lid. When it’s just starting to foam, tip in the rice and cardamom. Stir the rice for 2 minutes over a medium heat and season with a little salt. Pour over enough boiling water to cover the rice by 2.5 cm (1 inch), bring to  a simmer and put on the lid. Allow to cook for 5 minutes, then  pour in the saffron, including the water that it’s been soaking in. cover the pot again and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the rice is just cooked but retains some bite.

 

To serve, spoon the chicken tikka masala into warmed serving bowls and put the saffron rice into separate bowls. Add dollops of yoghurt into each bowl of chicken tikka masala and a good scattering of coriander leaves to garnish.

 

The Nation’s Favourite Food by Neven Maguire

 

Roast Summer Veg with Pearled Barley from the Sweet Beat Café in Sligo

 

Carol-Anne Rushe loves to serve this salad as part of our daily ‘Super Salad’ plate with our spicy hummus, onion pickle, sprouts and seeds.

It’s perfect for bbq season or feeding the family something light and healthy for a summery dinner.

 

Serves 4 as a main course, 8 as a side dish

 

500g Pearl Barley

2 Zucchini

1 large Aubergine

2 red peppers

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

pinch black pepper

 

Dressing

 

30ml balsamic vinegar

90ml extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

pinch of black pepper

 

handful of coriander, chopped,

handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped

Pumpkin seeds

 

Put the barley into a saucepan, cover with three times the amount of cold water and bring to the boil. simmer for 30 minutes.

Chop the veg into bite size chunks and place in a roasting tray with a drizzle of sunflower oil, thyme, paprika, sea salt and black pepper.

Roast in a preheated oven for 20 minutes.

When the barley is done, drain and rinse with cold water. Toss the dressing through and mix with the vegetables.

When it is cool, add in the chopped herbs and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.

Serve at room temperature.

 

Gourmet Parlor Praline Cake

 

Serves 10 approximately

 

6oz (175g/1 1/2 cups) flour

5 1/2oz (160g/scant 3/4 cup) sugar

3 eggs

5oz (150g/1 1/4 sticks) butter

1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons (2 American tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) praline powder (see below)

 

Praline

6oz (175g/3/4 cup) sugar

6oz (175g) skinned hazelnuts or unskinned almonds

 

Praline Butter Icing

7 tablespoons (9 American tablespoons) water

8 tablespoons (10 American tablespoons) sugar

5 egg yolks

1/2 lb (225g/2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened and creamed)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

4 tablespoons (5 American tablespoons) praline powder (sieved praline)

 

2 x 7 (18cm) inch cake tins                

 

First make the praline.

Combine the sugar and nuts in a heavy saucepan. Put over a low heat until the sugar turns caramel colour. Do not stir, carefully rotate the pan until the nuts are covered with caramel. When the nuts go “pop” pour the mixture on to an oiled marble slab, cool. Crush to a coarse gritty texture.

 

Brush the cake tins with melted butter and line the base of each with a round of greaseproof paper. Brush the paper with melted butter also and dust the base and edges with flour.

 

Cream the sugar and butter and add in the eggs one by one.  Beat well between each addition.  Sieve the flour and baking powder and stir in gradually. Add two tablespoons of praline powder. Mix lightly adding milk to moisten if the mixture is a little stiff.

 

Divide equally between two prepared tins.  Bake for 25 minutes at 190°C/350°F/regulo 5. Allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out and cooling on a wire rack. Reinvert after a few moments so as not to mark the top of the cake.

 

Meanwhile make the butter cream. 

Bring the water and sugar to the boil stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Let the syrup boil to the thread stage (115°C/238°F). Beat the yolks for one minute with an electric beater, add hot syrup very gradually. Continue beating until the syrup has all been added.  The mousse should be stiff and hold a “figure of 8”.  Let the mousse cool.

Beat the butter to a creamy consistency.  Gradually add the cooled mousse to the creamed butter and finally fold in the 4 tablespoons of powdered praline.

To Assemble

Split each cake in half. Spread with praline butter icing. Sandwich together.

Ice the top and sides with the remaining icing. Sprinkle crushed praline all over the top surface of the cake.

 

Praline Gateau

Alternatively for a wider gateau style cake, bake in a 2 x 8 inch x 2 1/2 inch deep (20.5cm x 6.5cm deep) tin.  Decorate with caramel shards or pieces of almond brittle.

 

 

Gaby Wieland’s Meadowsweet Lemonade-Champagne

 

This is a most refreshing summer drink

 

3 ½ litres of water

100g of honey

7 dessertspoons of cider vinegar

40-50 Hawthorn flower tops

(or 100 Dandelion Flowers or 8-9 Elderflower heads in full bloom, 100 red clover flowers, 9 Meadowsweet flowers)

2-3 organic or unwaxed lemons

 

1. Pour the water in a large jug or pot (ideally earthenware), add the honey and vinegar.
2. Squeeze the juice from one to one and a half lemons, cut one to one and a half lemons in pieces and add both to the mixture.
3. Then put the flowers into the jug.
4. Stir well. Cover and leave in a warm place for 24 hours.
5. The lemonade is ready after 1 day. Just strain and serve ice cool.

 

Note

To make champagne, leave flowers to ferment in the liquid for another 2-3 days. Then strain and bottle in champagne bottles with secure corks or use other strong bottles. Leave for a minimum of 4 weeks. The taste even improves after a longer period of time. Best before 1-2 years. You can mix the champagne with apple juice, mineral water or add orange juice ice cubes.

 

Tip

You can reduce the amount of honey when you make red clover lemonade.  Adjust to your taste!

 

 

 

 

Just back from another action packed school tour. On every 12 Week Certificate course we take the students on a fact finding field trip to stimulate ideas on how they might use their hard earned cooking skills to earn their living in a fun and creative way. Food is the main driver of the Irish economy at present where there are a myriad of options to add value to basic raw materials.

We started shortly after 8am, everyone was in high spirits. What is it about a school excursion that makes us all revert back to our carefree childhood temperament? First we visited Shanagarry Smokehouse where Bill Casey told us about how he decided to start a smokehouse when he was made redundant in the early 80’s. His smoked salmon is sold not just in the local area but also to several top chefs around the country and occasionally overseas.

Next we visited Philip Dennhardt’s Saturday Pizza factory ingeniously converted from a disused shipping container. An inspirational project which made many students realise that thinking creatively one can get into business and comply with the regulations without huge overheads.

Then we all piled into the bus and headed for Mahon Point Farmers Markets. It was already buzzing when we arrived at 10 o’ clock, 50 plus stalls each manned by a super creative food producer, all entrepreneurs who think outside the box to identify an opportunity. Annie Murphy’s chickens were roasting to perfection on a spit, beside her Simon Mould was turning out irresistible pizza. As ever the O’ Driscoll brothers from West Cork had a long queue for their freshly caught West Cork fish.  Maurice Gilbert from Ballyhoura was doling out tastes of his apple juice combos. Close by Marcus Hodder tells me his new salted caramel affrogato ice cream is proving to be a big hit.

Silvia and Olga from La Cocina have an irresistible display of Spanish treats, the students in particular love the custard tarts and want to know if I know the secret. Chocolate Cake Pops, lollipops, goat’s milk, raw food, home baking, cured meats, free range pork, organic fruit and vegetables…….

Now, since my last visit Rachel McCormack is making a variety of beef and chicken broths, Pho and pad thai that’s really causing a stir. This market continues to surprise and delight and the originals like Arbutus breads are still innovative and tempt us with their new creations.

Then it was on to Fermoy Cheese where Frank and Gudrun Shinnick and their team of international apprentices make a whole range of delectable farmhouse cheeses from the milk of their Friesian herd.

After a picnic and cheese tasting, we headed to visit Willie Drohan, who produces Comeragh Mountain lamb on his farm not far from the spectacular Mahon Falls. He told us the story of how he and several neighbouring farmers rear this distinctive lamb now much sought after by the top chefs. They lamb graze on deer grass, wild sorrel, tormentil and on other wild herbs on the commonage.

Next destination was Nude Food in Dungarvan. Here we were met by Louise Clark and Lucy Whelan. Louise lead us through the restaurant into her garden behind where broad beans, courgettes and a myriad of fresh herbs were flourishing. Louise is a charismatic speaker who shared her story with us all.

Our last stop of a brilliantly stimulating and enjoyable day was Dungarvan Brewery. Claire Dalton and Cormac O Dwyer showed us around explained and simplified the brewing process, the ingredients needed and the bottling system. His sister, wife of  Tom Dalton the other brewer in the business organised a tasting of the Dungarvan beers, all with local names, Helvick Gold Blond ale, Copper Coast, Mine Head, and I particularly enjoyed the Black Rock stout.

Traditional bottled conditioned beers are the USP of the Dungarvan brewing company which gives the craft beer a unique flavour.

 

Hot Tips

Sushi made Simple

Join our 12 Week Certificate students and allow Shermin Mustafa to demystify this jewel of Japanese cuisine. Whilst so many of us love eating sushi, making it for the first time can be intimidating particularly as it’s common-knowledge that sushi chefs train for years to master the knife skills and presentation needed to create world-class sushi.

This course takes the mystery… and stress… out of making sushi, Shermin will start by explaining the ingredients, basic equipment and techniques required, giving you the confidence to serve it to guests at home or in a restaurant.

During this half-day course she will show you how to make at least eight different types of sushi as well as sashimi.

Students will have the opportunity to taste all the dishes prepared during the demonstration.

Wednesday July 15^th at the Ballymaloe Cookery School 9.30am-2pm

Phone 021 4646785 or www.cookingisfun.ie for more information.

 

The cake making craze continues unabated. If you are really into spectacular results Decobake has 5 shops around Ireland. They also have a wonderful website with a good delivery service.  All you need for cake baking and decorating from edible gels and paste, dust and glitter, sugar craft, novelty cake tins and much much more….

Check out the website www.decobake.com

 

Shanagarry OOOBY little summer market has started again. Every Sunday morning the group sell their seasonal produce, preserves and home baking on the wall outside Shanagarry Church. A brilliant idea that could be replicated throughout the country. Tel Mary Griffin on 0876175985 or email oldroadpainter@msn.com for the details.

 

East Cork Slow Food Event

Camilla Plum from her organic Danish Fuglebjerggaard Farm will give a short cookery demonstration at the Ballymaloe Cookery School  on ‘Danish Family Cooking’, on Wednesday July 8^th at 7pm.

Telephone 021 4646785 for the details.

http://www.fuglebjerggaard.dk/english

 

 

 

 

Fish in Beer Batter with Chips and Tartare Sauce

Dungarvan Brewery can be contacted on  058 24000

 

Serves 8

 

Fish and chips became famous because they can be utterly delicious.  The fish needs to be spanking fresh, the batter crisp, the potatoes a good variety and most importantly the oil needs to be good quality.  In Spain and Greece olive oil is frequently used, but sunflower or arachide can be excellent also.

8 very fresh fillets of Irish cod, haddock, plaice, or lemon sole

 

Beer Batter

250g (9oz) self-raising flour

good pinch of salt

110ml (4fl oz) beer

175-225ml (6 – 8fl ozs) cold water

 

Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl.  Make a well in the centre and gradually whisk in the beer and water.

 

Chips

8-16 well-scrubbed unpeeled potatoes

 

Garnish

1 lemon

 

Accompaniment

Tartare Sauce (see recipe)

 

First make the batter.

Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl.  Make a well in the centre and gradually whisk in the beer and water.

 

Cut the potatoes into chips (5mm/1/4 inch approximately – frites size), basically any size you fancy (remember the bigger they are the longer they take to cook.  Jumbo’s need to be blanched at 160°C/320°F first and finished at 190°C/375°F).

 

Heat the oil in the deep-fryer to 180°C/350°F, add in the chips. Make sure they are absolutely dry (don’t cook too many together).  Cook for a few minutes until they are just soft, drain.

 

Dip the fish fillets in batter, allow excess to drip off, lower gently into the oil, shaking the basket at the same time.  Cook until crisp and golden, drain on kitchen paper.  Increase the heat to 190°C/375°F. Put the chips back in and cook for a minute or two until really crisp.  Drain on kitchen paper, sprinkle with salt.

 

Serve the fish and chips immediately, either on a plate or in a cornet of newsprint.  Serve with Tartare Sauce.

 

 

Tartare Sauce

 

A classic Tartare Sauce, great with deep-fried fish, shellfish or fish cakes.

 

Serves 8-10

 

2 hardboiled egg yolks

2 raw egg yolks, preferably free range

1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

300ml (10fl oz) of sunflower or arachide oil plus 50ml (2fl oz) olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped capers

1 teaspoon chopped gherkins

2 teaspoons chopped chives or 2 teaspoons chopped spring onions (scallions)

2 teaspoons chopped parsley

chopped white of the 2 hardboiled eggs

salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Sieve the hardboiled egg yolks into a bowl, add the raw egg yolks, mustard and 1 tablespoon of wine vinegar.   Mix well and whisk in the oil drop by drop, increasing the volume as the mixture thickens.  When all the oil has been absorbed, add the other ingredients – capers, gherkins, chives or spring onions and parsley.   Then roughly chop the hardboiled egg white and fold in gently, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and add a little more vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice if necessary.

 

 

 

 

Shanagarry Smoked Wild Irish Salmon with Arjard and Pickled Red Onions

 

Wild Irish salmon is a now a rare treat, as for the last couple of years we have managed to get a small number from fishermen on the Blackwater river. We treasure each one and eat some fresh, cure and smoke some ourselves or give them to Bill Casey, our local smoker, to smoke for us. We hot- and cold-smoke the salmon and teach the students both methods of preserving. For this recipe we use cold-smoked salmon, but flakes of the hot-smoked variety would also be delicious.

 

Serves 4

 

175–225g (6–8oz) cold-smoked wild Irish salmon,

cut into 1cm (1/2 inch) cubes

 

For the Pickled Red Onions

225ml (8fl oz) white wine vinegar

110g (4oz) granulated sugar

pinch of salt

3 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick, broken

1 dried red chilli

450g (1lb) red onions, peeled and thinly sliced on a mandolin

 

For the Arjard (cucumber salad)

2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced lengthways

1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced into rings

1 green chilli, deseeded and sliced into rings

4 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons water

6 tablespoons malt vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cucumber, quartered lengthways and thinly sliced

 

To Serve

chervil sprigs and wild garlic or chive blossom in season

freshly ground black pepper

 

To make the pickled onions, put the vinegar, sugar, salt and spices in a heavy-bottomed pan and bring to the boil. Put in one-third of the sliced onions and simmer for 2–3 minutes or until they turn pink and wilt. Lift out the cooked onions with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a 350g (12oz) sterilised jam jar with a non-reactive lid. Repeat with the rest of the onions, cooking them in two batches. Top up the jar with the hot vinegar, put on the lid and set aside to cool overnight. Once cold, store in the fridge.

 

To make the Arjard, put all the ingredients except the cucumber in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3–5 minutes. Set aside to cool. Once cold, pour the marinade over the slices of cucumber and set aside to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

 

To serve, arrange the cubes of salmon on a plate, add some Arjard and some pickled red onion and scatter over a few sprigs of chervil, wild garlic or chive flowers. Finish with some freshly ground black pepper over the top.

 

 

 

Comeragh Mountain Lamb with Cucumber Neopolitana

 

Martin Drohan can be contacted at tel (051) 291 533

 

1 leg of Comeragh mountain lamb

 

Gravy

600ml (1 pint/2 1/2 cups) homemade lamb or chicken stock

1-2 teaspoons freshly-chopped herbs  parsley, mint, thyme or rosemary, chives…..

a little Roux

Sea Salt

 

Garnish

Sprigs of fresh mint and parsley

 

 

If possible remove the aitch bone from the top of the leg of lamb so that it will be easier to carve later, then trim the end of the leg.  Score the fat lightly.  Sprinkle with sea salt.

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and roast for 1 1/4 hours approx. for rare, 1 1/2 hours for medium and 1 3/4 hours well done.  When the lamb is cooked to your taste, remove the joint to a carving dish.  Rest the lamb for 10 minutes before carving.

 

De-grease the juices in the roasting tin, add stock, bring to the boil and thicken with a little roux if desired.  Just before serving, whisk in some knobs of butter to enrich the gravy and add some freshly-chopped herbs.  Serve with Cucumber Neapolitana (see recipe).

.

 

 

Cucumber Neapolitana

 

A terrifically versatile vegetable dish which may be made ahead and reheats well. It is also delicious served with rice or pasta.  It makes a great stuffing for tomatoes and is particularly good with Roast lamb.

 

Serves 6 approximately

 

1 organic large cucumber

15g (1/2oz) butter

1 medium onion – 110g (4oz) approximately, sliced

4 very ripe Irish tomatoes

salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar

65ml (2 1/2fl oz) cream

1 dessertspoon freshly chopped mint

Roux

 

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan, when it foams add the onion. Cover and sweat for 5 minutes approximately until soft but not coloured.

 

Meanwhile, peel the cucumber, cut into 1cm (1/2inch) cubes, add to the onions, toss well and continue to cook while you scald the tomatoes with water for 10 seconds.  Peel the tomatoes and slice into the casserole, season with salt, freshly ground pepper and a pinch of sugar. Cover the casserole and cook for a few minutes until the cucumbers are tender and the tomatoes have softened, add the cream and bring back to the boil. Add the freshly chopped mint.  If the liquid is very thin, thicken it by carefully whisking in a little roux.  Cucumber Neapolitana keeps for several days and may be reheated.

 

 

 

 

 

Roux

110g (4oz) butter

110g (4oz) flour

 

Melt the butter and cook the flour in it for 2 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally.  Use as required.  Roux can be stored in a cool place and used as required or it can be made up on the spot if preferred.  It will keep at least a fortnight in a refrigerator.

 

 

 

 

Ballyhoura Apple  and Custard Tart 

 

This tart is delicious made with Ballyhoura Red of Gold apples.  Pears, gooseberries, apricots, rhubarb and plums are also good and the custard could be flavoured with a little cinnamon instead of vanilla if you want to ring the changes.

 

Serves 10-12

 

Pastry

225g (8oz) plain flour

pinch of salt

175g (6oz) butter

1 dessertspoons icing sugar – where does the icing sugar go into the recipe?

a little beaten egg or egg yolk and water to bind

 

Filling

2-3 golden delicious apples

300ml (10fl oz) cream

2 large or 3 small eggs

2 tablespoons castor sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4-6 tablespoons apricot glaze (see recipe)

 

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

 

First make the shortcrust pastry.

Sieve the flour, salt and icing sugar into a large bowl. Cut the butter into cubes, toss in the flour and then rub in with your fingertips. Keep everything as cool as possible; if the fat is allowed to melt, the finished pastry may be tough. When the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs, stop.

 

Whisk the egg or egg yolk and add some water. Using a fork to stir, add just enough liquid to bring the pastry together, then discard the fork and collect it into a ball with your hands, this way you can judge more accurately if you need a few more drops of liquid. Although rather damp pastry is easier to handle and roll out, the resulting crust can be tough and may well shrink out of shape as the water evaporates in the oven. The drier and more difficult-to-handle pastry will give a crisper, shorter crust.

 

Flatten into a round, cover the pastry with clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour. This will make the pastry much less elastic and easier to roll.

 

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.  Allow to cool, then paint the base with apricot glaze.

 

Peel the apples, quarter, core and cut into even slices about one-eight inch thick. Arrange one at a time as you slice to form a circle inside the tart, the slices should slightly overlap on the inside, fill the centre likewise. Whisk the eggs well, with the sugar and vanilla extract, add the cream. Strain this mixture over the apples and bake at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4, for 35 minutes. When the custard is set and the apples are fully cooked, brush generously with apricot glaze and serve warm with a bowl of whipped cream.

 

Note

The apricot glaze here is essential for flavour not just for appearance.

 

 

Apricot Glaze

 

350g (12 oz) apricot jam

juice of 1/4 lemon

2 tablespoons water.

 

Makes 300ml (10fl oz) approximately

 

In a small stainless steel saucepan, melt the apricot jam with 1 – 2 tablespoons of juice or water. Push the hot jam through a nylon sieve and store in a sterilized airtight jar.

Melt and stir the glaze before use of necessary.