How about some special delights for Valentine’s Night – how delighted will your partner be to receive a cute little invite to a romantic supper on Tuesday next.

Of course one could just book a table in a favourite restaurant but is it not tempting to get away from the hustle and bustle?. How lovely to plan a delicious little dinner, away from all those other canoodling couples. Choose the food carefully, something really special that can be prepared ahead to serve easily, so the whole event seems relaxed and effortless. 

The first course could be a plate of mezze or an anti-pasta, a collection of delicious bites to nibble with a glass of bubbly. Light the fire - Set the table beautifully, pretty glasses and crockery. Lots of candles and twinkling night lights, arranged in a circle or diamond on the table look great. Little posies of snowdrops, violets and crocuses are full of the promise of a new season, but its hard to beat some blowsy red roses for Valentine’s Day. If you’d rather not be predictable and arrange them in a vase, why not scatter the petals over the table and the remainder in the bath!.

Main course needs to be trouble-free so how about Pork with Rosemary and Tomatoes. If you’d rather have chicken it can be substituted for pork in this recipe. Rice, noodles or a big bowl of fluffy mash could be served alongside. A good green salad with a dressing of balsamic vinegar or verjuice and olive oil would help you both to feel less full and then it’s on to pudding.

For a chap, how about a tart with the new season’s rhubarb, or a comforting bread and butter pudding with a heart-shaped sparkler on top. An oozing chocolate fondant is naughty but oh so nice.

Alternatively you could make a little fruit fool and serve it with a few boudoir biscuits specially for dunking.

If you haven’t had a chocolate pudding a few handmade chocolates would be delicious or pick up a heart-shaped Tête-de-Moine cheese.

Don’t forget to whip up a little loaf of bread so the aromas are wafting through the house when your ‘heart’s desire’ arrives!

All those heart shapes are seriously over the top but its certainly good for a giggle!

Enjoy!

Middle Eastern Mezze with Chilli and Coriander Flat Bread

You might be able to buy quite a few of the elements, the plate might include

Serves 10

Aubergine puree (see recipe)
Hummus bi tahini 
Feta with walnut and mint
Parma or Serrano ham
Spicy carrot puree (see recipe)
Roast peppers and chick peas (see recipe)
Salad leaves and fresh herbs, tossed with a little vinaigrette
Roast red and yellow peppers or Piquillo pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
Toasted pine kernels
10 flour tortillas brushed with olive oil and chopped chilli
2 tablespoons olives
1 teaspoon paprika
Flat parsley
A few whole chickpeas
Tiny olives
Fresh coriander

Make all the components. Taste and correct seasoning.

To serve
Put a dollop of aubergine puree, hummus bi tahini and feta with walnut and mint and Tunisian carrot salad on a white plate. Put a salad of little leaves and herbs in the centre.

Put a strip or two of roast red pepper on top of the aubergine. Sprinkle with toasted pine kernels. Mix a little paprika with some olive oil and drizzle over the top of the hummus. Sprinkle with flat parsley and a few whole chickpeas.

Top the feta with walnut and mint with a sprig of mint. Scatter a few tiny olives on the plate and serve crisp tortillas, pitta crisps or with triangles of flat bread which has been crisped in a moderate oven for a few minutes.

Chilli and coriander flat bread.

Brush the tortillas with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with chopped chilli and Maldon sea salt. Crisp for a few minutes in a hot oven. Sprinkle with chopped coriander.

Aubergine Purée with Olive Oil and Lemon

This is one of my absolute favourite ways to eat aubergine. It is served all through the southern Mediterranean; there are many delicious variations.

Serves 6 approximately 

4 large aubergines
4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed organic lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, optional

Roast or grill the aubergines depending on the flavour you like, (see page 00).

Allow to cool. Peel the aubergines thinly, careful to get every little morsel of flesh. Discard the skin and drain the flesh in a sieve or colander. Transfer to a bowl, mash the puree with a fork or chop with a knife depending on the texture you like. Add extra virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Variations:

1. Freshly crushed garlic may also be added.

2. In Turkey some thick Greek yogurt is often added, about 5-6 tablespoons for this quantity of aubergine puree, reduce the olive oil by half. 

Mixed with ricotta and freshly chopped herbs eg. marjoram this makes a delicious 'sauce' for pasta.

3. A spicier version from Morocco includes 1 teaspoon harissa (see page 00), 1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin and 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped coriander leaves,

4. Add some pomegranate molasses - our new flavour of the month as they do in Syria - about 3-4 tablespoons instead of the freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Spicy Carrot Puree

When Claudia Roden taught here some years ago she showed us how to make this Spicy Carrot Puree and also the Roast Peppers and Chick Peas.

A peppery Tunisian salad called Omi Houriya.

Serves 6

1½lb(750g) carrots

salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, crushed,
1 teaspoon harissa or to taste or 1 teaspoon paprika and a good pinch of chilli pepper
1½ teaspoons ground cumin or caraway seeds

Peel the carrots and cut into large pieces. Boil them in salted water until tender, then drain and mash them with a fork or chop them, and add the rest of the ingredients. Serve cold.

Optional Garnishes

6 black olives.
4 oz (100g) fetta cheese cut into small cubes.

Roast Peppers and Chickpeas with Fresh Goat’s Cheese

A mild and soft fresh goat’s cheese, jban, is one of the rare cheeses produced in Morocco. If you are not keen on raw garlic, you can leave that out.

Serves 4-6

4 fleshy red bell peppers
1 x 14oz (400g) tin of chickpeas 
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed 
3 sprigs of oregano, chopped, or 1 tablespoon dried
11oz (300g) fresh goat’s cheese 

Place the peppers on a sheet of foil on an oven tray under a pre-heated grill, 6-9cm from the grill. Turn them until their skins are black and blistered all over. Alternatively - and more easily - roast them in the hottest oven for about 30 minutes or until they are soft and their skins blistered and blackened, turning them once after 15 minutes.

To loosen the skins further, put them in a plastic frozen food bag, twist it shut and leave for 10-15 minutes. Another old way that has the same effect is to put them in a pan with a tight-fitting lid for the same length of time. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel them and remove the stems and seeds. Now cut them into thin ribbons through the stem end. 

Drain the chickpeas. Dress them with a mixture of 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the lemon juice, salt and pepper, 2 crushed garlic cloves, and about one-third of the oregano; mix well, then gently mix with the peppers. 

Mash the goat’s cheese with the remaining garlic clove, the last tablespoon of olive oil and the remaining oregano, and shape it into a mound on a serving plate. Arrange the peppers and chickpeas in a ring around it.

Pork with Rosemary and Tomatoes

Serves 6

900g (2lb) of trimmed pork fillet, chicken breast may also be used
Sauce
450g (1lb) very ripe firm tomatoes - peeled and sliced into 2 inch (1cm) slices
2 shallots finely chopped
30g (1 1/4oz) butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
225ml (8fl oz) cream
Salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary

Garnish
Fresh rosemary sprigs

Cut the trimmed fillet of pork into slices about 2cm (3/4inch) thick. 

Melt 25g (1oz) butter in a saucepan, when it foams add the finely chopped shallots, cover with a butter wrapper and sweat gently for 5 minutes. Remove the butter wrapper, increase the heat slightly, add the tomatoes in a single layer, season with salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar. After 2 minutes turn the tomatoes and season on the other side. Then add the cream and rosemary. Allow to simmer gently for 5 minutes. Check seasoning. The sauce may now be prepared ahead to this point and reheated later.

The sauce should not be too thick - just a light coating consistency.

To cook the pork – Melt 5g (1/4oz) butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan over a high heat, when it is quite hot, add the seasoned pork in a single layer. Allow them to turn a rich golden brown before turning over. Turn down the temperature and finish cooking on the other side. It should feel slightly firm to the touch. Be careful not to overcook the pork or it will be dry and tasteless. 

Reheat the sauce gently while the pork is cooking, correct the seasoning, spoon some of the sauce onto one large serving dish or divide between individual plates. Arrange the pork slices on top of the sauce, garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs and serve immediately.

Molten Chocolate Puds

These are the most delectable little puds, a cinch to make provided you find the right mould, then timing is everything. The mixture can be made ahead, refrigerated overnight or frozen.

Makes 6-8

110g (4oz) unsalted butter + extra to butter moulds
110g (4oz) bittersweet chocolate - Valrhona or some equally good chocolate 
2 eggs + 2 yolks (not cold)
50g (2oz) caster sugar + extra for moulds
2 teaspoons cocoa powder + extra for moulds

Accompaniment:
Icing sugar
Softly whipped cream or crème fraîche

6-8 moulds – we used tin foil moulds 8.5cm (3 1/4inch) across at the top and 5.5cm (2 1/4inch) deep, 150ml (5fl oz) capacity and filled them about 2/3 full.

Moulds should be well buttered and floured. Tap the moulds on the worktop to get rid of the excess flour. Pour in the chocolate mix. 

Put the chopped chocolate with the butter in a pyrex bowl over a saucepan of hot water. Bring to the boil, turn off the heat and allow to sit until the chocolate is melted. Meanwhile whisk the eggs and sugar until thick and pale, at least 5 minutes with hand held electric whisk. Add the chocolate while still warm, and mix gently but thoroughly. Sieve the cocoa powder over the mousse and mix in with spatula until just combined. Fill the well buttered moulds about 2/3 full. 

They may be baked now or kept at room temperature and baked later, or can be refrigerated overnight. They must be at room temperature or cool from refrigerator before baking, cover lightly with cling film if they have to sit around for a while.

Preheat a conventional oven to 230°C/450°F/gas mark 8. Heat a baking sheet and then set the moulds on it. Bake for 6-7 minutes. When they come out of the oven, invert on dessert places, leave for 10 seconds, and lift off moulds. Dust them with icing sugar and serve with a blob of whipped cream or crème fraîche. Also great with an unctuous homemade vanilla ice-cream.

Bread and Butter Pudding

Bread and Butter Pudding is an irresistible ‘must have’ pudding for anyone’s easy entertaining repertoire.

Serves 6-8

12 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed 
50g (2oz) butter
1/2 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg*
200g (7oz) plump raisins or sultanas
475ml (16fl oz) cream
225ml (8fl oz) milk
4 large organic eggs, beaten lightly
1 teasp. pure vanilla essence
175g (6oz) sugar
A pinch of salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar for sprinkling on top of the pudding

Garnish
Softly-whipped cream

1 x 8 inches (20.5cm) square pottery or china dish 

Butter the bread and arrange 4 slices, buttered side down, in one layer in the buttered dish. Sprinkle the bread with half the nutmeg and half the raisins, arrange another layer of bread, buttered side down, over the raisins, and sprinkle the remaining nutmeg and raisins on top. Cover the raisins with the remaining bread, buttered side down.

In a bowl whisk together the cream, milk, eggs, vanilla essence, sugar and a pinch of salt. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve over the bread. Sprinkle the sugar over the top and let the mixture stand, covered loosely, at room temperature for at least 1 hour or chill overnight.

Bake in a bain-marie - the water should be half way up the sides of the baking dish. Bake the pudding in the middle of a preheated oven, 180C/350F/gas mark 4, for 1 hour approx. or until the top is crisp and golden. Serve the pudding warm with some softly-whipped cream.

Note: This Bread and Butter Pudding reheats perfectly.

* One may also use cinnamon or mixed spice.

Foolproof Food

Break his Heart Rhubarb Tart

Serves 8-12

This is such a terrific pastry. If I’m in a mad rush I make it in a food processor – it’s a little more difficult to handle if you use it right away but works fine even if you have to patch it a bit. It’s fun to do a few hearts to decorate with.

Pastry
225g (8 oz) butter
55g (2 oz) caster sugar
2 eggs free-range and organic if possible
350g (12 oz) flour

Filling
450g (1 lb) red rhubarb
175g (6oz) sugar

Egg Wash
1 beaten free-range organic egg with a little milk, to glaze
1 x 23cm (9 inch) tin with 4cm (1 ½ inch) sides

First make the pastry. Cream the butter and sugar together in a food mixer, add the eggs and beat for several minutes. Reduce the speed and add in the flour, little by little, to form a stiff dough. Flatten into a round, cover with cling film and chill for at least 1 hour, this makes the pastry much easier to handle. Otherwise just put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until just combined.

Roll out half the pastry to about 3mm (â…› inch) thick and line a round tin measuring 20.5 x 30.5cm (8 x 11.5 inches).

Slice the rhubarb into 1 cm (2.5 inch) rounds, fill the tart and sprinkle with the sugar.

Roll the remaining pastry, cover the rhubarb and seal the edges. Decorate with pastry hearts or leaves. Paint with egg wash and bake in a preheated oven 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4 until the tart is golden and the rhubarb is soft (45 minutes to 1 hour). When cooked, sprinkle lightly with caster sugar and serve with softly whipped cream and Barbados sugar.

Note: This tart can also be filled with Bramley apples, gooseberries and elderflower, Worcesterberries, damsons, plums, blackberry and apples, peaches and raspberries, rhubarb and strawberries.


Hot Tips

Chocolate- Heart shaped chocolates, lollipops etc are available from many of the producers of handmade chocolate – O’Conaills at Midleton Farmers Market and in the English Market in Cork, The Chocolate Crust in Kenmare, Gwen’s Chocolate Shop in Schull, Cocoa Bean Artisan Chocolates in Limerick and many others around the country.
Marks and Spencers have chocolate lollipops with invitations to Hug Me, Kiss Me .. and bags of little chocolate hearts.

Look out for heart-shaped biscuit cutters and cake tins at, The Stock Pot in Midleton, The Ballymaloe Shop at Ballymaloe House, Delia’s Kitchen Shop in Carey’s Lane Cork, Kitchen Complements in Chatham Street Dublin. La Violette in Skibbereen have little heart-shaped pans.

Irish Society of Poultry Fanciers National Show
Has been rescheduled and will be held on Saturday 18th February at Gurteen Agricultural College, Ballingarry, Roscrea, Co Tipperary – it will be open to the public at 2.00pm

This is the season for marmalade oranges, they’ll be in the shops for just a few short weeks and then they’ll disappear until next year, so if you want to make some ‘real’ marmalade now is your chance. The bitter oranges grow in abundance in Southern Spain, hence the name Seville or Malaga oranges. The streets of every village and town are lined with glossy leaved orange trees, in Spring the heady scent of orange blossom perfumes the air and at this time of the year the trees are laden with bitter oranges.

The Spaniards use the bitter orange to add a citrus note to some of their dishes as we might use lemon. Marmalade is a peculiarly British and Irish addiction – the Spaniards prefer jam or honey for breakfast. There are various theories about marmalade, originally marmalades were made with quinces: the word is derived from the Portuguese marmelada, quinces cooked with sugar or honey to make a quince paste. This luxury good was imported into Britain by the late 15th Century to be used as a medicine or sweetmeat. Recipes were developed from this and the orange jam we know today is attributed to a manufacturer from Dundee in Scotland about 1790. 

Making good marmalade is a labour of love. One could just bung the peel into a food processor or liquidizer, but for real marmalade aficionados the haphazard shape of the roughly chopped peel is ‘not the thing at all’. If you want a pot of perfect marmalade there is no substitute for cutting the peel yourself. Relax, enjoy it, grab a chair or a high stool, put on some soothing music, arm yourself with a good sharp knife and juice the fruit (a little mechanical juicer is a real boon here). Cut the peels in quarters and then cut it rhythmically into slivers with a good sharp chopping knife.

Even if you need to make a huge quantity of marmalade, decide to do just one batch a day so its never too much of a chore. The oranges will keep in a cool place for several weeks. Alternatively, put some into good strong plastic bags and freeze. This works brilliantly – use the whole orange marmalade recipe. The resulting marmalade is dark and slightly bitter, a favourite in Ballymaloe. If you prefer a more fruity marmalade make the Seville orange marmalade or you could try this brilliant recipe for no-cook marmalade given to me by a student a few years ago. It’s a brilliant ‘cheat’ recipe for instant marmalade and has a wonderful fresh citrus flavour. Store in the fridge.

If you miss the boat with the marmalade oranges you can still make marmalade throughout the year using the Orange, Lemon and Grapefruit marmalade recipe – also delicious.

Finally, seek out organic marmalade oranges, they cook quite differently and the peel softens faster. However, as they don’t have preservative on they won’t keep as long as the other oranges. Use them within a week or else freeze them. If you cannot find organic fruit, scrub the other oranges and lemons well in warm water before using to remove the pesticides and waxes from the peel. 

Old Fashioned Seville Orange Marmalade

Seville and Malaga oranges come into the shops after Christmas and are around for 4-5 weeks.

Makes approx. 7 lbs (3.2kg)

2 lbs (900g) Seville Oranges (preferably organic)
4 pints (2.3L) water
1 lemon
4 lbs (1.8kg) granulated sugar

Wash the fruit, cut in half and squeeze out the juice. Remove the membrane with a spoon, put with the pips, tie them in a piece of muslin and soak for 2 hour in cold water. Slice the peel finely or coarsely, depending on how you like your marmalade. Put the peel, orange and lemon juice, bag of pips and water into a non-reactive bowl or saucepan overnight.

Next day, bring everything to the boil and simmer gently for about 2 hours until the peel is really soft and the liquid is reduced by half. Squeeze all the liquid from the bag of pips and remove it.

Add the warmed sugar and stir until all the sugar has been dissolved. Increase the heat and bring to a full rolling boil rapidly until setting point is reached 5-10 minutes approx. Test for a set, either with a sugar thermometer (it should register 220F), or with a saucer. Put a little marmalade on a cold saucer and cool for a few minutes. If it wrinkles when you push it with your finger, it's done.

Allow marmalade to sit in the saucepan for 15 minutes before bottling to prevent the peel from floating. Pot into hot sterilized jars. Cover immediately and store in a cool dry dark place.

N.B. The peel must be absolutely soft before the sugar is added, otherwise when the sugar is added it will become very hard and no amount of boiling will soften it.

Whiskey Marmalade

Add 6 tablesp of whiskey to the cooked marmalade just before potting.

Seville Orange Marmalade 
(made with whole oranges)
Makes 13-15lbs approx.

You'll find Seville and Malaga oranges in the shops for just a few short weeks after Christmas. Buy what you need and make the marmalade while the oranges are fresh if possible. If not just pop them into the freezer, this recipe works brilliantly for frozen oranges, its not even necessary to defrost them.

Some recipes sliced the peel first but the majority boil the whole oranges first and then slice the peel.

2.2kg (4½ lb) Seville or Malaga oranges (organic if possible)
5.1L (9pint) water
4kg (9 lb) sugar

Wash the oranges. Put them in a stainless steel saucepan with the water. Put a plate on top to keep them under the surface of the water. Cover with the lid of the saucepan, simmer gently until soft, 2 hours approx. cool and drain, reserving the water. (If more convenient, leave overnight and continue next day.) Put your chopping board onto a large baking tray with sides so you won't lose any juice. Cut the oranges in half and scoop out the soft centre. Slice the peel finely. Put the pips into a muslin bag. 

Put the escaped juice, sliced oranges and the muslin bag of pips in a large wide stainless steel saucepan with the reserved marmalade liquid. Bring to the boil and add the warm sugar, stir over a brisk heat until all the sugar is dissolved. Boil fast until setting point is reached. Pot in sterilized jars and cover at once. Store in a dark airy cupboard.

With any marmalade its vital that the original liquid has reduced by half or better still two-thirds before the sugar is added otherwise it takes ages to reach a set and both the flavour and colour will be spoiled. A wide low-sided stainless steel saucepan is best for this recipe, say, 35.5 - 40.5cm (14-16inch) wide. If you don't have one around that size, cook the marmalade in two batches.

No Cook Marmalade

5 Oranges

1 Lemon
1 Grapefruit
Same weight of sugar, minus 110g (4oz)

Put all the ingredients together into a liquidizer and whizz. 

Will keep in the fridge for 3 weeks approx.

Orange, Lemon and Grapefruit Marmalade

Home-made marmalade is always a welcome present. Seville oranges don’t arrive into the shops until the end of January, so make this tangy 3-fruit marmalade at any time of the year - it is made from orange, lemon and grapefruit.

Yield 10-10½ lbs (4.5 kg)

2 sweet oranges and 2 grapefruit, weighing 3 lbs (1.35 kg) altogether
4 lemons
6 pints (3.4 L) water
5 lbs (2.2 kg) sugar

Wash the fruit, cut in half and squeeze out the juice. Remove the membrane with a sharp spoon, keep aside. Cut the peel in quarters and slice the rind across rather than lengthways. Put the juice, sliced rind and water in a bowl.

Put the pips and membrane in a muslin bag and add to the bowl. Leave overnight. The following day, simmer in a stainless steel saucepan with the bag of pips for 1½-2 hours until the peel is really soft. (Cover for the first hour). The liquid should be reduced to about ⅓ of the original volume. 

Then remove the muslin bag and discard. Add the warmed sugar to the soft peel, stir until the sugar has dissolved: boil until it reaches setting point, about 8-10 minutes. Pour into sterilised jars and cover while hot. 

Note: If the sugar is added before the rind is really soft, the rind will harden and no amount of boiling will soften it. 

Ginger Marmalade

Add 6-8 ozs (170-225 g) peeled, finely chopped fresh ginger to once the recipe.

You may like to substitute Demerara sugar for a fuller flavour and darker colour.

Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding

This is a variation on basic bread and butter pudding. If you like, leave out the marmalade and serve plain, or add chopped rhubarb, chopped chocolate, grated lemon or orange zest, raisins, sultanas, cinnamon, nutmeg etc. This is a great way to use up stale bread, and in fact is better if the bread is stale.

Serves 6-8

12 slices of good –quality white bread, crusts removed
50g (1¾ oz) soft butter
3 tbsp marmalade
450ml (16fl.oz) cream
225ml (8fl.oz) milk
4 eggs
150g (5½ oz) caster sugar
2 tbsp. granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Butter the bread and spread marmalade on each slice. Arrange the bread in the gratin dish or in individual cups or bowls (cut the slices if you need to). I like to have overlapping triangles of bread on the top layer.

Place the cream and milk in a saucepan and bring to just under the boil. While its heating up, in a separate bowl whisk the eggs and the sugars, then pour the hot milk and cream in with the eggs and whisk to combine. Pour this custard over the bread and leave it to soak for 10 minutes. Place in a bain marie (water bath) and cook in the preheated oven for 1 hour. The top should be golden and the centre should be just set. Serve with softly whipped cream.

Note: If you want to make this a day ahead of time, don’t heat up the milk and cream, just pour it cold over the bread. 

Rory O’Connell’s Marmalade Tart

Serves 8

Pastry ;
8ozs (225g) plain flour
pinch salt
5ozs (140g) butter
2 teasps. castor sugar
1 egg yolk

Filling;
4ozs (110g) butter
4ozs (110g) castor sugar
2ozs (55g) ground almonds
1 large egg, beaten
4 tablesp. marmalade

Set the oven to 200C (400F/regulo 6) 

Sieve the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and rub in butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, beat the egg yolk with 2 teaspoons of cold water. Use to bind the pastry, adding a little more water if necessary to form a soft but not sticky dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes. Roll out on a lightly floured surface and use to line an 8 inch (20.5cm) loose bottomed, fluted flan ring. Prick the base lightly with a fork, cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper. Fill with baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and discard the paper and beans.

Meanwhile prepare the filling. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy, then beat in the ground almonds and egg. Warm and then sieve the marmalade. Reserve the liquid, stir rind into mixture and beat well until thoroughly mixed. 

Turn the prepared filling into the pastry case. Smooth over the top. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C (350F/regulo 4) and bake the flan for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Glaze with reserved marmalade. This tart is delicious hot or cold. 

Serve with softly whipped cream.

Foolproof Food

Marmalade Popovers

Makes 14 approx.

225g (4 oz) plain flour
213ml (7½ fl oz) milk
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
oil or lard for baking tins
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon melted butter or oil
8 teaspoons home made Orange marmalade
Icing sugar

Sieve the flour into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk and the lightly beaten eggs. Mix to a smooth batter. Stir in grated orange rind and whisk really hard with an egg whisk until the surface is covered with air bubbles. If possible leave to stand in a cold place for about an hour, then stir in the melted butter and beat again. Grease deep patty tins really well. Put them in the oven until they are hot. Pour in the batter, filling each tins half to two thirds full, put straight into a hot oven, 220C/425F/gas mark 7, for about 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180C/350F/gas mark 4, and bake for about 25 minutes longer, until the popovers are well risen, crisp and golden brown. Put a small spoon of marmalade into each one. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Hot Tips

Brown Envelope Seeds – 2006 Catalogue now available
Ardagh, Church Cross, Skibbereen, Co Cork Tel 028-38184. email:madsmckeever@eircom.net  www.brownenvelopeseeds.com 

Diploma in Speciality Food Production at University College Cork
This course will run from 27 March – 27 April 2006 in UCC. The Diploma is intended for those who are interested in developing speciality foods as a commercial venture or as a way or adding value to agricultural commodities. It is also for those currently in the speciality food sector as well as suppliers, buyers and retailers and is open to Irish and international students. Full details from Mary McCarthy Buckley, Food Training Unit, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University College, Cork. Tel 021-4903178 email:fitu@ucc.ie  www.ucc.ie/fitu  

Richmond House, Cappoquin, Co Waterford –
Winner of Bord Bia Feile Bia Award in the 2006 Georgina Campbell’s Ireland – the best of the Best Guide. Run by Paul and Claire Deevy, Richmond House is a comfortable 18th Century country house and restaurant with a warm welcome and excellent cooking using good quality local produce. Tel. 058-54278.

We spent some time over the Christmas period in a little guesthouse with some friends in Spain called Finca Buenvino. The pink-washed castellated building sits perched on top of a hill in the midst of the oak and chestnut forests close to the village of Los Marines in Andalucia. It’s a little gem of a place, the owners Sam and Jeannie Chesterton are superb original cooks and the house itself has the wonderful comfy feeling of an eccentric Irish country house stuffed with beautiful furniture, an eclectic collection of pictures, antiques, objets d’art, mementoes from their families and travels.

The house is full of intriguing books.

When we arrived at almost midnight we were welcomed to the strains of the melodious King’s College Choir singing Christmas carols. We then tucked into a chunky vegetable, chickpea and noodle soup, slivers of Pata Negra, and slices of local saucisson, Jeannie’s chicken liver pate with country bread and local cheese with home-made quince paste.

This is superb walking country with well worn pathways and Roman roads through the woods and over the hills. Many of the walks wend their way through villages with narrow cobbled streets. Along the way there are little pubs and cafes to quench one’s thirst and nibble local cheese and jamon. 

This is ‘Pata Negra country’, famous for the long legged black Iberian pigs that range freely through the forest, gorging on acorns and chestnuts. 

The ham from these pigs, complete with hoof, cured in salt and air-dried is referred to as Pata Negra. This sublime cured meat cut into paper thin slivers sells at €79 a kilo in Ireland. The most famous jamon village Jabugo is just six miles to the West. If I was allowed just one last treat, I think it might have to be a plate of Pata Negra.

It is served unadorned with maybe some crusty country bread or a few crunchy picos (tiny bread rolls) to clear the palate.

The secret of this truly sublime product is in how the pigs are reared, as ever it is the breed and the feed. They are slaughtered at 18 months, as opposed to 5 or 6 months with our pigs. If you buy Pata Negra make sure you ask for pata negra bellotta, this will come from totally free range pigs.

Nowadays because of the increasing demand for this aristocrat of cured meats, some farmers are rearing the pigs more intensively with a consequent deterioration in flavour and texture of the end product.

The chestnut crop was very poor this year because of the low rainfall, everyone was pre-occupied by the drought, but guess what we ‘brought the rain’. On the second day of our holiday it rained and continued to rain softly but steadily for 3 days and 3 nights. Our Spanish friends were delighted and even though the weather was not what we had hoped for , we were delighted by their delight as the water tanks began to fill and the countryside became visibly more verdant. 

On one of the fine days, Sam and Jeannie packed us all into the jeep to go for a picnic by the lake which is called Embalse de Aracena, about five miles north of Aracena. Their sons Jago and Charlie had strapped a long trestle table and two benches on to the roof, and the boot was packed with victuals.

We set up in their favourite picnic spot close to the water’s edge, beside an abandoned white washed farmhouse house.

Jeannie pulled out a paella ring and gas cylinder out of the boot and set about making a mountain paella on a huge paella pan. This type of paella doesn’t have chicken and shellfish, instead Jeannie used rabbit and pork secreta, chopped in small pieces. Secreta is a piece of lean meat from the belly with a little fat still attached, it is sweet, juicy and deliciously succulent. Jeannie also includes squares of red and green pepper, onion and peas, and of course rice.

While we waited for the paella to cook, we nibbled saucisson, local cheese and good bread with a glass of fino and beer.

Finally the paella was ready for us all to tuck in, it was ladled onto deep plates - we relished every mouthful, a wonderfully comforting dish for a winter picnic.

A paella can of course be made at home in a wide frying pan on your stove, not quite so atmospheric but equally delicious and a terrific way to entertain at large group of people.

Jeannie’s Mountain Paella

In Spain one can buy a gas ring specially for cooking paella for a picnic, how wonderful would that be? Look out for Callasparra paella rice.

Serves 10-12

6 tablespoons approximately of extra virgin olive oil 
8 cloves garlic, sliced
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
1 large green pepper, cut into 1cm (1/2inch) cubes
1 large red pepper, cut into 1cm (1/2inch) cubes
2 small rabbits, jointed and cut into smallish pieces
1 large pork fillet, cut into cubes, or 350g (12oz) secreta
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon saffron
1kg (2 1/4lb) paella rice approximately (generous ½ cup per person) 
1.8 – 2.4l (3-4 pints) homemade chicken stock
450g (1lb) frozen peas

Garnish
4 very ripe tomatoes
Flat parsley sprigs and coarsely chopped chives

Paella pan, 46cm (18 inch) approximately

Put lots of olive oil in the paella pan. Add the garlic, onions and peppers. Cook for 4-5 minutes, then add the rabbit and pork pieces. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. 

Sauté for 15 minutes, soak a teaspoon of saffron in a cup of warm chicken stock and stir around. Add to the pan. Add the rice, (about ½ cup per person). Add stock to almost cover, stir to blend and then don’t stir again unless absolutely necessary. Add the peas. 

Bring to the boil and simmer on the gentlest heat for about 20 minutes until the meat is cooked. Stand over it and move the ingredients around a little. Bring the paella pan to the table. Scatter with lots of flat parsley sprigs and some freshly chopped tomato and chives. Serve immediately directly from the pan. 

A fantastic dish to serve lots of people.

Broad Bean and Potato Soup

This soup is very popular in Extremadura, Sam says it is delicious poured over slices of black pudding, or one could use fish stock and add shrimps to the garnish.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Olive oil
2 large onions
3 large floury potatoes, peeled and diced
450g (1lb) fresh (or frozen) shelled broad beans 
1.75 L (3 pints) Chicken stock
6 sprigs fresh Coriander chopped
150ml (5fl.oz) light Cream + a little to garnish
salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions till soft about 5 minutes. Do not burn them. Add the potatoes, most of the beans (reserving a good handful for the garnish) and the stock, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add the coriander and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

Blend the soup in batches in a food processor or blender, then return to the rinsed pan.

Stir in the cream, season , and bring back to the simmer.
Serve garnished with the coriander, beans and a drop of cream swirled in on top.

Rice with Rabbit

Here is a Catalan rice dish Sam & Jeannie prepare on their cookery courses, its not quite a paella.

Serves 4-6

Approximately 800 g (1¾ lb) rabbit, jointed. You could substitute with good organic chicken if you prefer.
1 medium red bell pepper (Capsicum)
1 onion
5 ripe tomatoes, grated.
100 g (3½ oz) sweet peas
400 g (14oz) paella rice
300ml (10fl.oz) olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
A few strands of saffron
20 g (¾ oz) toasted almonds
Salt

Game stock (rabbit or quail or pheasant) -or chicken stock if you are using chicken. You will need at least twice as much volume of stock as of rice and some to moisten the dish as you cook.

Put the oil in an earthenware casserole on a high heat, and when the oil is hot, put the pieces of meat into it carefully (with tongs if you have them) and let them sauté slowly until they are browned.

Take them out of the oil with a slotted spoon and reserve. 

Now throw in the finely grated onion and the chopped bell pepper, stir continuously until lightly browned, and immediately add the grated tomato, and allow to simmer. 

You might need to turn the heat down a bit, but you will need enough heat for the liquid to evaporate 3 or 4 times (Hence the extra stock, for a rich flavour, or you may use water at this point of the recipe). This step is quite important as the sauce (a sofrito) needs to cook down, and the acidity has to be removed from the tomatoes by this lengthier cooking.

When the tomato liquid has reduced add a ladle of water, continue to simmer until evaporated, then add another ladle full of water. When this has reduced add a ladle of stock and continue reducing until the Sofrito is a smooth sauce consistency. 

Now put the rabbit pieces back into the sauce and stir until they are well covered, do this for about 10 minutes. If the dish looks like drying out add more stock. 

Now add all the stock and the peas and let it come to a boil. 

Pound the saffron, garlic and almonds in a mortar to make a picada (paste). Splash in a little stock or water to loosen it up.

When the pan of broth and rabbit is at a rumble, tip in the rice, stirring constantly to stop it sticking. Season with salt. At the end of 10 minutes of cooking over a high flame, stir the picada into the pot. When it is well amalgamated, remove from the fire and check for salt, then place in a medium hot oven for about 8 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Sprinkle with a little olive oil, and allow to stand for a couple of minutes before serving. Garnish with parsley.

Almond Rice Pudding

This is a useful cold dish and Sam & Jeannie serve it with their pears poached in Oloroso sherry with cardamom and lemon peel; or with caramelised orange slices.

It is a descendent of the 17th century blancmange, ground almonds and sugar cooked in milk...but with rice added. 
Serves 6

The infusion:
500ml (18fl.oz) milk
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 clove

100 g (3 ½ oz) pudding rice (they use paella rice actually)
40 g (1½ oz) of freshly ground blanched peeled almonds
250 ml (9fl.oz) cream
2 Tsp orange flower water
2 tsp of powdered gelatine
1 tablespoon warm milk
75 g (3oz) sugar
2 egg whites.

Prepare 6 dariole moulds by lightly greasing them with a little sunflower oil.
Bring the milk and the spices to the boil. Stir in the rice, gradually.
Cover with a lid and simmer until the rice is tender.

Add the almonds and the cream and cook, stirring for about 10 minutes until the mixture thickens.

Sprinkle the gelatine over the tablespoon of warm milk in a mug, and stand in hot water. Stir until dissolved, and add the 2 teaspoonfulls of orange flower water.
Remove clove and cinnamon stick from the rice, and stir in the gelatine mixture and the sugar.
Allow to cool.
Beat the egg whites to soft peaks and fold into the rice, about half of the whites at a time.
Spoon the mixture into the dariole moulds and allow to set in a refrigerator overnight.
This can be served with a spiced syrup or with caramelised oranges, or pears poached in oloroso.

Sherry and Raisin Ice cream

(helado con Pasas al Pedro Jimenez)

This is a really sumptuous ice-cream
Serves 4-6

150g (5oz) raisins
125 – 250ml (4-8 fl.ozs) of dry Oloroso or Pedro Ximénez sherry (to taste)
4 egg yolks
75g/3oz/6tbsp light brown sugar
5ml/1tsp cornflour
300ml/1/2pint whole milk
300ml/1/2pt whipping cream
Pedro Ximenez to serve. (1 tbsp over each helping) Optional

Put the raisins in a pan with the Oloroso sherry and simmer gently until the raisins have plumped up and absorbed some of the wine. Leave to soak. (Alternatively soak the raisins overnight without heating)

Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks and corrnflour until the mixture is foamy. 
Heat the milk in a large heavy pan, to just below boiling point.
Whisk the milk into the eggs, then pour back into the pan. 
Cook over a gentle heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens and is smooth. Leave to cool.
Whip the cream until it is just thick enough to still fall from a spoon, then fold it into the cold custard. 
Put into the ice cream maker and churn until thick. Spoon into a freezer-proof container

Fold the raisins into the soft ice cream, then cover and freeze for 2-3 hours. Serve in bowls with a wafer.
If you have soaked the raisins in Oloroso you might like to pour some dark, rich, sweet Pedro Ximénez wine over the ice cream.

If you have made the ice cream with Pedro Ximénez then this will not be necessary.

Foolproof Food

Dark Chocolate and Seville Orange Muffins

Makes 10 approx.

75g (3oz) Seville orange marmalade
75g (3oz) chopped dark chocolate
170g (6 oz) castor sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
110g (4 oz) butter
2 eggs, preferably free range
250ml (8fl oz) buttermilk
285g (10oz) white flour
3/4 teaspoon bread soda

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6.

Grease 1 tray of muffin tins or line with non - stick muffin cases. 

Cream the butter, add the sugar and the finely grated lemon zest, add the eggs one by one and beat well between each addition. Next add the buttermilk, marmalade and chopped chocolate. Blend well. Finally stir in the flour, salt and bread soda, until just mixed. Fill the greased muffins tins with the batter, bake for 30-40 minutes in the preheated oven, serve warm.

Hot Tips:

Finca Buenvino - Sam & Jeannie Chesterton
Email: availability@fincabuenvino.com  www.fincabuenvino.com  
Finca Buenvino, Los Marines 21293,Huelva ,Spain, Tel:+34 (959)124034, 
Fax:+34 (959)501029

Pata Negra is available from Sheridans in South Anne St. Dublin, Tel 01-6793143

Cork Free Choice Consumers Group - Next meeting on Thursday 26th January at 7.30pm in Crawford Gallery Cafe. Admission €6, includes tea/coffee.

A film called 'The Future of Food' will be shown - This film which has been commercially released in the US and UK offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the advent of the patented, genetically engineered foods that have appeared on shelves over the past 10 years. It examines the complex web of market and political forces that are seeking to totally control the world's food system. The film also explores alternatives to large scale industrial agriculture, placing sustainable farming at the centre of the solution to the farming crisis we are facing today. After the film there will be an opportunity for discussion and an exchange of ideas on how to generate a public debate on the question of genetically engineered seeds being imported into Ireland.

Showcasing Quality Irish Seafood in the UK Market
The Irish seafood sector received strong recognition at the 2005 Great Taste Awards, the UK’s most prestigious gourmet food awards, thirteen companies scored a total of 23 gold, silver and bronze awards. Under the BIM banner a group of Irish Seafood companies showcased a range of speciality products including mussels, smoked salmon, mackerel and other value added product, under their Quality Seafood (QS) symbol which was introduced to the UK market. www.bim.ie/qsp . 

Now that Eddie Hobbs has set the whole nation a twitter about ‘rip off Ireland’, everyone it seems is ready to pounce on anyone who is perceived to be overcharging. Food prices, restaurant prices and the price of the pint are compared across Europe, Ireland rarely comes out on the bottom which is understandably where you really want to be on this particular issue 

However, the ‘bargain police’ rarely register the fact that Ireland has one of the highest basic wages in Europe.

We also have some of the highest indirect taxes on food and wine in the EU. Ireland applies a VAT rate of 21% and excise duty to sparkling wine and still wine. The comparative figures for VAT in Spain, Italy and Portugal are 16%, 12% and 12% respectively on sparkling wine and 16%, 20% and 12% on still wine. The excise duty on a standard bottle of still wine in Ireland is €2.05, €1.80 in the UK, €0.03 in France and nil in Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal. The excise duty on a standard bottle of sparkling wine in Ireland is €4.10, €2.57 in the UK, €0.06 in France and again nil in Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal. 

Ireland also has the 8th highest rate of VAT on food in restaurants in the EU.

Insurance costs have increased significantly in the past few years. Increases in the prices of public and employers’ liability and other types of insurance cover have lead to increased costs for restaurants. 

The waste disposal charges have also increased and the additional costs incurred by restaurateurs have also had to be passed on to customers.

Which is why we need to be careful to actually compare like with like, before we jump to conclusions.

I got to thinking about all this afresh this recently when I had lunch at a new just (14 week old café) in Midleton, Co Cork, its called ‘Fire and Ice’. On Saturday lunchtime it was throbbing with hungry diners tucking in to appetizing looking plates of food.

I’d been looking forward to trying out the new arrival on the Midleton food scene – a town that already has several toothsome eateries, including The Farm Gate, Finins, O’Donovans, Park Hotel, Raymonds, and the also recently opened Ryans on the Mall in Riverside Way.

Everyone seems to be talking about Fire and Ice the ‘new kid on the block’. Chef owner Gary Masterson is from Coventry, he trained in the UK with De Vere Hotels and after that did quite a bit of travelling – working in the Cayman Islands, Spain, on the QE2 and on the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary 2, most recently he was working in Anguilla in the Cuisinart Resort with the New York Chef Daniel Orr. He also spent some time in Dublin working in the Mermaid where he met Winnie, now his wife and partner in the business.

Winnie trained with Michael Clifford in his restaurant Cliffords on the Mardyke in Cork and Finíns in Midleton, and ran the restaurant at the Distillery. She spent some time in San Francisco working with Wolfgang Puck and Stars. Back to Dublin where she helped set up Eden with Eleanor Walsh, then some time at the Mermaid where she met Gary.

They took a year out to travel together and came back to Ireland to open Fire and Ice in Clifden, Co Galway. 

Winnie (Lynch) who comes from Midleton, (her father owned Midleton’s first hotel the Tara), then enticed Gary back to her home turf.

They found a premises in the Courtyard off the Main Street, and got started. Gary writes the menu every day and goes to considerable trouble to source local food, as much as possible from artisan producers. Winnie is responsible for the delicious cakes and desserts as well as running the floor.

There is no fancy art on the walls, no expensive flourishes, this keen young couple (who live in Cloyne and have just had their first baby), have had to get in and get started with what they had, so the décor is minimal but adequate.

Our waitress was a cheery local girl whose teasing manner invited lively banter. She presented the menu and reeled off the specials from the blackboard.

The menu changes every day depending on the produce available in season. My friends chose a goat cheese and tomato tartlet, and a spiced grilled flank steak with green mango and herb salad, and I was tempted by the char-grilled pizza with smoked salmon, avocado and cucumber pickle, mint, capers and crème fraîche.

It was enormous and rectangular in shape and overhung the plate on all sides.

The thin pizza was covered with slivers of smoked salmon, chunky slices of avocado, pickled cucumber, crispy lettuce and tiny capers. The secret ingredients were thin slivers of pickled ginger and some crème fraîche zig zagged over the top. It was really good but I could only manage to eat a little more than half. The flank steak is a very undervalued piece of beef, Gary cut it into slivers across the grain and seared it quickly on the pan and piled it atop a green mango, chilli and fresh herb salad

The goat cheese tomato tartlet sat on a bed of onion marmalade, this was served with a rocket salad with a roasted pepper dressing.

Gary tells me that he seeks out really good quality ingredients and buys as much local produce as he can get his hands on, including vegetables grown in his garden by Winnie’s father.

They soon hope to sell their own pickles, chutneys, relishes, jams and marmalades as well as rubs, seasonings and fresh tea blends at the café.

All chefs know that good produce is what creates the wow factor on the plate but really good produce simply has to cost more money, hence the eternal dilemma between the chef and the accountant. Gary and Winne say the eclectic menu reflects their travels and mood and what they like to cook and eat themselves. 

If you have room to squeeze in pudding, Winnie has a tempting selection of cakes and tarts, including a Banoffee tart, Chester Cake, a rich Chocolate Cake, a pear Tart. We managed to nibble a piece of Bakewell Tart between us, sweet and delicious. Gary and Winnie kindly shared some of their recipes with us

Fire and Ice, The Courtyard, Main St. Midleton, Co Cork, Tel 021 4639682 – open 9-5 – 6 days (not Sunday)

Cucumber limeade

Every day at the Café we offer fresh-pressed vegetable and/or fruit juices, a selection of home made lemonades and lassies (sweet or salty)

Some days more selection than others!
This is a very refreshing drink

4 cucumbers cut into chunks (peel if you like but I like the extra colour the skin gives as well as the vitamins and minerals)
2 apples cored
3-4 mint sprigs
Juice of 2-3 limes (or to taste)
Sugar to taste (2oz/56 grams I find is enough unless you like it sweeter)
Ice

Put cucumber, apples and mint through the juicer, add remaining ingredients and blend well, pour over ice and garnish with mint sprigs and cucumber slices

Sometimes I cut back on the sugar and add about a quarter of a peeled ripe pineapple, sounds strange but believe me it is totally addictive and yummy.
We are at the moment experimenting on what to do with all the left over vegetable pulp when we make fresh veg juices.

This is a simple protein packed recipe, (using the scary white stuff) great for when friends are coming over for drinks, or as pre-dinner nibbles, leaving you free to be host as it is all done in advance.

Tofu and green pea guacamole & veggie dippers

½ kg frozen peas, cooked till skins are tender (but still green) and refreshed in ice cold water

¼ kg firm tofu
1 jalapeno chilli-roughly chopped
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp ginger minced
8 basil leaves
5 sprigs coriander (stalks and all)
¼ cup olive oil
1 tomato finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Puree all ingredients together except tomato in a blender or food processor until smooth.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and a little tabasco if you like it spicier and fold in chopped tomato.
Sometimes I blend in ¼ kg fresh blanched dried spinach leaves for extra iron.

Serve in a bowl with a selection of organic veggies (whatever you fancy), cut finger size, also fresh veggie crisps, flatbreads and crackers.

If you have any dip left over it is also great used as a sandwich spread or let down with a bit of white wine vinegar and oil and used as a salad dressing, great with cold chicken.

Spiced flank steak, green mango and herb slaw

This salad is a real blend of hot, spicy, sour, salty & crunchy, so it works really well on its own without any meat or fish.

At the café we use a lemongrass and caramel marinade on our flank steak but at home you can use your favourite spice blend/marinade or even some store bought green curry paste

1 flank steak marinated or 4 chicken breasts or 4 firm fish filets
2 mangos (hard and under-ripe), diced or cut julienne 
We use under ripe fruit as a veg in the café
1-2 finely diced red chilli pepper
½ pack red radishes finely sliced
½ head of Chinese leaves shredded
1 red pepper diced
1 carrot peeled and cut into julienne
1 tsp lime zest finely grated (zest only no pith, a microplane is great for this)
1 tbsp finely minced ginger
2 tbsp clear Saleen honey
¼ cup olive oil
2 limes juiced
1 lemon juiced
1 packed cup ripped mint and coriander leaves
½ cup freshly roasted peanuts
Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except herbs and peanuts and mix well.

Char-grill flank steak 3-4 minutes either side for rare (or chicken or fish if using)
Rest the meat, while resting add herbs to salad and adjust seasoning, adding herbs any earlier will cause them to lose their colour and flavour as the citrus juices in the salad will wilt herbs.

Place the salad into the centre of the plate, carve the meat and place on top. 
Finish with roasted peanuts and sweet chilli sauce.
When using fish I add a little Thai fish sauce or chopped anchovies

Warm Irish breakfast salad

1 kg mixed rashers grilled then cut in to smaller pieces

½ black pudding ring, diced and pan fried
½ kg new potatoes steamed and sliced into ½ cm slices and sautéed
6 free range eggs
½ kg your favourite sausages grilled and sliced into rings
Mixed salad leaves
Good ripe tomatoes cut into wedges
Thinly sliced red onion rings
Finely grated parmesan cheese
Good balsamic dressing
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful oven roasted croutons

Reheat rashers, sausage, pudding, potatoes under grill.
Fry the eggs in butter until soft
Toss together salad leaves, tomatoes, and onion rings in balsamic dressing, then add warm breakfast items
Dress on the plate, top with fried egg, sprinkle croutons and parmesan over the top

Coconut Tart

Grated fresh coconut works best but if your tree in your garden has no fruit left on it dried desiccated coconut works well!

2 eggs
2 lemons, juice and zest
200g caster sugar
375g cream
260g desiccated coconut

Line a 12 inch pastry case or 6 individual cases and bake blind.

Mix the eggs, lemon and sugar together.
Pour in the cold cream.
Add the coconut.
Pour into the pastry case and bake for 35 min. @ 165°c, or
15-20 min for individual cases

Allow to cool before serving.

Serve with passion fruit cream,
Make by mixing fresh passion fruit into cream or mascarpone cheese and whipping to soft peaks, adding icing sugar if you have a sweeter tooth.

Hot Tips

If you’re planning a shopping trip to Dublin or to a show, thought I’d mention a few of my favourite city centre spots. 

Greatly enjoyed lunch at a new (to me) restaurant in George’s Street called Sixty Six – (Tel 01-4005878) Rachel Clancy, late of Cookes is the brainchild behind this seriously busy café deli which opens at 8 for Breakfast, 12 for lunch and 5 for dinner - Lots of variations on Sausage and Mash, great little starter salads, Panini, Chicken dish of the day, variety of fish dishes, spaghetti and meatballs….tempting desserts like Amaretto Crumble, Bread and Butter pudding with Baileys, Raspberries and Natural Yogurt, Chocolate Milkshake with warm Chocolate Cake….
I enjoyed the Lamb Kebabs with harissa mayo and a superb cheese plate with membrillo.

L’Gueuleton, on Fade Street,(Tel 01-6753708) (round the corner from Hogan’s Pub) has expanded so there’s now more space at this buzzy café that doesn’t take bookings and has no name over the door – you’ll probably have to queue but its worth the search and the wait.

A little off the city centre but worth the few minutes walk is Ely in Ely Place (Tel 01-6768986) - a wine bar and food, mostly organic. This place is comfy, the food is yummy and there’s a serious selection of wine to tempt you to abandon your shopping altogether.

At O’Connells in Ballsbridge,(Tel 01-6473304) Tom O’Connell encourages his chefs to use fresh naturally produced local food in season, and is a great supporter of the Irish artisan producers – O’Connells has developed a loyal following and is still considered to be outstanding value for money – best value in town.

Finally, not cheap but a wonderful treat – afternoon tea at The Four Seasons- in Ballsbridge– (Tel 01-6654000), beats afternoon tea at The Ritz hands down. The service is superb – a selection of carefully judged sandwiches, warm scones served with Glenilen cream and finally a tempting dessert trolley with little tartlets that not only look good but really taste delicious - a really pleasurable way to catch up with friends before Christmas

More Eurotoque Cavan Crystal Winners
An award also went to craft butcher Hugh Maguire, who was recognized for his fresh blood black pudding; a traditional product which is fast disappearing. Alan Pierce and Mark Winterbotham of Gold River Farm in Aughrim, Co Wicklow – an organic farm which provides a tailored service for chefs, so that they can always have the best produce of the season.
A special lifetime contribution award went to food writer Honor Moore for her writing over the past sixty years, which has encouraged a love for and pride in Irish food amongst chefs and public alike. A huge congratulations to Honor and all the other award recipients.

I’m just sitting down to a bubbly potato gratin for supper, its just the perfect comforting meal for a winter evening – inexpensive, nourishing and truly satisfying. We’ve got lots of recipes for gratins, some are very rich, others use stock or a mixture of cream and milk, instead of the original pure cream. Many are based on potato, but delicious gratins can also be made with other root vegetables, eg celeriac, parsnips, or Jerusalem artichokes. The latter cook a bit unevenly but they taste delicious and are particularly good with game. Pumpkins also make a delectable dish. Most gratins can be made ahead and reheat well, so they are also a brilliant standby for entertaining, or for busy ‘working mums’. 

For potato gratins the most important consideration is to find really good potatoes, I generally tend to favour the older varieties eg Golden Wonder or Kerr’s Pinks, both floury and flavourful. Try to find potatoes that have been grown without the addition of artificial nitrogen or with very low input. They will taste and keep better, but you will need to pay more to compensate the farmer for a lower yield. Check your nearest Farmer’s Market or seek out organic potatoes in your local shop or supermarket. In cooking, the ‘wow factor’ comes from choosing really good ingredients and being careful about the ‘little things’.

In the case of gratins it is vital to season every layer, do it lightly with your fingers, using Maldon sea salt or pure dairy salt rather than fine salt with chemicals. Bring the liquid to the boil before adding so it starts to cook faster, and gratin dauphinois particularly benefits from being cooked in a bain marie to keep it moist and tender. Once you’ve worked out a basic recipe you can ring the changes with any number of variations.

Look in your fridge, a chunk of chorizo, a few slices of streaky bacon cut into cubes and crisped up on the pan are a delicious addition, as are some spicy sausages, or chunks of black pudding. Various cheese can be grated and added, occasionally some coarsely chopped nuts give welcome texture.

Gratins are usually served as an accompaniment to say a roast, steak or some lamb chops, however, many of these recipes can be served as a main dish followed by a green salad to make you feel less full and ready for some delicious pudding to round off the meal!.

Mary Jo McMillin’s Gratin Dauphinois 

Serves 6-8

Everyone loves this potato preparation and it is so easy; great to put in the oven alongside a roasting chicken or leg of lamb

2 cloves of garlic peeled and minced
1 teaspoon salt 
Freshly ground white pepper
230ml (8 fl ozs) milk
125ml (4 fl ozs) cream
35g (1½ oz) butter
1 kg (2 ¼ lbs) even sized potatoes
35-50g (1 ½ -2oz) grated Gruyere or Cheddar

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6. In a 4 pint baking dish sprinkle the garlic, salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the milk, cream, slices of butter and place the dish in the oven to heat. Meanwhile peel and thinly slice potatoes. When the milk is bubbling on the edges, remove baking dish, strew in sliced potatoes, sprinkle with cheese, return to the hot oven and bake 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown. 

For a smaller amount use 700g (1 ½ lbs) potatoes, 1 garlic clove, less salt and pepper, 230ml (8floz) mixed cream and milk 1oz butter and 1oz cheese.

Gratin of Potatoes with Smoked Salmon

Serves 4-6

There are really two recipes in one here, the basic recipe is a particularly good version of the classic French potato dish Gratin Dauphinois which is delicious served with a simple roast or grill. Here we've added little strips of smoked salmon to make a favourite supper dish. Serve with a green salad.

2 lbs (900g) even sized 'old' potatoes, eg. Golden Wonders or Kerrs Pinks
salt and freshly ground pepper
9 fl ozs (275ml) milk
9 fl ozs (275ml) double cream
small clove garlic, peeled and crushed
freshly grated nutmeg
4-6 ozs (110-170g) Irish smoked salmon 
1 tablesp.parsley, chopped 
1 tablesp.chives, chopped

4 small ovenproof gratin dishes 4½ inch (11.5cm) bottom and 6 inch (15cm) top

Peel the potatoes with a potato peeler and slice them into very thin rounds (one-eight inch/3mm thick). Do not wash them but dab them dry with a cloth. Spread them out on the worktop and season with salt and freshly ground pepper, mixing it in with your hands. Pour milk into a saucepan, add the potatoes and bring to the boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Add the cream, garlic and a generous grating of fresh nutmeg, continue to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the potatoes do not stick to the saucepan. Just as soon as the potatoes are cooked put a layer into 4 ovenproof gratin dishes, sprinkle each with some parsley and chives, add 1-1½ ozs (30-45g) smoked salmon cut into 3 inch (5mm) strips, cover with another layer of potato.

Reheat in a bain-marie in a preheated oven, 200C/400F/regulo 6, for 8-10 minutes or until they are bubbly and golden on top. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and chives.

* Can be prepared ahead to this point. Serve with a good green salad.

Variations:
Smoked Mackerel and Potato Gratin
Remove skin and bone from 8ozs (225g) smoked mackerel and divide into chunky bits. Put a layer of smoked mackerel and a sprinkling of chopped parsley in the centre as you put it into the dishes.

Smoked Salmon and Dill Gratin
Substitute 6 ozs (170g) smoked salmon cut in small cubes and 1 tablespoon of dill in the above recipe.

Potato and Chorizo Gratin
Substitute 6-8ozs (170-225g) of Chorizo or Kabannossi sausage in above recipe.

Crispy bacon, mussels, shrimps etc , may also be used.

Gratin of Potato and Spring Onion

Potato gratins are a tasty, nourishing and economical way to feed lots of hungry people on a chilly evening, this recipe could include little pieces of bacon or a lamb chop cut into dice, so it can be a sustaining main course or a delicious accompaniment.

Serves 4 as a main course 
Serves 6 as an accompaniment

3lbs (1.5kg) ‘old’ potatoes, eg Golden Wonders or Kerr’s Pinks
2 bunches of spring onions
1oz (30g) butter
3-6 ozs (85-170g) Irish mature cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and freshly ground pepper
10-16fl.ozs (300-450ml) homemade chicken, beef or vegetable stock.

Oval ovenproof gratin dish - 12½ inch (31.5cm) long x 2 inch (5cm) high

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/regulo 6

Slice the peeled potatoes thinly, blanch and refresh. Trim the spring onions and chop both the green and white parts into approx. ¼ inch (5mm) slices with a scissors or a knife.

Rub an oven proof dish thickly with half the butter, scatter with some of the spring onions, then a layer of potatoes and then some grated cheese. Season well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Continue to build up the layers finishing with an overlapping layer of potatoes, neatly arranged. Pour in the boiling stock, scatter with the remaining cheese and dot with butter.

Bake in a preheated oven for 1-1½ hrs or until the potatoes are tender and the top is brown and crispy.

Note: It may be necessary to cover the potatoes with a paper lid for the first half of the cooking.

Gratin of Potato and Mushroom

Serves 6

If you have a few wild mushrooms eg. Chantrelles or field mushrooms, mix them with ordinary mushrooms for this gratin. If all you can find are flat mushroom all the better, one way or the other the gratin will still be delectable.

450g (1 lb) 'old' potatoes, eg. Golden Wonders or Kerrs Pinks 
225g (½ lb) mushrooms, cultivated mushrooms, or a mixture of cultivated mushrooms, brown mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and shitake
butter
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper 
300ml (½ pint) light cream
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano), or Irish mature Cheddar cheese

Ovenproof gratin dish 25.5cm (10inch) x 21.5cm (8½ inch)

Slice the mushrooms. Peel the potatoes and slice thinly. Blanch and refresh. Grease a shallow gratin dish generously with butter and sprinkle the garlic over it. Arrange half the potatoes in the bottom of the dish, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and put in the mushrooms. Season again and finish off with a final layer of overlapping potatoes. 

Bring the cream almost to boiling point and pour over the potatoes. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for 1½ hours approx. at 180°C/350°F/regulo 4, until the gratin becomes crisp and golden brown with the cream bubbling up around the edges. 
This gratin is terrifically good with a pangrilled lamb chop or a piece of steak.

Pumpkin Gratin with Thyme and Parmesan

Serves 4

This can be a delicious vegetarian main course, or a substantial side dish. Cook it under a roast to catch the delicious juices. Any winter squash would work instead of pumpkin, but they vary in texture, so adjust cooking times. Test with the tip of a knife before pouring over the cream.

1kg (2lb 4oz) pumpkin or winter squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into large chunks
3 tablesp Extra Virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 teasp. fresh thyme leaves or roughly chopped sage
150ml (6fl.oz) cream
50g (2oz) Parmesan, grated

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6

In a large gratin dish, toss the pumpkin with the olive oil, garlic and thyme leaves. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes or until soft.

Remove the dish of pumpkin from the oven. Increase the oven heat to 220C/425F/gas 7.

Drizzle the cream over the top, scatter generously with the grated cheese. Return to the oven for 20 minutes until bubbling and golden. Serve on its own or with roast lamb, beef or venison.

Potato and Celeriac, Blue Cheese and Walnut Gratin

Serves 4-6

1kg (2-2½ lb) waxy potatoes, thinly sliced
1 large celeriac, thinly sliced
50g (2oz) butter
150ml (¼ pt) cream
150ml (¼ pt) stock
150ml (¼ pt) milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper
110g (4oz) Cashel Blue or Crozier cheese
50g (2oz) walnuts, roughly chopped
2 tablesp. flat parsley, roughly chopped

Rinse the sliced potatoes thoroughly in cold water to rid them of excess starch. Drain the slices and then dry them thoroughly on kitchen paper.

In a frying pan, melt half the butter. Toss the celeriac in it for a few seconds until all the slices are coated, adding more butter if necessary. 

Bring the stock, cream and milk to the boil. In a gratin dish, arrange alternate layers of potatoes and celeriac, ending with a layer of potato. Sprinkle each layer with salt and freshly ground pepper. Pour over the boiling liquid. Bake the gratin in a preheated oven 200C/400F/gas 6 for about 1 hour. If the potatoes brown too quickly, cover them with a sheet of aluminium foil.

Ten minutes before the end of cooking time, sprinkle with chopped walnuts and crumbled blue cheese.

Scatter with roughly chopped flat parsley before serving.

Gratin of Macaroni and Turkey

Serves 6

Macaroni cheese is one of our grandchildren’s favourite supper dishes. It’s a brilliant basic for all sort of yummy bits. We often add some cubes of cooked bacon, chorizo or prawns to the sauce with the cooked macaroni.

3.6litres (6 pints) water
2 teaspoons salt
225g (8oz) macaroni

Cheddar Cheese Sauce
50g (2oz) butter
50g (2oz) white flour, preferably unbleached
1.2 litres (2 pints) boiling milk
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley, (optional)
175g (6oz) grated mature Cheddar cheese (We use our local Cheddar which is made at Mitchelstown and matured at Imokilly Creamery, Old Charleville is also excellent).
Salt and freshly ground pepper

450g (1lb) cooked turkey cut into chunks

1 x 1.1litre (2 pint) capacity pie dish

Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add the salt. Sprinkle in the macaroni and stir to make sure it doesn't stick together. Cook until just soft, 10-15 minutes approximately, drain well. 

Meanwhile melt the butter, add in the flour and cook, stirring occasionally for 1-2 minutes, remove from the heat. Whisk in the milk gradually, bring back to the boil, stirring all the time. Add the mustard and parsley if using and cheese, season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Add the turkey and the cooked macaroni, bring back to the boil and serve immediately. 

NB: Macaroni soaks up an enormous amount of sauce. Add more sauce if making ahead to reheat later.

Macaroni Cheese with Smoked Salmon
Add 110g (4oz) of smoked salmon pieces to the macaroni cheese.

Macaroni Cheese with Mushrooms and Courgettes
Add 225g (8oz) sliced sautéed mushrooms and 225g (8oz) sliced courgettes cooked in olive oil with a little garlic and marjoram or basil and add to the Macaroni cheese. Toss gently, turn into a hot serving dish and scatter with grated cheese.

Macaroni Cheese 
Omit the turkey and serve as it is.

Macaroni cheese reheats very successfully provided the pasta is not overcooked in the first place, it is very good served with cold meat particularly ham.

Foolproof Food

Belgian Chocolate Biscuit Cake

You can use up the plain biscuits left in the tin after Christmas.

Serves 8-10

2 tablespoons raisins, soaked in boiling water
225g (8 ozs) best quality dark chocolate
225g (8 ozs) butter preferably unsalted
225g (8 ozs) plain biscuits eg. Marie or Marietta
1 dessertspoon castor sugar
2 eggs, preferably free range
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla essence
30g (1 oz) chopped walnuts or toasted almonds

loaf tin 5 x 8 inch (12.5 x 20.5cm), lined with pure cling film

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water or in a very cool oven. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy, melt the butter and whisk into the egg and sugar mixture while still hot. The mixture should thicken slightly. Next add in the chocolate, raisins and vanilla essence and finally the broken biscuits. Press into the lined tin. Sprinkle with the chopped nuts and allow to set in a cold place. Serve cut into slices with softly whipped cream.

Hot Tips

Irish Seedsavers, Capparoe, Scariff, Co Clare –
Start planning your Spring planting – contact Irish Seedsavers for old native varieties of vegetables and fruit – www.irishseedsavers.ie  Tel 061-921866

New Japanese Restaurant in Galway – Kappa-ya has recently opened on 4 Middle St. Galway – selection of authentic homemade Japanese dishes and snacks available all day – Monday to Friday 11-5. email:kappaya@eircom.net  Tel 086-3543616

The 2006 Bridgestone100 Best Guides by John & Sally McKenna and Georgina Campbell’s Jameson Irish Food Guide of places to eat, drink and stay –essential travelling companions in Ireland - don’t leave home without them

Rockfield Ecological Estate, Rathaspic, Rathowen, Co Westmeath

This venture is the dream and creation of Imelda and Sean Daly. Through education, demonstration and passion for the green philosophy in living and culture heritage they want to show that we can happily thrive in modern life by working hand in hand with the earth and its produce and recreate the world of yesteryear. The idea is to provide to the public, local schools, tourists and businesses, an all-encompassing, ecological destination showcasing a variety of crafts, art, music, literature, heritage and organic food, medicinal herbs in an organic setting. They are open for guided tours of the house, garden, outbuildings and there will be seminars, forums and courses on all relevant issues. For full details contact Imelda Daly – imeldadaly@eircom.net  Tel 043-76024 086-0882433

It’s that time again when I am full of resolve – another opportunity to make lots of New Year resolutions. I love making New Year resolutions, what’s more I am always completely convinced that I will stick to them despite my long track record of sliding back into old habits. 

For 2006 lets
Think Season  Think Local  Think Animal welfare
Think Food Miles Think Organic  Think Sustainability

The coolest words in food as we slide into 2006 are local, artisan and slow. Those with passion for real quality are seeking out fresh naturally produced local foods from artisan producers. Foods that are grown, reared and produced more slowly in the time honoured way so they have more flavour, better texture and frequently more nutrients.

Problem is, now that virtually everything is available year round it becomes more and more difficult, particularly for younger people, to know when particular foods are in season. Here is a list to guide you-

In season in January – 

Root vegetables – carrots, parsnips, celeriac, Jersualem artichokes, turnips.
Brussels Sprouts, Kales, Sprouting broccoli, cabbage, chicory

Game

Fish – herrings, sprats, Pollock, cod, oysters

Citrus fruit
Pomegranates

Food is at its freshest and most flavourful when it is in season. It makes no kind of sense to buy expensive ‘jet-lagged’ food that has traveled half way round the globe when we could be eating delicious local food in season. The foods that are in season contain the nutrients, minerals and trace elements our bodies need at that time of the year, eg citrus fruit in winter provides us vitamin C.

Kale and brassicas are a powerful source of antioxidants and help to boost our resistance during the cold Winter months when colds and flu are at their most prevalent. 

Now that there is an increasing network of Farmers Markets around the country – 130 at the last count, it becomes easier to source local food in season. It’s a whole other shopping experience, convivial, relaxed and in many cases less expensive. Fresh local food can sometimes be found in small independent local shops. Many of these shops are struggling to survive in the face of ever increasing competition from the ‘multiples’, as ‘cheap’ food continues to be the primary objective of most shoppers. However, we fool ourselves if we imagine that food will continue to be cheap after these shops have been closed down. We will be left with no choice and our towns and villages will have lost the charm and diversity that these family owned businesses bring.

We are out of our minds to risk this situation becoming a reality in Ireland, particularly as we can see clearly what has happened in Britain as a result of huge supermarkets being built on green field sites. These multi-faceted businesses sell everything from newspapers to insurance, hoover up all the business and as a result over 60% of villages in the UK have no village shop and no post office. Consequently there is no heart in the village and the community is fragmented. Think how this would change the face of Ireland.

The choice is ours, if we don’t support our local shops – the family butchers, the bakers, the hardware shops, we will lose them and watch as the prices rise and we will have lost our alternatives. 

The reality is that food shopping is an ‘agricultural act’, we can make a difference by the way we choose to spend our ‘food euro’.

When we shop in supermarkets, lets support the Irish enterprises, we can heighten awareness by asking questions about provenance. Ask how much local food do they stock? Think about animal welfare, food miles, sustainability and organic.

Local shops can help themselves by highlighting local food in season in their establishments, Johnny Dunne’s carrots, Peggy Hegarty’s barm brack, Anne Keating’s Baylough Cheese, Sally Barnes’ smoked fish………..

This enables those of us who are searching for local food in season to find it easily and helps to remind those of us who haven’t been thinking that way.

Conclusion – You may also want to think about adopting the Slow Food Philosophy for 2006 – visit www.slowfood.org  or www.slowfoodireland.ie 

Here is a seasonal menu-

Oysters with Murphys or Beamish

Turnip and Bacon Soup
Sprats
George Gossip’s Pheasant and Chorizo
Leek Champ

Foolproof Roast Jerusalem Artichokes (available at Midleton Farmers Market)
Citrus Fruit Salad

Swede Turnip and Bacon Soup

Serves 6-8

340g (12oz) swede turnips, diced
1 tablespoons sunflower or arachide oil
140g (5oz) rindless streaky bacon cut in ½ inch (1cm) dice
110g (4oz) onions, chopped
140g (5oz) potatoes, diced
salt and freshly ground pepper
900ml (1½ pint) Homemade Chicken Stock
cream or creamy milk to taste

Garnish
fried diced bacon
tiny croutons
chopped parsley

Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the bacon and cook on a gentle heat until crisp and golden. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon. Toss the onion, potato and turnip in the bacon fat, season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover with a butter wrapper to keep in the steam, and sweat on a gentle heat until soft but not coloured, about 10 minutes. Add the stock, bring to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are fully cooked. Liquidise, taste, add a little cream or creamy milk and some extra seasoning if necessary. Serve with a mixture of crispy bacon, tiny croutons and chopped parsley.

Deep Fried Sprats with Aoili

In general January has a few highlights, apart from the arrival of the marmalade oranges in the shops - but when the Sprats arrive into Ballycotton the excitement is tangible. We feast on them for a few short weeks - deep fried, soused, pickled and smoked. Don’t even think of gutting them you may be shocked but we eat them insides and all - completely delicious!

Serves 6-8 

450g (1 lb) Sprats
Well seasoned flour
Lemon Segments

Aoili

2 egg yolks, preferably free range
1-4 cloves of garlic, depending on size
3 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
Pinch of English mustard or 3 teaspoon French mustard
1 dessertspoon white wine vinegar
230ml (8 fl oz) oil (sunflower, arachide or olive oil or a mixture) - we use 180ml (6 fl oz) arachide oil and 50ml (2 fl oz) olive oil, alternatively use 7/1
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
Oyster Shells (optional) 

First make the Aoili. 

Using a mortar and pestle, work the garlic with a little salt and pepper until smooth; then work in the egg yolks, add the wine vinegar and the olive oil drop by drop, stirring constantly with the pestle. Once the sauce has started to thicken, the oil may be added more quickly. 

When half the oil has been added, one can add the oil a little faster. Stir in the chopped parsley.

Taste the Aioli and add a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice and some salt and pepper if necessary. 

Just before serving: Heat the oil in a deep fry to 200C/400F. Toss the sprats in well seasoned flour, cook until crisp and golden. Put an oyster shell on each plate to hold a generous spoonful of Aoili or Tartare Sauce. Serve immediately with segments of lemon.

Pheasant with Chorizo, Bacon and Tomatoes

– George Gossip

George Gossip who teaches the Game Coookery Course here at the school says that this recipe is an amalgamation of Elizabeth David’s Pheasant with Spiced Rice, a chicken dish of Penelope Casas’ and his own ideas – anyway its delicious.
Serves 6

1 Pheasant – cut into serving portions
1 or 2 chorizos sausages, sliced
6-8 oz good quality streaky bacon diced into ½ inch cubes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic,
two large onions, sliced
1 lb ripe tomatoes, peeled & chopped (or one 14oz tin of chopped tomatoes)
salt and pepper
thyme and parsley
two teaspoons good-quality paprika – preferably sweet Hungarian

Pilaff Rice

Pheasant stock

Wash the rice in cold water and leave to soak. Bring game stock to the boil.

Fry the bacon in olive oil, add the pheasant pieces and cook lightly. Remove and keep warm. 

Add two-thirds of the sliced onion and all the garlic to the pan: cover and sweat gently. When these are cooked, remove the lid, add the chopped tomatoes and increase the heat. Add the chorizo slices and seasonings and cook rapidly to form a thick sauce.

Meanwhile, fry the remaining onion gently in oil, in a deep saucepan. Drain the rice, add it and fry at a slightly increased heat. Then add the stock - a ladle at a time - to make a rich pilaff.

Return the pheasant pieces to the tomato sauce and cook though. Add the wings and thigh pieces first, and the breast sections (which will require less cooking) at the end. Check the seasoning. If the stock has become too thick, add water. 

To serve
Serve the pheasant, surrounded by pieces of chorizo and bacon, on a bed of rice - accompanied by a green salad. This pheasant and tomato mixture reheats well.

Potato and Leek Champ

Serves 4-6

6-8 unpeeled 'old' potatoes e.g. Golden Wonders or Kerrs Pinks
Cold water
4 medium sized leeks
40g (1½ozs) butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon water if necessary
300-350ml (10-12 fl ozs) milk
1 tablespoon chopped chives
55g (2ozs) approx. butter

Scrub the potatoes, cover with cold water and boil them in their jackets. Half way through cooking, pour off half the water, cover and steam until fully cooked. 

Cut off the dark green leaves from the top of the leeks (wash and add to the stock pot or use for making green leek soup). Slit the leeks about half way down the centre and wash well under cold running water. Slice into ¼ inch (5mm) rounds. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan; when it foams add the sliced leeks and toss gently to coat with butter. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and add 1 tablespoon water if necessary. Cover with a paper lid and a close fitting saucepan lid. Reduce the heat and cook very gently for 10-15 minutes approx., or until soft, tender and juicy. Check and stir every now and then during cooking. 

Bring the milk with the chives to the boil, simmer for about 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat and leave to infuse. Peel and mash the freshly boiled potatoes and while hot, mix with the boiling milk and chives, add the drained leeks and beat in the butter. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. It should be soft and melting. 

Leek champ may be put aside and reheated later in a moderate oven 180ºC/350ºF/regulo 4. Cover with tin foil while it reheats so that it doesn't get a skin over the top.

Pangrilled Herrings with Grainy Mustard Butter

Serves 6 as a starter

6 fresh herrings, gutted, scaled and washed
Seasoned flour

Grainy Mustard Butter
1 teaspoon grainy mustard eg. Moutarde de Meaux
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
3 ozs (85g) melted butter
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

First make the Mustard Butter. Cream the butter in a bowl, add the mustards and the finely chopped parsley, a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice and freshly ground pepper. Form into a roll in pure clingfilm or greaseproof paper and allow to harden or make into pats. Refrigerate until needed. 

Preheat a cast iron pangrill over a medium heat until quite hot. Slash the herrings at an angle in three places on each side. Coat with well seasoned flour, spread a little soft butter over one side of each herring. Lay the herrings butter side down, not touching on the hot pan, they should sizzle. Reduce the heat immediately and cook for approximately 3 minutes on that side before turning over. Continue to cook until golden on both sides. Serve immediately on hot plates with two slices of Grainy Mustard Butter per fish. Garnish with a sprig of flat parsley and a segment of freshly cut lemon.

Citrus fruit Salad

In the winter when many fruits have abysmal flavour the citrus fruit are at their best, this delicious fresh tasting salad uses a wide variety of that ever expanding family. Its particularly good with blood oranges which appear in the shops for only a few weeks, so make the most of them. Ugli fruit, Pomelo, Tangelos, Sweeties or any other members of the citrus family may be used in season.

Serves 6 approx.

½lb (225g) Kumquats
12 fl ozs (350ml) water
7 ozs (200g) sugar
1 lime
½ lb (225g) Clementines
¼-½ lb (110g-225g) Tangerines or Mandarins
2 blood oranges
1 pink grapefruit
lemon juice to taste if necessary

Slice the kumquats into ¼ inch (5mm) rounds, remove pips. Dissolve the sugar in the water over a low heat, add the sliced kumquats. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool. Remove the zest from the lime with a zester and add with the juice to the kumquats. Meanwhile peel the tangerines and clementines and remove as much of the white pith and strings as possible. Slice into rounds of ¼ inch (5mm) thickness, add to the syrup. Segment the pink grapefruit and blood oranges and add to the syrup also. Leave to macerate for at least an hour. Taste and add a squeeze of lemon juice if necessary. Serve chilled.
Foolproof Food

Roast Jerusalem Artichokes

The winter vegetable is particularly good with goose, duck or pheasant.

Serves 4 to 6

1lb (450g) Jerusalem artichokes, well scrubbed.
2 tablespoons sunflower or olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
A few rosemary or thyme sprigs, optional

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/ gas mark 6. Leave the artichokes whole or cut in half lengthways, if large. Toss the Jerusalem artichokes with the oil. Season well with salt. Bake in a shallow gratin dish or roasting tin for 20 to 30 minutes. Test with the tip of a knife – they should be mostly tender but offer some resistance. Sprinkle with thyme or rosemary. Season with pepper and serve.

Hot Tips

Check out the Irish Food Market Traders Association website www.irelandmarkets.com
Check this farmers and country market site to find new farmers, town and country food markets both old and new in Ireland. Use it to discover the vast array of organic and fresh local foods available directly from small food producers in a town near you!
Check out the farmers and produce markets of Ireland
Find out too about local country markets in a town near you, the smaller locally run markets

Oxfam Ireland has opened its 5th Fair Trade shop in Ireland on 18A Frenchchurch Street, Cork. Oxfam shops have the biggest selection of Fairtrade food products in Ireland - Food range includes coffee, tea, chocolate, honey, rice, sugar, biscuits, snack bars, dried fruits and much more. They are all excellent quality and taste great. Nice range of crafts and gifts also which changes regularly – so worth a visit.

Organic Beef – Available from Gortnamucklagh Organic Farm, Skibbereen, Co Cork, Tel 028-23742 – can be ordered in large or small quantities for the freezer, also available at Skibbereen Farmers Market every Saturday 10-1 email:paulfmccormick@eircom.net  

Foodwise Conference, at Drumalis Retreat Centre, 47 Glenarm Road, Larne,Co Antrim ,27-29 January 2006

Presentations on Food and Health, Food Poverty, Food Waste, Food Distribution and Fair Trade, Genetic Engineering and Biodiversity, Look to the future, Food Memory and many other food issues. For details email:drumalis@btconnect.com  Tel 048 2827 2196 , Fax 048 2827 7999

A formal dinner party is the ultimate challenge. It is by far the most stressful way of entertaining but with careful planning it can appear almost effortless! Salvation lies in learning the secrets of virtually effortless entertaining. Your guests will be dazzled and you will still be able to relax and enjoy your own party. 

Start with pen and paper and make lots of lists – the guest list, shopping list, wine list. Consider drawing up a schedule of work – this may sound a bit like a military operation, but it’s so worth it and will avoid any last minute panic attacks before your guests arrive – its all in the planning.

If you are entertaining single-handedly, I reckon six to eight people is the optimum number for a dinner party. Once the numbers go to twelve or fourteen, it is almost essential to have help with the serving and cleaning, otherwise the food will be cold and service too slow. Doesn’t necessarily have to be professional help – a local teenager may be thrilled to earn some pocket money and learn some extra skills. The size of your dining room and table will dictate the numbers you invite. If the numbers go above your seating capacity, decide to do a buffet or fork supper.

If you are entertaining with your partner or a friend, agree responsibilities ahead of time. Decide who will light the fire, take coats, offer drinks…. Knowing who is supposed to serve the coffee avoids glaring across the table or kicking under it! If you are entertaining single-handedly, ask a good friend if they would mind arriving early to help with the drinks. 

Choose the menu carefully so that as much as possible can be prepared ahead and gently reheated. If you shop carefully you can buy lots of delicious charcuterie, smoked fish, farmhouse cheese, crusty bread and crackers. A selection of these can provide the bulk of the meal. Don’t forget Pannetone, Panforte de Siena, Medjool dates, figgy pudding, membrillo…. All delectable storecupboard standbys for Christmas.

Once you have decided on the menu, its time to think about creating ambience. 

Flickery candles create a magical atmosphere in a way that no other lighting can. A tall candleabra on a long table looks elegant, but even cheap and cheerful tea lights arranged in a line, circle or diamond draw gasps of admiration. Resist the temptation to have scented candles – most are overpoweringly fragrant.

Strings of fairy lights now come in a range of shapes and colours – flowers, chillies, stars, bulbs – and you can drape them around tables, chairs, walls, trees and plants.

To me, flowers are the simplest way to add colour, scent and glamour to an evening. There is so much to choose from, and the right flower can instantly change the mood of a room. Be creative about what you use as vases. For a formal dinner party, silver, brass or even tin candelabra set the scene. Wind around fronds of ivy and tinsel and maybe some chillies or glittery baubles.

Do a table plan, you know your guests and can judge best who will enjoy each other.

Place names can be formal or fun and funky, depending on the mood of the evening.

Spend money on the aperitifs. Something bubbly always gets the evening going – Champagne, sparkling wine or Prosecco are divine. For a really special occasion, you might want to splash out and hire a portable bar, complete with bar tenders, to create a range of cocktails especially for you. Prepare a few delicious nibbles, passing around some finger food helps guests to relax and feel comfortable. If the nibbles are reasonably substantial they can double up as a first course.

For a New Year’s Eve Party you may want to wrap a tiny present for each guest, could be something silly and fun and don’t forget the crackers and sparklers and party hats, no its not too late and is a surefire way to create party atmosphere to ring in the New Year.

Happy Christmas and New Year to all our readers.

Celeriac and Hazelnut Soup

Celeriac, relatively new in our shops; is in fact a root celery which looks a bit like a muddy turnip. Peel it thickly and use for soups or in salads, or just as a vegetable.

A deliciously light soup for a dinner party. Serve in expresso cups for a drinks party.
Serves 6

15 ozs (425 g) celeriac, cut into ¼ inch (5 mm) dice
4 ozs (110 g) onions, cut into ¼ inch (5 mm) dice
5 ozs (140 g) potatoes, cut into ¼ inch (5 mm) dice
1½-2 ozs (45-55 g) butter
2 pints (1.1L) home made chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4-8 fl ozs (100-225 ml) creamy milk (optional)

Garnish
2 tablespoons hazelnuts, skinned, toasted and chopped
A few tablespoons whipped cream
Sprigs of chervil or flat parsley

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan; when it foams, add the potatoes and onions and toss them in the butter until evenly coated. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover with a paper lid (to keep in the steam) and the saucepan lid, and sweat over a gentle heat for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft but not coloured. Discard the paper lid. Add the celeriac and chicken stock and cook until the celeriac is soft, about 8-10 minutes. Liquidise the soup; add a little more stock or creamy milk to thin to the required consistency. Taste and correct seasoning.

To prepare the hazelnuts: Put the hazelnuts into an oven, 200C/400F/regulo 6, on a baking sheet for about 10-15 minutes or until the skins loosen. Remove the skins by rubbing the nuts in the corner of a tea towel. If they are not sufficiently toasted, return them to the oven until they become golden brown. Chop and keep aside to garnish.

Serve the soup piping hot with a little blob of whipped cream on top. Sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts and a sprig of chervil or flat parsley.

Roast Rack of Lamb with Rosemary and Membrillo Aoili and Rustic Roast Potatoes

I love this recipe, my good friend the Australian cook, Maggie Beer from the Barossa Valley, made this Membrillo Aoili when she stayed at the Cookery School a few years ago.

Serves 8

4 racks lamb or 1 leg of spring lamb
3 sprigs rosemary and 1-2 cloves garlic – optional
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Rosemary and Membrillo Aoili
2 egg yolks, preferably free range and organic
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of English mustard or 1/4 teaspoon French mustard
1 dessertspoon white wine vinegar

225ml (8fl oz) oil (sunflower, arachide or olive oil or a mixture) - We use 175ml (6fl oz) sunflower oil and 50ml (2fl oz) olive oil, alternatively use 7:1 sunflower oil to olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons rosemary, finely chopped
40-50g (1 1/2-2oz) Membrillo (quince paste) (available from delis and many good cheese shops)

Garnish:
Sprigs of rosemary

Accompaniment:
Rustic Roast Potatoes 

First make the Aoili, save 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Put the freshly chopped rosemary into a little saucepan with 3 tablespoons of oil, warm gently for 2 or 3 minutes, careful not to burn. Keep aside.

Put the egg yolks into a bowl with the mustard, salt and the white wine vinegar (save the egg whites to make meringues) add the crushed garlic. Put the oil into a measure. Take a whisk in one hand and the oil in the other and drip the oil onto the egg yolks, drop by drop whisking at the same time. Within a minute you will notice that the mixture is beginning to thicken. When this happens you can add the oil a little faster, but don't get too cheeky or it will suddenly curdle because the egg yolks can only absorb the oil at a certain pace. Taste and add a little more seasoning and vinegar if necessary.

If the Mayonnaise curdles it will suddenly become quite thin, and if left sitting the oil will start to float to the top of the sauce. If this happens you can quite easily rectify the situation by putting another egg yolk or 1-2 tablespoons of boiling water into a clean bowl, then whisk in the curdled Mayonnaise, a half teaspoon at a time until it emulsifies again.

Chop the membrillo and warm gently in a little saucepan until it melts, cool and add to the mayonnaise with the rosemary and oil. Taste and correct seasoning.

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Score the skin of the lamb, you may like to insert a few tiny sprigs of rosemary and slivers of garlic here and there on the skin side. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Roast for 25-30 minutes, depending on the age of the lamb and the degree of doneness required.

Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. Carve, allow 2-3 cutlets per person, depending on size. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and serve with Rosemary and Membrillo Aioli and Rustic Roast Potatoes.

Guard of Honour

A Guard of Honour looks mightily impressive for a dinner party. It is made up simply of two enlinked racks of lamb. Tie in one or two places to secure while cooking. Add 5-10 minutes extra cooking time.

Ardsallagh Goat Cheese Salad with Rocket, Figs and Pomegranates

Serves 8

1 fresh pomegranate
4 small fresh Ardsallagh cheese or a similar fresh goat cheese
8-12 fresh figs or plump dried figs (try to find the Turkish ones on a raffia string)
Enough rocket leaves for eight helpings and perhaps a few leaves of raddichio
32 fresh walnut halves

Dressing
4 fl ozs (125ml) extra virgin olive oil
3 tablesp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ -1 teasp. honey
salt and freshly ground pepper

Cut the pomegranate in half around the equator, break each side open, flick out the glistening jewel-like seeds into a bowl, avoiding the bitter yellowy pith. Alternatively, if you are in a hurry, put the cut side down on the palm of your hand over a bowl and bash the skin side firmly with the back of a wooden spoon – this works really well but it tends to be a bit messy, so be sure to protect your clothes with an apron as pomegranate juice really stains.

Next make the dressing – just whisk the oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice and honey together in a bowl. Season well with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Toast the walnut halves in a dry pan over a medium heat until they smell sweet and nutty. 

Just before serving, toss the rocket leaves and radicchio in a deep bowl with a little dressing. Divide between eight large white plates. Cut each cheese into 3 pieces. 

Cut the figs into quarters from the top, keeping each one still attached at the base. Press gently to open out. Divide the cheese between the plates, three pieces on each, place a fig in the centre. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and freshly roasted walnuts. Drizzle with a little extra dressing and serve immediately with crusty bread.
Note: plump dried figs are best cut into slices and scattered over the salad.

A dozen Oysters and a pint of Murphys or Guinness

If you come from Cork Murphys is the sacred drop – Guinness is not quite the same but we have to admit it makes a good substitute.

What could be easier or more delicious than a dozen freshly shucked oysters with Irish wheaten bread and a pint of gorgeous creamy stout.

Serves 1 but also great for numbers.

1 dozen native Irish oysters
600ml (1 pint) of Murphy or Guinness
seaweed or sea salt
Wheaten bread

It’s wise to protect your hand with a folded tea towel when opening oysters. Wrap the tea towel round your hand, then set the deep shell on it with the wide end on the inside. Grip the oyster firmly in your protected hand while you insert the tip of the knife into the hinge and twist to lever the two shells apart; you’ll need to exert quite a lot of pressure, so it’s foolhardy not to protect your hand well. Then slide the blade of the knife under the top shell to detach the oyster from the shell. Discard the top shell, then loosen the oyster from the deep shell, flip over to reveal the plump side, don’t lose the precious briny juice. 

Arrange on a plate on a bed of seaweed or sea salt. 

Serve with a segment of lemon, some wheaten bread and a pint of the black stuff!

Haddock with Dijon Mustard Sauce

Virtually any round fish may be used in this recipe eg. hake, ling, grey sea mullet, pollock etc.

Serves 6

55g (2oz)butter
225g (8oz) onions, chopped
900g (2lb) fresh haddock fillets
Salt and freshly ground pepper
600ml (1 pint) milk
50ml (2fl oz) cream
25g (1oz) flour
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
800g (1 3/4lb) mashed potato 

Melt the butter and sweat the onions in a covered saucepan until golden brown. Skin the haddock and cut into portions. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Put into a wide sauté pan, cover with milk and cream, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 4-6 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove the fish carefully to a serving dish. Add the flour to the onions, stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add in the hot milk and bring back to the boil, then simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add the mustard and chopped parsley, taste and correct the seasoning, then pour over the fish and serve.

For a retro version mashed potato may be piped around the dish. Allow to cool, refrigerate and reheat later in a moderate oven, 180ºC/350F/gas mark 4, for 20 minutes approximately. 

Bumbles Ginger Roulade

I spent a fun-filled weekend at Strathgarry House in Scotland doing a cooking class with Bumble and her sisters. Bumble demonstrated this recipe which we’ve been delighting our guests with ever since.

Serves: 8-10

75g (3oz) butter
225g (8oz) golden syrup or treacle
50g (2oz) castor sugar (soft dark if you like)
Less 150ml (1/4 pint) hot water
110g (4oz) plain white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 egg, preferably free-range and organic
300ml (1/2) pint softly whipped cream
50g (2oz) chopped crystallized ginger (optional)

Icing sugar

Large Swiss roll 25.5cm (10inch) x 38cm (15inch) tin lined with silicone paper

Preheat the oven to180C/350F/gas mark 4. Barely melt the butter, golden syrup or treacle and sugar with the water. Mix flour and baking powder and spice together in a bowl. When the liquids have melted and cooled, add the flour, spice and egg yolk. Lastly whisk the egg white until they reach a stiff peak and fold gently into the other ingredients. Pour into the lined Swiss roll tin and bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes (12 minutes works in our ovens). Remove from the oven, cover with a damp cloth and leave to cool. Turn out onto a sheet of silicone paper which has been dredged with icing sugar. Fill with softly whipped cream and crystallized ginger and roll up. Transfer to a serving plate, decorate with a few rosettes of whipped cream and crystallized ginger.

Bumbles Top Tip: Bumble discovered quite by accident that the ginger roulade freezes really well. You can pull it out when required and cut into thick slices and put into a gratin dish, sprinkle with Demerara sugar and heat through in a very hot oven for 8-10 minutes – apparently it’s delicious.
Foolproof Food

Ballycotton Prawns whole in their shells with Watercress and Dill Mayo

Not cheap, but always a wow. If you can buy them already cooked from your fishmonger – great, they are very simple to cook – homemade mayo is a must to embellish beautiful fresh prawns.

Serves 8

40-48 large very fresh prawns
3.6 litres (6 pints) water
3 tablespoons salt

Accompaniment
4-8 tablespoons homemade Dill Mayo 
Large white plates

Garnish
Wild watercress leaves
4 segments lemon

First cook the prawns
Bring the water to the boil and add the salt (may sound a lot, but this is the secret of real flavour when cooking prawns or shrimps). Put the prawns into the boiling salted water and as soon as the water returns to a rolling boil, test a prawn to see if it is cooked. It should be firm and white, not opaque or mushy. If cooked, remove prawns immediately. Very large ones may take 1/2 to 1 minute more. Allow to cool in a single layer on a tray. Uncurl the tails. 
Note: Do not be tempted to cook too many prawns together, otherwise they may overcook before the water even comes back to the boil, cook them in 2 or 3 batches.
Put 5 or 6 cooked whole prawns on each plate. Spoon a tablespoon or two of homemade Mayonnaise into a little bowl or oyster shell on the side of the plate. Pop a segment of lemon on the plate. Garnish with some fresh wild watercress. Serve with fresh crusty brown soda bread and Irish butter.

Dill Mayonnaise

1 large egg yolk, preferably free range

2 tablespoons French mustard
1 tablespoon. white sugar
1/4 pint (150ml) ground nut or sunflower oil
1 tablespoon. white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon. dill, finely chopped
Salt and white pepper

Whisk the egg yolk with the mustard and sugar, drip in the oil drop by drop whisking all the time, then add the vinegar and fresh dill.

Hot Tips 

Showcasing Quality Irish Seafood in the UK Market

The Irish seafood sector received strong recognition at the 2005 Great Taste Awards, the UK’s most prestigious gourmet food awards, thirteen companies scored a total of 23 gold, silver and bronze awards. Under the BIM banner a group of Irish Seafood companies showcased a range of speciality products including mussels, smoked salmon, mackerel and other value added product, under their Quality Seafood (QS) symbol which was introduced to the UK market. www.bim.ie/qsp . 

Irish Seedsavers Association Ltd.
Starting in February the association will be running courses and workshops right through the year on a wonderful variety of topics, from Creating an Orchard, Dry Stone Walling, Organic Gardening and much more – at Capparoe, Scarriff, Co Clare, for details tel. 061-921866, fax 061-921327 info@irishseedsavers.ie    local accommodation available.

The Green Box is Ireland’s first ecotourism destination.
It is based in Leitrim and includes all of that country and Fermangh plus adjoining parts of Sligo, Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan, but does not include the large urban centres in the area. The Green Box has a network of members many of who are in the food industry – specialist food producers, restaurants, country markets, cookery schools, some of whom will benefit from a capital development programme supported by the EU’s Interreg IIIA Ireland/Northern Ireland Programme. Ecotourism can be defined as ‘travel that is small in scale, low impact, culturally sensitive, community and conservation orientated, primarily nature based, educational and capable of broadening peoples minds and enlivening their souls while providing a unique experience, firmly grounded in sustainable principles 

Slow Food Ireland ran an Art Competition recently with the Cork schools to raise awareness of the Cork Edible School Gardens Project.

The children were asked to design menu covers featuring seasonal vegetables which were then used to decorate the tables at the Cork Slow Food dinner in the City Hall during the Slow Food Cork Festival 2005. Clodagh McKenna, leader of the Cork City Convivium and presenter of Winter Food on RTE 1Radio, dreamed up the idea and Norah Porter liaised with the schools. The response was phenomenal, over 1200 children responded from various schools around Cork City. Supervalu sponsored the competition with great enthusiasm and the teachers were thrilled to have an excuse to highlight the importance of the seasons to the students. The competition coincided with the Healthy Eating week so it helped to reinforce the message. The winners, their teachers and parents all came to Café Paradiso recently for the presentation of prizes by Cathal Deevy of Supervalu.

They tucked into Sandy Hyland’s biscuits, blackberry cordial and home-made vanilla icecream.

Emily Conway from Sunday’s Well Girls National School, Blarney Road, won in the 4-8 age group category. Her picture was the sweetest thing –a happy little girl carrying two baskets of seasonal fruit surrounded by a border of carrots and apples. Her teacher Marcella O’Sullivan and the principal Nori O’Sullivan both came along to celebrate with her. They can’t wait until Spring to get started on a vegetable garden at the school. They also have plans to re-establish a strawberry patch on Strawberry Hill, where strawberries were always traditionally grown.

Recently they bought pumpkins in the English Market and made roasted pumpkin soup with the students. They are totally into raising awareness of the importance of eating healthy food , and have already banned crisps, juices and chewing gum from school lunch boxes. The children can however, have a sweet treat once a week, usually on Friday. They have introduced a ‘Water is cool in school’ scheme and have already won the LM Prize two years ago.

Eight year old Suzanne O’Keeffe from St. Columba’s Girls National School in Douglas was also a winner. This was an outstanding class project. Her teacher Aideen Phipps brought in a huge variety of vegetables and asked her class to categorise them and use them for printing, with spectacular results. This school also has a healthy school lunch policy and has already developed a sensory garden. Plans are now underway to develop an edible school garden with the children to teach them growing skills, the principal Michelle Cashman told me.

Lorna McCarthy from Our Lady of Lourdes National School, Ballinlough won in the 9-12 category, her teacher Margot Murphy and principal Mary Twomey were delighted. Craig O’Shea from St.Anthony’s National School, Ballinlough won in the 9-12 year category. Craig’s picture included some broccoli trees and a banana moon.

These schools explored the food pyramid and Craig’s teacher Fiona McCarthy and principal Flor O’Sullivan are enthusiastic about the Green Schools project.

Finally, Andrew de Juan from St Peter’s Community College in Passage West showed me his winning entry, it was a lovely colourful drawing of fruit. His teacher Alison Burns and principal Denis Aherne were justifiably proud.

It was music to my ears to hear that so many schools are putting enormous efforts into creating an awareness of the importance of eating healthy food and having lots of fun in the process.

This week I’ve decided to include lots of fun recipes for children to cook for Christmas.

Sandy Hyland’s Slow Food Snails

Makes 24

1¾ lb (795g) unsalted butter
455g (1lb) castor sugar
1 tablesp. (15ml ) vanilla extract
5g salt (pinch)
1¾ lb (795g) plain flour
12oz (340g) walnuts, chopped

White Chocolate to decorate.

Cream butter, salt and sugar, add the flour and chopped walnuts.
Chill the mixture in the bowl.
To shape – roll the dough into a sausage shape, break off lengths and roll into snail shapes.
Chill.
Bake for 20 minutes at 180C/350F/gas 4 for 20 minutes.
Cool on the tray.
You can make cute snail faces and horns with melted white chocolate.

Teeny Weeny Sticky Toffee Puds

Makes 12 approx.

8 ozs (225g) chopped dates
½ pint (300ml) tea
4 ozs (110g) butter
6 ozs (170g) castor sugar
3 free range eggs
8 ozs (225g) self-raising flour
1 teaspoon bread soda
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant coffee, preferably Expresso

Hot Toffee Sauce
4 ozs (100g) butter
6 ozs (170g) dark soft brown, Barbados sugar
4 ozs (110g) granulated sugar
10 ozs (285g) golden syrup
8 fl ozs (225ml) cream
½ teaspoon pure Vanilla essence
12 x 3inch (7.5cm) 5 fl oz moulds or large muffin tins or 

1x 8 inch (20.5cm) spring form tin with removable base *

Set the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/regulo 4.

Soak the dates in hot tea for 15 minutes. Brush the muffin tins or cake tin with oil and place oiled greaseproof paper on the base.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then fold in the sifted flour. Add the sieved breadsoda, Vanilla essence and coffee to the date and tea and stir this into the mixture. Divide between the ramekins and cook for 30 mins approx or until a skewer comes out clean.
*(an 8 inch tin (20.5cm) will take 1-1½ hrs to cook) 

To make the sauce: 
Put the butter, sugar and golden syrup into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and melt gently on a low heat. Simmer for about 5 minutes, remove from the heat and gradually stir in the cream and the vanilla essence. Put back on the heat and stir for 2 or 3 minutes until the sauce is absolutely smooth.

To Serve
Pour some hot sauce on to a serving plate. Put a warm sticky toffee pudding on a hot plate, pour some more sauce over the top. Repeat with all the others. Put the remainder of the sauce into a bowl, serve with the pudding as well as softly whipped cream.

Chocolate Christmas Tree

We had the greatest fun testing this recipe; it was Fionnuala’s pride and joy and she was so proud of the result that she wouldn’t let us sample it for several weeks. It still tasted delicious then, so it could be make well in advance of Christmas. Children could make it with a little adult supervision.

9ozs (250g) of best quality chocolate 
4oz (110g) Rice Krispies.
3-4 ozs (85-110g) dark chocolate for assembling the tree 
3 teaspoons icing sugar

Decoration

Christmas cake decorations, e.g. 
Santa, robin, holly etc. 

Prepare the trays to make the branches of the tree. Cover 3 baking trays or large Swiss roll tins with tin foil. Draw out crosses on the foil. Leave 2 or 3 inches (5 or 7.5 cm) between each cross. The measurements of the crosses are: 2 ¾ inches (7 cm), 3½ inches (9 cm), 4 ¼ inches (11 cm), 5 ¼ inches (13 cm), 5 ¾ inches (14 cm), 6 inches (15 cm), 62 inches (16 cm), 6 ¾ inches (17 cm), 7 inches (18cm).

Prepare a serving plate for the tree: it must be rigid, absolutely flat and strong enough to support the tree. Cover with tin foil. Mark one of the 7 inches (18 cm) crosses on this base. 

When all the preparation is done, melt the chocolate very carefully in a very low oven or in a pyrex bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir in the Rice Krispies, mix well. Using a teaspoon, drop small teaspoons of the chocolate mixture along the marked crosses (do the base board first and put in the fridge to set while you do the others, in order of size from the biggest to the smallest). When all the crosses have set absolutely firmly (30 minutes approx.), melt the remaining chocolate over a low heat. Put a teaspoon of melted chocolate onto the centre of the cross on the base board, and stick the next largest cross on top so that the points are in between the points of the previous cross. 

While that is setting (supported with a matchbox if necessary), drop another teaspoon of chocolate on top of the second cross to form a basis for the next layer. Refrigerate for a few minutes. Meanwhile stick the remaining 8 crosses together in pairs in the same way and allow to set. Add another teaspoon of melted chocolate and put the next largest pair of crosses on top, angling them so the branches are arranged alternately. Continue to assemble until the tree is finished, however do it gradually: it is essential that each section is completely set before topping with another layer. 

To serve: Decorate the board with Christmas decorations and dust the tree lightly with sieved icing sugar. 

Potato Wedges with Sweet Chilli Sauce and Sour Cream

Serves 4-6

6 large 'old' potatoes eg. Golden Wonder or Kerrs Pinks
Olive oil or beef dripping (unless for Vegetarians)-duck or goose fat are also delicious
Sea salt

Preheat the oven to 230C/450F/regulo 8. Scrub the potatoes well, cut into quarters lengthways or cut into thick rounds ¾ inch (2cm) approx. Put into a roasting tin, drizzle with olive oil and toss so they are barely coated with olive oil. Roast in a preheated oven for 30-45 minutes depending on size. 

Drain on absorbent kitchen paper.
Serve immediately in a deep bowl with a little bowl of sweet chilli sauce and sour cream on each plate.
You could also use deep fried potatoes.

Home-Made Lemonades

We always keep some chilled 'stock syrup' in the fridge so its simplicity itself to make a variety of lemonades. They contain no preservatives so they should be served within a few hours of being made. Many different types of citrus fruit and flavoured syrups may be used.

Oranges and Lemons
Makes 2.7l (4 1/2 pints)

4 lemons
2 orange
500ml (16fl oz) approx. stock syrup 
1.5l (2 1/2 pint) approx. water

Garnish
Sprigs of fresh mint or lemon balm
Juice the fruit and mix with the stock syrup, add water to taste. Add ice, garnish with sprigs of fresh mint or lemon balm and serve.

Lemonade
Makes 1.2l (2 pints)

5 limes
700ml (1 1/4 pint) water
300ml (1/2 pint) stock syrup

Garnish
Sprigs of fresh mint or lemon balm
Make and serve as above. Taste and add more water if necessary.

Ruby Grapefruit Lemonade
Freshly squeezed juice of 2 lemons
Freshly squeezed juice of 4 ruby grapefruit
450ml (16floz) stock syrup
Water or sparkling water to taste
Juice the fruit, add the syrup and add water or sparkling water to taste.
Serve chilled with mint ice cubes.

Honey and Wholegrain Mustard Bangers

Makes 32

1lb (450g) good quality cocktail sausages (about 32 sausages)
4 tablesp. Irish honey
1 tablesp. English mustard
3 tablesp. Irish grainy mustard (eg. Lakeshore mustard with honey)
1-2 tablesp. Chopped rosemary

Mix the honey with the mustard and chopped rosemary. Cook the sausages in a wide frying pan over a medium heat . Toss with the honey and mustard mixture.

Provide cocktails sticks and lots of napkins.

Lisa Bowskill’s Mini Muffins

Makes 12 muffins or up to 36 mini muffins

10oz (275g) plain flour
1 level tablespoon baking powder
3oz (75g) caster sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 medium eggs
8floz (225ml) milk
4oz (110g) melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6

Place paper muffin cases in muffin tin. Hand whisk together sugar, eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla. Sieve flour, salt and baking powder. Fold into beaten mixture. It should look like lumpy batter. Add filling of your choice. 

Divide mixture between 12 cases or put just over 1 teaspoon per mini muffin case. Fill almost to the top. Bake at the top of the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.

Note: Reduce baking time to 15-20 minutes for mini muffins

Variations
Add 4 tablespoons of cocoa with 6 oz (150g) mixed chocolate chips (white, milk and plain) 
Add 4 oz (110g) fresh blueberries, roughly chopped 
Add desired amount of chocolate chips 
Add 2 cooking apples, peeled and chopped with 1 teaspoon cinnamon 
Add 2-3oz (50-75g) dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, dates) with ½ teaspoon mixed spice (optional) 

Ice-Cubes with Mint, Herbs, Lemon Verbena, Flowers and Berries

Fill ice trays with 
1. Sugared Cranberries 
2. Redcurrants and Mint leaves 
3. Lemon Segments 
4. Pomegranate Seeds 
5. Star Anise

Summer Parties 
Fill ice trays with mint, lemon balm, sweet geranium or sweet cicely leaves into each one 
Raspberries and Mint 
Fraises du Bois 
Violas or violets, rose or marigold petals 
Use in drinks or homemade lemonade.
Fool Proof Food

Puffy Toasted Cheese

When my children were small this superior toasted cheese often saved the day if they were ravenously hungry. It is made from ingredients one would nearly always have to hand.

Serves 2

2 slices of white bread
1 egg, preferably free range
4 ozs (110g) grated Irish cheddar cheese
2-1 teaspoon English mustard
salt and freshly ground pepper

Butter the bread and place the buttered side down on a baking sheet. Whisk the egg in a bowl with a fork, add the grated cheese and the mustard and season well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Spread this mixture onto the slices of bread and bake in a hot oven 230C/450F/regulo 8 for 15 minutes approx. or until puffy and golden on top.

Note: a teaspoon of chopped chives or a tiny dice of crispy bacon is also delicious added to the above.

Hot Tips

Midleton Farmers’ Market –
The Market will be open on Friday December 23rd from 9.30-1 this year instead of Saturday 24th. The Market will reopen on Saturday January 14th 2006.
Douglas Farmers’ Market – last market before Christmas also on Friday 23rd December 
9-1.30 - Chickens, Cakes, Bread, Fish, Pickles, Sauces, Cheeses………

Some Cookbooks for Christmas -

Potato by Lyndsay and Patrick Mikanowski 
The Handmade Loaf by Dan Lepard 
Wagamama Cookbook and DVD – Hugo Arnold
The Delia Collection: Baking by Delia Smith
Eggs by Michel Roux Jamie’s Italy by Jamie Oliver 
Best of Irish Festive Cooking by Biddy White Lennon 
Celebrity Chefs Dish of the Day – Petsavers
Serving a City – the story of Cork’s English Market - by Diarmuid O’Drisceoil and Donal O’Drisceoil
Second Helpings by Paul Flynn 
Kitchen Diary by Nigel Slater – A Year in the Kitchen 
Real Flavours – The Handbook of Gourmet and Deli Ingredients by Glynn Christian
Foodalicious – Second Helpings - from Marie McGuirk -can be ordered for €14 including post and packing from An Grianan, Termonfeckin, Co Louth by cheque or postal order payable to Marie McGuirk. 

Classes at An Grianán – not just cookery but a wide range of lifestyle and craft classes - www.angrianán.ie  - gift vouchers available.

Pig Out Day Courses with Frank Krawczyk – showing how to use every single part of a pig to produce a huge range of pork delicacies - enquiries to Frank at Derreenatra, Schull, Co Cork. Tel 028-28579 frankk@oceanfree.net