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Coming up to Christmas lots of newly published cookbooks arrived on my desk. There were so many that I simply couldn’t manage to mull over each one. Now that I’ve had a bit more time to digest the various tomes I’d like to pass on my thoughts. There were several treasures, including one I had been eagerly awaiting, The Irish Seaweed Kitchen by Dr. Prannie Rhatigan. Even though I was brought up in the midlands about as far away from the sea as one can be in Ireland I was always aware of the power-house of nutrition that grew around our coast. Unlike me, Prannie lived on the West Coast of Ireland where the rhythm of the tides and the love of the sea provided a back drop to every day life. As children their father took them harvesting seaweed and sea vegetables. Once the first frosts had sweetened the sleabhac (nori or sloke) which was usually after Christmas the cycle began. By St Patrick’s Day the egg wrack and black wrack had been put into large barrels to ferment with horse manure, and later on nettles and comfrey, to provide nutrient rich feeds for the organic vegetables and herb garden. The potatoes and peas had to be in by St. Patrick’s Day or were not on target in the garden. As the days lengthened, the first carragín and alaria were harvested for kitchen use and the winter supply dried and stored.

Summer days brought duileasc and the second flush of carragín came ready from harvest. Other delicacies like sea lettuce, pepper duileasc, bladderwrack and channeled wrack each came ready in their own time, sometime between spring and the end of autumn. So began a lifetime’s fascination with seaweed and their medical properties. Latterly Prannie’s medical training dictated that she work from a science base. Research originally based on anecdotal evidence is building fast; seaweed can lower blood pressure and lipids and is known to boost the immune system. Prannie’s minutely researched book will help even the novice to identify and harvest sustainability, as well as advice and recipes on how to incorporate ‘the most nutritious form of vegetable on the planet’ into your diet. The guide to the medicinal properties, culinary uses and health benefits is invaluable.

Simon Hopkinson is one of the finest and most highly respected UK food writers of our time. He has a large and loyal following. I too am a devoted fan. Known to food lovers for many years as founder chef of Bibendum’s in London, since he relinquished his post to concentrate on his writing in 1995 he has produced several gems including ‘Roast chicken and other stories’, ‘Second Helpings of Roast Chicken’ and ‘Week in, Week out’. In his latest book ‘The Vegetarian Option’- published by Quadrille – he focuses entirely on cooking mouth watering recipes without meat or fish. The net result is as inspiring as we have come to expect from Hoppy, as he is known to friends.

How many more books can possibly be written on Italian food? I’d hazard a guess that the body of work must run into several thousand by now. The fresh sunny flavours have enduring appeal whether you live in Kiltimagh or Santa Fè. Marcella Hazan and The River Café cookbooks are my most frequently thumbed volumes but a new voice emerged before Christmas with high praise on the back jacket from Georgio Locatelli, Matthew Fort and Anna Del Conte; herself a favourite of mine. The book is called ‘Easy Tasty Italian’ and is written by Laura Santtini, published by Quadrille who wants to ‘add some magic to your every day food’. It’s quite unlike other books on Italian cooking I’ve come across. It’s witty, quirky, yet earthy and practical with a scholarly undertone. Definitely worth considering adding to your cook book shelf.

Laura Santtini’s Roasted Lamb with Tomato and Pecorino

Serves 4-6

800g lean lamb shoulder on bone, cut into large 8cm pieces

3-4 large potatoes, cut into chunks for roasting

400g ripe tomatoes, deseeded and chopped

1 tbsp fennel seeds

2 red onions

1 celery stalk, sliced

3 garlic cloves

Handful of chopped fresh oregano

Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

60g pecorino cheese, finely grated

150ml olive oil

Juice and a piece of zest from 2 lemons

Handful of chopped fresh mint, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180° C/ gas mark 4. Place all ingredients, except the cheese, oil, lemons and mint, flat in a large roasting pan. Generously douse in olive oil and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and mix well together with your hands. Sprinkle with pecorino cheese and splash with oil. Bake in oven for about 1 hour 20 minutes. During cooking you can baste with a splash of wine (red or white) and or a splash of stock. If the meat looks as if it is burning at any time, cover with foil.Serve sprinkled with the mint. VARIATION 2 or 3 chopped anchovies and or a handful of black olives can be added for flavour.

Prannie Rhatigan’s Duileasc Champ

Seaweed used: Duileasc

Serves 4

675g (1 ½ lb) baby potatoes, scrubbed and lightly peeled

salt, 1 teaspoon

45ml (1 ½ fl oz) double cream

4 tablespoons white wine

juice of ¼ lemons

2 tablespoons duileasc, finely chopped

In a large saucepan, cook the potatoes in well-salted boiling water for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain well and return to pan with double cream, white wine and lemon juice. Gently crush each potato against the side of the pan with the back of a fork. Add the duileasc and season to taste. For a quick and easy seaweed mash, add 1 ½ tablespoons of crushed duileasc to regular mashed potatoes; a great combination to any fish dish.

Prannie Rhatigan’s Prawns with Land and Sea Spaghetti

Seaweed used: Sea vegetables, sea spaghetti

Serves 4

20-30g dry weight spaghetti or approximately 250g if using fresh

250g (9oz) organic spaghetti

1-2 tablespoons grape seed oil

2 shallots or 1 small onion, peeled and chopped finely

1 red chili, deseeded and chopped

500g (1 lb 2 oz) jumbo peeled cooked prawns de-shelled, fully thawed if from frozen and very well dried

1 teaspoon Thai 7 spice for stir-fry

25g (1oz) flat leaf parsley

25g (1oz) coriander, leaves and stems, chopped

A dash of oyster sauce

Sea salt

1 handful mixed sea vegetables, soaked in hot water to barely cover for 2-3 minutes

Extra coriander and parsley to garnish

Cook the sea spaghetti in a pot with plenty seasoned water for 15 minutes or until al dente. Cook the spaghetti in a separate pot of seasoned water for 10-12 minutes or until al dente. Heat the oil in frying pan over moderate heat, and sweat off onions and garlic. Add chili and cook for 1 minute. Add the prawns, seasoning, herbs, oyster sauce and salt to taste. Stir until the ingredients are heated through and well mixed, about 2-3 minutes. Drain the spaghetti and sea spaghetti and place in a warmed serving dish. Add the contents of the frying pan, spices, seasoning, mixed sea vegetables and their hot soaking water. Stir gently to mix, check seasoning and serve on warm plates sprinkled with chopped coriander and parsley.

Cooks Tip: 600g (1lb 5 ½ oz) of prawns serves 5 adults and small garden peas can be added as an extra vegetable portion. Cut down/omit chili if cooking for children.

Simon Hopkinson’s Cheese-crusted fried Parsnip Strips with Romesco Sauce

Serves 2

350g parsnips, peeled

Oil for deep-or shallow-frying (a neutral-flavoured oil, such as sunflower or groundnut)

40g white breadcrumbs made from semi-stale bread

75g parmesan, freshly grated

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Salt

1 large egg, beaten

Flour for coating

For the Romesco sauce

40 g skinned almonds

4 tbsp olive oil

1 large garlic clove, peeled and chopped

1 small dried chili

75g oven-dried tomatoes from a jar, drained

75g piquillo peppers from a jar, drained

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

1 tbsp hot water

salt

For the romesco sauce, gently fry the almonds in 1 tsp of the olive oil until golden. Allow to cool, then tip them into a food processor and add the garlic, chili, tomatoes, peppers, vinegar and hot water. Grind to a nubbly puree and then add salt to taste. Adjust the quantity of vinegar if you wish for a sharper flavour.

Cut the parsnips into finger lengths, about 6cm long, and steam until only just tender, then set aside to cool on a plate.

Mix the breadcrumbs with the cheese, cayenne and salt in a shallow dish. Have the beaten egg ready in a similar dish, and the flour in another one. To coat the parsnips, first dip the strips in flour, then in the egg and finally turn them through the breadcrumb/cheese mixture.

To fry parsnips strips, either use a deep-fat fryer or a deep frying pan containing a 2cm depth of oil. Heat the oil to 170°C in the deep-fryer or, if using the frying pan method, until a small cube of bread turns golden in a minute or so.

Fry the parsnips in the hot oil in batches until crisp and golden, then briefly drain on kitchen paper. Serve at once, with the sauce alongside.

Simon Hopkinson’s Swede and Potato Cakes With Black Pepper and Cream Sauce

Serves 4

500g swede

300g potatoes

25g butter

1tsp Maldon salt

2 tsp agar flakes

1 large egg yolk

1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan

1 tsp chopped spring onion

Flour for coating

Olive oil for frying

For the sauce

250 ml double cream

2 tsp black peppercorns, cracked or coarsely crushed

Salt, to taste

30g butter

2 tsp smooth Dijon mustard

To garnish (optional)

Watercress sprigs

Preheat oven to 160º C/ gas mark 3. Peel the swede and potatoes and cut them into chunks. Melt the butter in a lidded, roomy pot over a low heat and add the swede, potatoes and salt. Stir together and gently cook for about 5 minutes; more then anything else, this is to coat the vegetables with butter and to get the pot hot. Put on the lid, transfer to oven and cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until the vegetables are tender.

Now return the pot to a very low heat on top of the stove and stir the vegetables around to try and rid them of extra moisture; it does not matter if they colour very slightly, or if they break a little, either. Mash the vegetables coarsely (an old fashioned manual masher is best, here) and, if uncertain about wetness, now is the time to sprinkle over the agar flakes and mix them in. Tip into a bowl and allow to cool completely before mixing in the egg yolk, Parmesan and spring onion. Spread on a flat tray and put in the fridge to firm up.

Meanwhile make the simple sauce. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small pan and bring to a simmer. Cook until slightly thickened and pour into a hot jug or sauceboat.

Form the swede and potato mash into 8 small cakes and roll in flour to coat all over. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and gently fry the swede and potato cakes on both sides until golden; drain on kitchen paper.

Serve and garnish with sprightly sprigs of chilled watercress, if desired, handing the sauce around separately.

* The addition of agar flakes is an option here, to help firm up a mixture that can veer towards wetness. However, if you can achieve a thorough drying out of the cooked vegetables, agar flakes should not be necessary.

Fool Proof Food

Simon Hopkinson’s Onion and Blood Orange Salad with Olive Oil

Serves 2

4 blood oranges

1 or 2 small sweet white onions peeled

extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

Cut the tops and bottoms off the oranges ans using a small, very sharp knife, further slice off the skins of the oranges cutting close to the flesh and removing all traces of pith. Slice thinly (removing any pips) and arrange neatly, slightly overlapping on a beautiful plate.

Thinly slice the onions and lay on top of the oranges. Spoon enough olive oil onto the assembly to suit you, and then grind over some pepper. Eat it all on its own, and with someone you like very much.

^Hottips

New Seniors Lunch at O’Connells in Ballsbridge – January 18^{th to March 18th – Monday to Thursday. Sit between noon and 1.00pm and select from a multi-choice Menu of The Day. One course €7.50; Two Courses € 9.50; Three Courses €11.50. All prices include a Pot of Tea or Coffee. Tel 01 66 55 940 Email info@oconnellsballsbridge.com
Website www.oconnellsballsbridge.com}

^{The Farmers Markets are back in full swing around the country after the Christmas break. Look out for the wonderful winter vegetables like Jerusalem artichokes and kale at Midleton Farmers Market. You can also buy game in season, home cured bacon and local cheese. Join the queue for a steaming cup of freshly ground coffees or hot chocolate from O’Connaill Chocolate stall.}

^{www.midletonfarmersmarkets.com Make the most of the winter evenings by planning your vegetable and herb patch for the coming year. This is the time to order seeds and sprout a few potatoes on your windowsill to plant before St Patrick’s Day. Sounds exotic believe me its not, you’ll never taste a better spud. If you don’t know where to begin why not start a GIY (Grow it Yourself) Ireland Group in your area. This will take the ‘I’ out of Grow it Yourself when neighbours and friends help each other and share both knowledge, seedlings and produce. Check out http://www.giyireland.com/home.php where you can network with other growers. Get off to an easy start by getting Patrick Beausang to install a raised vegetable bed in your garden made from heavy larch beams – that are not chemically treated. He fills the beds with good quality top soil from Ladysbridge ready for planting. Telephone 0878372928.}

Simplicity, even in winter is everything and nothing hits the spot quite like a hearty bowl of thick, chunky vegetable soup. A well flavoured with a few fat lardons of bacon or generous cubes of chorizo to add extra oomph. How delicious does that sound?
I’ve got lots of recipes for winter bean and lentil soups. They are all easy as pie to make and full of inexpensive protein so they taste deeply satisfying. If you do decide to roll up your sleeves to make some, double or triple the recipe, it’ll take exactly the same length of time to cook but you’ll have a fine big pot of soup that will last for several days or can be frozen in batches for another time. The trick is to freeze it in small portions rather than huge icebergs which are a nightmare to defrost if you are in a hurry. I have lots of small containers that hold generous helpings for two people. This is always a good plan, it doesn’t matter what size your family or circle of friends because small containers can be defrosted quickly even in an emergency,  so you are never in a pickle when unexpected guests turn up or if you get caught up in a traffic jam on the way home.

There are also lots of inexpensive ways of making a bowl of soup into a pretty substantial meal. Buy a ham hock or a couple of lamb shanks, cook them long and slowly and when the meat is virtually falling off the bones cut it into shreds and add it to the soup. Noodles also add bulk and there are lots of bits that can be added as an edible garnish. Crunchy potato crisps or tortilla chips, grated cheese and lots of freshly chopped herbs add excitement and extra nutrients. Fish soups, although delicious are often less popular; we occasionally salt some fish, cod, haddock, hake, ling and pollock all work well.

Just scatter it lightly with high quality salt and allow it to sit for 8-12 hours then soak it overnight in cold water. Cook in fresh simmering water for just a couple of minutes until the flesh turns from translucent to opaque. Flake the flesh and add to a chunky soup─ also delicious.

Those who pop up and down to Belfast regularly will no doubt know Nick’s Warehouse on Hill Street in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter. Nick Price follows the Slow Food philosophy of sourcing terrific, often local, ingredients and cooking them simply. He’s just published his first cook book—‘The Accidental Chef’ where he shares many favourite recipes from his menu. Try his recipe for Minestrone and if possible add a little ham hock as he suggests.

Nick Price’s Minestrone

Serves 10

Oil
100g bacon chopped (if using instead of ham hock, if veggie, ignore)
2 onions sliced
3 cloves garlic crushed
2 potatoes cubed
½ cauliflower in florets
¼ drumhead or hard cabbage sliced
2 tblsp tomato purée
2 courgettes sliced into sticks
2 carrots sliced
1 tblsp chopped fresh basil
2 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
3 celery sticks peeled to remove stringy bits and cut into baton
400g tin of white beans, cannellini are good
Basil and Parmesan to garnish
2 litres chicken or veg stock depending on your preference. If you want to be a real star you have to boil a ham hock and make a stock that way, i.e using the water you have cooked the hock in.
I add some ingredients after I have made the soup as they deteriorate in colour and texture if cooked in the soup-green beans trimmed and lightly cooked peas, fresh ideally, but frozen are fine.
Cooked pasta like farfalle or some other small attractive shape.

Put the oil in a deep saucepan and warm up over a moderate heat. Cook bacon, if using, then add onions and garlic until softened.
Next add the cabbage, cauliflower, celery, carrots and potatoes. Cook for 5 mins and then add the tomato purèe. Cook 2-3 mins.
Now add the tomatoes, the beans and stock. If you have a cooked ham hock it goes in now. Simmer for about 20-25 mins or until the potatoes are cooked. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Remove the ham hock and shred the meat, put it back into the pot to serve.
Add the peas, green beans and cooked pasta. Warm them through. Put a portion into a deep bowl and sprinkle with chopped basil. Serve with a side of parmesan. Just don’t expect your guests to eat anything else.

Tojo’s Lentil Soup

Serves 6

Tojo cooked in the Garden Café one summer, and his food was memorable. Tojo says that he uses no stock for his soups since many of his guests are vegetarian or vegan.  This is the simplest soup to make – very nutritious and delicious.  One could also add crispy bacon lardoons or shredded ham hock to make the soup− more substantial for carnivores.

120ml (4fl oz) extra virgin olive oil or sunflower oil
6 large onions, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic
120ml (4fl oz) soya sauce
salt and pepper to taste
500g (18oz) Lentils du Puy
2.3L (4pints) water
Garnish
flat parsley or fresh coriander
extra virgin olive oil

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a medium size pot; add the chopped onions, garlic, soya sauce, salt and pepper.  Put on a fairly high flame for about 10 minutes, then lower the heat and let simmer until the onions are cooked and have a slightly sweet taste.  Add water and lentils and cook for 15-30 minutes. When the lentils are cooked, taste and correct the seasoning.  Be careful not to let the lentils get mushy, it’s nice if there is a slight bite to them.  Serve in wide soup bowls with some snipped flat parsley and a little extra virgin olive oil drizzled over the top.
Chunky Vegetable and Bean Soup with Spicy Sausage

We make huge pots of this in the Winter, I usually keep some in the freezer. Kabanossi is a thin sausage now widely available, it gives a gutsy slightly smoky flavour to the soup which although satisfying is by no means essential.

Serves 8-9

225g (8ozs) rindless streaky bacon, cut into ¼ inch (5mm) lardons
2 tablespoons olive oil
225g (8ozs) onions, chopped
300g (10½ozs) carrot, cut into ¼ inch (5mm) dice
215g (7½ozs) celery, chopped into ¼ inch (5mm) dice
125g (4½ozs) parsnips, chopped into ¼ inch (5mm) dice
200g (7ozs) white part of 1 leek, ¼ inch (5mm) slices thick approx.
1 Kabanossi sausage,* cut into one-eight inch (3mm) thin slices
400g (1 x 14ozs) tin of tomatoes
Salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar
1.7L (3 pints) homemade chicken stock,
225g (8ozs) haricot beans, cooked * (see recipe)

Garnish
2 tablespoons parsley, freshly chopped

Blanch the chunky bacon lardons, refresh and dry well. Prepare the vegetables. Put the olive oil in a saucepan, add bacon and sauté over a medium heat until it becomes crisp and golden, add the chopped onion, carrots and celery. Cover and sweat for five minutes next add the parsnip and finely sliced leeks. Cover and sweat for a further 5 minutes. Slice the Kabanossi sausage thinly, and add. Chop the tomatoes and add to the rest of the vegetables and the cooked beans. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar, add the chicken stock. Allow to cook until all the vegetables are tender, 20 minutes approx. Taste and correct the seasoning. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with lots of crusty brown bread.

Soak the beans overnight in plenty of cold water.  Next day, strain the beans and cover with fresh cold water, add a bouquet garni, carrot and onion, cover and simmer until the beans are soft but not mushy – anything from 30-60 minutes.  Just before the end of cooking, add salt.  Remove the bouquet garni and vegetables and discard.

Winter Root Vegetable Soup

Serves 12 approx.

125g/ 4½oz celeriac
250g/84oz parsnips
250g/84 oz Jerusalem artichokes
or whatever combination of vegetables you fancy or have to hand.

1.1kg (2 1/2lb) carrots, preferably organic, chopped
90g (3oz) butter
225g (8oz) onion, chopped
275g (10oz) potatoes, chopped
salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar
sprig of spearmint
2.4L (4 pints) homemade light chicken or vegetable stock
124ml (5 fl ozs) creamy milk, (optional)
6 teaspoons freshly chopped spearmint
1 teaspoon thyme leaves

Garnish
a little lightly whipped cream or crème frâiche
sprigs of spearmint

Melt the butter and when it foams add the peeled and chopped vegetables, season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add thyme leaves, cover with a butter paper (to retain the steam) and a place with a tight fitting lid. Leave to sweat gently on a low heat for about 10 minutes approx. Remove the lid, add the boiling stock and cook until the vegetables are soft, alternatively add 3 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add a little creamy milk if necessary.

Garnish with a swirl of lightly whipped cream or crème frâiche and some parsley sprigs.

Salt Cod, Tomato, Potato & Parsley Soup

Serves 10

30g/1oz butter
175g/6oz onion chopped
1 kg potatoes peeled and diced 1’’ cubes
1 ½ lbs sa1
pint fish stock or water
Salt cod (see recipe)
600ml/1 pint milk
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs fennel
1 bay leaf
75 ml/3 fl oz cream
Lots of dill and flat parsley springs
20 cherry tomatoes

Melt the butter in a heavy stainless steel saucepan, when foaming add the chopped onion and sweat gently until soft but not coloured, add the potatoes and toss. Cover and continue to cook for 4 or 5 minutes more. Add the fish stock. Season with freshly ground pepper, bring to the boil and continue to simmer for 10-15 mins until the potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, cut the salt cod into 2 or 3 pieces and put into a sauce pan. Cover with milk; add the thyme, fennel and bay leaf. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until the fish is opaque rather then translucent. Strain the milk into the soup, (discard the herbs). Add the cream and halved tomatoes. Bring back to the boil for 4-5 minutes, add the flaked salt cod. Taste and correct the seasoning. Ladle into hot bowls and garnish with sprigs of fennel and flat parsley.

Hottips

Cork Free Choice Consumer Group presents ‘Produce your own Fruit’. Learn how to grow all types of fruit with Con Traas from The Apple Farm in Cahir and John Howard from Sunnyside Fruit Farm. Thursday 28th January, 7:30pm. Crawford Art Gallery Café, Cork. The €6.00 entrance fee includes tea or coffee.

Salmon Watch Ireland will be holding a seminar ‘What is the Future for our Spring Salmon?’ at Limerick Strand Hotel on the Ennis Road, Limerick on Saturday 30th January at 2:30pm. If you would like to attend this important event please contact Bob Wemyss at 087 2512562 or email wemyss.bob@gmail.com.

Kinsale Health Food Store – 129 Market Street Kinsale – stocks a good range of gluten free cereals, flours, biscuits, and sauces. Boost yourself against winter colds and flu and get some West Cork Echinacea grown in West Cork by Bandon Medicinal Herbs. They also do Ecover refills and eco-nappies. Telephone 021 4773521.

Learn how to cook delicious gluten free meals for coeliacs with Rosemary Kearney. Two one day courses at Ballymaloe Cookery School -  Friday 22nd  1:00pm to 5:00pm and Saturday 23rd  at 2:00pm to 5:00pm. Telephone 021 4646 785 or email susan@cookingisfun.ie

Ardrahan Lullaby Milk – good news for the growing number of people who like to able to source non-homogenised milk. Lullaby Milk from Ardrahan in Kanturk is available in most branches of supermarkets around the country www.ardrahancheese.ie/lullaby.htm

Food fads come and go but the craving for Italian food still continues to endure; a few really simple pasta recipes are a must in everyone’s repertoire and where better to seek them out than in Giuliano Hazan’s books. Giuliano’s first book ‘The Classic Pasta Cookbook’ sold over half a million copies world wide, so it obviously hit the spot for many people. He went onto write several others including ‘Every Night Italian’ and ‘How to Cook Italian’ but I found several more new gems in his last book ‘Thirty Minute Pasta: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes’
There are many types and shapes of pasta in Italy; some pasta is made with wheat flour others with buckwheat, chickpea, chestnut flour or farro, the latter is an ancient Etruscan grain similar to spelt which is gaining in popularity.
The most common however is made from flour and eggs or flour and water, the latter tends to be made from durum wheat, a harder flour which results in a firmer sturdier pasta best suited to oil based and more robustly flavoured sauces – e.g. those with anchovies, olives, capers or fiery red chillies.
Tender homemade egg pasta is wonderful but not necessarily better than good bought pasta, it is simply different. The Italians just use them for different recipes. Its not difficult to make a simple pasta sauce yourself it can be made in a fraction of the time it would take to you to go to the shops to buy it so why not snap up a few packets of good Italian or organic pasta from Noodle House Organics and whip up a little spontaneous meal for family and friends, after all, as Giuliano says
‘Cooking for someone is one of the most loving gifts you can bestow, because you are giving a little of yourself’ enjoy!

Giuliano Hazan’s Thirty Minute Pasta: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes is published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang.

Giuliano Hazan’s Cannellini Bean and Pasta Soup
Minestra di Cannellini e Pasta

Minus the pasta, this soup spans at least three generations. My mother learned it from her father. Then it became one of my father’s favourites. He is particularly fond of beans, and this is a thick soup of all beans and very little else. The little else though, is garlic and parsley, which give cannellini beans an immensely satisfying flavor. I’ve added pasta to make the soup substantial enough for a meal.

S e r v e s 4

1 large clove garlic
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups (2 15-ounce cans) canned
Cannellini beans, drained
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3–4 springs flat-leaf Italian parsley
1 large beef bouillon cube
4 ounces dried egg noodles,
such as tagliatelle or pappardelle

Peel the garlic and finely chop it. Put it with the olive oil in a 4- to 6-
quart soup pot and place over medium-high heat. After the garlic begins to sizzle, add the cannellini beans and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. While the beans are cooking, finely chop enough parsley to measure 1 tablespoon. After the beans have cooked for 5 minutes, add 2 cups water and the
bouillon cube and cover the pot. Once the soup has come to a boil, break the egg noodles into approximately 1-inch pieces and add them to the soup. Lower the heat to medium, add the parsley, and cook, covered, until the pasta is al dente. Serve hot.
Minus the pasta, this soup spans at least three generations. My mother learned it from her father. Then it became one of my father’s favorites. He is particularly fond of beans, and this is a thick soup of all beans and very little else. The little else though, is garlic and parsley, which gives cannellini beans an immensely satisfying flavor. I’ve added pasta to make the soup substantial enough for a meal.

Giuliano Hazan’s Tagliatelle with Chickpeas
Tagliatelle coi Ceci

One of the restaurants we enjoy going to when we are in Valpolicella, the wine country outside of Verona, is Alla Rosa Alda, in the tiny hilltop town of San Giorgio. One of their specialties is a pasta dish they call “Tagliatelle Embogonè” in the local dialect. It is homemade egg noodles with a sauce of fresh cranberry beans. When I was growing up, my mother made a soup with chickpeas, tomatoes, and rosemary that I loved. I’ve adapted it here, taking inspiration from Alla Rosa Alda’s dish, into a pasta sauce that is now one of our favorites at home.

S e r v e s 4

½ medium yellow onion
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive
oil, plus a little extra for drizzling
at the end
1 medium clove garlic
1–2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 pound fresh tomatoes
Salt
1½ cups canned chickpeas,
drained
Freshly ground black pepper
10 ounces dried egg tagliatelle

Fill a pot for the pasta with about 6 quarts of water, place over high heat,
and bring to a boil. Peel the onion and finely chop it. Put it and the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet and place over medium-high heat. Sauté until the onion turns a
rich golden color, about 5 minutes. While the onion is sautéing, peel the garlic and finely chop it. Finely chop enough rosemary to measure 1 teaspoon. Peel the tomatoes and coarsely chop them. When the onion is ready, add the garlic and rosemary. Sauté for 10 to 15 seconds, then add the tomatoes. Season lightly with salt and cook until
most of the liquid the tomatoes release has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas, season with pepper and again lightly with salt, and cook for 5 more minutes. Scoop out about half the chickpeas and puree them. A food mill will produce a smoother texture, but if you don’t have one you can use a food processor. Mix the pureed chickpeas into the sauce and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Once the pureed chickpeas are back in the pan, add about 2 tablespoons salt to the boiling pasta water, add the tagliatelle, and stir until all the strands are submerged. Cook until al dente.
After the pasta has cooked about 2 minutes, mix 2 tablespoons of the pasta water into the sauce. When the pasta is done, drain well and toss with the sauce. Drizzle a little olive oil and grind some black pepper over each portion and serve at once.

Giuliano Hazan’s Penne with Radicchio
Penne al Radicchio Rosso

S e r v e s  4

½ large sweet yellow onion
3 tablespoons butter
3 ounces pancetta, sliced
1⁄8 inch thick
1 pound radicchio
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3–4 sprigs flat-leaf Italian parsley
1 pound penne (fusilli is also good)
¾ cup heavy cream
½ cup grated freshly grated
Parmigiano-Reggiano

Fill a pot for the pasta with about 6 quarts of water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Peel the onion and finely chop it. Put the butter in a 12-inch skillet, add the chopped onion, and place over medium-high heat. Sauté until the onion turns a rich golden color, about 5 minutes. While the onion is sautéing, cut the pancetta into narrow strips about 1 inch long. Remove any bruised leaves from the radicchio, cut it in half lengthwise, and cut off the bottom of the root. Finely shred the radicchio. When the onion is ready, add the pancetta and cook until it loses its raw color, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the radicchio and season with salt and pepper. Add about ½ cup water, lower the heat to medium, and cover the pan. Cook until the radicchio is very tender, about 20 minutes. Check it periodically and add more water if the liquid evaporates before the radicchio is tender. While the radicchio is cooking, finely chop enough parsley to measure about 1 tablespoon. After the radicchio has been cooking for at least 15 minutes, add about 2 tablespoons salt to the boiling pasta water, add the penne, and stir well. Cook until al dente. When the radicchio is tender, uncover the pan, raise the heat, and let any remaining moisture evaporate. Add the cream and parsley and cook until the cream has thickened and reduced by about one-third. When the pasta is done, drain well, toss with the sauce and the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and serve at once.

Radicchio adds a refreshing, slightly bitter flavor to salads. When it is cooked, it loses some of its bitterness and makes a rich, luscious sauce. The Veneto region of Italy is known for the many varieties of radicchio grown there. The one from Treviso is the radicchio most often used in cooking. It is elongated and shaped a little like Romaine lettuce. The most prized is the one available in late fall called tardivo. It is distinguished by how the tops of its leaves curl in toward the center and by its rich, deep flavor.

Giuliano Hazan’s Tagliatelle with Peas
Tagliatelle ai Piselli

One of my favorite restaurants in Verona is Il Pompiere. They make a pasta dish when peas are in season that is thoroughly infused with their sweet flavor. Marco, the chef/owner, was kind enough to share his secret with me. It’s actually very simple. Once the peas are tender, half are pureed until creamy and mixed back into the sauce.
When the pasta is tossed with the sauce, it absorbs all that delicious pea flavor, which is why I like using the wider tagliatelle noodles. Although you could make this with premium frozen peas, the sweet flavor of fresh peas is worth the extra time it takes to shell them.

S e r v e s 4

½ medium yellow onion
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1¾ pounds fresh peas
(or 12 ounces frozen peas)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
10 ounces dried egg tagliatelle or pappardelle

Fill a pot for the pasta with about 6 quarts of water, place over high heat,
and bring to a boil. Peel and finely chop the onion. Put the olive oil in a saucepan or deep 8-inch skillet, add the chopped onion, and place over medium heat. Sauté
until the onion turns a rich golden color, about 5 minutes. While the onion is sautéing, shell the fresh peas, if using. When the onion is ready, add the peas and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir the peas well, then add about ½ cup water. Cook over medium heat until the peas are tender, adding water if it evaporates completely before they are done. It should take 15 to 20 minutes for the peas to become tender. (If using frozen peas, add water only once and cook for 6 to 8 minutes). When the peas are tender, remove from the heat, take out about half the peas, and puree them. A food mill will make the smoothest puree, but
if you don’t have one you can use a food processor. Put the pureed peas back in the pan with the whole peas. Add about 2 tablespoons salt to the boiling pasta water, add the tagliatelle, and stir until all the strands are submerged. Cook until al dente. After the pasta has cooked for about 2 minutes, add ¾ cup of the pasta water to the pan with the peas and stir well. When the pasta is done, drain well, toss with the sauce, and serve at once.

Giuliano Hazan’s Tagliatelle with a Quick and Simple Meat Sauce
Tagliatelle al Ragù Veloce

I recommend using beef chuck, which is about 20 percent fat, to keep the sauce moist. If you will be using a leaner cut, add a tablespoon of butter.

S e r v e s 4

½ medium yellow onion
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound fresh tomatoes
¾ pound ground beef chuck
Salt
10 ounces dried egg tagliatelle
or pappardelle (or 1 pound rigatoni or shells)
1⁄3 cup freshly grated
Parmigiano-Reggiano

Fill a pot for the pasta with about 6 quarts of water, place over high heat,
and bring to a boil. Peel the onion and finely chop it. Put the olive oil and butter in a 12-inch skillet, add the chopped onion, and place over medium-high heat. Sauté until the onion turns a rich golden color, about 5 minutes. While the onion is sautéing, peel the tomatoes and coarsely chop them. When the onion is ready, add the ground beef, season with salt, and cook, stirring, until it has lost its raw color and just begins to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, season them with salt, and cook over medium heat until the liquid the tomatoes release has almost completely evaporated,
10 to 12 minutes. Add about 2 tablespoons salt to the boiling pasta water, add the tagliatelle, and stir until all the strands are submerged. Cook until al dente. When the pasta is done, drain well, toss with the sauce and the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and serve at once.

Text copyright © 2009 Giuliano Hazan. Photographs copyright © 2009 by Joseph De Leo

Fool Proof Food

Pesto

Homemade Pesto takes minutes to make and tastes a million times better than most of what you buy.  The problem is getting enough basil.  If you have difficulty, use parsley, a mixture of parsley and mint or parsley and coriander – different but still delicious.

Serve with pasta, goat cheese, tomato and mozzarella.

4ozs (115g) fresh basil leaves
6 – 8 fl ozs (175 – 250ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 oz (25g) fresh pine kernels (taste when you buy to make sure they are not rancid)
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 ozs (50g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Parmigiana Reggiano is best) salt to taste

Whizz the basil with the olive oil, pine kernels and garlic in a food processor or pound in a pestle and mortar.  Remove to a bowl and fold in the finely grated Parmesan cheese. Taste and season.

Pesto keeps for weeks, covered with a layer of olive oil in a jar in the fridge. It also freezes well but for best results don’t add the grated Parmesan until it has defrosted. Freeze in small jars for convenience.

Thrifty Tip

Pick up a couple of those growing pots of basil in the supermarket, pick off the leaves and whisk up a little pesto – add to a bowl of pasta and maybe some chopped crispy bacon or ham for a taste of summer in dreary January!

Hot Tips

Great Italian Food at Dunne & Crescenzi at the Arnotts Project in Dublin’s Jervis Centre  Stroll down Henry Street for a bit of sales shopping, delicious pit stop at Dunne & Crescenzi – brunch, lunch, coffee or a Prosecco with the girls while browsing for the bargains!    Take home some pasta, olive oil, coffee, chocolate …….and other goodies.

The Noodle House Organic Pasta was established by Ingrid and Alois Basler in 1998 in Curry, Co. Sligo. To find out where you can purchase their organic pasta, sauces and jams Tel: 071 91 85589, email: nhorganicpasta@eircom.net or visit www.noodlehouseorganics.ie

Darina Allen’s new book ‘Forgotten Skills of Cooking’ has been shortlisted for the André Simon Food and Drink book awards. The winners will be announced in the spring.

Learn how to cook the perfect romantic meal for Valentine’s Day on the one day Culinary Cupid Course on Saturday 6th February 2010 at Ballymaloe Cookery School. Phone 021 4646785 to book.

On the sixth of January, the feast of the Epiphany, the French enjoy 50 million Galette des Rois to celebrate the Festival of Kings. The flaky pastry cake has a soft filling of delicious frangipane – inside is hidden a Feve, originally it was a broad bean but nowadays it is more likely to be a tiny porcelain or hard plastic figure.
The ‘Kings’ being celebrated to are Balthazar, Gaspar and Melchior who came on the Epiphany- to the manger to shower baby Jesus with gifts. But what is the significance of the broad bean – well apparently this legume is similar in shape to the human embryo and is the first to emerge from the ground after winter. It represents the gift of the earth, fertility and new life.
The ceremony of the Galette des Rois dates back to the middle ages but I first came across the tradition when I au-paired in France in the 1960s. Madame asked me to pop around to the local Boulangerie to collect a special galette. It resembled a gateau pithivier but was accompanied by a gold paper crown.
The children couldn’t wait for dinner to be over that evening. The flaky pastry cake was cut into neat slices. Then right on cue the youngest child climbed under the table and hid beneath the tablecloth. Madame then pointed at a portion and asked ‘Who is this piece for?’ The child called out the name of each in turn. The lucky person who finds the Feve in his or her slice is the king and has the crown ceremoniously placed on his or her head. Then a consort is chosen and as the king puts the glass to ‘his’ lips, everyone choruses ‘the king drinks, the king drinks’
Galette des Rois is one of my favourite cakes of the year, it’s easy to make at home and I’m sure some of the children can produce a golden crown.
In Ireland On 6th January – the 12th day of Christmas – we celebrate Women’s Christmas or Nollaig na Mban. This was the day when women made ‘little dainties’ and enjoyed some time off after pampering the men during the busy festive season. The tradition still lives on but nowadays many get together with friends to go out for dinner or kick up their heels in a club. If that’s not an option how about a gorgeous afternoon tea? Here are a few of my favourites.

Galette des Rois

Serves 8

1 lb Puff Pastry

Filling

3ozs (75g) ground hazelnuts toasted, freshly ground
1oz (25g) ground almonds
4 ozs (110g) castor sugar
1½ ozs (45g) melted butter
2 egg yolks, preferably free range
2 tablesp.  double cream
1 dessertsp. rum (optional)
egg wash made with 1 beaten egg and a tiny pinch of salt
glaze
icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/regulo 6.
Put the hazelnuts onto a baking tray.  Bake until the skins loosen.
Remove nuts from oven and place in a tea towel.  Rub off the loose papery skins.  Let cool.  Grind the nuts in a nut grinder or chop in a food processor.

Increase oven temperature to 230°C/450°F/regulo 8.

Divide the pastry in half, roll out just less than ¼ inch thick, and cut into 2 circles approx. 10 inch (25.5cm) in diameter.  Put one onto a damp baking sheet, chill and chill the other piece also.
Mix all the ingredients for the filling together in a bowl until smooth. Put the filling onto the pastry base, leaving a rim of about 1 inch (2.5mm) free around the edge. Wrap a broad bean in a piece of silicone paper and tuck into the filling. Brush the rim with beaten egg or water and put on the lid of puff pastry, press it down well around the edges.
Make a small hole in the centre brush with egg wash and leave for 5 minutes in the refrigerator. With the back of a knife, nick the edge of the pastry 12 times at regular intervals to form a scalloped edge with a rose petal effect. Mark long curving lines from the central hole outwards to designate formal petals. Be careful not to cut through the pastry just score it.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then lower the heat to 200C/400F/regulo 6 and bake for 30 minutes approx. While still hot dredge heavily with icing sugar and return to a very hot oven or pop under a grill (Do Not Leave the Grill) – the sugar will melt and caramelize to a dark brown glaze. Serve warm or cold with a bowl of softly whipped cream.
Note: Galette des Rois is best eaten warm, but it also keeps well and may be reheated

Little Pecan Puffs

Makes 48

110g (4oz) pecan nuts
110g (4oz) butter, softened
50g (2oz) castor sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
110g (4oz) plain flour
25g (1oz) icing sugar sifted onto shallow bowl or plate

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF/gas mark 2.

Place the pecan nuts in a food processor and grind until quite fine.

In a bowl cream the butter, then add the sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.  Add the ground pecan nuts and flour and bring together to form a dough.  Roll into small marble size balls of dough between the palms of your hands, then flatten slightly using the palm of your hand and place on a baking tray.  Bake for 40 minutes.
Allow to cool for 2 minutes, then carefully remove from the tray and while they are still hot roll them in the sifted icing sugar.  Cool on a wire rack, and when cooled sift with icing sugar again.

Coconut Macaroons

Makes 30 approx

2 egg whites
4 1/2ozs (125g) vanilla castor sugar
3ozs (75g) desiccated coconut

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/regulo 2.

Cover 2 or 3 baking sheets with silicone paper.  Whisk the egg whites with the vanilla sugar until very stiff and fold in the desiccated coconut gently.  Drop teaspoons of the mixture onto the baking sheets and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes approx.

Cool on a wire rack.

These biscuits may be stored in an airtight tin for 3-4 weeks.

This mixture also makes two 7inches (18cm) meringue discs which can be sandwiched together with chunks of fresh pineapple and cream.

Moroccan Orange and Almond Cake

Serves 8

Claudia Roden gave us this recipe when she taught at the school in October 1985.

2 large organic oranges
6 free range eggs
250g (8oz) ground almonds
250g (8oz) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder

9 ” springform tin round tin, buttered and floured

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F /Gas Mark 5.

Wash and boil the oranges (unpeeled) in a little water for nearly 2 hours (or 1/2 hour in a pressure cooker).  Let them cool, then cut them open and remove the pips.  Turn the oranges into a pulp by putting them in a food processor or an electric blender.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl.  Add all the other ingredients, mix thoroughly and pour into a buttered and floured cake tin with a removable base if possible.  Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5 for about 1 hour.  If it is still very wet, leave it in the oven for a little longer.  Cool in the tin before turning out. Dredge with icing sugar.

This is a very moist cake that may be served as a dessert.

Almond, Hazelnut or Praline Cake

Serves 10 approx.

6 ozs (175g) flour
6 ozs (175g) sugar
3 eggs
5 ozs (150g) butter
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons praline powder (see below)

Praline
6 ozs (175g) sugar
6 ozs (175g) skinned hazelnuts or unskinned almonds

Praline Butter Icing
7 tablespoons water
9 tablespoons sugar
5 egg yolks
1/2 lb (225g) unsalted butter (softened and creamed)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 tablespoons praline powder (sieved praline)

2 x 7 (18cm) inch cake tins

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

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

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

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

Meanwhile make the butter cream.
Bring the water and sugar to the boil stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Let the syrup boil to the thread stage (115°C/238°F). Beat the yolks for one minute with an electric beater, add hot syrup very gradually. Continue beating until the syrup has all been added and the mixture is cool.  The mousse should be stiff and hold a “figure of 8”.  Still whisking, add butter in small batches. Add pure vanilla extract. Stir in 4 tablespoons (4 American tablespoons + 4 teaspoons) powdered praline.

To Assemble
Split each cake in half. Spread with praline butter icing. Sandwich together.
Ice the top and sides with the remaining icing. Sprinkle crushed praline all over the top surface of the cake.

Coffee Cake
This is a splendid recipe for an old-fashioned coffee cake – the sort Mummy made – and we still make it regularly. Everyone loves it. I’m a real purist about using extract rather than essence in the case of vanilla, but in this cake, I prefer coffee essence (which is actually mostly chicory) to real coffee.

Serves 10–12

225g (8oz) soft butter
225g (8oz) caster sugar
4 organic eggs
225g (8oz) plain white flour, preferably unbleached
1 teaspoon baking powder
scant 2 tablespoons Irel or Camp coffee essence

Coffee Butter Cream
50g (2oz) butter
110g (4oz) icing sugar, sieved
1–2 teaspoons Irel or Camp coffee essence

Coffee Icing
450g (1lb) icing sugar
scant 2 tablespoons Irel or Camp coffee essence
about 4 tablespoons boiling water

To Decorate
toasted hazelnuts or chocolate-covered coffee beans

2 x 20cm (8in) round sandwich tins

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/ gas mark 4.

Line the base of the tins with circles of greaseproof or silicone paper. Brush the bottom and sides with melted butter and dust lightly with flour.

Beat the soft butter with a wooden spoon, add the caster sugar and whisk until pale in colour and light in texture. Whisk the eggs. Add to the mixture, bit by bit, whisking well between each addition.

Sieve the flour with the baking powder and stir gently into the cake mixture. Finally, add in the coffee essence and mix thoroughly.

Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared sandwich tins and bake for 30 minutes. When the cakes are cooked, the centre will be firm and springy and the edges will have shrunk from the sides of the tins. Leave to rest in the tins for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Remove the greaseproof paper from the base, then flip over so the top of the cakes don’t get marked by the wire rack. Leave the cakes to cool on the wire rack.

To make the coffee butter cream, whisk the butter with the sieved icing sugar and add the coffee essence. Continue to whisk until light and fluffy.

To make the coffee icing, sieve the icing sugar and put into a bowl. Add coffee essence and enough boiling water to make it the consistency of a thick cream.

When cold, sandwich together the bases of the cakes with the coffee butter cream and ice the top with the coffee icing. Decorate with the toasted hazelnuts or chocolate-covered coffee beans.

Thrifty Tip
Make lots of comforting soups which are economical and filling for this time of year with store cupboard ingredients, potatoes, leeks, carrots, onions…

Hot Tips

Resolve to start growing your own by subscribing to Irish Seed Savers. When you pay for a year’s subscription you get five free packets of organic heritage vegetable seeds, including three varieties of heritage potatoes (when available) and a 10% discount on organic heritage apple trees and workshops that run almost every weekend. Creating a Native Fruiting Hedge is on Saturday 6th February. Contact Irish Seed Savers on 061 921866 or email info@irishseedsavers.ie or www.irishseedsavers.ie

Allclad and Demeyere stainless steel saucepans last a life time and are on sale at the Ballymaloe Cookery School Farm Shop with a 20% reduction on the price. 021 4646785.

Sassy’s on Northmain Street in Youghal East Cork, sell old fashioned boiled sweets displayed in big glass jars, weighed out into stripy paper bags for a taste of the past. Telephone 024 91643.

It’s a very busy time in the kitchen now so don’t forget a big hug for the cook! By now most people will have planned their menu for the festive season. Let’s hope the lesson learned from the excesses of Celtic Tiger era will mean that fewer people will totter out of the supermarket with trolleys piled high as though the shops were never ever to open again. Despite all my good intentions I’m just as guilty as anyone else, I always seem to over estimate what I’ll need and despite the best laid plans, I succumb to spontaneous invitations which are too tempting to resist. The result of changing plans is that my fridge and pantry overflow with the ingredients from cancelled meals. Lots of friends seem to be in a similar situation and there are regular conversations and even outright arguments on the lines of “You are so kind but please please can you come over to our place instead and eat up the remains of the ….” There are unquestionably people in dire straits and actually hungry this Christmas so one can’t help feeling guilty if even a scrap of food is wasted. St Vincent de Paul, Simon, Quaker Penny Dinners…are all delighted to hear from anyone who has food, or clothes or a myriad of other essentials to share.

This Christmas instead of a ham I’ve decided to serve a piece of streaky bacon deliciously glazed with pineapple juice, brown sugar and cloves. I’m also going to make a piece of spiced beef using an inexpensive bit of flank – even more delicious than silverside. A piece of spiced beef keeps for several weeks and its totally delicious cut in thin slivers. Serve it with slices of avocado, Ballymaloe relish and a potato and scallion salad. This recipe has been handed down in Myrtle Allen’s family for generations and is the most delicious I know. The meat is not corned first as in some other recipes just rub the spice into the meat and leave for a couple of days before cooking.

Left over streaky bacon also keeps well but can of course be cut into cubes and added to a delicious Turkey and Ham pie or into a frittata or pasta sauce.

Mincemeat made with suet keeps for months so you needn’t be in too much of a hurry to use it up. It is delicious in bread and butter pudding (uses up stale bread also) or in the base of an open tart with a topping of apple of frangipane, I’ve also added it to muffins and used it to stuff Bramley apples with delicious results.

Left over Brussels sprouts make a delicious fresh tasting soup and even cooked ones provided they weren’t overcooked at the initial stage, make a bubbly gratin when covered with parsley sauce and some freshly grated cheese – a fine accompaniment to liven up some cold turkey or ham.

I love cold duck and goose just in a sandwich but if you have enough make a Red Cabbage with Dried Cranberries, Walnuts and Apple Salad cut the duck or goose into thin slivers, don’t forget to include some of the crispy skin; it’s packed with flavour and a little won’t do you a bit of harm.

The turkey carcase makes the best stock of all so make sure to chop it up and let it bubble away in a pot for a few hours with a few carrots an onion and a stalk or two of celery, the resulting broth is good enough to eat on it’s own, so light and soothing after a series of rich meals. Alternatively use it for soups or stews and of course it freezes perfectly – here I suggest using it in the celery soup if you have a head or two left over after Christmas.

Left over plum pudding, cut into thick slices and cooked gently in a little sizzling butter on a heavy pan is irresistible. Mrs Hanrahan’s sauce keeps for months but you have already mixed it with whipped cream and aren’t planning to eat it minced pies or apple tart, simply freeze it – the result is an irresistible boozy ice cream.

Cranberry sauce will keep but is surprisingly good with chocolate mousse or in a meringue roulade. Finally left over roast potatoes make a tasty roast potato salad tossed with lots of spring onions, parsley and a few dollops of mayonnaise. Every morsel can be used up in a delicious way so enjoy. A very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year to all our readers.

 

Winter Celery Soup with Cashel Blue and Toasted Hazelnuts

 

This soup is delicious served on its own but a little crumbled blue cheese make a delicious addition if you have some to spare.

Serves 8-10

13 lbs (560g) celery, finely chopped

12 ozs (45g) butter

5 ozs (140g) onion, chopped

5 ozs (140g) potatoes, cut into 3 inch (5mm) dice

salt and freshly ground pepper

12 pints (900ml) homemade chicken stock

3

 

–2 pint (150-300ml) creamy milk

Garnish

2 tablesp. hazelnuts, skinned, toasted and chopped

2 tablesp. Cashel Blue or Crozier Cheese, crumbled

a few tablesp. whipped cream

sprigs of chervil or flat parsley

Use a potato peeler to remove the strings from the outside stalks of celery.

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan. When it foams, add the potatoes, onion and celery; toss 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 gently heat for 10 minutes approx., until the vegetables are soft but not coloured. Add the chicken stock and simmer until the celery is fully cooked, 10-12 minutes approx. Liquidise the soup, add a little more stock or creamy milk to thin to the required consistency. Taste and correct the seasoning.

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

Red Cabbage with Dried Cranberries, Walnuts and Apple

 

Serves 6

A simple winter salad – so good with cold duck, goose, pork or ham.

450g (1lb) red cabbage

3 Cox’s Orange pippin apples

75g (3oz) dried cranberries

50g (2oz) fresh walnut halves

Small handful of flat parsley leaves

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar e.g. Forum

6 tablespoons walnut oil

1 small teaspoon honey

Salt and freshly ground pepper

First make the dressing. Whisk the vinegar, oil and honey together and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dice the apple (unpeeled) and toss in a little of the dressing, add the dried cranberries. Quarter the red cabbage and slice across the grain. Put into a large serving bowl, add the diced apple, dried cranberries, flat parsley and some more dressing. Toss gently to coat evenly, add the walnut halves, taste and correct the seasoning. Serve on its own or as an accompaniment to cold duck, goose, pork or ham.

 

Ballymaloe Spiced Beef

 

There are lots of recipes for spiced beef, traditionally eaten at Christmas, and many of them corn or brine the beef first. This recipe, which has been handed down in Myrtle Allen’s family, is for dry-spiced beef. Initially, the recipe called for silverside, but I prefer to use flap (also known as flank) a less expensive cut. The recipe also includes saltpetre, which should only be used in moderation. If you can’t find it, just leave it out. The meat will be slightly greyer in colour rather than the rosy pink that comes from the saltpetre cure. The recipe below makes enough spice to cure five flanks of beef, about 1.8kg (4lb) each in size. Spiced beef keeps for immeasurably longer than ordinary cooked or roast beef. Store the spice mix in a screw-top jar. It will keep for months, so make the full quantity even if it is more than you need at a particular time. To serve, cut it into thin slices and serve in sandwiches or with freshly made salads and homemade chutneys.

Serves 12–16

1.8kg (4lb) lean flank of beef

Ballymaloe Spice for Beef

225g (8oz) Demerara sugar

350g (12oz) salt

10g (1⁄2 oz) saltpetre (potassium nitrate) optional

75g (3oz) whole black pepper

75g (3oz) whole allspice (pimento, Jamaica pepper)

75g (3oz) whole juniper berries

Grind all the spice ingredients (preferably in a food-processor) until fairly fine.

Remove the bones from the flank and trim away any unnecessary fat. Rub a little spice well over the surface of the beef and into every crevice. Put into an earthenware dish and leave in a fridge or cold larder for 3–7 days, turning occasionally. (This is a dry spice, but after a day or two some liquid will come out of the meat.) The longer the meat is left in the spice, the more spicy the flavour and the longer it will last.

Just before cooking, remove the spiced beef from the earthenware dish. The salt and sugar will have extracted some liquid. Discard this spice mixture. Roll and tie the joint neatly with cotton string into a compact shape. Put it into a deep saucepan, cover generously with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 3–4 hours or until soft and fully cooked. If it is not to be eaten hot, then press the meat by putting it on a flat tin or into an appropriate sized bread tin and covering with a board and weight. Leave it for 12 hours in a fridge or cold larder. Spiced beef will keep for 3–4 weeks in a fridge.

 

Glazed Streaky Bacon with Cloves and Pineapple

 

Serves 12-15

4-5 lbs (1.8-2.25 kg) streaky bacon, either smoked or unsmoked

14 ozs (400g) 1 small tin of pineapple -use 3-4 tablespoons approx. of the juice

3/4 lb (340g) brown demerara sugar

whole cloves 20-30 approx.

Cover the bacon in cold water and bring slowly to the boil, if the bacon is very salty there will be a white froth on top of the water, in this case it is preferable to discard this water. It may be necessary to change the water several times depending on how salty the bacon is, finally cover with hot water and simmer until almost cooked, allow 15 minutes approx. to the lb. Remove the rind, cut the fat into a diamond pattern, and stud with cloves. Blend brown sugar to a thick paste with a little pineapple juice, 3-4 tablespoons approx., be careful not to make it too liquid. Spread this over the bacon. Bake in a fully preheated hot oven 250°C/475°F/regulo 9 for 20-30 minutes approx. or until the top has caramelized.

Turkey and Ham Pie

 

Try to keep some left-over turkey and ham for this delicious pie – it’s the most scrumptious way to use up left-overs and can be topped with fluffy mashed potatoes or a puff pastry lid.

Serves 12

2 lbs (900 g) cold turkey meat

1 lb (450 g) cold ham or bacon

1 oz (30 g) butter

1-2 teasp. grated fresh ginger (optional)

12 ozs (340 g) chopped onion

8 ozs (225 g) flat mushrooms or button if flats are not available

1 clove of garlic

30 fl oz (900 ml) well flavoured turkey stock or 20 fl oz (568 ml) stock and 10 fl oz (300 ml) turkey gravy

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped chives

2 teaspoons fresh marjoram or tarragon if available

¼ pint (150 ml) cream

1 lb (450 g) puff or flaky pastry or 2 lbs (900 g) Duchesse Potato

2 x 2 pints (1.1 L) capacity pie dishes

Cut the turkey and ham into 1 inch (2.5 cm) approx. pieces. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, add the chopped onions and ginger if using, cover and sweat for about 10 minutes until they are soft but not coloured. Meanwhile wash and slice the mushrooms. When the onions are soft, stir in the garlic and remove to a plate. Increase the heat and cook the sliced mushrooms, a few at a time. Season with salt and freshly-ground pepper and add to the onions and garlic. Toss the cold turkey and ham in the hot saucepan, using a little extra butter if necessary; add to the mushrooms and onion. De-glaze the saucepan with the turkey stock. Add the cream and chopped herbs. Bring it to the boil, thicken with roux, add the meat, mushrooms and onions and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and correct the seasoning.

Fill into the pie dishes, and pipe rosettes of potato all over the top. Bake in a moderate oven, 190C/375F/regulo 5, for 15-20 minutes or until the potato is golden and the pie is bubbling.

Alternatively, if you would like to have a pastry crust, allow the filling to get quite cold. Roll out the pastry to about 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness, then cut a strip from around the edge the same width as the lip of the pie dish. Brush the edge of the dish with water and press the strip of pastry firmly down onto it; wet the top of the strip again. Cut the pastry into an oval just slightly larger than the pie dish. Press this down onto the wet border, flute the edges of the pastry with a knife and then scallop them at 1 inch (2.5 cm) approx. intervals. Roll out the trimmings and cut into leaves to decorate the top. Make a hole in the centre to allow the steam to escape while cooking.

Brush with egg wash and bake in a preheated oven, 250C/475F/regulo 9, for 10 minutes; then turn the heat down to moderate, 180C/350F/regulo 4, for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through and the pie is bubbling.

Serve with a good green salad.

Mincemeat Muffins

 

Makes 8

 

225g (8oz) white flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 level tablespoon) baking powder

140g (5oz) caster sugar or caster sugar and soft dark brown sugar mixed

75g (3oz) butter

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

170ml (6floz) milk

110g (4oz) mincemeat

1 muffin tray lined with muffin papers

Preheat the oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas mark 4-5. Sieve the flour, salt, baking powder in a bowl. Stir in the sugar. Rub in the butter until it looks like breadcrumbs. Combine the beaten egg, vanilla extract and milk and add to the dry mixture. Combine with a fork to give a wet consistency. Fold in the mincemeat gently. Spoon into the muffin cases. Bake for 20-25 minutes until well-risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack and dust with icing sugar.

Countdown to Christmas

Cranberry Sauce

 

Cranberry Sauce is delicious served with roast turkey, game and some rough pâtés and terrines. We enjoy this simple Cranberry Sauce best. It will keep in your fridge for several weeks. It is also great with white chocolate mousse, as a filling for a meringue roulade.

Serves 6 approx.

170 g (6ozs) fresh or frozen cranberries

4 tablespoons (60 ml) water

85 g (3ozs) granulated sugar

Put the fresh cranberries in a heavy-based stainless steel or cast-iron saucepan with the water – don’t add the sugar yet as it tends to toughen the skins. Bring them to the boil, cover and simmer until the cranberries pop and soften, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar until dissolved.

Serve warm or cold.

Brandy Butter

 

3ozs (75g) butter

3ozs (75g) icing sugar

2-6 tablespoons brandy

Cream the butter until very light, add the icing sugar and beat again. Then beat in the brandy, drop by drop. If you have a food processor, use it: you will get a wonderfully light and fluffy Brandy Butter.

 

Hot tips.

A gift token for a cookery class

make a great pressie, there are so many to choose from. Paul Flynn at the Tannery in Dungarvan, Co Waterford 353 (0)58 45420 info@tannery.ie . Carmel Somers of Good Things Café in Durrus Tel: 00 353 27 61426 info@thegoodthingscafe.com, as well as Catherine Fulvio of Ballyknocken House in Co Wicklow www.thecookeryschool.com or Linda Booth of Dublin Cookery School Tel: (01) 2100 555, info@dublincookeryschool.ie (the latter are both past 12 Week Certificate Students) Ballymaloe Cookery School new seasons brochure is now available also with lots of temptations. The afternoon cookery demonstrations are open to the public. 021 4646785 www.cookingisfun.ie

Fans of Café Paradiso will be thrilled to know that the restaurant will be in full swing again from Sunday 20^{th December after extensive repairs following flood damage. Telephone 021 4277939 or info@cafeparadiso.ie}

^{Urru in Bandon has also bounced back. Ruth Healy has many temptations for foodie friends 023 8854731 ruthhealy@urru.ie as has Claire Nash, the dynamo behind Nash 19, I particularly love their Confit of Fig 021 4270880.}

 

Carmel Somers, owner of the iconic Good Things café in Durrus developed her love and appreciation of good food in her childhood ‘while surrounded by lavish roast dinners, meticulous baking and too much butter’ In her late teens she was tossing around trying to decide which direction to follow so on a friend’s suggestion, she decided to flex her wings and head to Paris, the source of so many gastronomique delights. There she met and trained with John Desmond who now owns the Island Cottage Restaurant on Heir Island off Baltimore in West Cork. She soaked up all that Paris had to offer; bistros, brasseries, food markets, and worked her socks off at Lous Landes.

Stints in several of UK’s top kitchens followed; Whites, Markwich’s, Bibendum and Sally Clarke’s lovely restaurant in Kensington Street in London. In 2001Carmel decided it was time for a change so she packed up her possessions and moved to Ireland with her young daughters. Soon the Good Things Café whose name is taken from Jane Grigson’s beautifully written classic cook book ‘Good Things, published by Penguin.

Carmel originally envisioned a small café cum deli but the business quickly developed into a much loved summer restaurant and cookery school. Carmel’s food is stylish and simple based on the beautiful fresh ingredients produced all around her in West Cork. The organic salad leaves come from Clovisse & Ferguson who has created a Garden of Eden at Gubeen near Schull. The fish comes from local fishermen, the meat from traditional butchers McCarthy’s in Bantry and O’Flynn’s in Cork. Butter is from Glenilen in Drimoleague and fresh berries from Shirley Hosford,

(last year she supplied 82 kilograms of gooseberries in just two of the summer months) West Cork has a myriad of wonderful farmhouse cheeses, the most local being Jaffa Gill’s washed rind Durrus. The latter is the star ingredient in one of Good Things most frequently ordered dishes Durrus Cheese, Spinach and Nutmeg pizza.

Well after eight hectic years Carmel has written her first book aptly named Eat Good Things Every Day. Fans will be thrilled to find that all 90 recipes are typical of the type of food served at the Good Things café and the food that Carmel has been feeding her own children over the years. Carmel is quite rightly passionate about the importance of feeding our children well for optimum health and energy. She invited one of her great heroes, Myrtle Allen to launch her cookbook—Myrtle 85, going on 18, recalled in her childhood (pre penicillin) all parents’ priority was to feed the children, like ‘fighting cocks’ so they would have a healthy immune system to resist disease, no bottles of vitamins or minerals in those days—your food had to be your medicine—a valuable lesson to absorb and still as vital and relevant today. Some of the recipes can be cooked in advance to have as a standby in your freezer.

To make it easier to cook food from readily available seasonal produce, there are four weeks of summer recipes and four weeks of winter recipes. All recipes are designed for the busy person who wants to eat well; week-day recipes are short and easy to prepare with lots of helpful tips and ideas to vary the dishes for another time. Each menu is balanced between meat, fish and vegetarian recipes and are also suitable for when you have friends around without spending too much time in the kitchen. Each week has a simple soup and a dessert, if you feel like a treat. This food which is fresh and light, using no flour and just a little dairy, with a hint of spice here and there to brighten up our good basic ingredients. Some of the dishes use those forgotten cuts of meat that are easier on the pocket but no less flavoursome.

Eat Good Things Everyday is published by Atrium – Cork University Press.

Here are some delicious recipes for you to try from the book…

Red Lentil Stew (Dhal)

I do find lentil stews heavy going and boring, but a Dhal I can eat every day, even cold from the fridge.

250g red lentils

Olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1tbsp coriander seeds, ground

1tsp cumin seeds, ground

1⁄2tsp fennel seeds, ground

1⁄2tsp chilli powder, or to your taste

1tsp turmeric

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

A strip of cinnamon

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1⁄2 bunch coriander leaves, if you can find some

Salt and pepper

2tbsp vinegar

Put the lentils in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook until soft, about 15–20 minutes. Drain. They will now look like thick porridge. While the lentils are cooking, warm a saucepan, add some olive oil and cook the onions first on a medium heat for a couple of minutes, then lower the heat for a further five minutes. Add the spices, mix well and cook for another minute. Add the garlic, vinegar and the cooked lentils. Add the strip of cinnamon. Next add the tomatoes, bring to the boil, turn down to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if necessary and scatter coriander leaves on top.

Braised Green Peas

50ml (3tbsp) olive oil

750g frozen peas

Salt

Warm a heavy-based casserole (with a lid). Add the olive oil and tip in the peas. Toss well in the oil and season with salt. Turn the heat to low, place the lid on top and leave the peas to braise for about 15 minutes.

Durrus Cheese, Spinach and Nutmeg Pizza

This is our most popular lunch dish at Good Things and the idea came about when all I had was a bag of spinach and an old Durrus cheese. Makes two large pizzas, enough for four people.

1 recipe of pizza dough (if you manage to roll the dough very thin, you will have extra for another day)

4–5 large handfuls of roughly chopped spinach, stalks removed

salt, pepper and lots of freshly grated nutmeg

12 thin slices Durrus cheese (about 200g) with rind removed

Olive oil

Handful of fine brown flour for rolling

Heat the oven to its hottest temperature and heat two flat baking trays with no sides. This is essential for a crispy base. Divide the pizza dough in half and roll each piece very thinly, using the fine flour to dust the worktop. Place on the hot baking tray and top with the spinach. Season with salt, pepper and grated nutmeg. Arrange the slices of cheese on top. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the hot oven for 8 to 10 minutes until the base is golden and crispy and the cheese has melted.

Notes

Instead of spinach you can use Swiss chard, beetroot tops or seabeet. If you cannot get Durrus cheese, use a strong semi-soft cheese, preferably unpasteurised, as the flavour is better for cooking.

Oxtail with Wholegrain Mustard

I had to include this recipe as it is so simple with amazing results. Don’t be put off by the tail; you are in for a real treat. This is another dish that improves when cooked at least a day in advance. Don’t forget to pick up the bones and have a good chew!

Olive oil

2 oxtails, chopped

Salt and pepper

2–3 large onions, sliced

3 bay leaves

200ml white wine

2tbsp wholegrain mustard

400ml double cream

Preheat the oven to 150Ëš/Gas 2.

Heat a shallow pan with a lid and in the meantime season the oxtail well with salt and pepper. When the pan is very hot, add a good splash of olive oil and start browning the oxtail. You will have to do this in about three batches, transferring the meat to a plate as you go. Add another drop of oil to the pan and soften the onions for a few minutes, as they clean the pan. Place the oxtail on top of the onions, add the bay leaves and pour in the wine. Bring to the boil and let simmer for a minute. Cover with a disc of greaseproof paper followed by the lid. Cook in the oven for at least two hours, maybe three, or until the meat is leaving the bone. Remove from the oven. Transfer the oxtail to a plate. Place the pot on a medium flame and add the mustard and cream. Mix well and let simmer for four or five minutes. Return the oxtail to the pan, coat well in the mustardy cream sauce and simmer for a further five minutes. Serve with mashed or boiled potatoes.

Notes

If making in advance – remove from the oven, cool down and keep in the fridge. When needed, bring the cream and mustard to the boil, add to the oxtail, simmer for 15 minutes on a low heat and serve.

Stolen Cuban Dish

Olive oil

2 very ripe bananas

4–8 eggs

500g cooked rice

400g homemade tomato sauce

Cook the rice and the tomato sauce or reheat if you have them already made. Heat a frying pan and add some olive oil, cut the bananas in four lengthways and fry quickly on both sides until nicely brown. Remove from the pan and keep warm on a plate over the rice or sauce. In the same frying pan add a little more olive oil and fry the eggs to your liking – nice runny eggs work well here. On a large serving plate layer the dish, starting first with the rice, followed by the tomato sauce and topped with the fried eggs. Finally arrange the bananas around the dish.

Notes

Every student should know about this dish before they leave home. You can use up the unwanted brown bananas at the bottom of the fruit bowl.

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chilli and Lime Butter

4 large sweet potatoes

A medium-sized red chilli pepper or a dried chilli soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes

Juice of a lime

100g butter, very soft

A small handful of coriander leaves

Heat the oven to its hottest; this should take about 10 to 15 minutes. Sweet potatoes tend to leak a sugary juice when they are baked, so put a tray on the bottom of the oven to catch the juices and bake the potatoes on the oven rack for about an hour. Meanwhile, chop the chilli finely. Put the chopped chilli, lime juice and butter together in a bowl and mix well with your hands. Split the cooked potato in half, stuff with the chilli butter and eat while hot.

Notes

Try this with the lentil salad instead of a regular potato. If the chilli is too hot for you, remove the seeds.

Coconut Chicken with Spices and Herbs

1tsp cumin seeds

1tsp coriander seeds

4 cardamom pods (optional)

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 celery stick, finely chopped

Thumb size of grated ginger

4 cloves of garlic

2 limes – one for zest and juice, the other for serving

1 chilli, finely chopped, or use a dried chilli that has been soaked in boiling water

A big bunch of coriander (or parsley); separate the stalks from the leaves and chop the stalks finely

Salt and pepper

400ml tin of coconut milk

Coriander or parsley leaves, lightly chopped

400g (or as near as possible) chicken picked from the leftover roast chicken

1 bunch of spring onions, finely chopped (optional)

500g cooked rice Wok, saucepan, or big frying pan

Heat the wok and toast the cumin, coriander and cardamom for a couple of minutes. Next add a little oil to the toasted spices and add the onions, celery, ginger, lime zest, chilli and herb stalks, season with salt and pepper and soften over a low heat for about five minutes. You might need a little more oil but make sure you do not brown the vegetables Add the coconut milk, bring to the boil and let it simmer for a few minutes. Finally add the chicken and let it warm through without letting it boil. Add the lime juice and sprinkle the top with the chopped coriander leaves and spring onions. Reheat the rice by heating a pan to very hot and adding a drop of oil to coat the bottom. Stirfry the rice until very hot. Serve with segments of lime.

Notes

This is a great way to use up bits of odd vegetables that are hanging around in your fridge. To bulk it out, add a bag of frozen spinach (defrosted) towards the end or serve spinach separately with a good squeeze of lemon juice.

If you get to shop at an Asian supermarket, you can buy lots of nice things to add to this dish. Lime leaves, lemon grass, Thai fish sauce, shrimp paste and big bunches of fresh herbs.

Continuing our Countdown to Christmas

A Gorgeous Christmas Cake Suitable for Coeliacs

A particularly moist and delicious cake which has the added bonus of being gluten free – it keeps brilliantly.

Serves 8 – 10

3 large or 4 smaller clementines, mandarins or Satsumas

225g (8 oz) butter at room temp

150g (5 oz) raisins

75g (3 oz) currants

110g (4 oz) real glace cherries

2 tablespoons whiskey or brandy

225g (8oz) soft dark brown sugar

3 organic eggs

1 teaspoon mixed spice

small pinch ground cloves

150g (5 oz) ground almonds

110g (4 oz) polenta or cornmeal

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

Icing

225g (8oz) marzipan

12 oz gluten free icing sugar

2 tablespoons water

diamonds of candied peel

dried cranberries

angelica

toasted almonds

1 x 20cm

Put the citrus fruit into a stainless steel saucepan, cover with cold water bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes to one hour or until tender. Drain off the water and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ Mark 4/ moderate. Put the dried fruit and quartered cherries in a bowl. Cut the citrus fruit in half, discard the pips, whizz for a few seconds in a food processor or chop coarsely, add the whiskey or brandy, stir and pour over the dried fruit cream, the soft butter add the dark soft brown sugar and beat until soft and pale, add the eggs one by one, beating well between each addition, stir in the ground almonds, polenta, baking powder and spices. Finally add the fruit and fold in gently but thoroughly. Pour into the tin and smooth the top with a wet spoon.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes then reduce the heat to 140°C/ 275°F/ Mark 1 for a further 40 or 50 minutes or until fully cooked. You could loosely cover the top of the cake with a sheet of parchment for the final 20 minutes to prevent it from burning. Allow to cool before turning out of the tin.

Icing the cake

Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl, add the water and mix to a stiffish icing. Pour into the centre of the cake, it will spread to the edges and drip appetizingly down the sides, Decorate with diamonds of angelica, candied peel, dried cranberries and toasted almonds. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until Sunday 20^{th December 2009 on Grand Parade in the city centre from 12 noon until 8:00 pm. Local artisanal food and local crafts. When you are doing your Christmas shopping, stop in for some hot mulled apple juice and mince pies. You’ll find some interesting gift ideas with delicious handmade food. Contact JC Collery 0866055023}

HotTips.

Christmas in Cork Market

The Crescent Farmers Market in Limerick

now has even more stalls for you to do your food shopping. Caroline Rigney sells her award winning Curraghchase pork products, try her excellent white pudding 087 2834754. Colette O’Farrell of Natures Bounty Preserves, makes jams, preserves and chutneys from home grown and foraged fruits 086 3936768. For more information about the Farmers Market contact Gareth Granville 0868069605.

An Cruibin and the Silk Purse restaurant

serve really good authentic locally produced food with a continental twist. Try their delicious tapas and the atmosphere is wonderful. Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 021 4310071 ^{www.themeatcentre.com}

Congratulations to Midleton and Mahon Point Farmers Markets

^{www.bordbia.ie for details of the 26 markets around the country who have been awarded this special seal of approval}

both of which have been awarded the Bord Bia Good Practice Standard initiated by Minister Trevor Sargent. Visit

Darina will be signing copies of her new Book ‘Forgotten Skills of Cooking’ on Saturday December 5th from 1pm if you are in the area.  Darina’s new book has over 700 recipes using all the traditional methods and flavours.

A couple of weeks ago my daughter-in-law Rachel’s new book shot to the top of the best sellers list. Can you imagine Bertie’s reaction when he was knocked off the number one spot by a book on home cooking! This is Rachel’s sixth book in just six years. Can’t imagine how she manages to keep all the balls in the air with three little dotes to look after and regular stints on Market Kitchen as well. Up to recently little Scarlet Lily travelled backwards and forwards to London with Rachel and was a familiar to the Aer Lingus hostesses on the Cork route. Fortunately she was born smiling and continues to be placid and cheerful while Rachel literally fitted in her filming between feeds. This latest book is about the most important food of all, home cooking, the simple comforting food we prepare for family and friends and share around the kitchen table Rachel feels that “The value of cooking at home goes beyond having control over your ingredients (although this is profoundly important for health, wellbeing and your wallet, it’s also about gathering your loved ones together to share and enjoy the most fundamental part of life; it’s about teaching your children how to appreciate a home-cooked meal and showing them how much fun cooking can be; it’s about slowing down the busy pace of life when you can, but also knowing that when there isn’t much time you can still put a loving meal on the table make by you.

Home cooking is also about the joy of learning old skills and kitchen crafts such as making home-made sweets. It’s about feeling proud as a parent when making by hand your child’s very first foods. It’s about the wonderful kitchen smells and sounds and flavours that you just can’t get any other way.

You’ll not only find recipes for many occasions from breakfasts to dinners, you’ll also find trusted kitchen tips, such as home freezing, which not only saves time, but money too. I hope you and your loved ones enjoy every meal together, that you eat well, that you take a moment to appreciate one another’s company around the table, and above all, have fun cooking together.”

Either way the book has lots of irresistible breakfast, lunch and supper dishes, a section or a whole chapter on baby purees and desserts, snacks, treats and sweets. The baby purees are brilliant for the growing number of mothers who want to have control over their baby food – carrot, butternut squash and red lentil puree, avocado and banana mash or apricot, prune and raisin compote all sound delicious but for this article I thought I’d concentrate on sweeties, toffee, lollipops, fudge and Turkish delight. These are such fun to make and are terrific Christmas pressies for adults and children alike.

Rachel was recently awarded the Tatler Woman of the Year Entertainment award.

Rachel Allen – Home Cooking is published by Harper Collins

Rachel Allen’s Liquorice Toffees

Makes about 1.1kg (2lb 6oz) or 128 pieces.

These are up there as one of my favourite sweets. Ground aniseed is not easily available in supermarkets but you will find it in health-food stores or specialist food shops.

450g (1lb) caster sugar

350g (12oz) glucose syrup (available from a chemist)

1 x 395g tin of condensed milk

100g (3 1/2oz) butter

4 tbsp ground aniseed

Black food colouring

23cm (9in) square cake tin

Line the cake tin with parchment paper. Place the sugar, glucose syrup, condensed milk, butter and ground aniseed in a saucepan and cook on a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts. Bring to the boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 35–40 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid sticking, until a sugar thermometer dipped into the mixture reads 115°C (240°F). Alternatively, check that the soft-ball stage has been reached (see the chart on page 299). The mixture will be reduced and thickened and rich golden brown in colour. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in enough food colouring (adding bit by bit) to give a strong black colour. Working quickly, carefully pour the mixture into the prepared tin, swirling the tin around to spread the mixture evenly. Leave in a cool place for a couple of hours or until cool and set (the toffee will become even harder after this time, so it’s best to score out the pieces at this stage).

Remove from the tin and peel off the paper. Cut the slab of toffee into 64 pieces (eight cuts down and eight cuts across) with a sharp knife and then cut each piece in half again to give 128 pieces in total. Layer the liquorice toffees spaced apart between sheets of parchment paper to prevent them sticking together or wrap each toffee individually in a small piece of parchment paper and store in an airtight container.

Rachel Allen’s Fruity Lollipops

Makes about 30 – 35 lollipops.

 

Not the kind of thing you give your children every day, but when making your own sweets you at least know there are no preservatives in them. Lollipop sticks can be bought in any good craft or cookware shop. It is worth investing in a sugar thermometer if you’re planning on making sweets because a specific temperature is often called for.

 

450g (1lb) caster sugar

1/3 tsp cream of tartar

4 tbsp undiluted fruit cordial, such as blackcurrant, orange or lime

 

Arrange 30–35 lollipop sticks (or wooden skewers which have been cut down to size) spaced apart on several large, non-stick baking sheets. Place the sugar, cream of tartar and 150ml (5fl oz) water in a heavy-based saucepan on a medium heat and bring to a gentle boil while stirring all the time. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20–25 minutes without stirring, until the temperature on a sugar thermometer dipped into the mixture reads 143°C (290°F). Alternatively, check whether the soft-crack stage has been reached Stir in the cordial just before the syrup reaches this temperature (after 15–20 minutes). The mixture will bubble up, so be careful as it is very hot. Once the correct temperature has been reached, remove the pan from the heat and, working quickly, spoon small pools of the syrup onto one end of each lollipop stick and allow to set for about 5 minutes, until hardened. If you wish, wrap the lollipops in cellophane and tie with string as soon as they have cooled and hardened, to prevent them from absorbing moisture. Store them in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to a week.

 

Rachel Allen’s Turkish Delight

 

Makes about 1.1kg (2lb 6oz) or 48 pieces

This recipe is the smooth rosewater version, but if you like Turkish delight with pistachios, feel free to chop up a handful and stir into the mixture. It keeps for ages and makes a particularly lovely gift – one batch will fill quite a few boxes.

850g (1lb 14oz) caster sugar

3 x 7g sachets gelatine powder

125g (4Hoz) corn flour

1 tsp cream of tartar

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp sunflower oil

2 tsp rosewater

Few drops of red food colouring

75g (3oz) icing sugar

20cm (8in) square non-stick cake tin

Place the sugar and 500ml (18fl oz) water in a large, heavy-based saucepan on a medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 25 minutes without stirring, until a sugar thermometer dipped into the mixture reads 125°C (257°F). Alternatively, check that the hard-ball stage has been reached. In the meantime, stir the gelatine, corn flour and cream of tartar together in another large pan. Measure out a further 500ml (18fl oz) water and gradually whisk it into the mixture, beating well after each addition, to form a smooth paste. Be sure to break up any lumps as the gelatine may cause the mixture to stick together a little. Place the pan on a medium heat and simmer, whisking all the time, for 3–5 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat. Stir the lemon juice into the sugar syrup as soon as it reaches the correct temperature (standing back as it will sizzle up a little). Working carefully, gradually pour the sugar syrup into the gelatine and corn flour mixture, whisking constantly.

Place the pan on a low heat and simmer the mixture gently for about 1 hour until it reaches 110°C (230°F) in temperature or the thread stage. Stir frequently to prevent the mixture sticking to the pan, particularly towards the end of cooking. Grease the cake tin with the sunflower oil. As soon as the mixture reaches the correct temperature (it should be a deep golden colour), add the rosewater and food colouring and stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, spreading out evenly. Set aside to cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight until firm. Spoon the icing sugar into a fine sieve and dust half of it onto a clean work surface. Turn the Turkish delight out of the tin and use

a lightly oiled knife to cut it into about 48 pieces. Dust with the remaining icing sugar and toss the pieces about to coat generously. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

 

Rachel Allen’s White Chocolate Fudge

Makes about 900g (2lb) or 36 squares.

I find it hard to resist anything that contains white chocolate – and when combined with fudge … well! The white chocolate chips give texture to the traditional fudge mixture. Presented in a decorative box, it makes a wonderful present.

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 x 397g tin of condensed milk

100g (3Hoz) butter

450g (1lb) caster or soft light brown sugar

50g (2oz) white chocolate chips

18cm (7in) square cake tin with 2.5cm (1in) sides

 

Grease the cake tin with a little of the sunflower oil, line with parchment paper and grease again. Place the condensed milk, butter and sugar in a saucepan on medium heat, stir together and bring to the boil, stirring frequently t prevent the sugar from sticking and burning on the bottom. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10–15 minutes, stirring regularly, until a sugar thermometer dipped into the mixture reads 113°C (235°F). Alternatively, check whether the soft-ball stage has been reached. The fudge will also have darkened in colour to a rich golden brown. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and sit the bottom of the saucepan in a bowl of cold water that comes a few centimetres up the sides of the pan. Whisk the mixture vigorously for 7–10 minutes until it cools down and goes from being smooth, shiny and toffeeish to matt, thick and grainy in appearance (as well as becoming quite thick and difficult to stir). Whisking the mixture like this is important for ensuring that the fudge has a good crumbly texture. Pour half the mixture into the prepared tin. Scatter with the white chocolate chips and then pour over the remaining mixture, spreading evenly. (A palette knife or spatula that has been dipped in boiling water is perfect for this.) Allow to cool and then place in the fridge for 2–3 hours or overnight to set before cutting into about 36 squares.

 

Rachel Allen’s Toffee Brittle

Makes 400g (14oz)

This is divine as it is or covered in chocolate.

225g (8oz) butter, diced

225g (8oz) caster sugar

1/2 tsp salt

 

Place the butter, sugar, salt and 50ml (2fl oz) water in a heavy based saucepan, place on a medium heat and bring slowly to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20–25 minutes without stirring until a sugar thermometer dipped into the mixture reads 150°C (302°F). Below this temperature and the toffee will not set; above and the toffees will taste burnt. If you don’t have a sugar thermometer, check that the hard-crack stage has been reached. Immediately (and taking great care as it is very hot), pour the syrup onto a large, non-stick baking tray (or one lined with parchment paper) and swirl the tray around to spread evenly. It will begin to set almost straight away, so you do need to work quickly. Once completely hardened, after 5–10 minutes, slam the baking tray on the counter to break into small pieces. Place the toffee pieces in an airtight container and store somewhere cool and dry.

 

Continuing our countdown to Christmas…

Another delicious Christmas treat, a German cake to make ahead and share with your friends… Mary Jo’s Stollen

 

Makes 2 700g (1 1/2lb) cakes

Brandied Fruit:

150g (5oz) mixed sultanas and currants

75g (3oz) diced candied cherries and citrus peel

1 1/2 tablespoons brandy

20g (3/4oz) fresh yeast (or 1 sachet dry yeast)

150ml (5fl oz) lukewarm milk

175g (6oz) strong white flour

75g (3oz) castor sugar

Grated rind 1/2 lemon

110g (4oz) softened butter

2 eggs

1 level teaspoon salt

275g (10oz) strong white flour

Marzipan:

75g (3oz) ground almonds

60g (2 1/2oz) castor sugar

1 tablespoon egg white

Drop of almond essence

Melted butter

Icing sugar

 

Mix fruits, stir in brandy, cover with cling film and macerate overnight.

To mix yeast sponge, crumble fresh yeast into warm milk in a pyrex bowl. Allow yeast to soften. Mix in 175g (6oz) flour and beat well with a wooden spoon. Cover with Clingfilm and allow to rest for 30-45 minutes.

Place 75g (3oz) castor sugar in a mixer bowl, grate in lemon rind and rub into sugar with your fingertips. Add butter and beat until creamy. Add eggs one at a time; add the salt and scrape down the bowl to make a soft creamed mixture.

When sponge is light and well risen, add to creamed mixture along with 275g (10oz) flour. Scrape off beater and replace with dough hook. Knead on moderate speed for 10 minutes until is silky and soft. The dough should not stick to your fingers.

Remove hook, cover bowl with Clingfilm and allow dough to rise until doubled in size.

Knock back dough and scrape out onto a flour-dusted clean surface. Flatten to 1cm (1/2 inch) and sprinkle brandied fruit on top. Roll up like a Swiss roll and knead fruit through dough. The dough may grow sticky, but avoid adding more flour. Scrape fruited dough into a bowl, cover with Clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.

Prepare the marzipan by mixing sugar, ground almonds and egg white. Flavour with almond essence if desired. Knead to a lump, divide in half and roll each half into a log.

Next day, remove dough from the fridge. Scrape out of bowl onto a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Shape each half into an oval and roll out to 2cm (3/4 inch) thickness. Make an indentation lengthways along the centre and place in long sausage shape piece of marzipan. Fold the oval in half with long sides meeting. Press together and place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.

Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise for 1-2 hours in a warm place until light.

Bake at 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4 for 30 minutes or until deeply golden and tests done.

While still hot, brush with melted butter and sift icing sugar thickly over the top.

Cool well before slicing. Will keep wrapped for 4-5 days and may be frozen.

 

 

 

 

Hot Tips

Great news from Teagasc

for those who would like to keep a few hens in their garden. Nuala King at Teagasc in Athenry is doing two on-line courses, one on How to Rear Poultry for Meat Production and another on How to Keep Free Range Poultry for Egg Production. Contact Nuala King on 091845228 for more details. Order some seed catalogues

so you can plan your vegetable plot for next year while you sit around the fire. Meanwhile buy a bulb of garlic, separate the cloves and plant them pointed end up, two inches deep on the 21^{st December – the shortest day of the year – they will be ready to harvest on 21st June 2010.}

Slow Food Christmas Cooking Night Class

East Cork Slow Food

^{info@slowfood.ie}

celebrate international Terra Madre day at Ballymaloe House on Sunday 6th December at 7:00pm. Join us for a dinner of local foods; meet the artisan producers, farmers, fishermen, cheese makers, bakers, charcuterie makers, chocolatiers… plus music by The Gardeners and lots of fun. Slow Food members €50.00 and non-Slow Food members €60.00. Booking essential, contact Emer – 021 464 6785 – at Ballymaloe Cookery School on Wednesday 2nd December – 7:00pm to 9:00pm, Slow Food Members €50.00 non-members €60.00 per person. Contact 021 4646785 to book.

Last week I hopped off the train in Portlaoise on my way to Cork especially to make ‘an appearance’ at a book launch—not something I would do on a regular basis. I’d got an invitation a few days earlier from Jim Tynan to attend the launch of his new cookery book ‘Jim’s Kitchen’. I’d already had, what even for me, was a busy couple of days; Slow Food dinner in Belfast at Nick’s Warehouse, Master class in Food Tourism in Lough Erne, Co. Fermanagh, Dinner at The Shelbourne Hotel to celebrate 75 years of the Social & Personal Magazine in Ireland, a cookery class at Donnybrook Fair to support a past student, the lovely Monique McQuaid, and a visit to the Francis Bacon exhibition at the Hugh Lane Gallery….I was very tempted to stay on the nice warm train but really wanted to support Jim. I don’t know Jim well at all but admire what he has achieved over 27 years in his deli and Country Kitchen restaurant but more especially I wanted to be there because of his quiet kindness to myself and several of my brothers and sisters while my mother was ill in hospital last year. For over a week we took turns to be with her round the clock. Around noon we’d pop down to Jim for a comforting lunch; bacon, cabbage and parsley sauce or roast beef or chicken and maybe some apple crumble. Just what I needed as I struggled to come to terms with the inevitability of what lay ahead. We sometimes don’t realize how much a few kind words can mean to someone at fragile moments in their life.

Normally at a book launch the author and publishers would be well pleased if maybe thirty, forty, maybe fifty people turned up, well I have to tell you that literally hundreds of people turned up to wish Jim well and buy his book , I just about glimpsed him across the room, looking somewhat bewildered and overwhelmed by the huge response. I reckon he must have sold a fine percentage of the first print run right there and then on the first night.

The goodwill in the room for Jim and his family was palpable—obviously Jim’s Country Kitchen has touched many people’s lives. I was delighted to be there even though my presence certainly wasn’t needed to swell the numbers. Jim’s book, which is full of his customers’ favourite recipes, was launched by Margaret Jeffares, the dynamic powerhouse behind Good Food Ireland. Jim is a worthy member having preached the local food message for a long time now.

Here are a few of the favourite recipes from the Jim’s Country Kitchen, Kealew Business Park, Portlaoise.
‘Jims Kitchen’ is published by Jim Tynan 057 8662061.

Jim Tynan’s Sweet Sticky Chicken

Serves 4 – 6

Broccoli is full of Vitamin C which is very important for our skin and general immune system.  It is one of the few vegetable to contain Vitamin K which is good for your blood.

Most of the time broccoli is served over cooked, boiled until it is too soft.  One of the ways I like to cook it is to roast it in the oven with some spices like cumin and coriander seeds and maybe some chilli.  I like to do the same with cauliflower; I find it makes it more interesting.

8 pieces chicken, thighs are good for this

1tbsp honey
or brown sugar
4tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp vinegar
twist of black pepper
1tbsp sesame oil

Remove the skin from the chicken, mix all the other ingredients together and toss the chicken around in the sauce.  Transfer to a baking tray, drizzle any remaining sauce over the chicken, place in a hot oven at 200°C and cook for 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked.

Serve with mashed potato and broccoli or pasta.  This also makes for a nice cold lunch to bring into college or work and can be served with some noodle salad.

Jim Tynan’s Potato & Turnip Gratin

Serves 4 – 6

1lb/450g potatoes, peeled & thinly sliced
8oz/225g turnip, peeled & thinly sliced
4oz/112g butter
5fl oz/140ml cream
2oz/56g grated Gruyere cheese or Cheddar
2tbsp Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

Peel and thinly slice the turnip & potatoes, wash and pat dry in a cloth.  Butter a shallow flameproof casserole or a deep gratin dish. Place a layer of sliced potato and turnip in overlapping rows on the
bottom of the dish.

Pour over 1/4 of the cream, sprinkle with a mixture of cheese (gruyere & parmesan), dot with butter and season with salt and pepper.  Continue this process until the dish is full, finishing with a layer of cheese.  Dot with butter and cook in a preheated oven at 170°C for about 1 – 11/4 hours or until cooked through.

If the top browns too much too quick cover with tinfoil.  Serve very hot. Great with a roast joint, steak, chicken or grilled liver & bacon.

Jim Tynan’s Mars Krispies Squares

Serves 4 – 6

4 Mars Bars, cut into small pieces
4oz/112g butter
4oz/112g Rice Krispies
marshmallows (small)
8oz/225g milk chocolate

Place the butter & Mars Bars in a saucepan and let them melt over a gentle heat, taking care not to let them burn. Remove from the heat and stir in the Rice Krispies and mix well. Place in a lined Swiss roll tin and press down, we use a rolling pin to push them down. Allow to set.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of hot water. Sprinkle the small marshmallows over the Krispies and cover with chocolate. Cut into squares.

Jim Tynan’s Spiced Apple Crumble

Serves 4 – 6

2lb/900g bramley apples, peeled & sliced
4oz/112g sultanas
1/2 tspn ground cloves
4oz/112g sugar
3tbspn water

Crumble Topping

8oz/225g plain flour
4oz/112g butter
4 oz/112g sugar

Place the flour in a large bowl and add the butter, using your fingertips rub in the butter until it looks like fine bread crumbs, then add in the sugar.

For a variation you can use brown sugar if you wish.  Place the sliced apples in a greased pie dish, sprinkle on the sultanas and the sugar, the ground cloves and just mix around a little bit.  You can add about 3 tbspn of cold water at this stage; it will just help the apples to juice up.

Sprinkle on the crumble topping and press down.  Place in a hot oven, about 180°C and bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Jim Tynan’s Lemon Drizzle Cake

Serves 4 – 6

4oz/112g butter
6oz/168g caster sugar
2 eggs
rind of 1 lemon
6oz/168g self raising flour
4tbsp milk

1 lb loaf tin

Cream the butter & sugar together until light & fluffy, add the eggs and lemon rind then fold in the flour with a metal spoon and then add the milk.  Spoon into a pre-lined cake tin (7”/18cm round or 1lb/450g loaf tin), place in a pre-heated oven 170°C until cooked and risen in the centre, but it will fall a little when you cool the cake.

While the cake is cooking you can make the lemon syrup by placing 4oz/112g Icing Sugar and Juice of 1 Lemon in a saucepan and heating until the sugar has dissolved.  When the cake comes out of the oven make some holes in the top of it with a skewer and pour the lemon syrup all over it, leave the cake in the tin until it is completely cooled.

This is very nice served with some soft whipped cream and you could serve some red berries of your choice with it. A chilled glass of Limoncello (Italian liqueur) goes well with this cake.

Jim Tynan’s Brandy Butter Christmas Cake

Serves 4 – 6

8oz/225g butter, chopped
10oz/280g dark Muscovado sugar
10oz/280g plain flour
2lb/900g luxury mixed dried fruit
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
4oz/112g whole blanched almonds
4oz/112g ground almonds
4fl oz/125ml brandy or sherry
1 lemon, finely grated rind & juice
1 orange, finely grated rind & juice
1/2  tsp baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice
1tsp ground cinnamon
1/2  tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 140°C.

Put the butter, sugar, dried fruit, citrus rinds and juices and brandy in a large pan and bring slowly to the boil, stirring until the butter has melted, then reduce the heat and let it bubble gently for 10minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool for about 30 minutes.

Toast the whole almonds in a dry frying pan, tossing them until they are evenly browned (this helps to bring out the flavour).  When cool enough to handle, chop them roughly.  Stir the eggs and chopped and ground almonds into the cooled fruit mixture and mix well.

Set a sieve over the pan and sift the flour, baking powder and spices into the pan.  Stir in gently but thoroughly until there are no traces of flour left.  Spoon the mixture into a lined tin (8” square or 9” round) and press well into the corners.  Dip a large metal spoon into boiling water, and then smooth over the cake mixture to level.  Bake for 3 -3 1/2  hours until the cake is dark golden and firm to touch.  Cover the top with foil if it starts to darken too much.  Leave to cool for 15 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack.

Continuing our Countdown to Christmas

Don’t forget to order your Christmas turkey, goose and ham. See the Cork Free Choice website. www.corkfreechoice.com for a list of local producers.

Cumberland Sauce

Serves 8-12 approx.

Serve with cold ham, turkey, chicken, guinea fowl, game or rough pâtés.

1 orange
1 lemon
225g (8oz) red currant jelly
3-4 tablespoons port
a pinch of cayenne pepper
a pinch of ground ginger

With a swivel-top peeler, remove the peel very thinly from the orange and half of the lemon (make sure there is no white pith). Shred into thin julienne strips, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Strain off the water and discard it, then refresh the peel under cold water. Strain and keep it aside.

Squeeze the juice from the fruit and put it into a stainless steel saucepan with the jelly and spices; allow it to melt down. Then add the peel and port to the sauce. Boil it rapidly for 5-10 minutes.

Test like jam by putting a little blob on a cold saucer. When it cools it should wrinkle slightly.

Cumberland Sauce may be served in a bowl right away or it may be potted up and kept until needed, like jam.

Hottips

Cork Free Choice Consumer Group – ‘Great Meals from Inexpensive Meat Cuts’ Darina Allen will explain how to buy and prepare nutritious meals from cheap cuts of meat on Thursday 26th November at 7.30pm at the Crawford Gallery Cafe. Entrance €6.

Festive Vegetarian Cookery class – learn how to make a delicious meat free Christmas dinner with Karen Austin in Fionnuisce, Heron’s Court, Bandon on Saturday 12th December 10am – 3 pm. to book, telephone: +353 23 8846251 Email: info@lettercollum.ie.

There are still some places on the Christmas Entertaining one day course at Ballymaloe Cookery School, to book telephone 021 4646785 or online www.cookingisfun.ie

The Coolest Christmas Hampers – Gubbeen Farmhouse is offering free delivery of their Christmas Hampers to the following Farmers’ Markets: Schull, Bantry, Skibbereen and Mahon Point. The hampers -packed in hand painted wooden trays – contain a mouthwatering selection: Gubbeen Oak Smoked Cheese, Fingal’s famous salamis, Gubbeen Cheese oatcakes, Gubbeen Greens chutney… Contact Giana Ferguson on 028 28231 to order or text 086 3809809.

Few people have the courage to open a restaurant in these crazy times but that’s exactly what Justin and Jenny Greene did in Lismore in Co Waterford. O’Brien Chop House serves delicious, simple food based on local produce: well hung meat from traditional butcher McGrath, and fresh fish from Kilmore Quay and home grown vegetables from the walled garden at Ballyvolane House. The word is out, it’s even difficult to get a table for Sunday lunch but try a week night or lunch – would be a terrific place for a Christmas party,  telephone 058 53810 www.obrienchophouse.ie

In recent years I have become increasingly fascinated by the Muslim culture and am eager to learn more about the way of life and of course the food. I have enjoyed delicious Syrian and Lebanese food in several London restaurants, most notably Le Mignon in Delancey Street and Yalla Yalla Restaurant just off Brewer Street in Soho.
Syria is an intriguing country located between Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. Almost 90 per cent of the population are Muslim and about 10 percent Christian yet Syria is a secular state with no official religion. Tolerance of religious minorities is actively encouraged.
Agriculture accounts for 60 percent Syria’s (GNP) Gross National Product and is the mainstay of the economy. Sixty five percent of the country is not considered arable, yet the country is self sufficient in food with lots of lovely fresh vegetables grown on its rich productive steppe land. An enviable situation and a not insignificant consideration in a country where sanctions are a perennial possibility.
Wheat, sugar beet, olives, lentils, cotton, tobacco, tomatoes, oranges and grapes are all grown organically. The main meats come from sheep, goats, chicken, and cattle, but I came across several camel butchers in the Souk in Damascus. Camel meat is supposed to increase men’s virility, and one butcher who seemed to be proof of the pudding proudly showed me photos of his two wives and 16 children!
In Damascus the arcaded souks line either sides of the cobbled streets and alleyways. Stalls selling the same products tend to be grouped together so to find a whole street of spice merchants so head for souk al-Bezuriife. I was particularly interested in the different types of za’atar and sumac and other unfamiliar ingredients like dried limes, dried rosebuds, okra and aubergines.
The chef at Four Seasons Hotel had kindly lent me a young English speaking chef called Roget to escort us around and answer my zillion questions. We found fresh pistachios still in their soft pink shells, slim Syrian pine nuts and a myriad of walnuts. Young men press fresh pomegranate and mulberry juice at every corner, another sells handbag shaped bread. Even if you have no intention of purchasing the souks are intriguing to wander through and linger in to catch a glimpse of Damascus life (acres of bright glittery clothes, carpets and sexy underwear.
Meat is freshly butchered and virtually still warm when sold, they seem to be particularly fond of the unmentionable bits, particularly the testicles and of course not a scrap is wasted.  Many butchers have a little open fireplace in their stalls where a variety of kebabs are cooked to order. Little bakeries are dotted here and there cooking bread to order as people wait.
There is a long tradition of street food in Syria. Lots of falafel stalls – chick pea balls stuffed into pita bread with salad and tahina or rolled in a wrap sandwich. Others specialise in shawarma, thinly sliced lamb or chicken from a revolving spit like the Turkish doner kebab stuffed into Arab bread. All are freshly cooked and inexpensive. Restaurants many of which are converted palaces or khans vary but we ate very well and cheaply over all.
Every meal starts with mezze, a selection of starters to be shared, some hot, some cold. A typical selection  might include some houmous, tabouleh, baba ghanoosh, moutabal, klibbeh, moussaka and a thyme salad.
For main course there seem to be a myriad of kebabs mostly chicken and lamb made with cubes of meat, others with mince either in balls or shaped around the skewer, sometimes chunks of vegetables were interspersed between the meat. In Aleppo we had a particularly delicious aubergine and lamb kebab and a cherry kebab – specialities of that city. Fattoush, consisting of stale Arab bread, tahina and chickpeas or meat was comfort food at its best. Dessert was either gorgeous ripe seasonal fruit, figs, kaki and pomegranates were in season or sticky sweet pastries similar to baklava stuffed with gorgeous fresh pistachio and dates and of course the ubiquitous crème caramel.

There is a rich baking tradition and many third and fourth generation patissiers are still turning out a dazzling array of beautiful biscuits. This article is about food but to most people the food is secondary to the monuments; don’t miss the Ummayad Mosque in Damascus, the awe inspiring ruins of Palmyra, the Roman Theatre in Bosra, the Krak des Chevaliers near the city of Homs and close to the border of Lebanon and the Citadel of Aleppo.

Tabouleh

This refreshing and highly nutritious Middle Eastern Salad may be served as a starter or as a main dish. It should be predominantly green, just flecked with grains of bulgar. I like to serve lots of well seasoned cucumber and tomato dice with the salad and Arab or pita bread.

Serves 6-12 served as a starter or a main course

4 ozs (110g) bulgar – cracked wheat
1-2 ozs (25-50g) freshly chopped parsley
1-2 ozs (25-50g) freshly chopped mint
freshly squeezed juice of 2 lemons or more if you need it
3 fl ozs (75ml) extra virgin olive oil
4-6 ozs (110-175g) spring onion, green and white parts, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper

Garnish
6 very ripe firm tomatoes a selection of red and yellow, pear shaped etc., would be great, diced and sprinkled with a little salt, pepper and sugar
1 firm crisp cucumber, cut into 1/4 inch (5mm) dice
small crisp lettuce leaves eg. cos or iceberg
rocket leaves
black olives – optional

Soak the bulgar in cold water for about 30 minutes, drain and squeeze well to remove any excess water liquid. Stir in the olive oil and some of the freshly squeezed lemon juice, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, leave it aside to absorb the dressing while you chop the parsley, mint and spring onions.  Just before serving, mix the herbs with the bulgar, taste and add more lemon juice if necessary. It should taste fresh and lively.

Fattoush

Serves 6

There have always been delicious ways of using up bread, particularly in the Asian, South American, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. Sumac flakes give this Syrian bread salad a characteristic slightly sour taste. If you can’t get Sumac, the salad will still taste delicious but not so authentic.

2 stale pita bread or 2-3 thick slices of stale sour dough or good country bread
a little bunch of rocket or purslane
2-3 teaspoons Sumac if available
1 mild sweet red pepper, optional
½ cucumber, coarsely chopped
4 ripe, vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into ¼’s and then into ½’s crosswise
3 spring onions, sliced at an angle
2-3 tablespoons parsley, freshly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves
2-3 tablespoons fresh mint

Dressing:
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic crushed
salt and freshly ground pepper, maybe even a pinch of sugar or a dash of Balsamic vinegar

If the bread isn’t stale toast the bread until crisp. Cut into uneven sized pieces. Chop the rocket or purslane coarsely. Cut the sweet red pepper into or rounds or dice. Put both into a salad bowl with the tomato, cucumbers and spring onions, herbs and bread. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Whisk the dressing ingredients together. Spoon over the salad, toss gently, taste.
Allow the salad to sit for at least 30 minutes, better still an hour before serving, so the bread soaks up lots of yummy dressing and juice.

Falafel

Makes 6

7 ozs/200g chickpeas
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 ozs/110g onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped
2 tbsp flat parsley, roughly chopped
¾ tsp freshly roasted and ground cumin
½ tsp freshly roasted and ground coriander
½ tsp salt
lots of freshly ground pepper
good pinch of cayenne
¼ tsp baking soda
oil for frying

Day Before
Cover the chickpeas in lots of cold water and allow to soak overnight.
Next day, discard the water. Drain well.  Put the chickpeas into a food processor with the other ingredients. Purée until as smooth as possible.
Cook a little blob in hot oil to check seasoning.  Correct if necessary. Shape mixture into 2” rounds. Heat a 1” of oil in a frying pan (or use a deep fry).  Cook 3 or 4 falafel at a time, turning occasionally until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Falafel Sandwich
Serves 4
4 Arab bread or flour tortillas
16 freshly cooked falafel
4 ripe tomatoes sliced
pickled cucumber
shredded lettuce

fresh mint leaves
very finely sliced fresh lemon, cut into tiny triangles
tahina mixed with natural yoghurt

Lay the Arab bread on the work top. Squish three freshly cooked falafel in a line over the top side of the bread. Lay a line of thinly sliced tomatoes on top, then some pickled cucumber; fresh mint leaves, sliced onions and fresh lemon including rind drizzle with tahina mixed with natural yoghurt. Roll into a Swiss roll; tuck in the ends to eat on the spot. Roll in grease proof paper and eat like a wrap. If you would like to serve as a starter, cut in half and arrange on a plate with one piece propped against the other with extra tahina sauce and a little tomato salad.

Thyme Salad

Serves 4

This salad was featured on virtually every menu in Damascus but I was intrigued to find that it was made not with thyme as we know it but with fresh summer savoury. This salad was quite a find, because even though I grow lots of savoury every summer I’ve only ever used to enhance the flavour of broad beans.

110g (4oz) fresh summer savoury
4 medium tomatoes diced
110g (4oz) halumi cheese diced 1/3 inch cubes
thinly sliced onions
freshly squeezed lemon juice
extra virgin olive

Chop the savoury, including the soft stalk into roughly one inch in length. Drizzle with freshly squeezed lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil toss to coat. Transfer to a plate, garnish with the alternating diced tomato and cubes of cheese, lay three of each. Sprinkle with sumac and serve.

Syrian Laymoun bi-na na
Fresh Lemon Juice with Mint
Serves 2

Freshly squeezed juices were widely available, lots of orange of course, but we particularly enjoyed this refreshing lemon and mint drink.

Serves 6

juice of six lemons
300ml/10fl oz/ (½ pint) stock syrup
300ml/10fl oz/ (½ pint) cold water
2 fistfuls of fresh mint leaves

Squeeze the lemons juice, pour the juice into a liquidiser, add syrup, fresh mint leaves and iced water leaves. Whizz until mint is fine and the drink is frothy. Pour into a tall glass, drink through a straw while still fresh.

Stock Syrup

Makes 28 fl ozs (825 ml)

1 lb (450 g) sugar
1 pint (600 ml) water

To make the stock syrup: Dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to the boil.  Boil for 2 minutes then allow it to cool.  Store in the fridge until needed.

Pistachio Biscuits – Graybeh

Fresh pistachios were in season when we were in Syria in late October. These little biscuits can be shaped in several different ways, little 5cm or 2 inch rounds, 2 inch diamonds with a pistachio nut in the centre or in little rings as described below.

Makes 35 approximately

100g (3 ½ oz) butter preferably unsalted
125g (4 ½ ox) icing sugar
1 ½ tablespoons orange blossom water
1 ½ tablespoons rose blossom water
250g (9oz) fine semolina
50g (2oz) pistachios

Preheat the oven to 170ºC/ 350ºF /Reg 3.
Cream the butter, add the icing sugar and beat until soft and creamy. Add the flour and blossom waters and stir until well mixed. Knead until smooth. Pinch off walnut sized pieces roll each into a 4 inch rope about 1.5 cm thick. Pinch the ends together and press a little pistachio nut or even two into each where they join. Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 – 15 minutes or until pale golden. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy with a cup of coffee.

Continuing our countdown to Christmas
A Gorgeous Gluten-free Christmas Pudding

A delicious pudding suitable for everyone including coeliacs and those who would rather not eat suet.

Serves 10-12

200g (7oz) sultanas
125g (4 1/2oz) raisins
125g (4 1/2oz) currants
50g (2oz) homemade candied peel
50g (2oz) cherries
50g (2oz) almonds, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons brandy
110ml (4fl oz) dark Jamaica Rum

125g (4 1/2oz) butter
175g (6oz) soft brown sugar
2 organic eggs
110g (4oz) ground almonds
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
grated zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon preferably organic
1 Bramley seedling apple, peeled and grated

1 x 1.2 litre (2 pint) delph or plastic bowl

Put the dried fruit, glace peel, cherries, almonds, brandy and rum into a stainless steel saucepan.  Warm gently, turn off the heat and allow the fruit to plump up in the boozy liquid.

Meanwhile cream the butter in a bowl, add the sugar and heat until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one by one beating well between each addition, add the ground almonds, spices and baking powder, grated orange and lemon zest and Bramley apple, then add the plump dried fruit and the booze.  Stir well, better still, get all the family to stir and make a wish.

Put a little circle of greaseproof paper on the base of the bowl.  Fill with the mixture, smooth off the top, cover the bowl with a double thickness of greaseproof paper, tie securely with string or clip on the lid if you are using a plastic bowl.

Put into a deep saucepan, cover with boiling water, it should come two thirds of the way up the bowl.  Bring to the boil and cover, simmer for 4 1/2 hours.  Keep an eye on the water level and top up every now and then as necessary.  This pudding is succulent and delicious eaten on the day, but can be stored on the day.

Turn out onto a hot plate and serve on individual hot plates with rum flavoured cream or brandy butter.  Alternatively allow to cool, re-cover with silicone paper and store in a cool dry cupboard until Christmas.  Re-boil for 1 hour and serve as before.

Hottips

If you plan a trip to Syria be aware that Syrian airlines cancel and change the time of flights on a regular basis, without prior notice – no refunds – but you can use your ticket any where within Syria over a 12 month period if you are back!

Noreen and Martin Conroy of Woodside Farm in East Cork – who produce delicious sausages and bacon from their free range pigs – have a new website, visit them at www.woodsidefarm.ie

O’Doherty’s in Enniskillen produces the most delicious Black Bacon that follows an ancient style of curing, a process that can take up to three months or more by combining two methods. It was voted best Irish Food Product by the Ballygowan Irish Food Writers.  Visit their website www.blackbacon.com