Then you can choose your favourite menu and with Sarah’s advice you can grow the vegetables, salad, herbs and even berries and fruit. Can you imagine how much fun you’ll have and more importantly how much extra money you will have to spend on bubbles and fizz. Sarah’s ‘Grow your own Party or Wedding’ course is on Tuesday 30^{th March For those who are eager to learn more about vegetable gardening, Sarah will teach her brilliant ‘How to Grow Year Round Vegetables’ Monday 29th March, 2010. Meanwhile here is a suggestion for a Spring wedding menu. www.foodforliving.ie or contact Lucy on 086 8179964}

Spinach and Rosemary Soup with Heart Shaped Croutons

The organisers had hoped for 25 - maybe 30 people but by 8 o’clock the original meeting room was bulging at the seams so we had to decamp down the stairs to the Badminton Hall. It was just about large enough to fit the throng of people eager to hear more about the new initiative that is engaging people from Dingle to Drogheda to Dublin. A few positive things have emerged from this recession, many of us have come to realise just how vulnerable we have become and how little control we have over our lives. Suddenly we appreciate the value of a degree of self sufficiency, how lovely it is to sit down to a plate of food where even one or two items come from your own garden or back yard. Suddenly there is an unprecedented interest in producing your own food preferably organic or at least chemical free not only in back gardens but also allotments and community gardens. So no surprise to learn that in this new era vegetable seeds are outselling flower seeds for the third year in a row.

Unfortunately just when we badly need the know-how there is a deficit of practical expertise. As individuals and a society we have to a great extent lost the knowledge and skills that any of our grandfathers and great grandfathers would have taken for granted. Yet there is a deep craving to learn once more.

GIY Ireland was founded almost by accident by Michael Kelly – a well known author and journalist – Michael and his wife Eilish wanted to rear their family in the country so they moved to Dunmore East from Dublin five years ago. They bought a cottage on an acre of land and began to settle in. They had a vague notion that it would be nice to grow a few veggies, maybe keep a few chickens and in time maybe get a pig. They had bundles of enthusiasm but not a notion of how to go about starting. They scarcely knew what a digging fork looked like not to speak of how to sow a seed. But where could you find out? Michael thought that there must be an organisation that like the ICA (Irish Country Women’s Association) or the Flower Club who could help, but their emphasis was different. Neither was the IFA (Irish Farmers Association) interested in sowing a handful of spuds or a row of broad beans. Gardening books often assumed too much knowledge. Eventually Michael linked up with a couple of others who were desperately seeking out all of that. They helped to dig each others garden and swapped seedlings and plants and shared tips, triumphs and disasters.

Out of the experience was born an organisation that is sweeping across Ireland called Grow it Yourself. In less that a year almost 50 groups have started around the country. It’s very simple, a not-for-profit organisation which takes the ‘I’ out of Grow it Yourself. GIY membership and meetings are free and open to all amateur growers from all walks of life – urban and rural – young and old, novice and expert, back garden or allotment.

Each month groups meet nationwide in public venues to exchange tips, knowledge and war stories about vegetable growing.

The first National GIY week will be from Saturday 20th to Saturday 27^{th February, 2010. For details of events around the country check www.giyireland.com www.cookingisfun.ie}

Spiced Lentil and Carrot Soup

This soup is really fast to make and has lots of flavour – perfect for a winter lunch or supper.

Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1/4-1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

600g (1lb 5oz) carrots peeled and grated

140g (5oz) red lentils

1.35 litres (2 1/4 pints) chicken or vegetable stock

125 ml (4 fl oz) milk

salt and freshly ground pepper

Garnish

4 tablespoons approximately natural yoghurt

fresh coriander leaves

extra virgin olive oil

Pitta bread

Heat the oil in a stainless steel saucepan over a medium heat; add the cumin seeds and chilli flakes. Stir for a minute or so, add the grated carrot, lentils, stock and milk. Bring to the boil, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, then simmer for about 15 minutes or until the carrots and lentils are completely soft. Purée in a liquidiser until smooth, add a little more stock if it’s too thick. Taste and correct the seasoning.

Serve in hot bowls with a blob of natural yoghurt, some fresh coriander leaves and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top. Pitta breads makes a good accompaniment.

Roast Jerusalem Artichokes (Slices)

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

Serves 4 to 6

450g (1 lb) Jerusalem artichokes, well scrubbed.

2 tablespoons or olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper

a few rosemary or thyme sprigs, optional

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

Slice the well scrubbed artichokes into 7mm (1/3 inch) rounds. Toss the Jerusalem artichokes with the extra virgin olive oil. Season well with salt. Arrange in a single layer on silicone paper on a roasting tin. Roast for 10 minutes or until golden on 1 side then flip over and cook on the other side. Test with the tip of a knife – they should be tender. Sprinkle with thyme or rosemary. Season with pepper and serve.

Shin of Beef and Oxtail Stew

Another humble dish, which has recently been resurrected by trendy chefs capitalising on their customers’ nostalgic craving for Granny’s cooking. Oxtail, or the tail of a beef animal, makes an extraordinarily rich and flavoursome winter soup or stew. If you prefer, you can cover and cook this very gently on top of the stove rather than in an oven.

Serves 8

175g (6oz) streaky bacon

2 oxtails, about 450–600g (1–1 1⁄4lb) each, cut into segments

450g (1lb) stewing beef

25g (1oz) beef dripping or

2 tablespoons olive oil

225g (8oz) onions, finely chopped

225g (8oz) carrots cut into 2cm (3⁄4 in) cubes

50g (2oz) celery, chopped

150ml (1⁄4 pint) red wine and

425ml (3⁄4 pint) beef stock OR 600ml (1 pint) all beef stock

1 bay leaf, 1 sprig of thyme and parsley stalks

1 tablespoon concentrated tomato purée

salt and freshly ground pepper

175g (6oz) mushrooms, sliced

25g (1oz) butter

10g (1⁄2 oz) roux

2 tablespoons parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 160ºC/325ºF/gas mark 3.

Cut the bacon into 2.5cm (1in) cubes, cut the oxtail into joints and cut the beef into 4cm (11⁄2in cubes). Heat the dripping or olive oil in a frying pan, add the bacon and sauté for 1–2 minutes, then add the onions, carrots and celery and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the bacon and vegetables into a casserole. Now add the beef and oxtail pieces to the frying pan, a few at a time and continue to cook. When the meat begins to brown, add it to the casserole. Then add the wine and 150ml (1⁄4 pint) of the beef stock to the frying pan. Bring to the boil and use a whisk to dissolve the caramelised meat juices from the pan. Add to the casserole with the herbs, the rest of the stock and the tomato purée. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Cover and transfer to the oven. Cook very gently for 3–4 hours, or until the oxtail is falling off the bones and the vegetables are very tender.

Meanwhile, cook the sliced mushrooms in a hot frying pan in a little butter for 2–3 minutes and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir into the oxtail stew and cook for about 5 minutes. Strain the liquid from the meat and vegetables, and keep them warm in a hot serving dish while you thicken the broth. Remove and discard the bay leaves, thyme and parsley stalks.

Bring the cooking liquid back to the boil, whisk in a little roux and cook until slightly thickened. Add back in the meat and vegetables. Add the chopped parsley and bring to the boil. Taste and correct the seasoning. Serve in the hot serving dish with lots of Champ or Colcannon

Swede Turnips with Caramelised Onions

Serves 6 approx.

900g (2lbs) Swede turnips

salt and lots of freshly ground pepper

50-110g (2-4 oz) butter

Garnish

finely chopped parsley

Peel the turnip thickly in order to remove the thick outside skin. Cut into 2cm (3/4 inch) cubes approx. Put into a high sided saucepan. Cover with water. Add a good pinch of salt, bring to the boil and cook until soft – this can take between 45-60 minutes. Strain off the excess water, mash the turnips well and beat in the butter. Taste and season with lots of freshly ground pepper and more salt if necessary. Garnish with parsley and serve piping hot.

Caramelised Onions

450g (1lb) onions, thinly sliced

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan. Toss in the onions and cook over a low heat for whatever length of time it takes for them to soften and caramelize to a golden brown, 30-45 minutes approx.

Beetroot and Walnut Cake

Serves 10

3 free-range organic eggs

150ml (5 fl oz) sunflower oil

50g (2oz) soft brown sugar

150g (5oz) white or spelt flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

100g (4oz) beetroot, grated

60g (2 1/4 oz) sultanas

60g (2 1/4 oz) walnuts, coarsely chopped

Icing

175g (6oz) icing sugar

3-4 tablespoons water to bind

To Decorate

deep-fried beetroot (see below)

pumpkin seeds

1 loaf tin 13 x 20cm (5 x 8inch)

Preheat the oven to 180º/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

Line a loaf tin with a butter paper or baking parchment.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and sugar until smooth. Sift in the flour and baking powder, add a pinch of salt and gently mix into the egg mixture. Stir in the grated beetroot, sultanas and walnuts. Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Next make the icing.

Sieve the icing sugar, beat in the water gradually to a stiff consistency. Spread evenly over the cake, allow to drizzle down the sides, leave for 5 minutes and scatter with deep-fried beetroot (see below) and pumpkin seeds.

Peel the outer skin off the beetroot. Using a peeler, slice thin rings of the beetroot. Allow to dry on kitchen paper for 20 minutes. Deep-fry until crispy.

We used two 8 inch cake tins and then sandwiched the two cakes with the icing as well as the top – it was light and delicious.

Serves 6-8

160g (5 1/2oz) plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon clove

1 organic egg yolk

1 large organic egg

200ml (7fl oz) sunflower oil

275g (10oz) castor sugar

50g (2oz) chopped walnuts

50g (2oz) desiccated coconut

135g (4 1/2oz) roughly grated carrot

2 organic egg whites 

pinch of salt

Icing

175g (6oz) cream cheese

75g (3oz) unsalted butter

35g (1 1/4oz) icing sugar

25g (1oz) honey

25g (1oz) chopped and lightly toasted walnuts

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350°/Gas Mark 3 1/2.

Grease 2 x 20cm (8 inch) loose-base cake tin and cover the bottom and sides with greaseproof paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices.

Lightly whisk together the 1 yolk with the 1 whole egg. Set the whites aside.

In a mixer bowl with the beater attachment beat together the oil and sugar for about a minute. On a low speed slowly add the yolk and egg mix. Add the nuts and carrot and then the sifted dry ingredients. Don’t over-mix. Remove from the mixer bowl into another large bowl.

Make sure the mixer bowl is totally clean before pouring in the eggs whites with a pinch of salt and whisking on high speed until firm peaks form.

Gently fold the egg whites into the carrot mix in 3 additions. Do not over mix. Streaks of whites in the mix are ok.

Pour the cake mix into the prepared tins and bake in the preheated oven for approximately 40 to 45 minutes. It could take longer. A skewer would come out totally dry when inserted in the middle of the cake.

If the cake starts going dark while the centre is not cooked cover with foil.

Once ready, let the cake cool down totally and remove from the tin.

To make the icing

, bring the cheese to room temperature and beat up in a mixer until light and smooth. Remove from mixer. Beat the butter, icing sugar and honey in the mixer until light and airy. Fold together the cheese and butter mixes.

Spread waves of icing on top of the cake and sprinkle with nuts.

Makes 50 approximately

225g (8oz) butter

225g (8oz) caster sugar

1 organic egg

1 tablespoon double cream

300g (10oz) plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

pure vanilla extract (or lemon juice or ground ginger)

Extra sugar

Cream the butter and caster sugar in a bowl, then add the beaten egg, cream, flour, salt, baking powder and vanilla extract. Shape the dough into a long roll or rolls, about 5cm (2 inches or smaller if you prefer) in diameter, and wrap in silicone paper or foil. Chill in the refrigerator until the next day.

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas Mark 5.

Cut the dough into thin rounds. Arrange well apart on 1 baking tray. Sprinkle them with sugar and cook for about 10 - 12 minutes in the preheated oven; they should remain pale in colour. Transfer to a wire rack. There is no need to bake the dough all at once; cut off what you need and put it back in the refrigerator until you fancy another bicci.

If you would like different flavours, divide the dough into three, and flavour each mixture differently.

Thrifty Tip

Split the contents of your different vegetable and herb seed packets with friends.

Hottips

presents Middle-Eastern Vegetarian Foods

Ann Crowley and contributors from Morocco and Egypt will discuss the culture of vegetarianism in their countries and describe their favourite traditional recipes at the Crawford Art Gallery Café on Thursday 25th February at 7.30pm. The €6.00 entrance fee includes tea or coffee, recipes and tastings.

John and Sally McKenna - publishers of The Bridgestone Guides

are teaching a one day Food Writing Course at Ballymaloe Cookery School on Saturday 27th February, 2010.

If you think there is no more to food writing than the recipe ”n” restaurant concoctions of the weekend newspapers, then this course will be a revelation.

Whether your ambition is simply to write a blog, or to write your masterpiece, then knowing the work of great writers is one of the keys to understanding the artfulness and greatness that lies in writing about food. The course is also extremely practical, Sally McKenna will discuss how to create everything from the simplest blog to the mechanism behind lighting food for photography, or mastering page layout for your own book. To book phone 021 4646 785 or

A recent attempt to identify a cheese on a salad in a Cork restaurant came back first as Irish, secondly as West Cork and eventually after I’d decided not to venture any further I was presented with the name of a Co-op in Co Tipperary. I’m still none the wiser about the name of the cheese or the cheese maker. Sadly nowadays - despite the fact that local is the hottest word in ‘the gastro’ vocabulary –the source of supply is more likely to be a multinational catering company than a local supplier not to speak of a farmer or fisherman.

Why aren’t more restaurants serving local food proudly? Those of us in the hospitality business depend on local people to support our restaurants and hotels, yet few enough consider it a priority or obligation to put some money back into the local community by supporting local butchers, bakers, farmers, cheese makers or vegetable and fruit growers. Those who do, generate tremendous good will for their business and hugely enhance the experience for their guests by incorporating local food in season and identifying the producer on their menu. This is a win win situation for both the customer and the producer. The latter gets the credit for the product and extra sales when satisfied customers go in search of the original next time they go shopping. Cork has a history of being proud of its own so Good Food Ireland Cork Week – from Monday 8^{th to Friday 12th February - gives us the perfect opportunity to showcase the bounty of Cork city and county.www.goodfoodireland.ie has tons of info on little gems around the country.}

Hottips

To mark the first Good Food Ireland Cork Week, restaurants and hotels, pubs and cafés all over Cork will serve a Good Food Ireland plate incorporating the food of the local Good Food Ireland members for €15.00 per plate including a glass of wine. There is an abundance of superb artisan produce in this area - free range chickens, ducks, geese, farmhouse cheeses, cured meats, honey and home cured hams and bacon, homemade sausages and even some day boat fish.

Good Food Ireland was founded by Margaret Jeffares in November 2006. It operates as a not-for-profit industry driven Irish food tourism organisation. It is the only industry group with an all island-food tourism strategy.

Good Food Ireland was founded to endorse and promote these places committed to local food and to link the food producer, farmer and fisherman with the hospitality sector. It’s brilliant for those of you who like to seek not only great places to eat but artisan produce and local Farmers Markets when they are travelling around the country. The Good Food Ireland food map pulls all the strands of the food jigsaw together The website

Kay Harte of the Farm Gate Restaurant in the English Market will offer her guests Millstreet Venison Casserole from Jack McCarthy Meats in Kanturk. Millstreet Country Park farmed venison is not as strong or gamey as the wild meat and is available fresh all year round.

Claire Nash of Nash 19 on Princes Street in Cork has had a Good Food Ireland plate on the menu since March 2009 with offers the produce of eight to ten artisan producers to a tremendous response from her customers.

The plates change daily and include Belly of Pork and Free Range Bacon from Crowes in Co Tipperary, Sliabh Luachra and Smoked Beef from Jack McCarthy Meats in Kanturk, a selection of smoked fish from the Burren Smoke House, charcuterie and cheese from Gubbeen in West Cork, Cooleeney Brie from Thurles, Co Tipperary, Inch Pudding from Thurles in Tipperary, Ardsallagh Goats Cheese from Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, Organic Millhouse Smoked Salmon from Geraldine Bass in Buttervant, Co Cork and Nash 19 chicken liver pate and Nash 19 organic brown bread made from Sowans Organic Flour.

Ballymaloe House will feature the produce of many local producers including Tom Clancy, Ballycotton Free-range Chicken, Noreen and Martin Conroy’s Woodside Farm Bacon and Bill Casey’s Shanagarry Smoked Salmon. So lets get out there and celebrate Good Food Ireland.

One of my favourite easy entertaining tricks is to serve a selection of Irish artisan charcuterie from inspired producers like Fingal Ferguson from West Cork, Jack and Tim McCarthy from Kanturk. The quality is so wonderful that I’m always bursting with pride as I serve it.

A selection of cured meats:

Air dried smoked Connemara lamb

Smoked venison

Prosciutto, Gubeen, Chorizo

Venison Salami

Smoked Beef

Sliabh Luachra Beef

A selection of:

Crusty country breads, sour dough, yeast and soda

Tiny gherkins or cornichons

Fresh radishes, just trimmed but with some green leaf attached

A good green salad of garden lettuce and salad leaves

Arrange the meats and potted meat on a large platter, open a good bottle of red and tuck in!

Nash 19 will serve their own chicken liver pate with their organic brown bread on their Good Food Ireland Plate.

A richly flavoured chicken liver pâté. Seek out organic livers.

Serves 4-6

75g (3oz) butter

100g (3 1/2oz) finely chopped shallot

1 clove garlic, crushed

225g (8oz) organic chicken livers

2 tablespoons brandy

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

pinch of mixed spice

salt and freshly ground pepper

Melt 25g (1oz) butter in a saucepan, add the finely chopped shallot and crushed garlic. Cook on a low heat until soft but not coloured, 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken livers, cook for 4-5 minutes turning once or twice, add the brandy, allow to flame. When the flames die down, add the mustard, a pinch of mixed spice, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Put the whole lot into a food processor. Allow to cool. Add 50g (2oz) butter and whizz until smooth. Fill into ramekins, cover with a layer of clarified butter and then refrigerate until needed. Serve with hot thin toast.

Serves 6

Tom’s chickens take 12 weeks to reach maturity. They are fed on special feed and range freely on his farm in Ballycotton and the flavour and texture is mouth watering.. Woodside Farm traditional pork and bacon products have developed a loyal following in a short time, a little crispy bacon added to the stuffing makes it extra delicious.

4 1/2 - 5 lbs (1.5 - 2.3kg) free range chicken, preferably organic

Giblets (keep the liver for a chicken liver pate)

1 thickly sliced carrot

1 thickly sliced onion

1 stick celery, sliced

a few parsley stalks and a sprig of thyme

4oz (110g) Woodside Farm Streaky Bacon cut into small cubes

1 1/2 ozs (45g) butter

3 ozs (75g) chopped onion

3-3 1/2 ozs (75-95g) soft white breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs eg. parsley, thyme, chives and annual marjoram

salt and freshly ground pepper

a little soft butter

1 – 1 1/2 pints (600-900mls) of stock from giblets or chicken stock

Sprigs of flat parsley

First remove the wish bone from the neck end of the chicken, this is easily done by lifting back the loose neck, skin and cutting around the wish bone with a small knife – tug to remove, this isn’t at all essential but it does make carving much easier later on. Tuck the wing tips underneath the chicken to make a neat shape. Put the wish bone, giblets, carrot, onions, celery and herbs into a saucepan. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil, skin and simmer gently while the chicken is roasting. This is the basis of the gravy.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil or sunflower oil in a frying pan, add the lardons of bacon, and cook until crisp and golden.

Next make the stuffing,

sweat the onions gently in the butter in a covered saucepan until soft, 10 minutes approx. then stir in the white bread crumbs, the freshly chopped herbs, a little salt and pepper to taste. Allow it to get quite cold unless you are going to cook the chicken immediately. If necessary wash and dry the cavity of the bird, then season and half fill with stuffing. Season the breast and legs, smear with a little soft butter.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/regulo4. Weight the chicken and allow about 20 minutes to the lb and 20 minutes over – put on middle shelf in oven. Baste a couple of times during the cooking with the buttery juices. The chicken is done when the juices are running clear.

To test prick the thickest part at the base of the thigh, hold a spoon underneath to collect the liquid, examine the juices - they should be clear.

Remove the chicken to a carving dish, keep it warm and allow to rest while you make the gravy.

, tilt the roasting tin to one corner and spoon off the surplus fat from the juices and return the roasting pan to the stove. De glaze the pan juices with the fat free stock from the giblets and bones (you will need 1 1/2 pints depending on the size of the chicken). Using a whisk, stir and scrape well to dissolve the caramelized meat juices in the roasting pan. Boil it up well, season and thicken with a little roux if you like (the gravy should not be thick). Taste and correct seasoning, serve in a hot gravy boat.

If possible serve the chicken on a nice carving dish surrounded by crispy roast potatoes and some sprigs of flat parsley then arm yourself with a sharp knife and bring it to the table. Carve as best you can and try to organise it so that each person gets some brown and some white meat. Serve with gravy and bread sauce.

Use the cooked carcass for stock.

Robbie and his wife Yvonne are third generation of the family to run traditional poultry at Easy Ferry, Midleton, Co Cork.

Serves 4

1 free range duck - 4 lb (1.8kg) in weight

3 brightly coloured oranges

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 1/2 fl ozs (63ml) red wine vinegar

2 1/2 fl ozs (63ml) red wine

1/2 pint (300ml) duck or chicken stock

4 fl ozs (110ml) Port

1/2 -1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

salt, pepper and a few drops of lemon juice

Garnish

sprigs of parsley or watercress

Scrub the oranges. Peel the zest from two with a swivel top peeler and cut two thirds into fine julienne strips, blanch and refresh. Season the duck cavity and the skin with salt and freshly ground pepper. Put the remaining one third of the orange peel into the cavity and transfer the duck to a hot oven, preheated to 220°C/425°F/regulo 7. Reduce the temperature to 180°C/350°F/regulo 4, after 30 minutes. Continue to roast for a further 30-45 minutes.

While the duck is roasting make a sweet and sour caramel.

Boil the sugar and vinegar over moderately high heat for several minutes until the mixture has turned a chestnut brown coloured syrup. Remove from the heat immediately and pour in 1/4 pint (150ml) of the stock. Simmer for a minute, stirring to dissolve the caramel. Then add the rest of the stock, port, wine and juice of one orange. Simmer until the sauce is clear and lightly thickened; add the orange liqueur little by little. Add the remainder of the orange julienne. Taste, correct the seasoning and sharpen with lemon juice if necessary, leave aside. The sauce may be prepared to this point several hours in advance. Cut the remaining 2 oranges into neat skinless segments and reserve for garnishing the duck.

When the duck is cooked, allow to rest in a warm oven for at least 10 minutes before carving. Carve neatly and arrange on a serving dish or individual plates. Garnish with the orange segments. Spoon some of the sauce over the duck and serve the rest separately in a sauce boat.

Garnish with sprigs of parsley or watercress.

Every Shrove Tuesday we make pancakes at the School, the students queue up to eat them hot from the pan, with much swapping of stories about how mothers made them - this year one was heard to remark ruefully - ‘my mother’s pancakes never tasted like these- these are delicious! In fact these are very nearly as good as Crepes Suzette but half the bother.

Serves 6 - makes 12 approx.

175g (6oz) white flour, preferably unbleached

A good pinch of salt

1 dessertspoon castor sugar

2 large eggs and 1 or 2 egg yolks, preferably free range

425ml (scant ¾ pint) milk, or for very crisp, light delicate pancakes, milk and water mixed

2 tablespoons melted butter

175g (6oz) butter

3 teaspoons finely grated orange rind

200g (7oz) icing sugar

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (optional)

Freshly squeezed juice of 5 oranges

8 inch (20.5cm) non-stick crepe pan

First make the batter. Sieve the flour, salt, and sugar into a bowl, make a well in the centre and drop in the eggs. With a whisk or wooden spoon, starting in the centre, mix the egg and gradually bring in the flour from the sides. Add the liquid slowly and beat until the batter is covered with bubbles. (If they are to be served with sugar and lemon juice, stir in an extra tablespoon of castor sugar and the finely grated rind of half a lemon).

Let the batter stand in a cold place for an hour or so - longer will do no harm. Just before you cook the pancakes stir in 2 tablespoons melted butter. This will make all

the difference to the flavour and texture of the pancakes and will make it possible to cook them without greasing the pan each time.

Next make the Orange butter.

Cream the butter with the finely grated orange rind. Then add the sifted icing sugar and beat until fluffy, add the orange liqueur if using.

Make the pancakes in the usual way.

Heat a non stick pan until very hot, pour in just enough batter to cover the base when you tilt and swirl the pan. Put the pan back on the heat; loosen the pancake around the edge with a non metal slice. Flip over, cook for a few seconds on the reverse side. Slide over onto a plate. Repeat until all the batter has been used up.

Pancakes and orange butter can be make ahead and finished later. The pancakes will keep overnight covered in a fridge. They will peel apart easily - no need to interleaf them with greaseproof paper.

Melt a large blob of the Orange butter in the pan, add some freshly squeezed orange juice and toss the pancakes in the foaming butter, fold in half and then in quarters (fan shapes). Serve 2 per person on warm plates. Repeat until all the pancakes and butter have been used.

This is a delicious way to use up smoked salmon if you have any trimmings left over.

Smoked salmon trimmings

Softened butter, unsalted

Remove any skin or bones from the fish. Weigh the flesh. Add three quarters the weight in butter. Blend to a smooth puree. Fill into pots and run clarified butter over the top. Alternatively, mould in a loaf tin. Turn out and cut in slices when set.

So why not ask your cute friend round for lunch or dinner. Doesn’t have to be fancy – just comforting and gorgeous. Think about the menu carefully, listen out for clues in the conversation, would a chicken casserole hit the spot or will a tagine of lamb be more appealing? Both could be made ahead and served with ease and aplomb. The latter just needs some couscous, the former some fluffy mash or just a baked potato.

A bowl of delicious soup might be the perfect starter on these wintery days with some freshly made bread. Nothing brings on thoughts of romantic proposals faster that the smell of crusty bread – organise it so the bread is just coming out of the oven as they arrive. Suddenly they can see their whole life stretching out ahead of them – coming home every evening to the smell of something delicious bubbling on the stove – you may laugh – but try it and let me know how you get on.

If a delicious soup seems a little dreary or pedestrian why not try a twice baked soufflé, it sounds posh, but it can made ahead and just popped into the oven to reheat a few minutes before the meal. Alternatively a little goat cheese salad with crispy chorizo or pomegranate seeds is another easy option with a little twist.

For pudding there’s a vast choice, you might want to check out whether your friend does in fact have a sweet tooth, otherwise a delicious piece of Irish farmhouse cheese and some homemade crackers could round off the meal.

However most people are tempted by a bit of pudding. Is it to be an irresistible bread and butter pudding, a silky chocolate mousse with a few boudoir biscuits to dunk or a juicy apple tart even better mammy used to make. Here at the cookery school Rachel Allen and Rory O’Connell will be teaching a one day course ‘How to be a Culinary Cupid – the Art of Cooking for your Valentine’ on Saturday 6^{th February – you’ll have lots of fun and learn two or three menus and a myriad of tasty tips to tantalise your sweetheart’s taste buds.} If you are going to Galway

The casserole can be an entire meal in a pot by covering the top with whole peeled potatoes just before it goes into the oven. Use a really good chicken (see Hot Tips for sources)

Serves 4-6

1 x 3 1/2 lbs (1.57kg) chicken (free range if possible) or six chicken thighs

a little butter or oil for sautéing

12 ozs (340g) green streaky bacon (blanch if salty) look out for Gubeen or Woodside Farm bacon at Mahon Point or Midleton Farmers Markets.

12 ozs (340g) carrot, peeled and thickly sliced (if the carrots are small, leave whole, if large cut in chunks)

1 lb (450g) onions, (baby onions are nicest)

sprig of thyme

homemade chicken stock – 1 1/4 pints (750ml) approx.

roux - optional – just melt ½ oz butter and stir 1oz white flour, cook on a gentle heat for 2 – 3 minutes.

mushroom a la créme (see recipe)

2 tablespoons parsley, freshly chopped

Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF/regulo 4

Cut the rind off the bacon and cut into approx. 1 inch (2 cm) cubes, (blanch if salty). Dry in kitchen paper. Joint the chicken into 8 pieces. Season the chicken pieces well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the bacon until crisp, remove and transfer to the casserole. Add chicken pieces a few at a time to the pan and sauté until golden, add to the bacon in the casserole. Heat control is crucial here, the pan mustn’t burn yet it must be hot enough to sauté the chicken. If it is too cool, the chicken pieces will stew rather than sauté and as a result the meat may be tough. Then toss the onion and carrot in the pan adding a little butter if necessary, add to the casserole. Degrease the pan and deglaze with stock, bring to the boil and pour over the chicken etc. Season well, add a sprig of thyme and bring to simmering point on top of the stove, then put into the oven for 30-45 minutes, 180ºC/350ºF/regulo 4.

Cooking time depends on how long the chicken pieces were sautéed for.

When the chicken is just cooked, strain off the cooking liquid, degrease, return the degreased liquid to the casserole and bring to the boil. Thicken with a little roux if necessary (see below). Add the meat, carrots and onions back into the casserole and bring to the boil. Taste and correct the seasoning. The casserole is very good served at this point, but it’s even more delicious if some mushroom a la crème is stirred in as an enrichment. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and bubbling hot.

Serves 4

1/2-1 oz (15-25g butter

3 ozs (75g) onion, finely chopped

1/2 lb (225g) mushrooms, sliced

4fl ozs (100ml) cream

freshly chopped parsley

1/2 tablespoon freshly chopped chives (optional)

a squeeze of lemon juice

salt and freshly ground pepper

roux

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan until it foams. Add the chopped onions, cover and sweat on a gentle heat for 5-10 minutes or until quite soft but not coloured. Meanwhile cook the sliced mushrooms in a little butter, in a hot frying pan in batches if necessary. Season each batch with salt, freshly ground pepper and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice. Add the mushrooms to the onions in the saucepan, then add the cream and allow to bubble for a few minutes. Thicken with a little roux to a light coating consistency. Taste and correct the seasoning, and add parsley and chives if used.

Mushroom a la Crème keeps well in the fridge for 4-5 days.

The great thing about this recipe is that you have all the ingredients in one pot and can prepare this ahead and the flavour improves with time.

Serves 6

1.35kg (3 lbs) boned shoulder of lamb

1/2 tablespoon) ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

generous pinch saffron

50g (2ozs) unsalted butter

2 onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

salt

175g (6ozs) raisins, soaked in water and drained

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons chopped coriander

1 tablespoon oil

50g (2ozs) flaked almonds

fresh coriander leaves

natural yoghurt

Trim the lamb, discarding excess fat. Cut into 1 1/2 inch (4cm) cubes. Mix cinnamon, ginger, pepper and saffron with 4 tablespoons water. Toss the lamb in this mixture. If you have time, leave to marinade for up to 24 hours.

Melt the butter in a wide pan. Add the lamb, onions, garlic, salt and enough water to come half way up the meat. Bring up to the boil, cover and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for about an hour, turning the lamb occasionally until the meat is meltingly tender. Add the drained raisins, honey and half the coriander. Continue simmering for a further 30 minutes or so, uncovered until the sauce is thick and unctuous. Taste and adjust seasoning.

While the tagine is cooking, scoop out the flesh out of a preserved lemon, chop up the peel. Fry the almonds in the oil until almost golden brown. Then add the diced lemon and toss 2 or 3 times. Drain on kitchen paper. Sprinkle preserved lemon, almonds and remaining coriander over the lamb just before serving. Natural yoghurt makes a delicious accompaniment. Serve with couscous.

Pomegranates are the symbol of fertility and also cut cholesterol brilliantly.

Serves 2

2 handfuls rocket leaves

soft Ardsallagh Goat’s cheese

1 tablespoon best quality local honey

Maldon sea salt

¼ pomegranate

coarsely ground black pepper

extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon

Divide the rocket leaves between 4 large plates or 1 large flat serving plate. Slice or dice the goat’s cheese and sprinkle on rocket leaves. Remove the pomegranate seeds from the skin, sprinkle over the rocket leaves. With a teaspoon, drizzle the honey over the salad in a grid pattern then drizzle the salad with extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Finally, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve.

‘Wow you make your own crackers’ is bound to be the response to these delicious little biscuits. They keep for several weeks in an air tight tin and also freeze well.

Makes 25-30 biscuits

110g (4 oz) brown wholemeal flour

110g (4 oz) white flour, preferably unbleached

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

25g (1 oz) butter

1 tablespoon cream

water as needed, 5 tablespoons approx.

Mix the brown and white flour together and add the salt and baking powder. Rub in the butter and moisten with cream and enough water to make a firm dough.

Roll out very thinly to one-sixteenth inch thick approx. Prick with a fork. Cut with 6.5-7.5cm (2 1/2-3 inches) round cutter. Bake at 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2 for 45 minutes approx. or until lightly browned and quite crisp. Cool on a wire rack.

Serves 6

110g (4ozs) good quality dark chocolate

110ml (4fl ozs) cream

1-2 tablespoons rum, brandy, or Grand Marnier,

or

1 teaspoon grated orange rind (optional)

2 eggs, separated

Boudoir biscuits

Chop the chocolate finely. Bring the cream up to the boil, turn off the heat, add the chocolate to the cream and stir it around until the chocolate melts in the cream. Add in the alcohol, if using, and whisk in the egg yolks. Whisk the egg whites until just stiff, then stir in a quarter of the egg white, fold in the rest, gently, being careful not to knock all the air out. Pour the mousse into a glass or cup and pop into the fridge for an hour or two to set. Serve with Boudoir biscuits for romantic dunking.

Bread and Butter Pudding

Don’t change anything in this recipe. I know its rich but it tastes divine and will definitely do the trick.

Serves 6-8

12 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed

50g (2oz) butter, preferably unsalted

1⁄2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon or mixed spice

200g (7oz) sultanas

450ml (16fl oz) cream

225ml (8fl oz) milk

4 large organic eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

175g (6oz) sugar plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling

pinch of salt

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

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

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

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

Place the pudding in a bain-marie and pour in enough water to come half way up the sides of the baking dish. Bake the pudding in the middle of the oven for about 1 hour or until the top is crisp and golden. Serve the pudding warm with some softly whipped cream.

Irresistible Apple Pie

The pastry is a gem, it is made by the creaming method so people who are convinced that they suffer from ‘hot hands’ don’t have to worry about rubbing in the butter. Rhubarb, plums, apricot, gooseberries in season all work brilliantly.

Serves 8-12

8 ozs (225g) butter

2 ozs (50g) castor sugar

2 eggs, preferably free range

12 ozs (300g) white flour, preferably unbleached

1 1/2 lbs (675g) Bramley Seedling cooking apples

5 ozs (150g) sugar

2-3 cloves

egg wash-made with one beaten egg and a dash of milk

castor sugar for sprinkling

softly whipped cream

Barbados sugar

tin, 7 inches (18cm) x 12 inches (30.5cm) x 1 inch (2.5cm) deep

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

First make the pastry. Cream the butter and sugar together by hand or in a food mixer (no need to over cream). Add the eggs and beat for several minutes. Reduce speed and mix in the flour. Turn out onto a piece of floured greaseproof paper, flatten into a round wrap and chill. This pastry needs to be chilled for at least 2 hours otherwise it is difficult to handle.

Roll out the pastry 1/8 inch (3mm) thick approx., and use about 2/3 of it to line a suitable tin. Peel, quarter and dice the apples into the tart, sprinkle with sugar and add the cloves. Cover with a lid of pastry, seal edges, decorate with pastry leaves, egg wash and bake in the preheated oven until the apples are tender, approx. 45 minutes to 1 hour. When cooked cut into squares, sprinkle lightly with castor sugar and serve with softly whipped cream and Barbados sugar.

A brilliant recipe for using up left over bits of cheese, add a little blue cheese if available.

Any bits of left over cheese eg. Cheddar, Parmesan, Gruyere, Coolea, Cashel Blue … a little soft cheese may also be added but you will need some hard cheese to balance the flavour.

Weigh cheese then use equal amounts of butter and plain white flour.

Grate the cheese - rinds and all. Dice the butter. Cream the butter and stir in the flour and grated cheese, form into a roll like a long sausage, about 4cm (1 1/2 inches) thick. Alternatively whizz in a food processor until it forms a dough, shape using a little flour if necessary. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 -2 hours until solid.

Slice into rounds - about 7mm (1/3 inch) thick. Arrange on a baking tray, cook in a preheated oven 250ºC/475ºF/regulo 9 for approximately 5 minutes until golden brown.

Leave to cool for a couple of seconds then transfer to a wire rack. Best eaten on the day they are made as they soften quite quickly.

All over the country people

are beginning to rear good chicken in a traditional way once again. They take much longer to mature so cost considerably more that the intensively produced birds – however the meat is like a forgotten flavour and the carcass makes a terrific pot of broth.

Dan Ahern, Dungourney Co Cork 021 4631058.

Nora Aherne: Elfordstown, Midleton, Co Cork 021 4632354

Tom Clancy: Ballycotton, 086 3089431

East Ferry Poultry: 021 4651916

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

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

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

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.}

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 150˚/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