Letters on Lunches

Casserole for Summer

Gordon Ramsay has made a huge name for himself in the world of food over the past few years but another Ramsay who has been quietly beavering away in the background is his lovely wife Tana. Unfortunately, Chorus doesn’t give me access to UKTV Food but I’m pretty sure she hosts a show on that Channel and she has also written a very useful cookbook. I can’t say I’ve gone & purchased it myself but I have paged through it diligently in my aunts bookshop and found a lovely recipe for a chicken & mango casserole which I’ve since cooked time & time again.

            I know some people don’t like the idea of fruit in their dinner but this is different. Even my guest last night noted that the mango was more like a sweet squash than the super sweet mango it was in its raw form. This dish is so comforting for a cold and windy day but it also has a fresh taste about it which urges you not to worry because Summer is right around the corner!!!

            On another note entirely, I’m going to head into Alchemist Earth later for the food tasting hosted by Ginger Girl. I’m a little nervous as I’ve not yet opened her jar of apple & sloe jelly but I’ve two very good friends calling for dinner on Thursday night and plan on cooking a special meal for them of which the jelly will play a big part. Tune in next week for the recipe, until then, make do with this delicious casserole!

Chicken & Mango Casserole

with saffron rice

Serves 4

What You Need

1 & ½ cups long white rice

About 20 strands of saffron

4 full chicken legs split at the joint to make 4 thighs & 4 drumsticks

1 litre chicken stock

2 onions sliced thinly

1 cup flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 handful of parsley

Sea Salt & Pepper

1 mango peeled & cut into chunks

1 Tbsp butter

What You Do

• Pre-heat the oven to 200C
• Gently fry the onion in a pan for about 5 minutes & transfer to a casserole.
• Season the flour & coat the chicken pieces. Gently brown the chicken pieces in the pan and transfer to the casserole when done.
• Add the butter to the pan with a tablespoon of flour, mix to a thick paste and slowly add some of the stock until a smooth sauce is achieved. Add this to the casserole, followed by the rest of the stock, parsley, cinnamon, seasoning and mango.
• Stir and transfer to the oven for 1 & ½ hours.
• Cook the rice per the instructions on the packet with the saffron and serve with the chicken when done.

Coffee? Make Mine Irish!

I have this thing for Irish coffee. For me, it’s a real treat and I often make one if sitting in on a Friday or Saturday night. I have many friends who are partial to the odd Irish / French / Baileys coffee and one thing that always surprises me is the amount of people that get it wrong. Personally, I think I make a mean Irish coffee and I’m not saying that mine is the best, but here are some tips that may help to improve on your versions.

1. Heat the glass – this is important as it’ll help keep the drink hotter for longer. It sounds simple but so many people don’t do it. Put a teaspoon into the glass and fill the glass about a third of the way with boiling water. Then tilt the glass & turn it gently so the water gets to heat every part of the glass. Pour the water out after about 10 seconds of this. The teaspoon stops the glass from cracking apparently.

2. Add the sugar & coffee – one teaspoon of brown sugar & one teaspoon of good coffee granules. Obviously, if you’ve a coffee maker, make a pot. Add some water, about 4/5’s up the glass & stir so the sugar completely dissolves. If you don’t do this, the sugar will sit at the bottom without sweetening the drink.

3. Add the Irish whiskey – please note IRISH whiskey; not scotch, not JD; Irish whiskey. Also, measure it! Some people load the glass with whiskey thinking it is better with more liquor, it’s not. Too much whiskey makes the coffee difficult to drink and also makes the drink go cold. I don’t have a proper spirit measure so I normally put in about 2 cap fulls.

4. Stir again and pour the cream in over the back of a dessert spoon which will help it to float. This requires some practice and the cream should be whipped to the point where it forms soft peaks. Also, if you’re worried about wasting cream, it freezes well so pop what’s left into a freezer bag and you always have an Irish Coffee at hand.

If you couldn’t be bothered making an Irish Coffee at home or would just prefer to go out for a good one, Debbie from Fennessey’s makes the best I’ve tried in Limerick.

On another note, we’ve been calling to Cahill’s on Wickham Street most Saturday mornings for espressos after the market. It’s primarily a tobacco shop but they’ve introduced a new coffee machine and have a great selection of handmade Belgian truffles. They also have a good selection of coffee granules for sale as well as bars of Valrhona chocolate (widely regarded as the Rolls Royce of chocolate). They don’t have any seats but it’s nice for a quick coffee & choc before heading off to finish off the rest of the Saturday morning chores. 

The Cherry on the Icing on the Cake

We’d a bit of an anniversary at the weekend. Yes, you’ve guessed it, we’re the quintessential Irish couple who hooked up on Paddy’s night. He treated me to a late supper in the Lobster Pot and the rest, as they say, is history (that’s a funny joke if you’re from Limerick, if you’re not, The Lobster Pot is a fast food joint, frequented by drunkards, famous for garlic & cheese chips & battered sausages). So back to the anniversary, we decided to treat ourselves to dinner in the bright and airy Cherry Tree restaurant on the Ballina side of Killaloe and treat ourselves we did. If one was to pick holes, it could be said that the service was a little slow but to be fair, we weren’t being ignored; the friendly waitresses continually re-assured us that they were coming to take our orders, coming with food, coming with the bill, everything was on its way. It was somewhat funny, slightly endearing and marginally irritating. We got over it as the food more than compensated for it.

            I’m not going to properly explain what was on the menu as I just can’t. I can break it down as best I can but just can’t explain every component in detail – it was one of those top meals that you could safely say, hand on heart, ‘I couldn’t have done better’!

The bouche was a white wine & ham soup which was more like a foam (we noticed a lot of foam on our plates as the night went on) and it came with a selection of fresh homemade breads; lovely. I ordered scallops to start and himself ordered the quail. Both came out on rectangular plates in three pieces (everything’s in threes there, should have been called The Cherry Three – snigger). I’m not sure what sauces and accompaniments were with either, all I know is that both dishes were an utter joy to eat and we were left dying to see the next offering.

            A kiwi & vanilla sorbet was then delivered. I couldn’t get any vanilla but the kiwi flavour came off a treat and set us up nicely for the main. I ordered halibut with razor shell clams and rack of lamb for the other half. The lamb was ordered medium rare which was cooked as ordered and was unbelievably tender with the tiniest amount of fat attached. The halibut was divine and I was sure to point out to the waitress who collected our bare naked plates that we didn’t enjoy the food – I think she got the joke.

            Dessert, ah dessert was just a piece of chocolate heaven. It was the richest, most well executed chocolate fondant I’ve ever tasted. It came with a tiny scoop of hazelnut ice cream and pomegranate coulis. The coulis was ok, it was more like a juice and raspberry would have been better for sure. Himself had something with pistachios, I didn’t really notice as I was busy ogling the deliciousness that sat oozing in front of me.

             We ordered peppermint teas which came with hand-made chocolate truffles, jeez, would it ever end. The chocolates were just sinful and at that juncture, we were left safe in the knowledge that we had made complete pigs of ourselves! With a half bottle of Fleurie, the bill came to €123 but they also do an excellent set menu for €48. It was expensive but the quality of the food was of mammoth proportions. I believe the chef proprieter has worked in many well respected establishments, Le Gavroche and Fortnum & Mason to name a few. The Cherry Tree is definitely worth a visit for a special occasion and I’m sure we’ll be back.

Overtime, Notice & Leftovers

I’ve had a really busy week at work and will be working for the next couple of weekends which is a major pain. It means that I can’t go to my beloved market for the next two Saturdays (himself will be given a list) and do all my bits around the house or cook any long slow dinners. That’s what I love about weekend & days off; meals are planned during the week and great enjoyment is made from putting them together and savouring them at the weekend. Unlike many of my friends, I love food shopping. I like to take time to stroll among the aisles and see what’s new. Himself enjoys the liquor section; he spends ions gazing at foreign ales and selecting one or two bottles of high octane import to be drank out of an oversized red wine glass after dinner. The only thing I don’t really like is the fact that I don’t have a trolley to bring around the market with me; I think I’m going to have to invest in one of those plaid trolleys you see grannies pulling behind them, well, maybe not.

            Another event that took place at work this week was me handing in my notice. I was a bit inspired by Eddie Hobbs of all people last year when I watched his program about how to spend your SSIA. The number one thing to do was to change. your. life which really rang home. I had spent a good chunk on home improvements but went through all my finances, made a spreadsheet to outline a savings plan and sent a deposit off to Ballymaloe Cookery School to hold a place on their certificate course beginning in April. Most friends and family weren’t too surprised, even at work, many people thought it was something I’d go into eventually as all I seem to talk about is food. But handing in my notice made it so much more real. I was awake all that night in a bit of a panic; what will I do after? What if I can’t find a job? What if I can’t pay my mortgage? What if I’m not good? What if I can’t handle a kitchen? Questions raced around in my head until I eventually nodded off and I’m sure I spent the night grinding my teeth in my sleep. That’s just me stressing about what might happen, of course, everything will probably be fine and I’ll be happy out working somewhere nice before setting up my own fabulous business (;o)) but Sarah’s a stresser and that’s just the way it goes.

            I cooked Sunday lunch for the family last weekend which was roasted sea bream served with roast potatoes and a caprese salad on the side. That was followed by rhubarb crumble and custard. I had to improvise with the crumble as my big dishes were going to be used for the fish & potatoes so I just baked the crumble on a baking tray & stewed the rhubarb in a saucepan. What a way to go. The crumble came out so crunchy, it was fantastic. I made the custard using up a Green Saffron vanilla pod which was perfect with it. Anyway, there were a few roasties left over which I used up during the week in a frittata. I used up two egg whites from the freezer to be mixed with one whole egg which made a really light supper. Here it is…

Bacon & Potato Frittata

with a green & mango salad

Serves 1

What You Need

1 small onion sliced

Some bacon bits (I used leftover bacon from a bacon & cabbage dinner)

2 cooked potatoes sliced pretty thick

1 whole egg (or 3 if you don’t have spare egg whites)

2 egg whites

A splash of milk

Juice of half a lemon

100ml olive oil

Half a mango

Some salad leaves

What You Do

·        In a bowl, whisk the eggs, milk & seasoning.

·        Heat some oil in a small pan and gently fry off the onions and add the bacon & potatoes after a few minutes.

·        Pour in the egg mix and allow them to cook for about five minutes. Finish the frittata under the grill until the top is a golden brown colour.

·        Mix the lemon & oil in a jar & dress the leaves. Chop up the mango & add to the salad. The zingy salad is great with the frittata.

Hey Presto, Pesto!

Delia Smith’s new program, which began last night, has got me thinking; I never really buy convenience foods but I’ve spent a long time building up a huge arsenal of foods in my store cupboard and freezer so a good – shortcut free - meal is never far away. Sometimes, I may have to pop to the shop for one or two items but most of the time, I just use up things from the weekend shop in the market.

            For all those out there with empty fridges & cupboards, take this piece of advice; build your store up gradually. Pick one or two items up each week and in no time, you’ll have the base of any recipe from most cookbooks. Here’s a list of some items that I use quite a lot and are extremely handy to have in the press / freezer along with a snapshot of their uses.

Product                        Use                                                                  

Olive oil                       Cooking, dressings, mayonnaise, dipping bread and more

Extra Virgin Olive Oil    Too strong for cooking, better for dressings & bread

Sesame Oil                   A drop is good in stir-frys, noodle dishes & oriental salads

Grapeseed Oil              Good for mayonnaise as not too strong

Balsamic Vinegar          Dressings, onion jam, strawberries & marinades

White Wine Vinegar     Mayonnaise, dressings, emulsion sauces

Rice Vinegar                Oriental dipping sauces & salads

Worchestershire Sauce Meat dishes, stews, welsh rarebit, Sunday fry ups

Soy sauce                    Stir-frys, dips, salads, marinades & use as seasoning

Oyster sauce               Stir-frys, dipping sauces

Sweet chilli sauce        Dips, stir-frys, oriental eggs

English Mustard           Mustard mash, bacon, ham, mayonnaise

Dijon Mustard             Mustard mash, marinades, mayonnaise, pork burgers

Wholegrain Mustard    Mustard mash, colcannon

Piri Piri                       Fajitas, burgers, chicken dishes, bbq marinades, wedges

Ketchup                       Burgers, bbq

Honey                         Breakfast, Indian, Moroccan, Oriental, dessert & more

Tabasco                      Oysters, eggs, home fries

Cayenne Pepper           To give heat to a dish

Curry powder               Quick curry, dhal, curry mayo, soups

Smoked paprika           Paella, patatas bravas, choriza stew, wedges

Cinnamon                    Moroccan tagines & soups, desserts

Cumin                         Lamb, Indian dishes

Coriander seeds           Indian dishes

Maldon Sea Salt           Seasoning for everything

Black pepper                Seasoning

Freezer

Wine Red/White           Left-over wine for sauces & casseroles

Breadcrumbs                Coating meat & fish, making burgers & meatballs

Egg whites                    Pavlovas, meringues, omelette / frittata(use 1 egg & 2 whites)

Parmesan                     Italian dishes

Tortillas                        Fajitas, quesadillas, chips

Herbs                           If you don’t use up full pack, freeze left-overs for sauces

Pitta bread                    Defrosts quickly for a handy snack

Berries                         Sauces, fools, jams, puddings

This is just a start and you’ll need to look at building up pasta, rice, noodle, lentil, nut & pulse dry stores as well as tins of things like tuna, tomatoes & pulses. Hopefully, the additional ingredients will get you experimenting more with different flavours and get you cooking outside of your regular comfort zone.

            The recipe today was made to use up some basil left over from another dish on an earlier day. I didn’t pick out the small baby leaves, which is probably the right thing to do, but just bunged the whole lot into the pestle & mortar and mixed like mad. I keep pine nuts in a jar in the cupboard, parmesan in the freezer and always have spaghetti & olive oil so there was no need to visit the shops after work. Dinner was on the table in 20 minutes so I have to ask, why cut corners?

Spaghetti alla Pesto

Serves 2

What You Need

A good handful of basil leaves chopped

A small handful of pine nuts

2 Tbsp of fresh grated parmesan

Enough olive oil to loosen the mixture

Sea Salt & Pepper

Enough spaghetti for 2 people

What You Do

• Cook the spaghetti as per the instructions on the packet until al dente.
• Place all the other ingredients in the pestle & mortar and grind until made into a paste.
• Toast some pine nuts in a dry frying pan.
• Toss the pesto in the spaghetti and sprinkle with some of the toasted pine nuts & some parmesan.
• Pour yourself a cold glass of Pinot Grigo if available.

Limerick Foodie News: A new Italian restaurant has opened up on Mallow St – Tavola Calda which is both authentic (orders given to the chef in Italian) & reasonably priced. Pasta dishes range from €5 for lasagne to €8.50 for Bucatini all’ Amatricana (pasta with bacon, tomato & onion sauce). The bruschetta is around €3.50 and is made using foccaccia bread – not pizza base. They also have some nice wines which may be ordered by the glass, a good selection of Panini and, Paolo will be glad to hear, don’t use cream in the carbonara!! Drop in and give them some business, it’s important to support the newbies in town.

The Humble Chook - cont.

My brother called to visit at the weekend and was treated to the end of the organic chicken I’d picked up the previous week (don’t worry, I stored the breasts in the freezer). To be honest, the breasts were a bit too big for two people, I felt seriously stuffed afterwards, but they were just too good to stop eating. The recipe was adapted from Cook with Jamie which asked for the chicken to be wrapped in pancetta and baked on a bed of leeks. Now, I know my local supermarket does pancetta bits but I can’t find sliced pancetta anywhere; drop me a line if you know where I can get it in future (I have a feeling in my gut that Lorraine’s going to say Superquinn).

            Jamie Oliver has many critics but I have to say, his food is accessible to everyone and if I’m honest, it was the early days of the Naked Chef that got me really experimenting with salads, dressings and flavours. The Essex slang can be annoying but he’s toned that down a lot which makes watching Jamie at Home a pleasure these days. I enjoy the way he focuses on one ingredient for an entire episode although, I never think it’s long enough; it’s like a half hour has just disappeared without notice. I guess that’s why More 4 show back to back episodes every Sunday.

            A can of cannelini beans in the cupboard begged to be used and when cooked with a tin of tomatoes, some garlic and basil, made a delicious side dish to accompany the chicken. Talk about a protein feast; the late Dr Atkins would have been proud of me. The rest of the leeks were made into leek & potato soup for the week at work; I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I try and use up EVERYTHING. It’s a crime to let anything rot in your fridge as pretty much any kind of veggie may be used in a delicious soup, frittata, tartlet, stir-fry, the list goes on and on.

            On another note, I called into Alchemist Earth for the Ginger Girl tasting as kindly informed by Maz last week. Wow, it was an Aladin’s cave of delicious cheeses, crackers, chutneys, jams, juices, jellies and more on sale and available for tasting. I was in my element, chatting about the market, organic food, organic skincare products and scoffing at the same time. I left with a tub of Ren body scrub (the best skincare product I have ever used and up to recently only available in Selfridges of London and the web) and a jar of Ginger Girl’s sloe & apple jelly which I’m planning on using in a gravy to accompany either duck or pork in the near future. I’ll keep you posted (geddit?), now, back to the chicken.

Baked Chicken, Bacon & Leek Parcels

with stewed beans

Serves 2

What You Need

Two chicken breasts (best you can afford)

6 rashers of streaky bacon

2 large leeks, outer stalks removed, washed and thinly sliced

Sea salt & pepper

1 can of cannelini beans

1 tin of tomatoes

A handful of basil leaves

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

Olive oil

What You Do

• Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
• Make two small bowls out of some tin-foil to fit the chicken snugly.
• Wrap each breast in 3 slices of bacon / pancetta.
• Spread a layer of leeks in the base of each bowl and lay a wrapped breast in each bowl. Season, transfer to a baking tray and place in the oven for 25 / 30 minutes (the breasts I used were huge so needed 30 mins).
• In a pan, heat the oil and add the garlic. After a minute or two, add the beans, tomatoes, basil, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer until the chicken is cooked.
• When the chicken comes out of the oven, allow it to stand for a few minutes before slicing it.
• Place a spoon of beans on the plate, then the leek on top, and the chicken on top of that.
• Dig in!

Masterchef Finale

I’ve always been a Masterchef fan but I think it really took a hold on more people this year than ever before. The three finalists proved worthy adversaries but it really came down to two, Emily & James. James, the barrister who gave up life in chambers for a life behind swinging doors and Emily, well, what can one say about Emily? Show me one Michelin starred chef that was cooking with Emily’s creativity & ingenuity at age 18 and I’ll be very surprised. Such was her talent, tough as nails John Torrode (affectionately referred to as ‘Toad’ on the BBC message-boards) was moved to tears by one of her creations. Now, I confess that I missed most of the final episode as I was visiting a friend in Cork and we were booked in for dinner at 8.30 so just got to see them cooking their first dish, but on the Friday night that followed, it seemed as though most of my friends & family had been hooked early on and some even cried when the final result was announced. Even my own father, whose interests don’t stray much from Six One, Channel 4 News, Prime Time and Panorama was thoroughly gripped.

            James was eventually crowned the winner which, I think, was the right decision. He proved versatile, a natural leader, creative, skilful, knowledgeable and an all round nice guy to boot – remember Jonny’s hissy fit when Emily wanted to call her guacamole ‘deconstructed’- what on earth was that about? James’ father advised him at age 18 to make use of his brains first and look to cooking second – sound advise and I reckon that when the graduation bell tolls at Oxford for Emily, Michelin starred chefs from around the globe will be calling on her to have the honour of training the next big thing.

            I was thinking about some of Emily’s dishes over the weekend, most I wouldn’t be able to re-create myself but a rhubarb soup from the earlier heats grabbed my attention. Now, I’m not a big fan of fruit soups but I do like fruit jelly and thought of making rhubarb jelly & custard. It came out well but alas, I used powdered gelatine (my first time) and the texture was not as soft as I would have liked, I’d advise using gelatine leaves which are much nicer to work with and yield a more palatable result. Veggies could substitute agar but I’ve never worked with this so not quite sure – drop me a line if you think it would work. So here goes….

Rhubarb Jelly & Custard

Serves 2

What You Need

1lb rhubarb cut into chunks

1 litre water

2 Tbsp caster sugar (or more depending on your taste, I like it sour)

Gelatine per instructions on pack

250ml milk

½ pint cream

3 Tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 egg yolks

What You Do

·        Place rhubarb, water & 2 Tbsp of sugar in a pan, bring to the boil & cook for about 10 minutes until the rhubarb is fully cooked & broken down.

·        Strain the liquid through a sieve and combine with the gelatine per the instructions on the pack. Pour into serving glasses and transfer to the fridge overnight.

·        For the custard, heat the milk, cream, vanilla and 2Tbsp sugar in a pan until almost boiling and take off the heat to sit for a few minutes. Add the remaining sugar to the egg yolks & beat until pale and doubled in volume.

·        Add a ladle of the hot milk mix to the egg and mix thoroughly. Beat in the rest of the liquid, return to the pan and replace on a low heat for a few minutes, stirring continuously until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

·        Allow the custard to cool fully before adding to the jelly and serve with some biscuits. I used Garam Masala Cookies from Green Saffron but they may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

P.S. Many congratulations go out to Italian Foodies, The Limerick Blogger and Ice Cream Ireland as well as all the other winners who cleaned up at Saturday’s blog awards!

The Humble Chook

There has been much talk lately about the price of organic chicken and the debate on whether or not it’s worth it reigns on. I don’t cook chicken much anymore so when I do, I make sure it’s organic and make the absolute most of it. If you can’t afford to go the whole hog and buy an organic chicken, go half way and buy free-range / farm-fresh. It’s still better than the battery equivalent and the chicken will taste like chicken should.

            I picked up a beauty in O’Connell’s on Little Catherine St on Saturday and jointed it up for some dinners. The legs & thighs were going to be used for Coq au Vin, the breasts are sitting in the freezer at the moment and are going to be whipped out tomorrow for Jamie Oliver inspired chicken breasts baked in tin-foil with veggies & herbs, the wings are mahoosive and will be eaten on Saturday night as a treat while watching a DVD, the carcass was boiled in a litre of water for about an hour with an onion, a couple of celery stalks, a carrot & some thyme to make the base of my soup for the week (the sweetest carrot soup going). And finally, the stock soaked carcass was picked clean of meat which was eaten as a snack with some sea salt & brown sauce for my supper on Sunday night. Have I ever mentioned my love of cold cuts? One of the reasons I love Christmas so much isn’t Christmas dinner, it’s the cold cut platters assembled in the days that follow; baked ham, roast turkey, spiced beef, smoked salmon, some assorted cheeses, a slice of brown bread, a dollop of chutney and I’m in heaven.

            This was my first attempt at Coq au Vin and I’ll definitely cook it again. One thing that I should say that I’ve found when cooking chicken, the legs & thighs work better in a casserole as the brown meat is more moist. Chicken breast has a tendency to dry out if cooked in a casserole which is a terrible waste if you’ve splashed out on an organic chicken. Thighs & drumsticks aren’t big sellers so you’re local butcher will sell the full leg for about €0.60 for farm fresh chicken which will make for a very delicious & economical meal if you’re feeding a family or just a gang of friends. Tana Ramsay (Gordon’s missus) has a fab recipe for a chicken & mango casserole made with chicken thighs so if it’s good enough for the Ramsays, then it’s good enough for us plebs!

Coq au Vin

with celeriac mash

Serves 2/3

What You Need

2 full chicken legs split at the knee

6 shallots

8 mushrooms

4 rashers of smoked bacon cut into bite size pieces

2 Tbsp flour

½ litre red wine

2 cloves of garlic

Butter

A sprig of thyme

Sea salt & pepper

1 head of celeriac

2 medium ‘old’ potatoes

What You Do

• Pre-heat oven to 160C
• Saute bacon & onion in a pan with the butter for a few minutes and transfer to a casserole dish (a pyrex dish is fine – you can buy them cheap in Tesco / Heatons, no need to splash out on a Le Creuset dish).
• Add more butter to the pan if needed and dredge the chicken in the flour and brown in the pan. When browned, add to the casserole.
• Add the remaining flour to the pan and mix to form a paste, stir in the wine bit by bit until all flour mix is absorbed and pour the liquid to the casserole.
• Add the thyme & garlic to the casserole, season, put the lid on and place in the oven for an hour.
• After an hour, take the lid off, add the mushrooms and cook for another 30 minutes
• To make the celeriac mash, peel the celeriac & potatoes, chop the celeriac into chunks and boil in separate pans for half an hour. When cooked, drain the water, transfer to the one pan, add some butter, salt & pepper and mash together.

Saturday Sports

The lad & I are pretty big rugby fans but sometimes, the Saturday marathons are a bit too much to spend in a crowded pub so we opt to watch the matches in my place, cook a nice dinner and head into town to savour the craic later on in the night. Last Saturday was no different so we decided to cook up some burgers and chips to enjoy with a beer or two during the rugby.

            Not any ordinary burgers & chips, we went for pork & pudding burgers with red onion jam & goats cheese served with home-made wedges and a side of market salad. Perfect. Himself whipped up the burgers and I did the rest, including cooking the burgers – he’s only getting partial credit for this one. The recipe made 4 burgers so I’d one for my dinner after work yesterday with leftover mash from Sunday and fabulous purple kale which I stir-fried with some garlic & bacon. Who said cooking for one is boring?

            The goats cheese we used was a hard goats cheese from the Dutch guy in the market. It’s great on a pizza with black pudding (if you like BP you should try out this combo but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea) or on a cracker with some spicy chutney. The red onion jam recipe is the one used previously with bangers & mash and the wedges are from a previous recipe served with mussels but this time, we used Spanx ketchup instead of aioli.

            On a completely different note, for anyone who doesn’t buy The Observer, they have a fantastic food supplement on, I think, the last Sunday of the month. This month’s edition can be read on-line if you’re interested but we’re buying it religiously these days. The recipes are great but I’m most interested in the articles; this week has a feature on Delia Smith who’s returning to the screens with a series to accompany her new book on finding cheats in the kitchen. To be honest, I’m not one for buying pre-prepared vegetables (she recommends sliced onions in olive oil as well as smash among many others) so I probably won’t be splashing out but OFM did ask some top chefs for some tips & tricks which was pretty interesting. Atul Kochhar advises to make up large quantities of garlic & ginger paste to freeze in ice-cubes which can be removed to freezer bags when frozen and Michel Roux of Le Gavroche has a very easy version of mac & cheese that uses Laughing Cow triangles & goes down well with kids. It’s well worth getting; now, back to the recipe…

Pork & Pudding Cheeseburgers

with red onion jam, salad & wedges

Serves 2

What You Need

500g of pork mince (this will yield 4 burgers so freeze 2 for another day)

1 handful of breadcrumbs

1 egg

1 onion chopped

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt & Pepper

50g black pudding (we got Athy BP from Ray Conlon’s)

25g hard goats cheese thinly sliced

Wedges

Red onion jam

Some salad – get some good organic leaves and make up a salad of whatever’s in the fridge / fruitbowl to make up your 5-a-day. Dress with some balsamic & olive oil.

What You Do

• Mix the first 7 ingredients in a bowl with a fork and shape into patties when fully combined.
• Allow the burgers to sit in the fridge for about 30 mins before cooking.
• Pre-heat the oven to 200C and heat some olive oil in a pan. Gently brown the burger on both sides for about 3 minutes each side and transfer to the oven for 15mins. After 10mins have elapsed, place the goats cheese on the burgers & return to the oven for the final 5 minutes.
• Plate up with the wedges, jam, salad & a cold beer.
• Kick back & enjoy the game!

Sl-Oh What a Night!

I’m feeling seedy today but not as bad as could be expected considering the amount of food & drink consumed last night. I attended the Slow Food Event in Aubars and it didn’t disappoint.

            We were jovially greeted on arrival by tuxedoed manager, Niall Geoghegan who hails from a family steeped in the Limerick hospitality trade; coats were taken, prosecco was poured and we were sent off to mingle amid the din of classical music played live on the piano & violin. Trays of Clarinbridge oysters were distributed, garnished with a delicious oriental salsa. The tangy salsa worked well with the saltiness of the oyster and whetted the appetite for dinner. Proprietor Padraic Frawley did laps of the bar ensuring all glasses were kept topped up as well as making time for a quick chat with guests.

            We were ushered to our table and offered a glass of Pinot Blanc which was lovely. Now, I’m not a huge fan of white wine but this was very drinkable and best of all, didn’t give me heartburn. The amuse bouche was a white bean, bacon & truffle soup served in a shot glass which was extremely earthy and moorish. Second course was an Inagh goats cheese crostini served with a plum chutney. The goats cheese was soft, mild and everything a goats cheese should be. I’ve e-mailed the company to source their produce as I have a hankering for it already so I’ll keep you posted on the details. Third course was a gin & tonic sorbet from Adare Farm Foods. Proper gin and proper tonic; right up my alley! Himself has given me the nickname Queen Mum due to my love of the GnT but I believe HRH was a fan of Gordons - I’m a Bombay Sapphire girl myself.

            The main course was a choice between turbot on a bed of risotto with snow peas & fennel or rack of lamb with roasted veggies & dauphenoise potatoes. We both went for the latter along with a change of wines to De Martino Organic Cabernet Sauvignon. When ordering, I asked the waitress how the lamb was cooked (she didn’t ask preference) to which I was told ‘pink’, perfect! The lamb came out soft with a rich jus and some eclectic veggies which included pickled onions, parsnips & beetroot.

            Then we came into the back straight with just three courses to go. Dessert was a choice of an apple pannacotta with an apple sorbet or a chocolate fondant served with a raspberry sorbet. One of my favourite flavour pairings is raspberry & chocolate so I went for the fondant. It was just perfect; made with the finest Cocoa Bean chocolate, it was gooey on the inside without losing its shape and not at all over-cooked. On a tangent, we stayed at a celebrity chef’s hotel last year - we’ll call him Devin Kundan – and the fondant was served in a ramekin. It was a bit too runny for my liking; Aubars’ version was far superior. A dessert wine - Haut Maurin – was then offered but I had another glass of red instead as I’m not a huge fan of dessert wines.

            I was ready to throw in the towel at that stage but a carefully constructed cheese board was brought out along with Ponaire coffee and the most sinful Cocoa Bean petit fours I’ve ever tried. I noticed a lot of chocolates being carefully wrapped in tissue paper and placed into handbags at that juncture – it’d be a shame to see them going to waste I suppose. Pity I chose to bring a minimalist clutch bag, would it have been rude to stuff my pockets with said chocolates?

            It was 12.30 by the time the tables were clean of food and we were ready to call it a night, not quite, over to Nancy’s for a night cap (GnT of course) and home to lapse into a food & drink induced coma.

            Aubars are kicking off their theme nights again on Thursday April 10^th and if it’s a fraction as good as the slow food event last night, it’ll be well worth the €65 charge which includes 6 courses paired with wine from The Wine Buff. Call Alex or Niall at Aubars to book 061-317799 – DO IT NOW!!!