CELERIAC and BROCCOLI soup (V)

INGREDIENTS:
                      
Large white onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of Garlic, minced
1 Celeriac,peeled and grated
1 Broccoli, grated
1200ml Vegetable stock
2 tbsp Olive oil
Grated Nutmeg
Salt and black pepper
Chives to garnish

Serves 4

EAT REAL FOOD

There has been so much about obesity in the media recently, adult and child obesity rates are on the rise. Today people are getting fatter and fatter, whose fault is that? As an adult it’s your fault. I can’t imagine that there is anyone out there who wants to be obese. Being overweight or obese makes lives harder and is one of the major causes of illness and death. Being overweight is bad for our health. So, if we had a choice, would anyone really choose to be obese? I believe not. We as adults have a choice, but our children do not as they are dependent on us, as providers, as teachers, as guardians we are responsible for shaping their lives.

So let's give our children the best and lead by example. What our children eat will determine their future health and well-being. Research in Ireland shows approximately one in four primary school children are now overweight or obese, with 6% of three-year-olds classed as being obese.

BLACK MAGIC

I spent the past weekend putting a nice layer of garden compost on my raised beds. As vegetables grow, the plants take nutrients from the soil, so it is important every autumn to add garden compost which provides organic matter to return the nutrients and improve your soil for the growing season ahead. Compost is decomposed kitchen and garden waste, including teabags, coffee grains, eggshells, old potting compost, cardboard, shredded paper and grass clippings. You can make homemade garden compost by simply heaping the materials up in a corner, using a plastic compost bin or for the more hardcore composter there are timber compost bins or bays.

a FONDNESS for FISH

I really do enjoy eating all seafood, fish and shellfish, but where did this fondness for fish come from, it wasn't always that way. Growing up, I didn't live terribly far from the coast, but my only introduction to fish was fish fingers or some whiting on Fridays and in early adulthood occasional fish and chips from a takeaway. A generalisation I know, but it certainly appears Irish people are for some strange reason predisposed not to eat fish and don't even suggest shellfish. Why is this when one of the greatest resources we have in Ireland is a bountiful supply of fish and shellfish. In a country that is surrounded by fish in the sea, the fish consumption is unusually low and most of our fish is exported to other countries. Understandably we export most of our seafood because there just isn't a market for it here.

PEA and MINT Soup (V)

INGREDIENTS:
                         
Large white onion, peeled and finely chopped
Medium Potato,peeled and chopped
50g Butter
900ml Vegetable stock
300ml Milk
350g Peas (frozen)
Large bunch of Mint, finely chopped
Salt and black pepper

Serves 4

GROW your own PEA SHOOTS

I have seen pea shoots in restaurant dishes, very posh but I have never seen them for sale in supermarkets or elsewhere, so I thought I would try growing my own. Pea shoots are the tiny, tender leaves and vines of young pea plants. They are tasty and when you grow your own they will be on hand for use in a recipe or as a garnish.

Everybody has a windowsill, whether you live in a city or the country. This is a very simple and quick way of growing your own pea shoots, unlike others where I have seen them grown mainly in a compost I have simply grown them using kitchen paper, which is a much cleaner approach altogether.

MUSSELS with PESTO

THE RECIPE

This is a perfect starter or light lunch for serving when your time is short, as both the pesto and the mussels can be prepared in advance, and the dish assembled and cooked just before serving.

INGREDIENTS:

24+ Fresh mussels
100ml Water
2 tbsp Breadcrumbs
2 tbsp Grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Small jar of pesto
Salt and Black Pepper

MUSSEL TIELLA

THE RECIPE

This is my take on a dish that originates from Puglia in southern Italy.

INGREDIENTS:

675g Mussels
250ml water
5 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, thinly sliced
6 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley finely chopped
400g can of chopped tomatoes
Salt and Black Pepper
4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
450g courgettes, thinly sliced
75g Grated Parmesan cheese
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
225g Large red tomatoes, thinly sliced
Salt and Black Pepper

EASY peasy PORK BELLY

THE RECIPE

Many people are intimidated by the thought of cooking pork belly. But, slow roasted for Sunday lunch, perfectly cooked pork belly yields beautiful soft flesh and crisp crackling and is always worth the wait. It is really not difficult, give it a try! Serves 6.

INGREDIENTS:

1kg Piece of Pork Belly
6 tbsp Olive oil
3 Large red onions, cut into eights
4 Large Potatoes, cut into wedges
4 Garlic gloves, finely chopped
1 heaped tbsp Fresh Thyme
600ml Vegetable stock
300ml Cider
250g Mushrooms, halved
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper

Steamed Broccoli to serve

MICK and the BEANSTALK

Once upon a time a man called Mick was tired of poor food choice at his local supermarket, imports of highly-processed and unseasonal produce. One day Mick discovered some garlic he was about to buy in his local supermarket had been imported 10,000 miles from China. He quickly resolved to grow his own magic beans (garlic). However he quickly realised that he was seriously lacking in skills and growing knowledge and needed to hook up with other Beanstalk growers to learn more. So in 2009, GIY, Grow it Yourself (the Beanstalk) was founded by Michael Kelly with the very first meeting in Waterford, it grew and spread quickly throughout Ireland. It grew into a giant beanstalk and through people coming together in groups to support each other and share tips, expertise and encouragement a Golden egg (knowledge) was realised. The Beanstalk helps reach the Golden egg through GIY programmes, events and projects to inspire and support people who want to learn about and grow their own food. The Beanstalk journey to the Golden egg is not always a straight one, with the Giant (Large Companies control of food production) limiting food choice and food misguidance through marketing and advertising, people have lost their way!

CHICKEN BIRYANI

A LITTLE ABOUT THE BIRYANI

The recipe for biryani originated with mutton, but its popularity led to versions using other ingredients, like prawns and chicken. This biryani recipe has been in my wifes family for many years, picked up originally from a kind old Indian woman, when they lived in the Middle East. I am sure the recipe has evolved with time and travel as it has made its way back to these shores. As with all biryanis this is a meal in itself and needs no accompaniment. This dish is equally at home on the family table or as a dinner party centrepiece. This is a dish I could happily get up in the middle of the night to eat!

THE RECIPE

This recipe is not complicated and is perfect if you are entertaining and want to spend more time with your guests than in the kitchen. Serves 6.

The MILK MARKET Pizza

The best way to cook pizza is in a fiercely hot wood-fired oven. The pizza is charred, blistered and ready in a couple of minutes, tasting sensational. A proper pizza has to have a balance between a thin crisp base and the softer fresh ingredients (toppings), which means you have to eat it within 5-10 minutes of it coming out of the oven to be at its best and truly enjoyed . So buy it from someone who knows how to make real pizza and ideally from a wood-fired oven. Don't buy pizza from the freezer section in a supermarket or delivered from a takeaway franchise, you really are missing out on the joy of the real thing. The perfect wood-fired pizza oven is a work of art and I have a dream to construct one in my back garden one day, but this is a long term plan, maybe five years, (I think I have been talking about it for at least two years already) better get a move on. I have a vision of having great pizza parties at home, for the kids and adults alike. Someday.... In the meantime I keep myself satisfied by searching out and occasionally finding great pizza. On a recent visit to The Milk Market, Limerick I was overjoyed to find such pizza, it ticked all the boxes and yes it was from a wood-fired oven too!

The artisanal maestro, with all the dedication and respect that goes into making real pizza is a guy called Billy, very passionate about what he does and more than willing to discuss and share his knowledge. Of course with my very keen interest in wood-fired pizza ovens and pizza I bombarded him with questions which gladly I have to say he was more than happy to entertain. Then came the pizza, after all the discussion I couldn't wait to try, as Billy worked his magic of course I photographed every step.

It starts with the dough!

HALLOUMI Salad

A LITTLE ABOUT THE HALLOUMI

Halloumi is a Cypriot semi-hard, unripened brined cheese made from a mixture of goat and sheep milk, and sometimes also cows milk. Halloumi cheese originated in Cyprus subsequently gaining popularity throughout the Middle East region.The cheese is white, with a distinctive layered texture, similar to mozzarella and has a salty flavour. The cheese is often used in cooking and can be fried until brown without melting, owing to its higher-than-normal melting point. This makes it an excellent cheese for frying or grilling and served with vegetables, or as an ingredient in salads.

THE RECIPE

Ingredients:

250g Halloumi cheese, cut into 8 slices
8 Baby potatoes
12 Cherry tomatoes
1 bunch mixed salad leaves of your choice
Large handful of rocket
4 spring onions, chopped
Handful of flat-leaf parsley or coriander leaves.
Handful of Nasturtium flowers

Sea BREAM & Melted LEEKS

A LITTLE ABOUT THE FISH

Sea Bream are a variety of fish species that are very popular for eating, an esteemed food fish, especially in Europe. The most common variety in this group is the European Sea Bream, mainly silver in colour, it is commonly found in oceans surrounding Europe and is considered to be a temperate-water fish, preferring water that is cool, but not extremely cold. Despite their popularity as seafood, these species remain very plentiful throughout. Sea Bream have traditionally been cultured extensively in coastal lagoons and saltwater ponds and has become an important aquaculture species, primarily in the Mediterranean area. Current reported production dwarfs the capture fisheries production. Sea Bream are sought after because of their mild, white meat, considered some of the best of any white-meat fish.

THE RECIPE

Ingredients:

2 Sea Bream Fillets
Salt and Black Pepper
8 Baby Leeks
1 tbsp Olive Oil
150g Butter
2 tbsp chopped chives
4 tbsp chopped parsley

 Method:

Cut off the dark green leaves from the tops of the leeks, slit the leeks about half way down the centre and rinse well under cold running water, then slice into thin rounds. Melt 50g of butter in a heavy saucepan over a medium heat, when the butter foams, add the sliced leeks and gently toss until coated with butter. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with a paper lid and a tight-fitting saucepan lid. reduce the heat and cook very gently for about 20 minutes until the leeks are soft and moist. Check and stir every now and then and add a couple of tablespoons of water if necessary.

CHOCOLATE and HAZELNUT Brownies (V)

This is a really quick and simple recipe. You can use plain chocolate, why not include a bit of dark chocolate or use white chocolate and replace the nuts with any you desire, walnuts, pistachio nuts, use your imagination!

Ingredients:

225g Plain chocolate
75g Chopped Hazelnuts
115g Butter and a little extra for greasing
115g soft brown sugar
115g Self-raising flour
2 Eggs

Fresh MINT Sauce

A LITTLE ABOUT THE MINT

Mint is an essential herb to have growing near the kitchen. It is also a perennial, which means you plant it once and it grows every year if you look after it, but in reality it doesn't take much, just make sure you keep it well watered. I keep my mint growing in a big pot near the kitchen as it is a very invasive plant, if you just put it in your garden it will spring up every where and quickly get out of control. Mint favours moist soil and does best in sun. Mint is in season from March to October each year. For cooking, mint is used in sweet and savoury dishes, to flavour and garnish. With my mint I recently made a very nice fresh Mint Sauce with no cooking required.

THE RECIPE

Ingredients:

Bunch of mint
Pinch salt
4 tbsp boiling water
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar

Lets Bake SOURDOUGH

Back in March I did a post on a Sourdough starter and included the recipe to get you started (see Happy Birthday Biga!). I did promise to add a future post, on making bread with your starter. It took a little longer than expected, sorry, but this is it. I have tried a different approach with this recipe on this occasion, presenting it as a little animated movie. Hope it works and is useful, appreciate any comments/feedback.

Hope it gives a little encouragement to take the leap and bake a sourdough loaf for yourself, so go ahead please give it a try, with some effort, patience and a little love you could enjoy your first home baked sourdough loaf!

Sea BASS, Crispy PROSCIUTTO and CRUSHED New POTATOES

A LITTLE ABOUT THE FISH

Sea Bass is one of the most affordable prime fish. It's flesh is white, with a firm texture that holds well while cooking. It's sweet and rich flavour makes it enjoyable, On the bone or in fillets, Sea Bass is easy and fast to cook. Sea Bass are naturally available off the Southern coast of Ireland, where they can grow up to 9KGs. Under Irish legislation, a complete ban on commercial Sea Bass fishing means that fishing boats are not permitted to land them under any circumstances and must discard them. The development of Sea Bass farming in the Mediterranean has filled a void in the supply of a fish popular all over Europe. After Trout and Salmon, Sea Bass is the third fish species to be successfully commercially farmed in Europe. The production of Sea Bass is mostly restricted to the Mediterranean Basin, where the warmer waters are the most suitable to the growth of this species. The most important farming countries are Greece, Turkey, Italy, Spain, and Croatia. Sea Bass is still being produced in France but only on a small scale.

THE RECIPE

Ingredients:

2 Sea Bass Fillets
Salt and Black Pepper
375g Baby new potatoes,quartered
4 slices of Prosciutto di Parma
1 tbsp Olive Oil
100g Butter
2 tbsp chopped chives
4 tbsp chopped parsley

Leftover CHICKEN and TOMATO CAESAR Salad

Ingredients:

For the Salad                        
1 head Cos (Romaine) Lettuce
Handful of cherry tomatoes
Leftover Chicken
2-3 slices of Sourdough bread cut into small cubes
2 tbsp Olive Oil

For the Dressing
25g Anchovy Fillets, drained and finely chopped
1 Egg yolk
1 Small clove of minced garlic
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1/4 tsp Mustard
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
75ml Sunflower Oil
25ml Olive Oil
25ml Water
Salt and Black Pepper

To Serve
25-50g grated Parmesan

Fiorentini - FLORENTINES (V)

A Florentine biscuit (or, simply, a Florentine) is an Italian biscuit containing nuts and dried fruit and coated with chocolate.

Ingredients:

100g Butter
100g Caster Sugar
125g Flaked Almonds chopped
25g Sultanas or Raisins
25g Glace Cherries chopped
25g Stem Ginger Chopped
15ml Cream
175g of Plain or White Chocolate

Method:

Line 2 baking sheets/trays with baking paper. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar, stir until dissolved  then bring the mixture to the boil for about a minute. Remove from the heat and add the remaining ingredients except the chocolate, stir well to mix.

To SOW or NOT to SOW…

.....That was the question, with all the recent inclement weather we have experienced. I had been holding out, waiting for things to warm up a little, namely the soil. Spring appears to have arrived much later this year, It is difficult to say how late things are but two weeks, maybe three, is my guess, the swallows were very late arriving. Well what do you know, this past weekend, the first real sign of good weather and what a joy it was too, EVERYONE was out and enjoying it. While out and about, I was amazed at the number of people out in their gardens, not necessarily doing anything but just sitting, faces up to the sky and smiling absorbing the glorious rays of sunshine. It was a joy to see people just taking time out to enjoy the good weather and greeting each other as they pass by, not something I have seen for a long time, if only people were this friendly all the time. But it was a welcome relief from all the normal doom and gloom we have all experienced in the media in recent times.
I personally took advantage of the weather with a BBQ, cooked a very nice butterflied leg of lamb. I also took the opportunity to dig my raised beds, raking soil to a fine tilth (as they say) and finally sowing the first seeds direct in the ground. I have taken the approach of sowing directly as I don't really have the space to sow, in advance under cover, and the truth be known probably not the patience either. I do hope we have better weather this year and I cant wait to see "fingers crossed" my little patch bursting into life providing us with some vegetables for the table. The birds are singing and the bee's are buzzing and LIFE IS GOOD, when the sun shines and you can work outdoors.

COD, BLACK Pudding MASH and HOLLANDAISE

INGREDIENTS:

400g Potatoes 

100g Black Pudding
1tbsp Butter
Cod fillets x 2
1tbsp Olive Oil
150ml Milk
1 Bay leaf
4 peppercorns

For Hollandaise

3tbsp White wine vinegar
3 egg yolks
200g of butter cubed
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and Black Pepper

WAGYU talking ABOUT?

What is wagyu beef all about? You also hear the term Kobe beef thrown around a lot too. 
Wagyu beef is fast becoming one of the most desirable meats in the world, known for its intense marbling producing naturally enhanced flavour, tenderness and juiciness to the meat. Wagyu literally means Japanese cow and refers to several breeds of cattle genetically predisposed to intense marbling. The meat is high in omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids as a result of its intense marbling. Wagyu is proven to be significantly lower in saturated fat and higher in healthy monounsaturated fat making it far healthier than any other breed of beef available on the market.This high degree of marbling is unique to the Wagyu breed and gives the meat a buttery flavor which cannot be rivaled in tenderness or juiciness by any other beef. In several areas of Japan, beef is shipped with area names. Some examples are Kobe, Mishima, Matsusaka, Omi, and Sanda beef. The well known Japanese Wagyu cattle from the region of Kobe, is where Kobe beef comes from. Because of Japan's rugged terrain, Japanese farmers in the Kobe region and isolated areas, use different breeding and feeding techniques such as massaging cattle or adding beer or sake to the feeding regime of the Wagyu. It is suggested that this was done to aid in digestion and induce hunger during humid seasons, but it appears to have no effect on the meat's flavor. Massaging may have been introduced to prevent muscle cramping on small farms in Japan where the animals did not have sufficient room to use their muscles. 

Irish consumers can now buy a homegrown version of Kobe beef.The animals, I am sure are treated with the same level of "care, respect and love" as the well known Japanese Wagyu cattle from the region of Kobe.
I had some Irish wagyu beef burgers (posh burgers) at home last week and they were delicious. I will have to try a wagyu steak very soon!! 

HAPPY Birthday BIGA!

I have just realised my Sourdough biga which is also called a 'starter', 'ferment' or 'mother' is a year old, that means I have been making my own bread for the past year and I have eaten no bread other than Sourdough. Sure, it takes time, effort and a little love, but I can never go back to mass produced shop bought bread.  Behind every good loaf of Sourdough is the starter -  this is the way bread has been made for centuries, making use of the wild yeast spores that are found on the surface of sugary ingredients.

The starter is made using flour, water and something sweet, such as fruit. The idea is to introduce simple sugars, which the wild yeast spores and natural bacteria can ferment easily, and bubble quicker. The starter is a fermenting dough or batter, the term sourdough broadly applies to breads raised with wild yeasts. When you make a dough on this starter, the acid produced by the lactic bacteria helps to strengthen the elastic gluten and intensifies the flavour of the finished bread. The first time you make your starter, you need to be patient, as you will need to feed it every day, and it could take a few weeks until it is bubbling happily and smells sweetly acidic before it is ready to use with your first loaf. This is how I made my starter and kept it bubbling away happily to this day.

Mia's FRITES (V)

Chips, fries, or frites – whichever name you prefer to use – they’re Belgian! And they take this responsibility very seriously. Made with potatoes, cooked twice and served in a paper cone with a side of mayonnaise, these Belgian treats embody potato perfection. Whether enjoyed at a Michelin star restaurant or right off the street, this Belgian specialty is not to be missed.

Belgian Frites are part of Belgian culinary and cultural heritage. Even if they are sometimes referred to as French Fries there is nothing French about them. Apparently the name originated due to a linguistic misunderstanding, because in old English ‘to French’ meant ‘cut into sticks’. According to the Belgian historian Jo Gerard, chips appeared on the dining tables in Namur, French speaking Ardennes and Dinant in the latter half of the 17th century. Poorer inhabitants in these towns used to fry tiny fish. When the river froze in the winter the fish were replaced by sticks of potatoes cut to the same small size of the fish.

The following recipe is my take on Belgian Frites at home, at the request of my four year old daughter Mia, who incidentally was born in Belgium.

STEAK the PARISIAN way

(Chateaubriand, Mushroom a la Crème, Gratin Dauphinois and Salad with Vinaigrette)

Cooking this dish for the first time was inspired by a very recent and memorable trip to Paris. I puréed the mushroom a la crème and although really delicious not the most appealing visually, so I won't do that next time, trial and error...

Captivating CAULIFLOWER SOUP with BLACK PUDDING

Ingredients:
                          
Large white onion, peeled and finely chopped x1
Butter x25g (1oz)
Olive oil x1 tablespoon (15ml)
Cloves of Garlic, mince x2
Sprig of fresh thyme x1
Bay leaf x1
Milk 1200ml (2pints)
Cauliflowers x2
Black Pudding x200g (8oz)
Salt and black pepper

Serves 4

French ONION Soup (Soupe à l'oignon)

Ingredients: 
                          
Large white onions, peeled x3
Butter x50g (2oz)
Plain flour x1 tablespoon (15ml)
Beef Stock 1200ml (2pints)
Gruyère cheese x100g (4oz)
Bay leaf x1
Salt and black pepper
Crusty bread of your choice ( traditionally French Baguette)

Serves 4