TooManyCookbooks

Huevos Rancheros

2013-08-27T12:45:00.002-07:00

I've been a very lazy blogger. It's been early April since my last post.

Don't get me wrong, I've been eating and eating well. I have a few recipes up my sleeve that I've been wanting to share. I've been trying to eat healthier and this will be reflected in my recipes. The most important thing is though, there will be no compromising in flavour. There simply does not need to be. You can prepare delicious food at home, without breaking the bank.

This dish is a prime example. It is humble in ingredients, very good for you and full of flavours. I'll also mention a few options you could explore to make it more luxurious or, in other words, less healthy!

This is of course a Mexican breakfast dish (translated it's Ranchers eggs), but it works equally well for dinner. I've paired it with a simple guacamole - another dish that is very good for you.

I don't mess around with guacamole. Smashed avocado, lime juice, chopped coriander, seasoning...done.

You can mess around all you like with the huevos. Add some minced beef or chorizo. Some bell pepper goes very well too. For my simple version, to serve 2 people, you'll need -

1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red chilli & 1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp chipotle en adobo
4 large free range eggs
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Heat your olive oil in a large frying pan. When its hot, add your chopped onion and fry until translucent.

Add your chopped garlic & chopped chilli and fry for another two minutes.

Add the cumin, oregano & paprika. Stir to combine and fry over a medium heat until the spices being to catch on the bottom of the pan.

Now add the chopped tomatoes along with the chipotle sauce. This is the injection of flavour which takes this dish beyond the ordinary. You cant replicate the smoky spiciness you get from chipotle peppers.

Bring up to a simmer and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the sauce has thickened. Break your eggs straight into the sauce so that they will poach in it and pick up all the flavours.

Cook for another 5-6 minutes until the egg whites are just cooked and the yolks are still runny. Serve immediately with your guacamole. This dish is seriously tasty and will cost you approximately €3/4 to make. You've got to try it.

Simple Pulled Pork

2013-04-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

I've done a post on pulled pork before. That version required alot of ingredients, plenty of preperation time and a ridiculous amount of patience. This version is much more manageable and there's not a smoker to be seen here either.

The main difference here is the cut of pork used. I've used neck of pork which doesn't take as long to cook as a bone-in shoulder. This will allow you to get the fork tender results in less than half the time. It is a very economical piece of meat. My local butcher does pork neck for €4.50 per kg. My piece here cost €8.

You could make this recipe even easier by omitting the dry rub and just seasoning with salt & pepper but I think it's worth it. You'll need -

1 x 1.75kg piece of pork neck
DRY RUB
2 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp salt
2 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp sugar

Combine the dry ingredients and rub all over the pork. Cover and leave in the fridge while you prepare everything else.

I wanted to make a quick BBQ sauce to serve with my pork too. I found a very simple one online which I changed slightly to suit what I had in the press. Combine four parts ketchup (I used half a cup) to one part each of water, vinegar and brown sugar. To this add 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp cayenne pepper and 1 tsp garlic salt. Bring to the boil and stir to combine all the ingredients. Change it to your taste. Try it and see if it needs more vinegar or more sugar. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to the highest setting. Add the pork to a large roasting tray with about 250ml of beer. You could also use cider or water. Cook the pork at the high heat for 30 minutes until browned.

Remove from the oven and turn the temperature down to 160 degrees. Add another 250ml of beer and cover the roasting tray tightly with foil. Put the pork back in the oven and leave for at least 3 hrs. Test after 3 hours. A temperature probe is the best option. You want an internal temp of 190F which will tell you the pork has broken down sufficiently for you to 'pull' it apart.

If it is not quite ready, give it another half an hour in the oven and try it again. When you are satisfied that it is cooked, remove it from the oven and leave to rest for 30 minutes. There will be plenty of liquid in the roasting tray from the pork and the beer. Don't discard this. Strain it off into a jug and set aside.

Now get two forks, or some strong metal tongs and pull the meat into large shreds and chunks. When you've got a big pile of meat shreds, add a little of the cooking liquid to moisten it and stir it through gently, so as not to break up the meat too much.

That's it. It's done. I like to serve mine with some bread rolls, the bbq sauce and some fresh coleslaw. Take a carrot, half an onion and half a head of white cabbage and slice as finely as you can. Combine with a few tbsps of mayo, and 1 tbsp each of mustard and vinegar.

Combine some of the pork with the bbq sauce and pile high on the bread roll along with plenty of coleslaw. The messier, the better! Food heaven, plain and simple. Enjoy!

Proper Shepherd's Pie

2013-04-01T12:39:00.004-07:00

Like alot of people, we had lamb for Sunday lunch yesterday. It was leg of lamb, to be precise. Cooking such a large cut of meat (even when feeding 5 people) usually means a lot of leftovers. I normally love cold roast meat but lamb is not at its best cold in my opinion. It's reasonably fatty and the fat congeals in an unpleasant way when left to go cold.

A shepherd's pie is the perfect way to use up all the leftover lamb. It's simmered in a tasty sauce so it stays tender before being baked with a mashed potato topping which provides great texture. I've taken inspiration from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's recipe from his River Cottage Meat book.

Secondly, on a far more pedantic level, this is SHEPHERD'S PIE. Shepherds look after lambs and sheep, not cows. If you make this recipe with beef, it will be a cottage pie! Anyway....

You'll need -

500g leftover roast lamb (approx), cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped (alternatively you could use leftover roasted veg)
1 clove of garlic, crushed/ finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
Any leftover gravy/ stock from cooking the joint
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 small glass of white wine
Leftover mashed potato

Heat the oil in a large, deep-sided pan over a medium heat until smoking hot. Add the onion, carrot and garlic and cook until softened but not browned.

Next, add the chopped herbs and cook for another 2 minutes so the herbs release their flavour. Add the chopped lamb and cook for 3-4 minutes until the meat begins to brown.

Splash in the wine, turn up the heat to medium-high and cook for 2 minutes until the harsh alcohol smell has receded. Now add the ketchup Worcestershire sauce and the gravy. If you don't have much gravy, you'll need to add some water and maybe a little extra ketchup/ Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.

You want to be left with a glossy, thick sauce so if it is still a little watery leave it to simmer for longer. When it has reached it's desired consistency spoon it into an appropriately sized pie dish. I used a 9-inch diameter round dish. Level the mixture out before topping with the mashed potato. Spoon it on carefully and be patient when spreading it out.

When you have levelled the mashed potato, make ridges through it with a fork. This will give you peaks and hollows that will crisp up when you bake it.

The pie can be prepared to this point and left to cook later. When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Make sure to put a baking tray under the pie dish to catch anything that bubbles over the edge. Bake for 30 minutes or so until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Serve immediately with some green vegetables or, as I did, some leftover carrot & parsnip puree from the Sunday.

A better meal from leftovers you will not make. Enjoy!

A humble Chicken & Mushroom Pie

2013-02-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

This is frugal cooking at it's best. This will feed 4 hungry souls with ease and it's so cheap to make. It's also very easy. Ready-rolled puff pastry is the key. To make this humble pie you will need -

8 chicken thighs, skin-on & bone-in
A sprig of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 onion, roughly chopped
5/6 large chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
A small handful of chopped parsley
1 small glass of white wine (optional)
1 x pack of ready rolled puff pastry
Butter
Flour
Salt & Pepper
1 egg, whisked

Serve with: peas - mash - boiled spuds - roast spuds - any green vegetable

Firstly, you'll need to make the stock that you will use to make the gravy. This starts by roasting the chicken thighs. Season them with salt & pepper and roast in a preheated 200 degree oven for 30 minutes until lightly golden.

Add to a large stock pot and cover with water. Add your rosemary, half the thyme and the peppercorns and bring to the boil. Reduce to a very slow simmer and leave for at least 90 minutes for the flavours to infuse. Give it 3 hours and it will be even better.

Remove the chicken thighs from the pot when you have a deep golden brown stock. Set them aside to cool before shredding them with a fork. Discard the skin and bone and shred the meat into slivers. Leave the tender meat morsels aside while you prepare the rest of the pie.

Heat a little butter in a large high-sided frying pan over a medium heat. When the butter starts to spit add the onion. Fry over a medium heat for 7-8 minutes until the onion has begun to lightly brown.

Now add the garlic, thyme and mushrooms and continue to fry. The mushrooms will begin to give off their liquid after a few minutes. Continue cooking until all this liquid has evaporated and everything begins to fry again (rather than steaming). Cook until the onions and mushrooms have taken on some colour. This will mean more flavour in the finished pie.

Now add the shredded chicken back into the pan and mix through. Turn up the heat and add the wine, if using. Cook for 2 minutes until the harsh alcohol smell has receded.

Take a few ladlefuls of the stock and add to the pan, stirring gently as you go. Don't mix too vigourously as you don't want to break up the chicken too much. Add as much liquid as you like to create your gravy. You will now need to thicken the sauce with a little roux. Turn the heat down to low.

Make the roux by combining 2 tbsp of butter with 2 tbsp of plain flour. Add half of this to the chicken & mushroom mixture while simmering over a low heat. Cook for a few minutes. If it hasn't thickened as much as you'd like, add the rest of the roux and cook for another few minutes. It should look slightly thicker than you think it should as it will thin out as it cooks under the pastry. Taste the filling for seasoning and then spoon into your pie dish.

Take the ready rolled puff pastry and tweak it's shape to fit the pie dish you have. Mine was round, and the sheet of pastry was square so I needed to cut it to size. If you have a girl around who is that way inclined, you can form the pastry trimmings into a heart shape and put this on top too! Take the whisked egg and brush it over the pastry. This will help it turn golden in the oven. Key word in this recipe....Golden!

Place the pie in a 200 degree oven until it's....you guessed it.... golden! I served mine with some fried gnocchi (more on this another time) and some frozen peas. Stay golden!

Recreating the Takeaway 6 - Chicken Saag

2013-01-29T14:09:00.001-08:00

I very rarely eat takeaway food anymore*

*After 2AM and after over 6 beers doesn't count.

There's a few things about takeaway food. Firstly, It's not cheap. It is convenient and it is comforting but compared with home cooked food the cost is generally very high. Whether it's pizza, Chinese, chips or Indian food you can cook the same things at home for much less.

Secondly, it's not very good for you. Much of it is full of fat, salt, sugar and flavour enhancers. Indian food is heavy on the cream and butter, while Chinese food is generally very salty and sweet. No wonder it tastes so good.

I'm sure you know all of this so enough of the pontification. What I really want to show here is how easy it is to recreate these dishes at home. Chicken Saag is a curry that appears on every Indian takeway menu. This version, adapted from a Madhur Jaffery recipe, contains no butter/ cream and a scant amount of oil. You'll need -

285g spinach
2 onions, chopped
2 inch piece of ginger, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
Oil
5 cardamom pods
1 stick cinnamon
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
4 chicken breasts, chopped
6 tbsp natural yoghurt
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp garam masala

Cook the spinach in 120ml of water over a medium heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain. Chop it very finely and set aside. You could puree it in a processor to get it extra fine.

Put the onion, garlic and ginger in a blender along with a few tbsp of water to form a paste.

Pour a few tbsp of oil into a pan and set over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cinnamon and cardamom pods. Let them sizzle briefly before adding the paste. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring all the time, until the paste has lightly browned.

Add the coriander, cumin and cayenne pepper and stir thoroughly. Cook for a minute or two.

Add the chicken pieces and keep stirring. Add the yoghurt, 1 tbsp every minute for 5 minutes, stirring to keep browning the chicken. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the spinach and about 300ml of water (enough to form a sauce). Season with salt and bring up to a simmer. Reduce the heat and cook gently until the chicken is cooked and the sauce has slightly thickened. Add the garam masala and season to taste.

It's best served simply with some rice/ naan, and garnished with a little coriander. Enjoy!

Chilorio

2013-01-17T13:24:00.003-08:00

I've blathered on about Mexican food plenty of times in my previous 120-odd posts on this blog. Here I go again.... on my own? I can't enough of the stuff. I just love the flavours. Deeply spiced, savoury, comforting, and the underrated complexity of the different types of chillies..... I'm salivating just thinking about it.

Chilorio is a Mexican pulled pork dish. It's from Thomasina Miers' Wahaca book. It requires a long, slow simmer to tenderise the meat but it's very easy to prepare. It is worth seeking out the right cut of pork too - pork neck. Most good butchers will have it, or will order it in for you. You'll need to trim it of excess fat and then it's ready to use. You'll need -

900g neck end of pork, boned and cut into 5cm cubes
salt & pepper
8 ancho chillies
90ml cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
175ml cold water
8 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
25g olive oil

Place the meat in a large, heavy based saucepan. Add enough water to cover and season with salt. Bring to the boil and leave to simmer a medium-low heat until the water has almost completely evaporated. This will take about 90 minutes. The meat will be fork tender at this point. Shred it with a tongs/ 2 forks and set aside. Keep any fat that remains in the pan.

The next step is to re-hydrate the dried chillies. remove the stem from the chillies and shake the majority of the seeds out from the inside. Cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 10 minutes. Drain them and set aside. Add the vinegar, water, garlic, cumin and oregano to a blender and blend to a smooth puree. Now add the chillies in two batches, whizzing together until you have a thick, smooth puree. If the blades are skipping, add a little more water to loosen.

Put the saucepan back on a medium-high heat. If you feel there is not enough fat in the pan, add a little olive oil. Add the chilli puree and cook, stirring all the time, for 3-4 minutes.

Add the finely shredded meat and stir through. Turn the heat down to low and cook gently for about 20 minutes. Serve at once.

I like to serve it with some wraps, cheese, fresh salsa, pink pickled onions, beans, sour cream and plenty of hot sauce! This smoky, succulent, spicy pork is not to be missed. A hoppy pale ale is the perfect beer for it too. Enjoy!

Christmas Presents 2012 - Three Fruit Marmalade

2012-12-17T12:49:00.001-08:00

This is the last sweet preserve that I've made this year. Karen made some last year and I really wanted to try it out myself this time around. It's got that great balance between bitter and sweet and plenty of that natural, citrus spiciness that we associate with Christmas.

This is a frugal gift too. All you need is granulated sugar, grapefruit and a few oranges and lemons. It is a bit fiddly to make but the end result is well worth it. To make 4/5 500ml jars you will need -

1 large grapefruit
2 oranges
2 lemons
1.4kg sugar

First step is to juice all the fruit. Halve them and extract as much juice from them as possible. Strain the juice into a large pan, reserving the pips.

Scrape any flesh from the skins and add to the pan also. There won't be much of this. Scrape all the membranes from all three fruits and add to a bowl along with the pips. Don't worry if some of the white pith comes with it. Gather all this together in a muslin bag or new cloth and make a bag by tying with some string. Add this to the pan with the juice.

Now take the fruit peel and thinly shred to your desired size. Remember this will form the pieces in the finished marmalade. If you don't like big pieces of peel in your marmalade you will need to chop it very finely. Add to the pan along with 1.8 litres of water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and leave to simmer for 90 minutes, until the peel has softened all the way through and the liquid has reduced by half.

Remove the bag with a slotted spoon, squeezing it against the side of the pan to extract all the juice. Add the sugar and stir over a low heat until it has dissolved. Once it's all been dissolved, increase the heat and boil rapidly for about 15 minutes until it has reached it's setting point.

Now all you have to is ladle this treacly, shiny golden mixture into some warm sterilised jars and seal. The inclusion of 2 oranges rather than 1 will give you a deep colour like this. Enjoy!

Christmas Presents 2012 - Membrillo

2012-12-03T12:01:00.001-08:00

So here we are, in December, with less than a month to go until Christmas. I think this is the time people start looking forward to all that goes with it. Foremost in my mind, as always, is food. In fact, its more like October when I start thinking about all the treats associated with Christmas.

All the supermarkets will be pushing their cheeseboard packs at this time of year and this membrillo, or quince paste, is THE perfect accompaniment to cheese. I'd never really considered making it before as quinces are expensive and not so readily available.

Luckily, I found some lovely large quinces when I visited St. George's Market in Belfast recently. I bought 4 large quinces which were £10. Not cheap, but as you will see, it went a long way. This paste will last for months and months and with a little patience, it's very easy to make.

I can't stress enough just how good this membrillo is with cheeses. A few crackers, a selection of soft and hard cheeses, maybe a few pickles and some of this membrillo and you won't fail to impress any friends or family. It will lift your cheeseboard to another level. The combination of salty cheese and sweet, tangy quince is incomparable. To make about 1kg, you will need -

1kg quinces, washed

Juice of half a lemon

Approx 450g granulated sugar

I had about 1.4 kg of quinces so I adjusted the amounts accordingly.

Roughly chop the whole quinces and add to a large preserving pan. You don't need to be too fastidious as it will be passed through a sieve later on.

Add 600ml of water and the lemon juice and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes until the fruit is completely soft.

Mash thoroughly with a potato masher so you have a soft, pulpy mixture. Leave it aside to cool.

Sieve this pulp through a fine nylon sieve. Press the mixture hard through the sieve to extract all the liquid and pulp. You could use a food mill which will cut down on the elbow grease required. Measure the amount of puree and add the same amount of sugar as fruit. If you have 400ml of fruit, add 400g of sugar and so on.

Add back to the pan over a low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until you have the desired consistency. The recipe I used said 45-60 minutes but mine probably took 75 minutes in all. Here are a few pictures to show you how it looks as you continue to cook it.

The membrillo is ready when it is a deep blood orange colour and when it leaves a trail when a wooden spoon is drawn through it. Spoon into some lightly-oiled ramekins. Cover with cling film and leave to set.

When they are completely cool (the next day), loosen them with a knife and turn out of the ramekins. I wrapped mine in some greaseproof paper with a little twine. I'll be adding these to the hampers in a few weeks. I'll still have loads left over though - maybe I should run a competition for a few of the goodies I made?

Christmas Presents 2012 - 'Some Like It Hot' Chutney

2012-11-27T12:50:00.001-08:00

British colonisation wasn't all bad. Chutney probably wouldn't be as popular as it is in Anglo-Irish cuisine without 'them across the water' riding roughshod over the Indian sub-continent all those years ago. If anyone has a problem with my wonderful historical surmising, well.... sorry.

I love chutney. For years, that meant Sharwood's Mango Chutney but in recent years I've started making my own. Cranberry & apple, mango, spiced pear.... It's formed a big part of the hampers I've given to relatives as Christmas presents for the last few years also.

Karen has a nice little preserving book called 'Made At Home' and this rather camp-titled recipe is from it. I've changed the recipe a bit to include spices I like and I swapped apricot for raisins. It's a spicy one, so tone down the chilli if you prefer a milder taste. You'll need the following ingredients for a yield of...alot -

6 fresh chillies, finely chopped
4 cooking apples, finely chopped
750g tomatoes, finely chopped
4 red onions, finely chopped
400g sugar
500ml vinegar
200g dried apricots, finely chopped
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp ground ginger
Salt
Black pepper

As with most chutneys, all you do is chuck it all into a large pan, bring to the boil and simmer it until it is sufficiently thick. It's not a jam-type set you are looking for but a thick, shiny, chunky mixture with some liquid still present.

As I said, bring all this to the boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes until the fruits and vegetables are soft and the desired consistency has been reached.

Ladle into your sterilised jars while still hot and seal. Say farewell to the chutney for at least 4 weeks maturing. I have a good feeling about this one.

Christmas Presents 2012 - Piccalilli

2012-11-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

This is a great addition to any gift hamper. Not only does it look very appetising but it's packed full of flavour and texture plus, it's quite versatile. You can have it with curry, in sandwiches, with cold meats, with cheese.... the list goes on. This would be particularly good in a St. Stephen's Day ham sandwich. In fact, it will be!

Piccalilli dates back to the 18th Century in England when it was originally known as 'India Pickle.' I can imagine it being borne out of wanting to incorporate the new and exciting spices from the East, like mustard and turmeric, into the traditional preserves. It takes typical English vegetables and preserves them in a sweet, spicy, mustard and vinegar sauce. It's very easy to make but you need to prepare it over 2 days.

This recipe should give you a good yield of at least 2 litres.

You'll need -

1 cauliflower, broken into small florets
1 courgette, chopped into small pieces
3 onions, chopped into small pieces
3 carrots, chopped similarly
1 cucumber, seeds removed and chopped
200g green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
100g salt
75g plain flour
1 tbsp curry powder
15g turmeric
45g mustard powder
25g ground ginger
1 litre white distilled vinegar
600g sugar

The first stage involves salting the vegetables to a) help preserve them and maintain their crunch and b) remove excess moisture. Some recipes require brining them but I simply covered them in the salt and left to sit, covered in a large boil overnight.

The next day, rinse the vegetables thoroughly under plenty of running water. If you don't take your time doing this the end result will be too salty. Set aside to drain.

To make your sauce, combine all the spices and the flour in a bowl. Add this to pan and begin to add your vinegar over a medium heat. Whisk briskly to form a smooth paste.

When you've formed the smooth paste (and spilled flour all over the hob) add in the balance of the vinegar and the sugar. Whisk thoroughly to combine and bring to the boil. Simmer and keep whisking until you have a fragrant, thick sauce which won't be unlike a curry sauce in consistency.

Remember that the sauce will thicken as it cools so don't leave to simmer for too long. Tip in the rinsed vegetables and bring back to the boil. Simmer for just 2 minutes and remove from the heat. It looks so appetising!

Ladle into your sterilised jars and leave in a dark place to mature. My girlfriend threatens to do that to me sometimes :( Enjoy!

Christmas Presents 2012 - Blueberry, Lemon & Lime Conserve

2012-11-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

I'm planning well ahead for Christmas this year. This is the second of the gifts I've made. Sweet preserves such as this always go down well. This would be lovely served on some toast or heated up to serve as a compote. I also love it mixed into some rice pudding!

This recipe is from the very useful The Preserving Book by Lynda Brown. It's an overnight (but very simple) process so be prepared. You'll need the following ingredients -

600g blueberries
600g jam sugar
Zest & segments of 2 limes
Zest & segments of 2 lemons

This will give you a yield of about 900g so have enough jars sterilised to take this amount. The only fiddly part of this recipe is segmenting the citrus fruit. You can include the pith and membranes but you will get a better finish if you discard these. Cut the flesh out in segments from between the membrane and collect in a bowl.

Layer the fruits in a large bowl with the jam sugar. Jam sugar is sugar with added pectin so it sets quicker in jams and conserves. Layer some blueberries, lemon and lime segments and then sugar and repeat. Cover and leave to sit overnight. I'd be lying if I said I know why you do this. Just do it ok!

The next day, when you're ready to cook, simply add all the ingredients to a large pan. Cook over a low heat for 8 minutes. The sugar will start to melt. Now turn up the heat to medium-high.

Bring to the boil and cook for about 10 minutes at a rolling boil before testing for a set.

Spoon a small amount of the mixture onto a saucer. Leave for a few seconds before running your finger through the sticky liquid. If it wrinkles, it's done. If it's not quite ready, cook it for another few minutes before testing again. When you're happy it's set, ladle into your sterilised jars and seal.

Another present in the bag. Enjoy!

Pork Pibil

2012-11-01T15:21:00.002-07:00

Clarissa Dickson-Wright has called Mexican food the most under-appreciated in the world. I've got to agree. While these days you can't turn a corner in Dublin without seeing a burrito bar, there is very little Mexican food outside the usual burritos, tacos and quesadillas. There are a few notable exceptions but I've taken to exploring Mexican cooking at home in order to get a real taste of it.

My Mexican bibles are Thomasina Miers' books and this recipe for beautiful, slow-cooked pork comes from her most recent Wahaca: Mexican Food At Home book. When I had the chance to visit one of the Wahaca restaurants in London, this was the dish I had. It's the most popular in the restaurant and it's not hard to see why. I've adapted it slightly to suit what I had available and reduced the quantities from the book.

1.5kg neck of pork, cut into large pieces
1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
50g butter

Marinade
1 tsp allspice berries
2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp peppercorns
100g achiote paste (available here)
3 tbsp cider vinegar
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp dried oregano
3 fresh bay leaves
2 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 6 oranges

To Serve: Steamed rice, Pink pickled onions & re-fried beans.

Prepare the marinade. Warm the spices in a pan over a medium heat until aromatic. Grind in a spice grinder until you have a fine powder. Add the spice mix to a blender/ food processor along with the achiote paste, vinegar, onion, garlic, herbs, salt and olive oil. Blend for a few seconds to break up the bigger pieces before dribbling in the orange juice as you blend. Blend all the way until you have a smooth paste.

Pour about half the marinade over the pork and coat thoroughly. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight to marinade. The bright-red achiote paste gives it a deep, rich colour.

Don't discard the leftover marinade. It will keep well in the fridge for a week. It goes great with any grilled meat/ fish. When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 130 degrees celsius.

Add the pork to a large cast-iron pan and add the chilli and butter. Bring up to simmering point on the hob and cover with greaseproof paper and the lid.

Add to the oven and cook at that low temperature for at least 3 hours. Remove from the oven after 3 hours and see if it's done. The sauce will have reduced, a lot of the fat will have rendered from the meat and the flesh should be completely fall-apart tender.

My pork was perfectly cooked after 3 hours. Serve big chunks of the pork and sauce in a bowl over steamed rice. My version of the pink pickled onions is very easy. Finely slice a red onion and marinade it in the juice of 2 limes for 2/3 hours. The onion will turn pink and have a great zing! Top the pork with a heap of the onions. Serve some re-fried beans topped with cheese on the side.

No knives are required. This meat is epic. Enjoy!

Christmas Presents 2012 - Plum & Rum Jam

2012-10-15T13:29:00.001-07:00

For the last 2 years I've been making most of my Christmas presents. It's all food, naturally, and it seems to go down pretty well. I try to give gifts on the basis that I think that person will actually use it. Having said that, my uncle told me he still has the cookie mix I gave him two years ago as it looks so nice in his kitchen. A win I guess.

Jams, chutneys, relishes, conserves and pickles are good gifts as they are fairly versatile and of course, they last a long time. Infused drinks and oils are also good for their longevity. I pretty sure everyone knows someone who likes a bit of flavoured vodka too. More perishable food items shouldn't be discounted either. A bag of cookies/ rocky road bars looks very nice and always goes down well.

My first present to make this year is Plum & Rum Jam. I made Plum & Lime Jam last year which was delicious but I thought plum & rum was a more Christmas-sy combination. Alcohol =Christmas, in other words. For this recipe, you'll need -

1kg plums, halved and stones removed
250ml water
1kg granulated sugar
3/4 tbsp rum
(Makes about 1.5kg jam)

Put 2 small saucers in the freezer. Trust me.

Add the halved plums and the water to a large pan and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes until the fruit has broken down and become quite pulpy.

Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves over a low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the mixture up to a rolling boil and cook for 10-15 minutes until you've reached a setting point. Skim off any scum that rises to the top.

To test for a set, take one of the saucers from the freezer and spoon on a dessert spoonful of the jam. Spread it out a little and leave for about 10 seconds. Run your finger through the pool of sticky liquid. If it wrinkles, it's done.

Remove from the heat and add the rum. Be careful as it will hiss and spit at you. Stir thoroughly and ladle into some warm, sterilised jars. You'll definitely need a funnel. Ensure to completely fill each jar. Seal them and leave them. I think I'll keep a jar of this myself. Enjoy!

Fried Chicken

2012-10-09T13:09:00.002-07:00

This is comfort food 101. It's not something to cook every week, it's time consuming and not very healthy but, it's bloody tasty. I told one of my mates that I made it and his response was - "Is it as nice as the one you get in the chipper?"

I can say, very confidently, that this is far better than the mass-produced chipper/ KFC version. The secret is getting the coating really crispy while not overcooking/ undercooking the meat. I used chicken drumsticks and bone-in chicken breasts. Only use pieces of chicken with the skin-on. This is full-on, no-holds-barred excess. Park the diet for this one. You'll need -

4 x chicken drumsticks
4 x chicken breasts
1 litre buttermilk
2 cups plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp each of cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, salt, pepper and celery salt
1 bottle vegetable/ sunflower oil

The first stop is to marinate the chicken in buttermilk. The buttermilk is flavoured with the same spices that go into the flour mixture later on. You will need to allow at least 6 hours marinading time. Add 1tbsp of cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, salt, pepper and celery salt to the buttermilk, along with the mustard. Whisk to incorporate. Add this mixture to a lunchbox with a tight fitting lid. Add the chicken pieces, seal and leave in the fridge to marinade for at least 6 hours.

When the 6 hours is up, get the "flouring station" ready. Add the flour, baking powder and remaining spices to a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. You will be 'double-dipping' the chicken so you'll need another plate too. Place the chicken and buttermilk beside the bowl with the flour mixture and place the plate to the far side of the flour bowl.

You will need to transfer each piece of chicken from the buttermilk to the flour, back into the buttermilk, back then to the flour and then onto the plate. Still with me? It will get a bit messy but that's part of the fun. Ensure you get a complete coating of flour on the outside of each piece of chicken.

When all the pieces are coated, set aside so the coating can adhere to the chicken. You can now start to heat the oil. You can deep fry them, as you would chips, but the traditional way is to cook them in an inch of oil in a cast iron pan. If you are cooking them this way, you'll need to turn them a few times during cooking.
Set the pan over a medium/ medium-high heat (about 70% of full power). When the oil is fully hot, it's time to cook.

As this is chicken, it's very important to ensure that you fully cook the chicken. A probe thermometer is the only weapon for me. When your chicken pieces have reached an internal temp of 170f, they are cooked. When inserting the probe (you're so immature) make sure not to make contact with any bones.

Take care when turning the chicken that you don't knock any of the coating off. A plastic-coated tongs is perfect for handling it. If the chicken gets as crispy as you want it but you still suspect it's not fully cooked, transfer it to a baking tray and finish it in the oven for about 10 minutes.

When the chicken is fully cooked, you should be left with incredibly crispy, flavoursome coating and moist & tender meat. The coating will have a little heat from the cayenne and a warming spiciness from the paprika and garlic.

I serve mine with some corn on the cob and some ketchup-mayo. I add a little hot sauce to my ketchup-mayo too. Potatoes/ chips are not necessary! If you want an indulgent treat, try this recipe. One more thing, you'll need napkins, lots of them. Enjoy!

Barbecoa, London - Review

2012-09-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

I first came across Jamie Oliver a good few years ago when I saw one of his earliest TV programmes. I was in secondary school at the time and I had always associated TV chefs with characters like Delia Smith and Keith Floyd. Jamie was different. He was young, his food simple and his style of cooking very exciting. He threw things around and used bold flavours but the dishes always looked incredibly tasty and easily achievable. I've followed his books and programmes ever since.

I became aware of Adam Perry Lang much later. When I started reading about smoking meat and American BBQ, I saw his name mentioned and heard about his New York BBQ place, Daisy Mays. He is recognised as a master of the style. I was hoping to go when I visited New York last year but ended up not being able to fit it in our schedule as we were only in town for a few days.

By pure chance, we ended up walking past it on the way back from a boat tour. We had to go in.

The food, served in plastic cups and containers, was outstanding. A chilli, full of smoky, spicy flavours and the most tender beef I've ever tasted. We also had the beans with burnt ends - sweet, salty and irresistable.

I was very interested to hear that Oliver and Perry Lang had teamed up and opened a London eatery, Barbecoa, with upmarket BBQ/ steakhouse concept. We were in London last week so there was only one choice for dinner.

The restaurant is housed in a new building along with several other restaurants and bars. There's lovely views of St Paul's Cathedral from inside too. We had a 9pm reservation on a Friday night. The place was heaving.

We were seated straight away and presented with the drinks menu. As always, I'm drawn to the beer. There was a nice selection of local ales and offerings from Brooklyn Brewery, Goose Island and Sierra Nevada. I settled on a local one, Bethnal Pale Ale from Redchurch Brewery. Karen had an Italian white.

We agreed (it took a while) on one starter to share - the Bourbon chicken wings with watermelon, coriander and chilli. They were of the giant chicken variety. They had a rich, sweet, slightly acrid coating which went very well with my beer. The beer & wings combo comes up trumps again! The watermelon was a surprisingly good counterpoint. Top notches to the waitress for bringing a finger bowl for each of us.

Karen decided on the pulled pork shoulder for main. This was served with slaw and a waffle. The pulled pork was presented in big, long, tender shreds. I much prefer this to the pseudo-meat puree you sometimes get with 'pulled pork.' It was also incredibly smoky. I can only assume this comes from cooking over a heat source of 100% wood. It was also aromatic and deeply savoury. It was tossed in a nice quantity of sticky, sweet BBQ sauce. The waffle was, well... a waffle. It was plain. Fries would have been nicer. The slaw, crunchy and creamy, tasted great with the pork.

We were seated right beside the big plate glass window into the kitchen, drooling over the this wonderful sight... the pit smoker. I had to go for the Pit Beef.

It was served with the beans with burnt ends (I know these!). The meat came in 2 big hunks of slowly smoked, glazed beef. It was smothered in a similar sauce to that on the pork. It was charred and carameized on the grill before serving I think.

I discarded the knife early on as i just didn't need it. The beef was like butter. The beans were similar in flavour to the meat and together, they formed an incredibly rich dish. I robbed some of Karen's slaw to cut through the richness.

I was fairly stuffed after my main, not to mention from devouring half of the pork shoulder. Our lovely waitress brought us the dessert menus. Karen mouthed the words and the world seemed to slow down for a few seconds - "The...Ultimate...Chocolate....& Peanut Butter...Sundae." Case closed. What a masterful dish it turned out to be too.

From the top....candied popcorn...peanut butter icecream.....summer fruits sorbet.....vanilla ice cream.....chocolate brownie......chocolate ice cream and more vanilla. That's a caramel sauce on the side too. It was, ultimately, amazing. The whole peanut butter & jelly vibe from the peanut butter icecream and sorbet was particularly good.

The bill came to £76, including two drinks each and an optional 12.5% service charge. Not cheap by any means, but with very good service and great BBQ, it was value. If you like meat, BBQ or ultimate sundaes, Barbecoa is the restaurant for you. Enjoy!

Duck Shepherd's Pie

2012-08-29T13:18:00.003-07:00

"What's that?" a work-mate asked me last week while surveying the contents of my lunchbox.

"Duck Shepherd's Pie" I say....

" Why would you waste duck in a shepherd's pie?" is his response!

It's strange how differently people view food. I've always loved shepherd's pie. It's especially good made with leftover roast lamb. I had this dish a few years ago in New York, in a restaurant called Balthazar. I've had my eye on cooking it myself for a while now. Yeah you guessed it... I have their cookbook.

This would be a great dish to cook for someone you are trying to impress. It's got the sweet, tender duck meat and a rich sauce. Even the mash is top drawer - a mixture of potato and parsnip. It's a weekend dish though. It's very simple in technique but it requires overnight marinading and a lot of cooking time.

I've changed the recipe slightly and lessened the quantities but this version will comfortably feed 6 hungry souls. You will need -

6 duck legs, excess fat trimmed
2 bottles of red wine
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 large onion, diced
A few springs of thyme
1 bay leaf
1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp Vegetable oil
2 tbsp tomato puree
3 tbsp plain flour
4 cups chicken stock
6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter
50ml milk
3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

In a big bowl, combine the duck legs, wine, carrot, celery, onion, thyme, bay and garlic. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to start, strain the duck and vegetables and reserve the marinade. Pull out the duck legs and dry them with some kitchen paper. Season well with salt and pepper. Add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil to large cast-iron pan over a high heat. When it is hot, add the seasoned duck legs. Cook for a few minutes on either side until well-browned. Do this in batches so you don't overcrowd the pan. Set aside.

The legs will render a lot of fat. You don't need it so wipe the pan clean with kitchen paper. Add the 2nd tbsp of vegetable oil to the pan and set over a medium heat. Add the reserved carrot, celery and onion. Fry for about 5-8 minutes until browned.

Stir in the tomato puree and stir until it is incorporated with the vegetables. Stir in the flour. Now turn up the heat to high and add the marinade. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 30 minutes or so. You will need to reduce the liquid by half. Be patient as this will be key for the flavour in the finished dish.

Return the duck legs to the pan, along with the stock and bring to the boil again. Reduce to a simmer. Cover the pan and leave to simmer gently for a full 3 hours.

Towards the end of this time, prepare the vegetables for the mash. Peel the potatoes and parsnips and cut into equal sized pieces. Add to some slightly salted water and bring to the boil. Cook until tender. Drain completely and leave to dry. The best way to do this is covering the pan with a clean tea towel and then it's lid. The tea towel will absorb all the excess moisture.

When they are dry, mash thoroughly so there are no lumps. Stir in the butter and a little milk. It's important not to stir too much as this will make the potatoes gluey. When the butter has melted into the mixture, taste for seasoning and add salt & pepper as required.

When the duck has finished cooking, remove it from the sauce and set aside. Again, strain the liquid and reserve the vegetables. Return the liquid to a clean pan. Skim the surface of the liquid to remove the excess fat. Set the liquid over a high heat and reduce it by half again. You should be left with about 600ml-700ml of sauce. It will be incredibly flavoursome - full of the rich flavour from the duck, vegetables, wine and herbs.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. When the duck is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and shred the meat in your hands or with two forks. It should pull away very easily from the bone. Discard all the excess fat and bones. Gather the shredded meat in large bowl and add the reserved diced vegetables. Add enough sauce to loosen the mixture. Add the mixture to your baking dish and smooth the top.

Spread over the potato and parsnip mash. Make some ridges in the mash with a palette knife or fork so you will get a nice crispy topping. Finally, sprinkle over the grated parmesan. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Turn the grill on to brown the top for the final few minutes.

So, it may take a bit of time but the end result is worth it. Tender duck meat in a rich red wine gravy and a sweet-savoury mash topping. It's comfort food at its best. I served mine with peas and grilled courgettes. I'm getting hungry just thinking about this pie! Enjoy!

Smoking Food 3 - Pulled Pork

2012-08-08T14:08:00.003-07:00

This is it. The Holy grail of hot-smoked foods - a whole smoked pork shoulder. You need to dedicate a whole day to this. You also need alot of ingredients and alot of charcoal. Throw in some wood chips and incredible amounts of patience and you're sorted!

I bought a whole pork shoulder from James Whelan Butchers a while back. It's free range and it's appearance alone lets you know it's top drawer meat.

As you can see, it's on the bone, which is crucial for flavour and I removed the rind because I wanted to apply the marinade and dry-rub all over the meat.

I used a recipe from Adam Perry Lang for the pulled pork. You can find it here. Patience is the key to this recipe - there is alot of preparation and cooking time required! You need to prepare a marinade, a sauce, a dry-rub and a spray. That's before you get to the classic accompaniments, like coleslaw and beans.

The pork is marinaded overnight in a lovely combination of garlic, worcestershire sauce, onion and soy sauce.

Rub this aromatic, savoury mixture all over the meat and leave to marinade overnight. Because it's such a big joint of meat I stored it in a cool box.

Marinade overnight and then you're ready for the next step - applying the Seven Spice rub. Rub all over the pork shoulder ensuring a thick covering all over the meat. This will adhere to the meat and caramelise as you cook.

I then lit my coals in my chimney starters and when they are ashen and white-hot I dump them into the charcoal basket of the smoker. Add the pork to the grill and put on the lid. The smoker should come up to a heat of 210-230f. Adjust the vents if you are having problems coming up to heat. If the problems persist, add some more coals.

Wood chips are another crucial ingredient. I soak them in water and add them to the tops of the coals in a foil parcel with a little hole poked in the top. This will allow the coals to burn and release their smoke slowly.
Add a small parcel of chips every hour or so for a strong but not overpowering smoky flavour.

Meanwhile, prepare the cider mop spray. This is another Adam Perry Lang idea. It's a combination of cider vinegar, apple juice and water. Spray liberally over the pork every half hour after the first 6 hours of cooking.

Yes, that's right, after the first 6 hours! This pork will take at least 8 hours to cook. Mine took 10. You will need to replenish the coals a few times during the cooking. Use the chimney starter again and add to the existing coals. As long as your temp is over 200f for the duration you won't have any problems. As the smoker is a sealed unit, it will even keep going in the rain. You've got to love Irish BBQ!

All the while, I was concerned that I would have a sudden loss of temperature and a half-cooked, tough-as-hell piece of meat. I need not have worried. The meat, even though it took it's time, turned out beautifully. I used an internal probe to measure the temperature of the meat. When you are looking for that shredded or 'pulled' texture in the pork, you need an internal temp of 190f (thanks to @Pitmastermick).

You can see at the narrow end how the meat has receded on the bone as it cooks. You can also see my assistant Karen spraying the pork with the cider marinade! Remove from the heat and leave to rest for about 20-30 minutes but only once you have the 190degree internal temperature.

You can the wonderfully caramelised, crusted exterior, widely referred to as bark. It's sweet and sour and provides a lovely contrast to the smoky, tender meat inside.

Toss this in the lovely BBQ sauce, top with crunchy coleslaw and mash it all between two pieces of bread. You won't taste anything better. If you want any information on where to source any of the ingredients/ equipment, please let me know and I'll try to help. Enjoy!

The Basque Country 1 - An Ode to the Pintxo

2012-07-18T16:15:00.001-07:00

Food lover and blogger goes on holiday to the Basque Country, a renowned food destination. You've heard (and read) about it all before. While I was aware of the culinary reputation of places like San Sebastian and Bilbao, it was never high on my list of places to go. However, I've ended up visiting the region twice in the last two years. It's purely been down to circumstance but believe me, I will be back. It is a must-visit for foodies.

My cousin has taken up residence there with her new husband, a native. Our recent visit was to attend Amy and Mikkel's wedding. We probably made even bigger pigs of ourselves as a result. Food is taken very, very seriously quite like it is in Italy and France. People spend their whole evening planning dinner, preparing it and eating it.

Like in the rest of Spain, they love visiting a few bars before dinner and indulging in their version of tapas, pintxos. It's an alien concept to us Irish folk. The first few times we visited a pintxo bar in the town of Zumarraga, we frantically grabbed at the food on offer on the bar, like it was a free for all buffet. The natives approach it very differently.

The sample one, maybe two of the small plates on offer. They have a glass of wine or maybe a glass of the excellent local cider. And then they move on to the next bar. They will visit a few bars before reaching their dinner destination. It's all very leisurely. We soon learned.

The pintxos are slightly different to the traditional, Spanish style tapas. Bread features heavily. The tasty little morsels like the local ham, anchovies, peppers, cheeses etc are usually served on a small piece of bread. As well as the huge selection visible on the bar, most places will do a big selection of hot pintxos which can be ordered from the kitchen. For example, here is the highly typical Jamon as it's usually served, on a little piece of bread.

The standard is generally very high and the selection is endless, although the dishes tend not to vary too much from bar to bar. One of the tastiest little morsels we had was this deep-fried breaded mushroom, stuffed with red pepper and cheese.

Know which pintxo is a pintxo too many. The fact that most of the choices are sitting in front of your face makes it very difficult to resist. The variety - seafood, tortilla, meat, cheese, pickles - can leave you desperate to try everything.

On a few nights, we made the pintxos our dinner, rather than enjoying them as a pre-meal appetiser. All the bars have pintxos that you can order fresh from the kitchen too. You can get fritos - deep-fried mussels, squid and prawns along with the wonderful croquettas, breaded, deep-fried balls of bechamel. You can also get lovely peppers stuffed with black pudding or salt cod. The classic patatas bravas are always available too.

Fritos

Whereas Zumarraga had a small number of bars with great selection, San Sebastian has a plethora of high-quality bars with great wine lists and even greater food. The streets are literally lined with pintxo bars.

They draw you in with wonderful scents and sights like these -

So that's my introduction to the pintxo. If you love food, you'll love the Basque country. Enjoy!

The Use Your Silver Spoon Challenge

2012-06-05T11:47:00.001-07:00

One thing is for sure about cookbooks - many of them sit on the shelf from one year to the next, gathering dust and never coming even close to culinary consideration. I definitely have my favourites that I go back to again and again (you only have to read the blog to know this!). I tend to ignore many of the others.

I was sifting through my Twitter feed a few weeks ago and noticed that Adrienne, from Bake for the Border, was lamenting the fact that she never uses her Silver Spoon cookbook. This is an Italian cooking bible and a must-own for cookbook fans.

We decided to have a Silver Spoon Cookalong, in order to promote this wonderful book, have a bit of cooking fun and raise awareness for forgotten cookbooks everywhere. Adrienne has gone to the trouble of writing out the recipes on her blog ,so that you can tag along even if you don't have the book. I have (painstakingly) copied and pasted her work onto my blog for the same purpose!

Please join the cookalong this Sunday June 10th - We're hoping it will be the first of many. Here are the recipes I've chosen for the first week -

Roast Loin of Pork – The Silver Spoon. Serves 6

Ingredients

25g butter

3tbsp olive oil

1 rosemary sprig

1kg / 2 1/4 lb hind loin of pork, chined

175ml dry white wine

4-5 tbs hot milk

salt & pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees / 160 degrees if fan assisted. Heat the butter, oil and rosemary in an oval roasting tin, add the pork and cook turning frequently, for 5-10 minutes until golden brown all over. Add the wine and cook until it has evaporated, then season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast, turning occasionally and basting with hot milk, for 1 hour or until cooked through. Remove the pork from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes, then carve.

Summer Cannellini Beans – The Silver Spoon. Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove

1 aubergine, diced

1 yellow pepper, halved, seeded and diced

2 fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

350g canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

grated zest of 1/2 lemon

4 fresh basil leaves, torn

1 fresh flat leaf parsley sprig, chopped

Salt & pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a pan, add the garlic and cook until browned, then remove and discard. Add the aubergine and pepper to the pan and cook over a high heat for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes and beans, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and cook, uncovered for a further 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, transfer the beans to a warm serving dish and sprinkle with the lemon zest, basil and parsley. Mix well and serve.

5 Minute Meals - Crab & Prawn Tian, Pea & Rocket Salad, Toast

2012-05-21T13:07:00.001-07:00

I modelled this dish on a great one they serve in Blue Bar, Skerries. They call it a 'Crab & Crayfish Platter.' I've substituted prawns for crayfish due to their availability. For this very quick, very tasty dish you will need -

2 x packs of prepared crabmeat
1 x pack of cooked prawns
3-4 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
200g peas
1 x pack of rocket
Olive oil & lemon juice dressing (3:1)
8 slices of homemade bread.

Put the first 4 slices of bread in your toaster. Put 200ml of water in a small pan and bring to the boil.

Meanwhile, combine the crab, prawns, mayo, lemon juice and cayenne. Mix thoroughly. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Add the peas to the boiling water and cook for just 90 seconds. Toast the next 4 slices of bread. Remove the peas from the pan and add to the rocket. Toss together with the dressing.

Time to plate up. Add a nice portion of the crab & prawn tian to the plate, together with a generous handful of the salad. Serve with 2 slices of toast per plate. Delish!

Disclaimer - you may need ninja-like skills to make this in 5 minutes flat.

5 Minute Meals - Egg Fried Rice

2012-05-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

Eat your heart out Oliver, I'm starting a new series on my blog of 5 minute meals, leaving a whole 25 minutes more to enjoy the rest of my day!

This time next year I'll have sold 2M copies of my book in the UK alone too no doubt! For this Egg Fried Rice you'll need -

2/3 eggs
Soy sauce
1 tsp grated ginger
300g cold cooked rice
2/3 spring onions, finely sliced
1 red chilli, finely sliced
Veg oil
Sesame oil
Optional embellishments - cooked meat or fish of choice

Heat 2tbsp of veg oil in your wok over a high heat. Whisk the eggs together with the ginger and 1tbsp of soy sauce in a bowl. When the oil is smoking, add the egg mixture, stirring with a spatula to scramble it. Cook for just 30 seconds. The trickiest thing to cooking this fast is taking a good photo with your free hand. I couldn't.

Add the rice, spring onions, chilli, 1 tbsp sesame oil and a few splashes of soy sauce and any other ingredient you care to. Stir and cook over the high heat until the rice is piping hot. Remove from the heat and serve. Enjoy!

Brooklyn Brewery Tasting at The Beer Club

2012-05-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

It's exciting times if you're a beer lover in Ireland. It seems the country has finally begun to embrace the craft beer revolution. Over the last 2 years, there are more craft breweries, more craft beer festivals and more importantly, for producer and consumer alike, there are more outlets selling craft beers in Ireland.

For a country that has such a strong drinking culture, it's shame we don't think more about what we drink. There's so much choice now and as the choices increase, so does the value.

Over the last year or so, I've been trying as many beers as I can to see what I like and experience as many different styles as I can. One great place where you can find a huge selection of beers is The Beer Club. Their headquarters is in Kimmage. They've also got stores in Santry and Harold's Cross and an online store to boot.

They occasionally hold themed tastings and I jumped at the chance to go to their Brooklyn Brewery tasting. I've loved this brewery since trying their East India Pale Ale a few years back. The talk was given by Phil Tavey (@thegargler) of Four Corners, who distribute Brooklyn beers in Ireland.

I'd tried most of the beers involved in the tasting previously but I was looking forward to hearing the history surrounding the brewery and its beers and learning how to appreciate them fully.

First up, Phil gave us a brief history of the brewery and how it came to prominence. The American craft beer scene has exploded in recent years, just as the Irish one is beginning to. Brooklyn started out with one beer, their lager and this was the first beer we tried.

If you're a lager drinker, this is most likely the Brooklyn beer for you. It's easy to drink but far more interesting than your average lager. It's got a light bitterness but finishes very smooth. Next up, was the East India Pale Ale.

This is my favourite style of beer. It's refreshing and clean with a lovely hoppy-bitterness and plenty of citrus notes. You can see the lovely, clear golden colour in the photo.

We then tried 3 of the very special bottle fermented ales in the Brooklyn range, Local 1 & 2 along with Sorachi Ace, a celebration of the Sorachi hop. These all some in 75cl bottles with champagne corks. They offer the somewhat alien possibility of sharing a bottle of beer over food.

As Phil told us, this is a strong focus of the Brooklyn Brewery and it's brewmaster, Garret Oliver. Different styles offer great possibilities for pairing with food. Mr. Oliver reckons that this is last beer tastes particularly great with a vanilla ice cream float! It's their Black Chocolate Stout.

It's a hefty 10% but drinks very well. It is unquestionably chocolate-y too. The secret to the chocolate flavour is in the malts that are included. I know that now. If you get a chance to try this, don't let it pass - It's delicious.

Here's a line up of all the beers we tried. I didn't drink all these - we shared!

It was a great evening, I got to try some great beer, learn about it and then, try some more great beer. Check out The Beer Club and their great selection if you can. I'd definitely recommend doing a tasting too - it's good fun!

#CRAFTBEER

Simple Spicy Salami Spaghetti

2012-05-03T12:49:00.001-07:00

The quick pasta supper. Many of us fall back on it as a rapid, easy way of feeding ourselves. There's whole cookbooks devoted to just these type of dishes. With just a few store-cupboard ingredients and about half an hour you can create a tasty, nutritious meal. It's the best type of fast food really - healthy, nutritious, simple to prepare and economical.

For my simple spicy salami spaghetti, you'll need -

1 large salami sausage (about 300g), finely sliced
4 tbsp cannonnata or sun-dried tomato pesto
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
Olive oil
1 large glass of red wine
400g spaghetti
A handful of basil leaves, torn
Grated parmesan, to serve

The cannonata I use is from Taste With Gusto, who operate at a few markets around Dublin. If you can't get your hands on this use sun-dried tomato pesto.

I also had some lovely salami which I sliced thinly, on the diagonal. This picture makes me salivate.

Heat a little olive oil in a large pan. When it's hot, add the garlic and chilli to the pan. Cook for just a minute. Before the garlic colours, add the salami. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the salami starts to crispen around the edges.

Add the cannonata and cook for a few minutes.

Add the red wine and cook on a medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until thoroughly combined and the harsh alcohol smells have evaporated. Remove from the heat and add the basil leaves.

Meanwhile cook your spaghetti to al dente. Add to the pan with the sauce and turn over with a tongs.

Plate up and top with the grated parmesan. How long does it take? Bout 20 minutes or so... How does it taste? Bleedin' lovely! Enjoy!

Prawn Pullao/ Green beans with coconut

2012-05-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

This is a lovely mild Indian dish which combines just a few spices to great effect. It's subtlety is it's strength. The green beans are a very tasty accompaniment. Add a little chutney, maybe a little yoghurt and you're set!

If you've read my blog and any of the Indian recipes, you've probably already guessed but....this is another Madhur Jaffery recipe.

For the pullao, you'll need -

350g raw, deveined prawns
3 tbsp chopped coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 fresh green chilli, finely sliced
4 tbsp veg oil
1 medium onion, sliced
350g basmati rice

In a small bowl, mix the chopped coriander, turmeric, garam masala, salt, lemon juice and green chilli with 1 tbsp warm water.

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat. Add the coriander mixture and cook, stirring all the time, for a few minutes. Add the prawns and cook for a few more minutes until coloured. Remove the prawns from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the sauce behind.

Pour 275ml of water into the pan and scrape up all the lovely crusty bits from the pan. Set aside. In another large pot, add the remaining oil and fry your onion over a medium-high heat. Just as they begin to brown, add the rice and another 450ml of water along with a little salt and the liquid from the frying pan.

Bring to the boil, cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes until the rice is cooked and the liquid has been absorbed. Add the prawns and remove from the heat. Mix through with a fork to fluff up the rice. Add a little more chopped coriander to finish if you wish.

For the beans you'll need -

50g grated coconut
4 tbsp chopped coriander
A pinch of ground asafoetida
1 green chilli, finely chopped
Salt
450g green beans
6 tbsp ghee/ veg oil
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp mustard seeds

Combine the first 4 ingredients with a pinch of salt and rub together with your fingers. Set aside.

Meanwhile, cook your beans in plenty of boiling, salted water until just tender. Drain and refresh under cold water. Heat the ghee/oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the mustard and sesame seeds. When they begin to pop add the cayenne and the green beans. Saute for just a minute before adding the coconut mixture. Cook for just another minute and remove from the heat.

Serve both dishes up together with some chutney and a little yoghurt raita if you wish. Enjoy!

Thai Pork Patties with dipping sauce/ Crunchy Vegetable Noodle Salad

2012-04-23T13:58:00.000-07:00

I love sharing my food through this blog. It's also led to my exploring other ways to share recipes and the love of good food. I set up a Twitter account dedicated solely to food and regularly share the results of my cooking on boards.ie in the 'Here's what I had for dinner last night' thread. I've also recently started sharing photos on Instagram which is just a great tool for quick and easy photo-sharing.

One of my fellow food-bloggers, Paula Ann Ryan from Paula's Kitchen Table, requested that I put up this recipe as she had been dreaming about it! Talk about pressure!.... well here's the recipe Paula. I hope you all like it.

Pork Patties (for 4)
500g pork mince
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 red chilli, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lime
Salt & Pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander

Thai Dipping Sauce
3 tbsp warm water
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp lime juice
2 sliced red chillies
Sugar, to your own taste
1 tbsp finely chopped spring onion

Crunchy Vegetable Noodle Salad
Fresh, crunchy vegetables of your choice, finely sliced
Noodles to feed 4 peeps
Dressing of sesame oil, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and lime juice
Peanuts, to serve

Combine all the ingredients for the patties and mix well. Your hands are by far the best tools for this. Season with salt & pepper to your own taste. Form into small, burger shaped patties and set aside.

Combine all the dipping sauce ingredients, except the sugar, and mix thoroughly. Add a little sugar and taste. Keep adding until the sugar has balanced out the lime juice and fish sauce but not overpowered them. Set aside.

Finely slice all your vegetables and combine. Cook the noodles as per packet instructions and refresh briefly under cold water. Add to the vegetables along with the dressing. The dressing proportions should be roughly 2 parts soy, sweet chilli and lime juice to 1 part sesame oil. But really, do it to your taste. Scatter over a few peanuts to finish.

Heat a large frying pan over a high heat with a little oil. When it's good and hot, add the pork patties. Fry until deeply golden brown and turn over, cooking for the same amount of time on the other side. Remove from the pan when done and plate up.

Serve the dipping sauce in a little dipping bowl with the patties along side. Put a big plate of the salad in the middle of the table and let people help themselves.