Porridge: Get your oats on

Last modified on 2009-11-11 11:02:27 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

I have been under the impression that I disliked porridge for a long time but about a year ago, when reading about the health benefits, I realised I never really gave porridge a proper chance. I had never tried had a full bowl rather than just a dismissive taste. With that in mind and after a couple of unsuccessful outings to produce a bowl that did not have the consistency of wallpaper paste I figured out how much of an oats to water ratio to use and made a basic, but edible, mix. About a 2:1 mix and one minute in the microwave did the trick. A desert spoon of honey added after makes all the difference. Very quick and easy and great for an energy boost. That’s your base, after that add anything. Use milk or cream instead of water or even add a shot of Bailey’s on special occasions like your Birthday or on Christmas morning.

Last week Flahavans and Kevin Dundon teamed up for an All Ireland (and beyond) porridge promotion and have launched a porridge making competition.

Competitors are invited to enter two categories; one to create the perfect porridge dish and two, to develop the most innovative recipe using Flahavan’s Irish porridge oat range. More details below but first an example from Kevin on what is possible in the porridge category, this is the recipe pictured above:

Flahavan’s Creamy Porridge with Flambéed Plum, Orange Syrup & Crème Fraiche

Creamy Porridge:
4oz/110g Flahavan’s Progress Oatlets
1 pint/600ml milk
3 ½ floz/100ml cream
Grated zest of one orange
Pinch salt

Flambéed Plums:
4 plums
2oz/50g butter
2oz/50g brown sugar
1 measure Grand Manier

Orange Reduction:
½ pint/250ml orange juice
2 tablespoons sugar
½ vanilla pod

Garnish:
Sprigs of mint
Crème Fraiche

Methodology:
Put the Flahavan’s porridge oats, salt and milk into a medium sized saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 3-4 minutes and then add in the cream and orange zest and cook for a furthur moment or two and then keep in a warm place until you are ready to serve.

Cut the plums into quarters and take out the stones. Heat the pan with the butter and ten add in the plums and toss around for a couple of minutes until they are lazed. Scatter in the sugar and cook for 3-4 minutes. Just before serving add in a splash of Grand Marnier and allow that to flame up. Be very careful not to get burned.

Place the orange juice, sugar and vanilla pod into a small saucepan and boil continuously for 5-6 minutes until it has reduced to a thick syrup.

Serve the Flahavan’s porridge in a large bowl with the flambéed plums on top. Drizzle with the orange syrup and top with a quenelle of crème fraiche and a sprig of fresh mint.

Sounds nice huh? Maybe Kevin should travel to Scotland next year for the  Golden Spurtle? Anyway, the overall winner in each category of the competition will receive a top prize of €1,500, with the runners up winning €500 each.

At the launch Kevin said, “Oats have formed part of healthy breakfast diets for generations. What some people don’t realise is that oats also make a great ingredient in countless savory or sweet dishes, adding texture and flavour.”

Open for entries from November 9th, Flahavan’s Porridge Making Challenge is an All-Ireland competition. Recipe entries along with preparation methods and photographs can be submitted via www.flahavans.com or can be sent by post to E. Flahavan & Sons Ltd. Porridge-Making Challenge, Kilnagrange Mills, Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford.

Multiple entries can be submitted and there is no age limit. The closing date for entries is 31st January 2010. Terms and conditions are available on www.flahavans.com.

Hearty Italian Cabbage Soup

Last modified on 2009-10-21 12:45:10 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Summer (what summer?) is over and the evenings are closing in. On the plus side Heineken Cup Rugby is back and we don’t have to endlessly listen to folks moan about the Irish Summer. Winter has its advantages.

In keeping with a more robust approach to food for shorter evenings I saw Jamie Oliver do this recipe on his Jamie At Home show ages ago, I wrote it down and forgot about it until now. This prototype version doesn’t include the sage he used, has some Gubbeen Lardons instead of Pancetta and cheddar cheese instead of Fontina but the theory is mostly the same.

Ingredients
One head of Savoy Cabbage, washed and finely sliced
One loaf of stale crusty bread. I bought a non-sliced loaf and left it for a few days, you can then slice as thick or thin as you want
350g of grated cheddar and parmesean cheese (a two to one ratio).
100g bacon lardons (I use Gubbeen Lardons www.gubbeen.com)
Four or five anchovies
Two pints of Chicken stock
Extra virgin Olive oil
One knob of butter

Method
Bring the stock to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook the cabbage for six or seven minutes. During this time add the butter and some oil to a warm pan and gently fry the garlic being careful not to burn it. Increase the heat to medium, add in the lardons and anchovies and fry until golden. Maybe you could add some dried chilli flakes here but I have yet to try that. Drain the cabbage and put the stock to one side. Add your cooked cabbage to the bacon mixture and stir well. Remove from the heat.

Slice the bread and toast well (the bread needs to be somewhat firm or it will just turn to mush), when done rub each side with a clove of garlic for flavour. Add a layer of bread to the bottom of a casserole dish, add a layer of cabbage and a layer of cheese. Repeat the bread-cabbage-cheese layers two or three times depending on the size of the dish and finish by topping up with the stock and adding a final layer of bread. Transfer to a 180C/Gas4 over for 30-40mins.

Messy-Chef’s Lime and Chilli Chicken Wrap

Last modified on 2009-09-01 09:28:39 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Seems I have passed the last few posts rambling on about this and that, giving my opinions on things and forwarding articles of interest. All worthwhile activities in their own right but not great content builders. In lieu of this I’d better get a recipe together, maybe with some extra added waffle for background and effect.

I was home alone last week and cooked myself a roast chicken with all the trimmings for Sunday dinner. This not only annoyed Mrs Messy (“posh bast@rd”) but it provided leftovers to keep me going for the rest of the week. Now, we all know how to make a chicken sandwich but chicken sandwiches are not really blog material are they? A quick tour of the fridge and I found Geeta’s Lime and Chilli Chutney (€2.99 in my local supermarket). A little bit of this on a wrap (it’s quite spicy), add some shredded chicken, leftover stuffing if you have it, some shredded lettuce wrap it up and off you go. A Lime and Chilli Chicken Wrap in under two minutes! Something one of those mediocre sandwich shops, to which the recession has taught nothing, would charge you at least €6 for. €6.50 if you had the audacity to eat it in the premises.

Aside: Next time I need to picture how to fold the wrap properly, I failed to remember that part until it was too late. Fold in the ends first (end being the area at right angle to your filling) then fold the side (parallel to your filling) and roll. This stops your filling escaping onto your shoes.

Leftover Potato Omelette

Last modified on 2009-08-12 16:17:30 GMT. 3 comments. Top.

Ignoring last weeks indulgence of dining out and continuing with ‘waste not, want not’ theme new potatoes are in season at the moment. Rather than throw the left-overs away they are great to make a really tasty omelette with. Really quick and easy, perfect for a lunchtime snack.

Ingredients
One onion, halved and sliced.
Half a clove of garlic, finely sliced.
Your leftover potatoes, cubed.
Olive oil.
200g grated mature Irish cheddar.
3 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste.

Method
Add some olive Oil to a heated pan. Add the potato and fry at a high enough heat to brown them, remove and set aside. Lower the heat, add a touch more oil and gently fry the onion and garlic until soft. Break the eggs into a bowl and mix. Add the potato and onions to the bowl of egg mixture (do not add the eggs to the pan) and stir. Season to taste. Oil the pan and return the mixture. As the mixture sets you can build up the sides using a spatula, see below. Cover and cook slowly for 10-15mins. When almost cooked top with the cheese (and whatever else you want) and put it under a medium grill.

Carrot and Ginger Soup

Last modified on 2009-07-11 08:48:56 GMT. 5 comments. Top.

I’m back from my holidays in Spain and a nice break in Cambrils. Nothing much to report on the food side, we spent the time BBQing steak and home-made burgers and doing some simple pasta dishes. Of course the wine is extraordinarily cheap, €4 for a Torres Viña Sol which retails for over twice that in Ireland at €10 and €8 for a Marques De Caceres Crianza which is normally €12 to €14 in Ireland. Even when you factor in the €2.05 per bottle Government Duty and our 5% higher VAT rate those prices still do not equate. I must consult with some of the online wine folk (see the “Wine” section under “Links” over on the right of the page) and see if they have any theories on this.

OK. Now for something completely different: Carrot and Ginger soup. Carrot is good for the eyes while Ginger is good for nausea among other things. Ergo if you have a sickness of the eyes this is the soup for you. As a test to see if you absolutely need to make this soup or not look for the anomaly between the photos and the text. If you cannot find it make the soup. If you can find it post a comment and make the soup anyway.

Ingredients:
1 Large clove of Garlic finely sliced
1/2 Inch (about half a thumb) of Ginger finely sliced.
2 Medium Onions
12-15 Carrots sliced
2 Pints of Chicken or Veg stock
1/2 Teaspoon coriander
1 Tablespoon of Olive oil

Method
Chop the onion into slices and gently fry in the olive oil with the garlic, coriander and chopped ginger. After about 7minutes when the onion is nicely cooked add in the carrots and stir around for a minute or two. Add the stock, bring to the boil and then cover and gently simmer the mix for 20 minutes or until the carrots are cooked. Turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly. Blend the mixture and season to taste. Serve with a sprig of fresh coriander if you have some.

Homemade Stock

Last modified on 2009-05-25 13:07:42 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

Here’s a nifty follow-on from the home made stuffing a few weeks back and keeping with value theme. A roast chicken does great between the four of us and maybe some left over for a sandwich or two. However, throwing out the carcass felt like waste to me I looked up how to make stock from the bones. It’s easy: Some roughly chopped veg; some herbs; a lot of seasoning; the remains of last night’s chicken and some water.

I have found a single chicken makes about two pints of decent stock, any more water and it would end up too diluted.

Ingredients (Makes two pints)
1 Chicken carcass, anything left over.
3 Carrots, roughly sliced.
1 Large onion, peeled and sliced.
2 Sticks of celery, sliced.
1 Bouquet Garni (or any bunch of mixed herbs, thyme, sage, oregano etc)
Handful of fresh thyme (if you have it)
Plenty of salt and pepper. I usually add about a tablespoon of salt.
2 pints of boiling water.

Method
Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, add the water so that it covers everything and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer on a very, very, low heat for two hours, just enough to keep it ever so slightly moving. After 20mins or so the chicken should start to come apart, you can use a spoon to break it up so the flavours will mix better. Allow to cool, strain and decant. I measure out pints into freezer bags and freeze it for use in soups, risotto etc.

A Whole Lot of Stuffing

Last modified on 2009-04-06 10:19:45 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Everybody likes stuffing, nothing better on a Sunday than a roast chicken and plenty of stuffing and in these dark days of economic depression anybody interested in saving a bit of money, in fact a lot of money relative to what it would cost you to buy, should really consider making their own. It’s dead easy, dead quick and a fraction of the cost.

This is Lemon, Thyme and Garlic stuffing but homemade stuffing can be flavored with anything, if you take the breadcrumbs, butter and onion as the base you can add whatever herbs and flavours you fancy.

Ingredients: (for 4)
Breadcrumbs from 5 slices of bread
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Handful of fresh thyme
150g butter
1 Onion finely sliced.
1 Clove of grlic finely chopped.
Salt & Pepper
Dash of olive oil

Method
Melt the butter in Olive Oil on a medium-low heat. Add the garlic and herbs and cook gently for 2mins. Add the onion and cook for another three or four minutes. Add in the breadcrumbs and remove from the heat. Squeeze in the lemon juice and season to taste.

Yassi’s Lemon Spuds

Last modified on 2009-03-17 11:22:53 GMT. 3 comments. Top.

As messy-chef is proud to serve and because JD asked nicely then it’s time to post the Lemon Spuds I mentioned in the post about SuperValu doing cheap chicken (pun intended). It’s actually Yassi’s recipe, not mine, so I’ll give her the credit.

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Ingredients: (for 2)
5 or 6 potatoes cut into wedges or cubes.
Juice of two lemons
Rind of half a lemon
2 Teaspoons of Thyme
1 Teaspoon of Oregano
6 cloves of Garlic, peeled and cut in two
1 Onion sliced.
1 glass of water

Method
Combine all the ingredients in a dish and mix well. Sprinkle with a little olive oil and bake in the over at 180C for 90mins or until the potatoes are cooked through. Cooking time will vary depending on how think the potatoes are cut.

Parma Ham, Goats Cheese and Sun Dried Tomato Salad

Last modified on 2009-02-25 07:39:26 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Feb 5th 2009: I’ve updated this to include the wine recommendation below. Apologies for the rehash of an old post but I thought Lar had a great idea to match wines with recipes from different food blogs. It’s a fun way to navigate the different food blogs out there.

Jan 14th 2009: Work has been a bit mental since the new year so I’ve been short on blog time. Aside from trying to figure out how best to cook roast beef I’ve also been pretty short on cook time. The roast beef results will follow, I finally nailed the Yorkshire puddings which is a post and a series of photos in itself, but for now here’s a salad you can fling together in a matter of seconds. It doesn’t have to be long and complicated to be good. Adiós muchachos, vaya con Dios.

Ingredients (for two)
1 Bag of Supermarket mixed leaves
10 fresh sun-dried tomato segments.
6 slices of Parma Ham
1 small pack of crumbly goats cheese. Cabridoux is widely available in Irish supermarkets, anything really, doesn’t even have to be goat’s cheese.
Extra virgin olive oil or Balsamic vinegar

Method.
Place a pile of leaves on each plate. Arrange the sun dried tomato segments around the outside. Tear up the Parma Ham and add onto the leaves. Crumble the cheese on top. Sprinkle with a little olive oil or Balsamic vinegar. Serve with crusty bread etc.

For a wine to go with this check out this post from sourgrapes.ie, excellent idea Lar and thanks!

That’s all

Mulled Wine

Last modified on 2009-01-02 16:31:04 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

Here is the first low-fat recipe for 2009. Mulled wine. I know I should have posted this before Christmas but it had been a year since I made it at that stage and I couldn’t remember my recipe. After a week of practice and hard work tasting I have honed a recipe so thought it wise to record it now so we have it for next year.

Ingredients
2 Clementines (2 mandarin oranges or a regular orange will do)
1 Lemon
1 Stick of Cinnamon
1 inch piece of Ginger, peeled and sliced in two.
Cloves
150g Sugar
500ml Water
2 bottles of Red Wine. Cheap stuff will do just fine.

Method
Get a large pot and add the zest of the two Clementines. Peel one and add the slices to the pot. Stick about 15 cloves into the other and add. Zest the Lemon into the pot, slice the body in two and add. Add your stick of cinnamon and ginger. Boil the 500ml water and dissolve the sugar in it. Add to the pot. Add the wine. Cover and put on a very low heat. Do not boil it, just heat it gently. To serve either sieve the whole lot into a fresh pot or sieve by the glass.

Broccoli and Mature Cheddar Soup

Last modified on 2009-02-25 07:41:19 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

More soup this week, not much to report except that you can use any cheese you want. The original recipe was ‘Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup‘ which is tasty enough but a tad strong. When an entire bottle of wine is consumed during the soup course you know you have a problem. OK, that problem may not be the soup but for the sake of illustration lets pretend the wine was to overpower the overpowering blue cheese and I’ve made my point.

On topics overpowering maybe we could have used some of JD’s “African Coffee straight from Africa”. Two teaspoons of this would be enough to incapacitate a small nation with enough left over to construct a fleet of light aircraft. Initially I thought maybe the shops weren’t stocking it for ethical reasons but after being sent some by JD I know the real reason. It’s bloody horrific. Thanks anyway JD. I won’t be calling for the next while as I expect the Drug Squad will have the Hillman Hunter stationed outside your gaff for a bit.

Back to the soup. I’ve adapted the recipe to include mature cheddar. The Killowen Cheddar from Newmarket in Cork is matured for two years and really gives the soup what it needs, you can get the cheese in most Irish supermarkets but Killowen don’t appear to have a web presence, if they had it’d linkey it. Upshot of the whole story is we now have wine left for the main course. Hurrah! Enjoy your week.

Apologies for the pic, I used the cheese before I wrote the article

Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

Ingredients for two:
1 Onion, sliced
1 Clove of Garlic, crushed
2 Large Heads of Broccoli
3-4 handfuls of grated Mature Cheddar Cheese (or any type)
1 1/2 pints of Chicken or Veg Stock
Optional: 1 Tablespoon of Mascarpone cheese to thicken.

Method:
Slowly fry the onion and garlic in a little oil for 5-6mins. Chop the broccoli, add to the pot and stir. Add in the stock, I find a good measure for the stock is enough to just cover the broccoli. Cover the pot and simmer slowly for 10mins until the veg is soft. Allow to cool slightly and blend. Return to the heat and add the cheese. If you want the soup extra creamy add a spoon of mascarpone cheese before serving.

Tip: Better to make this too thick and thin it with boiling water after. It is far easier to thin soup rather than try and thicken it.

Tom Yum Gai (Spicy Chicken Soup)

Last modified on 2008-09-24 12:53:57 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

You see this on a lot of Thai menus, as with every other dish served in Asian restaurants the recipe differs from house to house so there’s no set way of doing this. I’ve been cooking it as a starter or snack for a while now but eventually figured that if you add noodles to the mix it makes a great meal in a bowl. In fact, for that extra-authentic Pot Noodle experience distill the soup into a plastic pint glass and add an extra 100g of salt.

This is easy to make, Lime Leaves and Lemongrass can a bit of a drag to source but are essential to the taste. The odd time you can find Lemongrass with the pre-packed fresh herbs in the supermarket. If you’re in Cork, Mr. Bells in English Market or any place they supply like the Superfruit shop in Douglas (Tesco) Shopping Center will carry fresh Lemongrass and either dried or fresh Lime Leaves. Lots of supermarkets will also do Lemongrass paste or preserved in a jar.

Ingredients (for 2):
2 chicken breasts
1 litre chicken stock
4 Spring Onions, sliced.
1 Clove of Garlic, crushed or grated.
1 or 2 lime leaves.
1 Stick of Lemongrass, thinly sliced.
1 Red Chili, sliced into thin rounds. If you grate or finely chop the chili it overpowers everything else.
1 Tsp Fish Sauce
1 Tsp Sugar
Juice 1 lime
Handful chopped coriander
Optional: 1/2 portion of dried noodles.

Method:
Bring stock to the boil in a pot, add the chicken breasts and simmer for 10mins until cooked. Remove, allow to cool slightly and and shred. Add spring onions, garlic, lemongrass, chili and lime leaves to the stock and simmer for 10mins. Add fish sauce, sugar and return the chicken, cook slowly for three or four minutes. Stir in lime juice and seasoning to taste. Optional: Add the noodles and simmer for three or four minutes, I like to crush the up before adding them as it makes it a bit easier to eat. Purely personal. Add a handful of coriander and serve.

Fresh Prawns in Garlic Butter with Parmesean Breadcrumb.

Last modified on 2008-11-03 21:52:38 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

Fresh prawns are always a treat to have. At about €12 per Kg these days they are not cheap, usually somewhere between €6 and €10 for a dozen depending on size, but they are oh so tasty. My preference with prawns is less is more so there is not much extra added after cooking. Not even a slice of lemon. In any event there is a recession on and Messy Towers are balancing the books by removal of all unwanted rocket, Parmesan shavings, cherry tomatoes, cucumber foam and other stupid finicky nonsense that gets in the way of the real food.  We’re taking the ‘no frills’ model and applying it to food. Actually a lot of Irish Restaurants would be well advised to take their heads out of their asses and use a similar approach: Just the food please, keep your foam.

Unlike their frozen Vietnamese or North Sea cousins fresh prawns are tender and sweet, not tough and flavorless. This dish is just some garlic butter and a light crumb on the outside. The saltiness of the Parmesan works with the sweet prawns. Usual disclaimer with the photos applies viz.  I am not a food photographer.

Ingredients (for 2)
12 prawns (shells and intestines removed)
Breadcrumbs from 1 slice of bread
Small handful of grated Parmesan.
1 knob of butter, about 50g.
1 clove garlic crushed.

Method
Add the grated Parmesan to the breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper. Toss the prawns in the mix making sure they are fully coated (the crumbs will naturally stick to the prawns). Put the butter and garlic in a dish, place in the oven at 180c until the butter is melted. Add the prawns, lightly cover with any leftover breadcrumbs and cook for 10-12 minutes. Serve as is.

Butternut Squash Muffins with Frosty Lemon Topping

Last modified on 2009-02-25 07:41:59 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Jamie Oliver has been living in my Sky+ box for the last few months, not the fat-lipped Cockney Cherub himself but his “Jamie At Home” TV show. It must have been the start of the summer when I saw him make Butternut Squash muffins and thought “Hey, they might be nice! The kids will love them”. I saved the show and forgot about it as we all enjoyed frolicking in the sunshine and staying up late.

Autumn came and the poor fella remained in Sky+ limbo so it was time to make a call: Bake or Delete. Thing is I don’t bake. Never have. I fry, flame, flambe, grill, char, roast, sear, slice and lots of other manly things but I don’t bake. I don’t have the tools. I don’t know what the difference between Bread Soda, Baking Soda and Baking Powder are. I asked my kids and they didn’t know either (how will they ever get men?). I didn’t ask my wife because she’s bad enough with the mess I create after making soup. If, while pushing an imaginary crumb around the table with my finger, I casually mooted that I may be about to bake and I may get the kids involved, it would be over. All those loving years would be done faster than you can say Dyson.

Last Saturday the opportunity presented itself. Mum was heading to Dublin. The girls and I dropped her to the airport and once we were sure the plane had physically left the ground off we scooted to Woodies to buy a weighing scales. Reassured by the assistant that none of them come with WiFi we secured an expensive Digital Scales and returned home to consult Google. We needed to know if Bread Soda was the same as Baking Soda (it is). Of course if the scales had Wifi we’d have known this on the spot, this is a missed opportunity in the world of scales making. After gathering the rest of our ingredients we were off. We were baking.

The girls were mad excited and immediately fought over who got what spoon, the fact the spoons were identical in no way detracted from the ferocity of the engagement. The conflict was quickly resolved when I managed to drop the box of eggs on the floor. Hilarity ensued. Eggs on the floor and an irate dad united the girls in amusement and after a cooling off period we were all back on an even keel with the added bonus of the girls having learned yet another swear word. By the time the mixing was finished the place looked like the scene from Turner and Hooch where the dog is left in the house when Tom Hanks is at work. Anyway, we did it! It actually turned out very well. The muffins are pretty easy to make and the frosty lemon topping is really unusual and nice.

This is Jamie’s recipe, it’s not mine, I haven’t made any changes so I’ll just give you the link below for you to try. I recommend you do. Dame Edna once said never eat food prepared by somebody who can’t keep his tongue in his mouth but she’s wrong. His stuff always comes up trumps when I try it and this is no exception. I love the way he tries to make things just a bit better e.g. Olive Oil instead of butter, Butternut squash in the cakes, unrefined sugar instead of processed. Only comment I thought was they benefited from day or so to firm up, I found them a bit soft to begin with but maybe I made them wrong. I don’t bake.

Next weekend we’re off the buy a Magi-Mix. I hope it has WiFi.

Butternut Squash Muffins with Frosty Topping

Fried Halloumi Salad with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Pine Nuts and Balsamic Dressing

Last modified on 2009-02-25 07:42:08 GMT. 2 comments. Top.

Before autumn truly takes hold (did it ever let go in Ireland?) here is a tasty salad that you can mess around with and get to your own liking. Again, it’s quick and easy for a starter or side or lunch or the dog if things get bad. Enjoy.

Fried Halloumi with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

Ingredients:
1 pack of Halloumi cheese
Handful of Sun Dried Tomatoes
Handful of Pine Nuts
Salad leaves

For the dressing:
1 part Balsamic vinegar e.g. 10ml
3 parts Olive Oil e.h. 30ml
1/2 clove Garlic, grated or crushed.

Method:
Toast the pine nuts in a pan over a low heat for a few mins, be careful not to burn them. For dressing combine balsamic vinegar, garlic and seasoning, gradually add oil while stirring. You can adjust garlic and vinegar quantity to taste or try adding some Dijon mustard and so on. Cube the cheese and fry in olive oil until golden, keep the heat high to drive off moisture from the cheese. Dress and arrange salad with tomatoes and pine nuts. You’ll never have cholesterol problems again.

Smoked Salmon

Last modified on 2008-09-05 18:01:57 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

I have been eating Smoked Salmon on a regular basis for many years, then, about this time last year I saw an article on salmon farming methods and it put me right off. I am now of the impression that farmed salmon is pretty much the equivalent of battery hens and no longer buy it. To further strengthen my opinion I saw a TV programme where Jean Christophe Novelli showed a farmed salmon next to a wild one, the farmed version had no dorsal fin! The reason for this is the farmed salmon are reared in cages and, as such, are unable to swim like they do in the wild. Because of this they never develop properly. Also, during the growth process framed salmon are fed artificial dye because they don’t eat the natural plankton that gives wild salmon their nice pink colour. All in all pretty unimpressive stuff.

I only ever buy Wild Salmon now, which does have a much deeper flavour but is more expensive. For more information and what your fish should be, and for some excellent products, take a look at http://www.ummera.com/questions.html or just run a Google search on farmed salmon.

Here’s a quick and easy smoked salmon salad I make at home.

Smoked Salmon on Brown Bread with Rocket, Pickled Chili and Tomato Salad.

Ingredients

100g of Wild Smoked Salmon [Marks & Spencer do a nice one or www.ummera.com]
Three slices of buttered Brown Soda Bread [Paul Rankin's Stone Ground Wheaten is good for this]
3 or 4 pickled peppers [I use the Old El Paso pickled Jalapeno peppers you can get in any supermarket]
3 or 4 cherry tomatoes
Juice of half a lemon
Ground black pepper
Handful of Rocket Leaves.
Spoon of coleslaw (optional)

Method

Butter the bread and divide the salmon between the three slices, place a pepper (or any kind of pickle will do) on top and a few drops of lemon and a pinch of ground black pepper. Arrange the rocket and cherry tomatoes around on the plate along with the coleslaw if you have it. Very quick and easy.

Spinach and Cauliflower Cheese Bake

Last modified on 2009-02-25 07:55:48 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Continuing with the theme of giving ‘veg the edge’ this is a really easy recipe that my kids love. The Spinach and Cauliflower combination remind me of a slight Indian feel and I’m thinking you could spice this up nicely if you wanted to experiment. However if you have found a sure fire way of getting a three year old to eat Cauliflower and Spinach in one sitting then you burn it into your memory and leave well alone. If you are more adventurous with this let me know how you get on via the comments.

Ingredients:
Large cauliflower cut into florets
1x250g bag of spinach
2x300g tubs four cheese sauce
50g cheddar grated.

Method:
Preheat over to 190c. Boil cauliflower for 5mins. Add spinach and cook for 30secs more. Drain and place in an ovenproof dish. Warm the cheese sauce and pout over the cauliflower and spinach mix, sprinkle with cheddar. Bake in the over for 20-30mins until golden.

Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon

Last modified on 2008-08-29 16:16:31 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

The August Bank Holiday approaches and brings with it more rain and another family trip to the Sunny South East. As we travel each weekend during the summer the kitchen in Messy-Towers remains pretty much closed which is one of the reasons I have yet to get photos of the actual dishes up an running. Between you and me I haven’t actually been cooking any of this stuff as we go along, it’s just some favourite things and random thoughts from my head. For the sake of content, and to drive the illusion, here is a another recipe and a stock photo to go with it. It’ll get better. I swear.

I was going to do a potato dish but its summer and we’re all getting our cholesterol down by having boiled spuds with grilled mackerel and salad. I’ll hold off on potato dishes until later in the season so here’s something quick to give edge to your veg.

Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon

Ingredients
1 Knob of Butter
1 clove of Garlic, crushed or finely chopped.
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 Head of Broccoli

Method
Wash and chop the Broccoli in the usual manner, steam or boil for 5-7 minutes. Heat the butter in a pan over a medium heat and add the garlic (you don’t want the garlic to burn), cook gently for 1 minute. Add the Broccoli and lemon juice, cook for another 30secs to 1minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Clonakilty Black Pudding with Caramelised Onion and Parma Ham

Last modified on 2009-02-25 07:43:40 GMT. 5 comments. Top.

I regularly drive through Clonakilty in West Cork and am always reminded of three things: summers spent there as a child, summers spent there as a teenager in De Barra’s pub and the famous Clonakilty Black Pudding. Edward Twomey, who owns the recipe, says the growth in gourmet shops around Ireland helped to bring the product to the attention of the larger supermarkets and restaurants. These days you can get it just about everywhere in Ireland which is a great example of how the model works if you’re trying to grow the market for your own product. There are lots of quality black puddings available these days but, for me, this remains the de-facto.

Outside of the ubiquotous Full Irish Breakfast there are many recipies that use CBP, the Clonakilty Black Pudding website contains a few and here is another we use at home as a lunch time snack or starter.

Caramelised Onion, Parma Ham and Clonakilty Black Pudding Ciabatta

Ingredients:
2 thumb length pieces of Clonakilty Black pudding
One medium onion, cut in rounds
4-6 slices Parma Ham
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp Balsamic viegar.
2 handfuls of grated cheese, chef’s choice but Cheddar is fine.
1 Ciabatta divided lengthways.

Method:
Fry the onion slowly for 10mins. Add sugar and vinegar and cook for another 2mins while toasting the open ciabitta. Place the onion mix on the ciabatta and fry the black pudding in a little olive oil. Place the cooked pudding on the onion and top with cheese and parma ham. Bake at 180F (Gas 4) for 10mins or until the cheese looks good and melted.

Homemade Sun (Oven) Dried Tomatoes

Last modified on 2009-02-25 07:43:50 GMT. 2 comments. Top.

You can buy Sun Dried Tomatoes everywhere now but there’s always satisfaction to be gained from making your own. Here in Ireland we don’t get the weather to dry damp tissue paper never mind an entire tray of tomatoes so I’ve cheated and used the oven method. If you have the sun (or a lot of patience) you can leave them to dry naturally.

The type of tomato you use doesn’t really matter, many folk grow their own but I wouldn’t waste them by drying them out. I normally use the regular supermarket ones which are just about tolerable this time of year…any other time of year and supermarket tomatoes are nothing short of woeful but that’s a story for another day.

Method
Quarter the tomatoes and place on a baking tray, sprinkle with sea salt and basil leaves. Place in a barely warm oven (only 100F or so) and leave to dry for three to four hours or until you think they look really dried out, there is no magic time for these, just taste one and see if you like. The salt helps remove the moisture while leaving them really zingy.

I’ve tried storing these in oil but not much success, they tend to go moldy after a few days. See the comments on this for storage tips (thanks to all who contributed).

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Last modified on 2009-02-25 07:44:34 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

New potatoes are here and there’s usually a few left over in the pot after dinner. A great way to use leftover spuds is to cook them in a Spanish Omelette which I like to top with some metled cheese. Great for lunch on a summer Sunday with a cool glass of Rioja.

Ingredients
One red onion, halved and sliced.
Your leftover potatoes, cubed.
Olive oil
200g grated mature Irish cheddar.
3 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste.

Method
Add some olive Oil to a heated pan. Add the potato and onion and fry quickly for a minute. Reduce the heat and cook for another 10. Break the eggs into a bowl and mix. When the potato and onions are done add them to the bowl of egg mixture (do not add the eggs to the pan) and stir. Season to taste. Oil the pan and return the mixture. Cook slowly for 10-20mins. When almost cooked top with the cheese and put it under a medium grill.

Mushroom Soup

Last modified on 2009-02-25 07:44:48 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

It’s refreshing to see that supermarkets are beginning to stock different types of mushrooms these days. Handy if you can’t get to the market, even if you can get a local market sourcing a mix of mushroom types is not easy.

My local SuperValu (Ryans in Grange, a fantastic shop) stock 150g packs of mixed mushrooms. Great for making soup. They also stock jars of dried Porcini Mushrooms…even better for making soup….if you’ve never tasted Porcini they have a really deep, rich, flavour. In France I believe they are known as Ceps. Expesnive things but make an enormous difference to anything they are included in.

Here’s a recipe, it’s based on a Jamie Oliver one we use at home:

Ingredients
300g of Mixed mushrooms
100g of button mushrooms
1 handful of dried Porcini mushrooms
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
2 pints of chicken or veggie stock
1 tablespoon Mascarpone cheese (to thicken).
Salt and pepper to taste.

Method
Soak the Porcini in warm water. Meanwhile quickly fry the rest of the mushrooms in a little oil. After a minute or two of frying on a high heat add the Porcini and the water they were rehrdrated in. Also add in the onion, chopped garlic and seasoning. Reduce the heat and fry for 10-15mins.

When the mushrooms and onions are nicely cooked, and sort of fused together, transfer to a pot and add the stock. Simmer for 30mins, switch off the heat and allow to cool slightly. Blend the mixture and add Mascarpone to thicken as required. Season to tase.

For somebody who is not overly fond of mushrooms this is one of my favourite dishes. Try it once.