flavour.ie

Greek-ish Salad

Posted on July 28, 2020July 28, 2020 by flavourie

This salad isn’t what you might be expecting. As much as a love a classic Greek Salad of juicy tomatoes, refreshing cucumbers, bitter olives and salty feta, this salad take the aniseed notes of tarragon and Ouzo for this salad packed full of summery flavours and crunchy textures!

I’ve often said that my family tree looks like something out of the UN – a mongrel of a family with strands of DNA pulled from all over Europe smushed together under one roof. One such strand comes from Cyprus (the Greek bit, she whispers before running away), and I have very fond memories of visiting Granny Helen and Grandad George as a kid and being treated to the most amazing plates of food a child could hope to taste. It’s an appreciation of a regional cuisine I have kept with me all my life, and expanded to include all flavours of the Levant region.

I digress. In my organic veg box order from Dunworley Cottage recently were crisp as a pin sugar snap peas, peas and french beans and, joy of joys, a huge bunch of fresh tarragon – one of my favourite of all herbs. Tarragon, rich in aniseed flavours reminded me of a bottle of Ouzo I had in the drinks cabinet and half a portion of Feta in the fridge needing to be used up. Within moments, I rustled up this salad for lunch one hot day, eaten outside so maximise the feeling of having just left the sun lounger to step in for lunch in a beach-side taverna. One day…one day, we will travel again!

Now, before I begin, I want to address what may seem a controversial way of cooking the bulgar wheat. The traditional, and therefore time consuming, way to cook Bulgar is the same as Cous Cous: cover with water and allow it to soak up and bloom. This can take an hour and a half – and I always forget to do it! So, a much quicker method I use is to briefly rinse the bulgar under the tap, add to a saucepan, cover with 1 1/2 times the amount of water, set over a low heat with the lid on and when the liquid is all soaked up, the bulgar is cooked. Take off the heat, allow to steam under the lid for a while then fluff up with a fork. It takes about 10 minutes, and still has a lovely texture!

Ingredients:

2 shallots, halved and finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
50 ml Ouzo, or you could use Raki instead
50 g Smoked bacon – whatever you can get, this is for flavour, so smokey rashers, pancetta, or a small piece of smoked bacon loin.
250 g Bulgar wheat, rinsed
400 ml of vegetable stock
A handful each of fresh sugar snaps, french beans and peas
A handful of herbs: tarragon, chives and parsley
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, sea salt and black pepper
2 scallions, finely sliced
50 g Feta (I used Macroom Buffalo Feta)
4 crisp radishes, topped and tailed and finely sliced on the round
Spiced flaked Almonds (you can use normal flaked almonds too)

Method:

Into a sauce pan, add the Bulgar wheat and stock. Cook over a low-medium heat covered until the stock has been absorbed and the wheat is fluffy. Turn off heat, keep covered to steam.
While the Bulgar Wheat is cooking, prepare your peas and beans. Clean, tail or pod, and slice the green beans and sugar snaps into small pieces. Slice the radishes and scallions and chop up the herbs. Set aside ready for assembly. Get a serving bowl ready.
Heat a saute pan over a medium heat, add olive oil, bacon, shallots, fresh peas and French beans. Cook until the bacon is golden and shallots and green veg have slightly softened.
Add the garlic, turn up the heat a little and add the Ouzo. Cook the alcohol off. Turn the heat down, add the cooked Bulgar Wheat to this mix and stir.
Add in the fresh herbs and sliced sugar snaps and stir to mix through.
Transfer all into a serving bowl. Pour a generous glug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil over everything, season with sea salt and black pepper and toss to combine everything together.
Sprinkle over the sliced scallions and spiced almonds, crumble over the feta and top everything with colourful slices of crisp radish.

Serve outside in the blazing sun with a crisp white wine. Enjoy…

Rhubarb & Strawberry Cobbler

Posted on July 28, 2020July 28, 2020 by flavourie

A what? You might ask! Cobbler is better known in some parts of the UK but most popular in the US. They are distinct from a Crumble in the way the topping is put together, but essential Cobblers are a fruit base with a topping that is part biscuit, part crumble and part batter.

That probably isn’t helping you construct an image in your head, but what I can tell you is that they are universally lovelier than a crumble because of the copious amounts of butter!

It’s late summer, and that means late season rhubarb and the last of the summer strawberries: two flavours I absolutely adore together. And at this time of the year, Rhubarb has enjoyed a long, slow growing period and is blushing red right now after soaking up all that sunshine. If your rhubarb patch has been kept well-watered, they will be succulent too and not at all woody.

If you’ve been following my #GIY adventures over on my Instagram page, you’ll see I’ve been reveling in more time spent in the garden this year, and all that focused time means I am being treated to the most wonderful season of homegrown fruits and veggies. In fact, this year will be the first year I harvested from my rhubarb plant. After several years of neglect, a relocation to a larger pot, new soil and plenty of organic feed and water has reaped benefits. Knowing when to pick is always a matter of timing, so when I decided it was time to clip mine, coincided with the last of my delicious strawberries being harvested too! And Cobbler was on my mind!

My other favourite Cobbler combo is also another great seasonal pairing: Peach and Raspberry, for mid summer, or Peach and Blueberry for late summer. The point is, like a crumble, a Cobbler can be any mix of seasonal fruits you wish (apple and brambleberry, anyone?), so go with whatever you fancy!

Ingredients:

4 stalks of blushing red rhubarb, cut into 2 cm pieces
250 g of strawberries, hulled and halved
Dash of water
250 g all purpose white flour
1 tsp baking powder
250 g light Demerara sugar
1 medium egg
115 g butter, melted
Whipped cream or ice cream to serve.

Method:

Heat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, fan.
Into a deep sauce pan, add rhubarb and dash of water. Cook over a medium heat until the rhubarb starts to break down a little – about 5 minutes. Add the strawberries to the rhubarb and stir gently to combine, cook for 1 minute, take the pan off the heat and set aside.
Into a bowl place the flour, baking powder, sugar and egg. Mix together using your hand until everything comes together in a crumbly texture.
Place the fruits into a deep baking dish and scatter the crumbly mix over the top.
Melt the butter and drizzle all over the crumble mixture. Place immediately in the oven and bake for 40 minutes until crisp on top and the fruit is bubbling underneath.
Serve hot from the oven and topped with some lightly whipped cream, or good quality vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy…!

West Cork Women in Business Podcast

Posted on July 10, 2020July 10, 2020 by flavourie

Earlier this year, I was interviewed by Anna Healy, business coach, for her podcast series on West Cork Women in Business. I love this interview – it really makes me realise how far I’ve come since starting Flavour.ie – both personally and professionally too!

Pop the kettle on and access the Podcast here:

https://anchor.fm/anna-healy/episodes/For-the-love-of-food–An-interview-with-Kate-Ryan-ee0972

ProperFood.ie Interview

Posted on July 10, 2020July 10, 2020 by flavourie

Earlier this year, I was interviewed by Katia Valadeau of ProperFood.ie for her brilliant series “Women of the Irish Food Industry” – thank you Katia for including me!

Access the interview here: http://www.properfood.ie/kate-ryan/

Kate Ryan is a woman I admire.
I first met Kate Ryan, just like I met Jennifer Opperman, around a table, on a panel for the Irish Quality Food Awards. Her fierce passion and deep knowledge of all things Irish food was obvious from the very start. I have read her work for many years now and I always feel inspired by the amount of detail she puts in her storytelling.

I’m going to say it loud and proud, I think Kate Ryan is a fantastic writer and I can’t wait to go on one of her famed food tours.

I’m talking to women in the Irish food industry. How did your career path bring you here?
Very circuitously! I always wanted to be a barrister, and got into one of the best law schools in the UK, but realised I was probably a bit too soft for the law so ended up moving away from that dream. From 21 to 35 then, I worked for a lot of different companies in the private and public sector in project management and procurement while trying to figure out what I was supposed to do once I knew a lawyering life was not for me. In the end, it was a single Facebook post of a Wild Mushroom Risotto I made for dinner one night that kicked everything off! I was fascinated by the craze for posting pictures of “the dinner” on Facebook, and people seemed to like the look of what I posting up and started asking for recipes. In the end, it was getting all a bit cumbersome trying to reply by text and email, so I asked my husband, who, for those who follow me will know he makes an appearance now and again as “Mr Flavour”, to set me up a basic website so I could start blogging. He also found the domain name that ended up being the name of the business: Flavour.ie

So I started blogging in late 2013, and then in 2014 I started a Supper Club at home – it was the only one in County Cork I think at the time. I opened my home for up to 10 people to come and dine. I developed the dishes, set the menu, cooked and hosted with Mr Flavour, (his real name is Jason), helping me as my waiter and head-mopper-of-my-perspiring-brow on the night. It was fabulous and created a community of people coming together over a love of food at a time when people were looking for something different to the staid restaurant experience. The same year then, I started getting commissions for writing articles for a few local publications and I also launched The Clonakilty Walking Food Tour; again, at a time when no-one else was offering food tours in West Cork – something I couldn’t get my head around, surrounded as we are with the lion’s share of Irish artisan food producers and their rich stories.

In 2016, the Supper Club was getting too much for me to handle at home, so I took it away from there and started working with talented local chefs and food producers to create pop up events: Supper Clubs that would move around to different venues, workshops, and masterclasses with really talented people in their field. The same year I began to get requests for private food tours, so as well as heading into 2020 as my 6th summer season for The Clonakilty Walking Food Tour, I also am busy year-round developing private food tours and dining events for groups big and small, for families, friends and corporate groups.

In 2017, I was commissioned to write a book. The Artisan Food Guide is an extension of A Taste of West Cork Food Festival, which takes place every September for ten days. The guide is a comprehensive collection of food producers, farmers’ markets and specialty food shops right across the region, with maps and suggested itineraries for people to create their own self-guided food adventure in Ireland’s breadbasket.

In 2019, I was invited by the Irish Food Writers’ Guild to become a Member – an accolade that is really special to me because it is acceptance of my work as a food writer by a panel of my peers, all of whom are respected in their field.

My days are spent meeting those who dedicate their lives to creating wonderful things for us to eat, and giving a voice to their stories and achievements through my food writing for a variety of different publications in print and online, as well as my own blog. Food Adventures, (tours, events, and workshops), take up what time remains, but for sure, writing is my first love.

How does your career fulfill you?
For so many years I didn’t know what was meant for me after I left the law behind. I would look at people who were in love with what they did and wonder: why can’t I have that? Now I do! I can’t believe that I get to write for a living, and I’m always telling people I have the best job in the world, but no-one believes me! Of course, it’s not always a walk in the park, just like any profession, there is a great deal of time spent marketing and selling – freelancers pitch ideas for articles constantly, but I am very lucky that I have amazing relationships with my commissioning editors, and as a result, I have a lot of freedom to write about what inspires me or spurs me into action. Not a lot of writers have that, so I am extra lucky and extra grateful for that.

Food is the ultimate topic to write about too because of its flexibility and pervasiveness in our lives. I’m no restaurant critic, but I love telling other peoples stories. But another day I could be fired up to write about food justice and food poverty; environmental issues pertaining to food, food history, farming, and then round off the week with a bit of popular food philosophy! Is there any other topic that can be as wide-ranging as that? Certainly, no other topic has as much human connection, that’s for sure.

What are your professional ambitions? What’s next for Kate Ryan?
Right now, there are three things that are present in my everyday company!

Firstly, I went back to school in September! I joined up as the first intake of students to do the Post Graduate Diploma is Irish Food Culture at UCC. It’s a transdisciplinary subject and so far we have covered food philosophy, dairy science, food history, a bit of folklore, and an in-depth look at the Irish food system. We’ve just begun our last module of the first year which is food and creative practice. I’ve not even looked at what we have next year! It is brilliant, but it’s like studying for an MA – not easy when you’ve all the other adult concerns of running a business, a home, and family commitments. But I have been non-stop fascinated by everything the brilliant lecturers have presented us with. The challenge will be to know what to do with all this new information once it’s all done!

Secondly, I’m in the midst of writing my second book. Something completely different to the first, much more personal in style. I’ll say no more on this right now…who knows, maybe it’ll be a shelf-emptying best seller!

Thirdly, I’m hosting a four-day Food Writing Workshop and Food Tour in West Cork 8 – 11th October with the amazing Dianne Jacob. I can’t wait! Dianne wrote the seminal book for any aspiring food writer called: “Will Write for Food”, and this is only her second time coming to Ireland to teach so it’s pretty special. The title of the Workshop and Food Tour is “Food with a Story to Tell…” and is all about exploring food writing through the medium of story and storytelling – something that I feel is wonderfully engaging for readers. We’re combining Dianne’s teaching sessions with a food tour visiting some great chefs, farmers and artisans who have wonderful food stories of their own. I’m currently running an Early Bird offer at the moment until the end of May – check out all the information on my blog – it’s a small group on purpose and we already have a few places booked, so I would encourage anyone who’s interested to book in sooner than later!

In your opinion, what challenges do women face in the food industry in Ireland?
This is a difficult one for me because I am one of the lucky ones never to have experienced any issues with getting on in any of the industries I have worked in before. I have had great bosses and not great bosses, men and women alike; so, for me, I think it’s about putting myself forward in a confident, but not arrogant way, that loudly and proudly says: I work hard, I do good work, and I can easily measure up against anyone and be as good as the person I’m stood next too.

The charge is often thrown out that women undervalue themselves, not rating their value and contribution, and I firmly believe that that’s where the work begins. We can put ourselves confidently “out there” in a way that demands respect and credibility instead of asking politely for it. Shout all you want for a fair hearing and equality, but be the woman to put it on the table rather than accepting someone else’s version of it.

So, yes, women owning and understanding their own value and worth – we are our biggest challenge.

Tell us of one woman in the Irish food industry who consistently inspire you and why?
There are so many, aren’t there; and in Ireland particularly we have an embarrassment of riches of strong voices and inspiring leaders – it almost seems a disservice to pick just one!

I’m actually going to champion someone who I recently nominated for an award – and won! That woman is Allison Roberts of Exploding Tree. Allison is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker in Clonakilty, West Cork – but what she does is so much more than that, and is why I nominated her for the Irish Food Writers Guild Environmental Award. Allison is Ireland’s only Bean-to-Bar chocolate maker working with exclusively Fairtrade ingredients. She is the Treasurer of Clonakilty Fairtrade, (the town was Irelands first Fairtrade town, nearly 17 years ago); she is a founder of the Clonakilty Bike Festival and a co-founder of the Clonakilty Bike Circus – a weekly repair and advice clinic for bike users, and an advocate for more Green and Cycle Ways. All of her packaging is made from post-agricultural waste and 100% compostable – as well as being beautifully designed; and her range of chocolates vary from the unusual (e.g 100% Cocoa) to her innovative Oat and Goat milk chocolates suitable for lactose intolerant and vegan/dairy-free, but all are delicious!. Her business is designed around sustainability, environmentally friendly practices, closed-loop production methods, Fairtrade and a heart that bursts for the value and contribution that small businesses make to the communities they are in. Oh, and did I forget, she’s an advocate, an educator as well as a mother, wife and friend. She is unstoppable and gives a huge amount to the people around her. Just an awesome powerhouse of a woman. Go check out what she does – you can buy her chocolates online too!

What do you think can be done to help raise the profile and visibility of women in the food industry in Ireland?
I spend a lot of time talking to other women in the food industry and giving a voice to their story. It fascinates me how many times they don’t think they have a story worth telling. Again, it all comes down to understanding and owning your own worth and value. Women are integral to Ireland’s food story – past and present, and we shouldn’t forget that or let it slip from the collective consciousness. I see so much opportunity for women to make their story a central part of their food offering. Yes, the product is important too, but what separates your bread/cheese/cakes from someone else’s – that’s where story comes into play.

Also, opportunities like this, Katia, that you offer, for women to speak some of their truth, is an important platform – I 100% support more of this!

What was the proudest moment of your career so far?
As fabulous as it was to see my first book come off the press, it has to be the moment I was invited into the Irish Food Writers Guild. The wonderful thing about the Guild is that you cannot simply buy your way in – you have to be nominated by a current Member, and then it has to be approved by two other Members at their AGM. Only then will you receive your invitation to join. So it is very special because it is a jury of your peers. Also the role-call of Members past, present, and honorary is quite the list of inspiring people. To be amongst them is a wonderful honour.

What advice would you give your younger self?
Every decade you’ll foist massive life changes upon yourself – go with it, everything will shake out in the end and you’ll always be doing the right thing at the right time, even if it doesn’t feel like it.

What are the top skills required to do your job and why?
· Organisation: planning, planning, planning – research, pitching, interviewing, writing, publishing, getting paid – just be organised so there’s less feast and famine and more consistency.

· Be willing to say No. You won’t lose out because you’re just making room for something even better that you’ll actually want to do!

· Discipline. I could just stay in bed, or scroll for another 15 minutes, but there’s work to do!

What’s an underestimated spice?
Oh I love this question! Without a doubt it’s Fenugreek! I adore it’s smoky, heady aroma – it’s the sultry seductress of the spice world, and hardly anyone uses it! I love it in delicate fish and vegetable curries. A chef friend of mine makes an exquisite Aubergine and Fenugreek chutney – divine! She’s just gone out on her own, check her website out.

Recipes worth living for…

Posted on June 23, 2020November 24, 2020 by flavourie

This post is a review in two parts which I hope to seamlessly merge together into one engaging whole. If you’re coming to this post thinking that there is actually a recipe at the end, prepare to be disappointed, but maybe stick with it anyway because this is a review about one very amazing book that I wish for everyone to read, and also a personal review of the past three-and-a-bit months.

Cherry Amour

Posted on June 3, 2020July 5, 2020 by flavourie

Part of a collection of recipes I’m calling My Purple Passion

**My Purple Passion: Cherry Brandy Brownie, Goat-Goat-Beet, Cherry Amour**

I had been knocking around in my head the idea for this cocktail ever since I made the Cherry Brandy Brownie. There was something so heady about the combination of cherry and chocolate that sent me off in search of a cocktail that would make the most of those flavours in a truly adult way.

If you’ve ever read my Tea with Granny series of blog posts, you’ll know that Black Forest Gateaux holds a very dear and special place in my heart. I also created for you one of the best cake recipes I’ve ever concocted as a ridiculously sumptuous version of an old classic. Check out those posts HERE and HERE. So, in a way, this cocktail is like a Black Forest Gateaux but in a drinkable form and oh so adulty!

What took me so long in getting round to making it was trying to figure out how, in the middle of a pandemic, could I get my hands on a Chocolate Bitter. In the end I decided to make my own using just three ingredients and one patient week of waiting. The good news though is that, like with all bitters, you only need a little to go a long way, so you’ll have enough for 6 cocktails with what you make here.

Equipment wise, you’ll need a cocktail shaker – my current one is plastic and broken so you know, whatever works…even a clean jam jar with a tight fitting lid would work. Something to accurately measure your measures with, lots and lot of ice and a fancy pants glass to drink from. Simples.

Ingredients: Makes 1 Cocktail

For the Homemade Chocolate Bitters

1 tbsp of roasted cocoa nibs
1 tbsp of cocoa husks (also known as Cocoa Husk Tea)
Enough Irish whiskey to cover fully – about 150 ml
Both the Nibs and Husks can be purchased from Exploding Tree

For the Cocktail

50 ml Irish Whiskey (I used West Cork Distillers 10 year old)
75 ml Kinsale Mead ‘Wild Red Mead’ (flavoured with cherries and blackcurrants)
125 ml tart organic cherry juice (e.g. Biona)
1 tsp of Homemade Chocolate Bitters
1 egg white
Ice

Method:

For the Homemade Chocolate Bitters

Place all into a sterilised glass jar with a tight fitting lid, shake and store in a cool, dark place for a week.
Strain the liquid from the solids using a tea strainer or a piece of muslin cloth.
Store in a sterilised jar or bottle.

For the Cocktail

Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake vigorously for 30 seconds or until a thin sheen of ice appears on the outside of your cocktail shaker.
Pour into a martini glass and garnish with some more roasted cocoa nibs.

Cheers!

Goat-Goat-Beet

Posted on June 3, 2020July 6, 2020 by flavourie

Part of a collection of recipes I’m calling My Purple Passion

So, I hold a deep conflict when it comes to anything Goaty. If I ever have enough land to keep animals, the first thing on my list would be a goat. They are such lovely creatures – cantankerous but full of personality. When my parents used to live in the Welsh mountains, they had three Cashmere Mountain Goats called Flymo, Black and Decker – I know, you don’t need to say anything. Aside from my parents and their dogs, I always looked forward to seeing the goats. I’ve loved them ever since, but the thing is, I also adore their milk, yogurt, cheese and, yes its true, their meat.

In the past few years, goat meat has been appearing on menus here and there and across the country there are a small number of goat farms raising goats for their meat. It’s been hailed as a sustainable alternative to meat production and consumption, but it isn’t a cheap meat and, for the most part, producers in Ireland mostly service the restaurant industry. But, with Covid-19 that market has been lost to the producers and are focusing their efforts to sell direct to normal customers, like you and me, a lot more. This is great news for those who have been curious about working with goat meat, but found it difficult to source exceptional quality, Irish reared goat to cook with at home.

There is Broughgammon Farm in the north of country, and a scattering of others around the midlands. Down south is the wonderful Ballinwillin House in Mitchelstown, Co Cork. On this farm on an old estate, Pat and Miriam Mulcahy produce wild boar, venison, beef and goat meat all grass fed and semi-free range. Everything happens on site, including their own abattoir, butchery and smokehouse. In terms of production, it has virtually zero food miles – that and, of course, it is meat of the most exceptional quality.

Thanks, in part, to Covid-19, Ballinwillin House is now selling their produce through Neighbourfood – an excellent initiative that I have championed since the first collection day in the Old Apple Market in Cork city on a bitterly cold and wet winters’ evening in 2018. Ballinwillin are a newcomer to our corner of the world here, through Neighbourfood. Choosing items for my weekly order, I stumbled upon their Goat Salami. A lover of salami, you can imagine, I was immediately intrigued so that went in the cart. Then I spotted that the lovely Siobhan from St Tola Goats Cheese was also starting to sell that week, and her newest product, St Tola Divine, described as a fresh and creamy goats curd, also caught my eye, so that went in the cart too.

I had a suspicion that these two ingredients would be a dream together: the rich funkiness of the goat salami and the sweet silkiness of the goat curd. And what goes so well with goats cheese? Beetroot of course! And what goes well with beetroot? Fennel and Chili, naturally – a favourite flavour combo of mine that I discovered many years ago when I developed my classic Beetroot, Fennel and Chili Soup (check it out here!).

The only cooking in this dish really is steaming, peeling and slicing the beetroot. But look, if you can’t be bothered to do that you could substitute for those ready cooked and peeled vac-packed beets you can get in the supermarket these days, but you know I’ll always prefer to encourage people to buy beets that have been grown seasonally and locally because, frankly, there is no comparison on taste!

What I will say is this: this dish deserved its place in My Purple Passion collection of recipes. So simple, and so delicious served as a summery shared starter al-fresco in the late evening sunshine. Best served with fresh bread – we found a pillowy focaccia works best.

Ingredients – this will serve 6 – 8 people as a nibbly starter

100 g Ballinwillin House Goat Salami
30 g St Tola Divine Goats Curd
2 large fresh beetroot, steamed, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp Maldon sea salt
1/8 tsp fennel seed
1/8 tsp chili flakes
Fresh thyme, leaves and flowers
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method:

If your beetroots come with their leaves still attached, remove them and save them to use as you would chard or spinach another time.
I find steaming the beetroot whole works best as you don’t lose flavour and is a very gentle way of cooking. Depending on the size of the beetroots, this should take around 30 – 40 minutes. They need to be cooked through, but I prefer the beetroots to retain a small bit of bite to them, but you may prefer them softer still so then cook until completely tender all the way through.
When cooked, allow the beetroots to cool slightly so you can handle them to peel them. I use a small pairing knife to scrape, rather than peel, the skins off. Top and tail and slice thinly using a knife or, if you have one, a mandoline.
In a pestle and mortar, place the salt, fennel seed and chili flakes. Grind into a seasoned salt mix.
Arrange the disks of beetroot on a platter and scattered all over with the salt mix.
Arrange slices of the goat salami on top and add small dabs of St Tola Divine Goats Curd.
Finally, dress with some fresh thyme leaves and flowers if you have them, (they are delightfully pinkish in hue too), and drizzle over with some great quality EVOO.
Serve with focaccia bread, and a glass of crisp, dry white wine.

Enjoy!

Cherry Brandy Brownie

Posted on June 3, 2020July 5, 2020 by flavourie

Part of a collection of recipes I’m calling My Purple Passion

Right back at the beginning of the pandemic, I, on purpose, installed myself on an almost permanent basis in the kitchen. Of course there was the day to day business of cooking enough food to keep up well fed and happy, including snacks, but there was also a backlog of recipes that I was long overdue to test…some for this blog, some for another project I’m working on. I cracked on, cooking dish and dish and generally procrastinating about work and study. Back then I definitely didn’t think I should be reserving my energies and enthusiasm for as long a haul as it has been, and is still yet to come. I guess I just thought I should get through The Backlog as soon as possible before everything returns back to normal. Well, folks, lets just say this: don’t rely on me to predict the future of anything. I’m clearly useless! Anyways, after my fit of cookery began to equalise out to something much more sensible, one evening, scrolling through the seemingly unending collection of photographs of the food cooked over the past 12 weeks, and I noticed a bit of a trend – towards purple food. Purple like: red onions which I am currently addicted to roasting in the wood fire; red cabbage in so many different variations of chopped slaw salads, beetroot and, my favourite fruit of all, cherries.

So this blog post kicks off my homage to these purple foods that have kept me company. Three recipes in total: this ridiculously delicous recipe for a Cherry Chocolate Brownie that is definitely only for adults, a delicious starter of Beetroot, Goat Salami and Goats Curd with Fennel and Chili Salt, and finally my indulgent Cherry Amore cocktail. I hope you enjoy them.

It’s probably not a coincidence, but one of my favourite writers in the world is Alice Walker, and The Color Purple is probably one of my favourite books. One of the most famous lines in the book is thus:

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it. People think pleasing God is all God cares about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.”

Now, religious is the last thing I am, but replace God with nature and that’s where you’ll find me!

To kick off proceedings, I made this Cherry Brandy Chocolate Brownie at the very beginning of Lockdown in Ireland. Cherries were coming in season and my friend and Chocolate Maker extraordinaire, Allison Roberts of Exploding Tree, was, (still is), selling Experimenters Kits containing Raw Cocoa Beans, Roasted Cocoa Nibs, Coconut Blossom Sugar, Untempered Cooking Chocolate and a bag of Cocoa Husk Tea. Experimenting with these brownies was the first thing on my list!

I used fresh cherries here, but you could use tinned – just don’t throw away the juice! If you are using fresh cherries, allow at least two days for them to macerate in the juice, sugar and brandy before making the brownie mixture. If course, if you’d like to make these for your precious little ones, just leave out the brandy. Shame, but needs must – this I understand!

Ingredients – makes 12 – 16 brownies depending on portion size!

For the macerated cherries:

125 g cherries, pitted and halved
3 tbsp of coconut blossom sugar or golden caster sugar
150 ml tart organic cherry juice
100 ml brandy

For the brownie mixture:

265 g butter, cubed
265 g dark chocolate – I used Allison’s Oat Milk Chocolate (60%)
125 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
300 g coconut blossom sugar or golden caster sugar
4 eggs

You will also need:

Velvet Cloud Sheeps Yogurt
Retain the liquid from macerating the cherries
More chocolate for grating over
Thick cream whipped to a soft peak

Method:

Place all the ingredients for macerating the cherries into a sterilised jar. Close the lid tightly and shake. Leave that to work its magic for at least two days. Give it a shake each day. No need to refrigerate but keep out of direct sunlight or sources of heat.
To make the brownie, preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and line a 22cm square brownie tin.
Place the butter and chocolate in a glass or metal bowl over a gently simmering saucepan of water. Ensure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl, melt gently and stir together. Take off the heat and set aside.
Beat together the eggs and sugar until fluffy, then add the chocolate mixture and stir well to combine.
Mix the baking powder through the flour then add the flour mix to the chocolate and egg mix gradually to ensure a beautifully smooth texture.
Drain, but retain, the liquid from the cherries. Add about half the cherries to the batter mix, stir through then pour into the prepared baking tin.
Place the remaining cherry halves so they just sit in the brownie mix without sinking, and drizzle thick, silky lines of Velvet Cloud sheep’s yogurt over the top.
Bake in the oven for between 40 – 45 mins. I prefer my brownie to have a crust on top, mostly solid with a slightly fudgy but not oozy centre. Ideally things should still wobble a little under the crust. As the brownie cools down it will firm up, so don’t fret too much!
Remove the brownie from the oven and allow to cool in the baking tin for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile take the reserved cherry and brandy juice and place into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer to thicken and reduce the sauce by about a third – it should coat the back of a teaspoon.
Use a bamboo skewer or something similar to make small holes all over the surface of the brownie. Using a pastry brush, brush over the reduced cherry stock to soak into the brownie. Be generous, but don’t use it all up otherwise the brownie will collapse. Reserve it for drizzling over when serving!
Cover and place in the fridge to cool right and firm up.
To serve, remove from the baking tin and cut into squares (between 12-16 depending on portion size – I am not here to judge!).
Plate a square of brownie, grate over some more chocolate, drizzle over some of the left over cherry stock and serve with a generous mound of pillowy whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Awesome Banana Bread

Posted on April 8, 2020July 5, 2020 by flavourie

So, for some reason everyone has started making Banana Bread! I think it must be because we all went out and bought a crate load of bananas at the beginning of the crisis and now their just too ripe to eat but oh so good turned into Banana Bread, (or awesome pancakes…more on that another time!)

Even Stephen Fry got in on the act, so I was delighted when the three bananas left in the fruit bowl reached the point of no return and I was ready in a flash to get going with my trusty recipe!

Now, I’ve been using this recipe for the bones of twenty years! It started as a WeightWatchers recipe and then I quickly substituted all the healthy stuff for delicious things and improved the whole thing massively as a result. I don’t know why I’ve never thought to share this, but seeing as everyone is stuck in their kitchens with a couple of over ripe bananas in their fruit bowl and too much time on their hands, it seems like as good a time as any to finally share it with you!

Top Tip: Use a loaf tin for this. A nice little 1 lb loaf tin will give you a compact and high loaf, a larger tin a longer, thinner loaf; or if you have some individual mini loaf tins or even paper muffin cases you can use that too, but adjust the cooking time as needed: the smaller the portion the quicker the cook.

Ingredients:

200 g Self Raising Flour
1/4 tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
75 g of butter, plus extra for coating the loaf tin
75 g of sugar (demerara and coconut blossom sugar are great for added caramel flavours)
1 tbsp of honey
2 eggs
2 or 3 ripe bananas, mashed
Handful of chopped nuts (walnut or pecans are perfect)
Handful of chocolate, a 50% dark milk chocolate is great
If you want, add some sultanas or even some fresh blueberries.

Method:

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius fan.
Butter the loaf tin.
In a bowl, place the flour and bicarb.
In another bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and honey.
Add the eggs in one at a time. If the mixture is too dry, add another egg.
Stir the flour mix into the butter mix and combine.
Add the mashed bananas, chopped nuts and chocolate, mix well.
Pour into the tin and back for 1 hour. Skewer to test if it is cooked.
Turn out and allow to cool.
Slice and serve on its own, buttered or with some whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Celeriac, Kohlrabi & Apple Remoulade

Posted on April 8, 2020July 5, 2020 by flavourie

Remo-what? I hear you cry… Well, a remoulade is a Danish chop salad or slaw, but takes its flavour notes from earthy, peppery tasting vegetables – usually celeriac. It is also usually creamy and speckled with wholegrain mustard, but in these times of making use of what you’ve got lying around and not travelling to shops unless necessary, this remoulade is much lighter using lemon juice and olive oil instead. It really lightens up the whole dish, and with warmer weather on the way, would be a perfect partner with BBQ meats, especially pork!

So, I guess strictly speaking this isn’t a remoulade, but it’s close enough!

I have used celeriac but also Kohlrabi – a bulbous vegetable that has a crisp, crunchy flavour somewhere between a Granny Smith apple and Mooli (that long white radish used in Asian dishes). It’s used a lot in Northern Continental Europe, as well as in Germany too. I added in apple too, as celeriac, kohlrabi and apple are great together!

There is a lot of chopping that goes into making this salad, admittedly, so you can decide what is the best way to get it done for you. At the moment, I have a little more time on my hands, so I like to do this all manually and just zone out for 20 minutes peeling and chopping. Or you could use a box grater, or the grater or julienne attachment on your food processor. Whatever works for you, it really doesn’t matter!

This makes quite a large bowl of salad, so will go with a couple of meals, depending on the number of people you are feeding! It will keep well enough for two days in the fridge in an airtight container, but no more than that.

Top Tip: If you wanted to make this creamy, then substitute the lemon and olive oil for either Creme Fraiche, natural yogurt or sour creme, add in a generous dollop of whole grain mustard and sprinkle all over with some chopped toasted hazelnuts.

Ingredients:

1/2 a celeriac bulb, peeled, sliced thinly and then julienned
1 Kohlrabi peeled, sliced thinly and julienned
1 large apple, peeled, cored, sliced thinly and (you guessed it), julienned
1/2 red chili, remove seeds and chop into tiny pieces
1/2 tbsp of caraway seeds
1 lemon, zest and juice of
Handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped small
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea salt and pepper

Method

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix to coat thoroughly.

Squash, Sage & Pork Carbonara

Posted on April 6, 2020July 5, 2020 by flavourie

Apparently, 6th April is World Carbonara Day, and I’ve just finished reading this wonderful article by Manuela Spinelli of Eurotoques Ireland on the heart pounding merits of a good classic carbonara, and also reminding us that the principle of Italian cuisine is “generally three ingredients that marry together and become a paradise of flavours.” I shudder to think what Manuela would say to me on spying the mushrooms I love to put in my carbonara, along with parsley and the wrong kind of pork and cheese.

But as much as my Carbonara a la Anglaise may be derided for tearing up the Italian cuisine rule book, I feel quietly confident that the recipe below for a very un-Carbonara-like-Carbonara would warm the cockles of your heart all the same. Just like the real Italian classic, it has three primary flavours, but that aside, this would probably have Italians the world over rolling their eyes at my incredulity and arrogance, while also unable to deny the glorious flavour triumvirate that is Squash, Sage and Pork.

In these times of Covid-19, when more than ever nothing should be going to waste in the kitchen, this recipe was born from the necessity to use up a couple of sausages and half a butternut squash. There is also sage, one of my favourite herbs for chilly days, a gentle hit of chili, garlic (because: well, garlic…!), and some lemon to freshen the whole thing up. It’s a surprisingly easy dish to make, but apologise to the evening’s pot-washer in advance as it definitely isn’t a one-pot wonder!

Top Tip! This dish will feed two people with plenty of left over sauce. This sauce can be thinned out a little the next day and heated up, drizzled with some chili oil and crème fraiche and served up with some thick crusty bread for a hearty soup for one the following day!

Ingredients:

Half a butternut squash, peeled and chopped into medium chunks
2 pork sausages, skinned and ripped into small bite sized pieces
1 clove of garlic, peeled and sliced
Red chili: either a few dried flakes or some fresh – to taste, background heat only!
Handful of sage herb, leaves only
1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
1 tsp of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Long pasta: either spaghetti or linguine
Olive Oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Parmesan Cheese

Method:

Steam the butternut squash until tender.
Place a large pot of well salted water onto boil. Just as the butternut squash is tender throughout, place the dried pasta into the boiling water.
Meanwhile, in a frying pan cook down the sausage meat in a little olive oil until browned and glistening. Take out of the pan and place on kitchen paper.
Reserve the meat cooking juices in the frying pan, and cook slowly the sliced garlic. Drain and place onto a piece of kitchen paper.
Just before the pasta is cooked, place the tender butternut squash into a blender with the garlic, chili, lemon juice, sea salt, a generous twist of pepper, most of the sage and remaining meat juices from the frying pan. Add a little dash of water, (I use the water from steaming to retain the flavour), to help it along and blitz until completely smooth. Set aside.
Drain the cooked pasta and place back into the saucepan. Dress the pasta with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil and set aside.
Back to the frying pan and fry off the remaining sage leaves until crispy. Drain on kitchen paper.
Pour the butternut squash sauce over the pasta a little at a time to coat it thoroughly and luxuriously. Don’t worry if there is a lot of sauce left over – you can have that for lunch tomorrow!
Portion out onto warmed plates, top with nuggets of the browned sausage meat, crispy sage leaves, a final flourish with the pepper grinder and plenty of grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy with a chilled, crisp white wine!

Sweet Golden Lassi

Posted on February 20, 2020 by flavourie

My love for Lassi knows no bounds. I’d sooner have a Lassi over a milkshake, and of course they can be sweet or salty but always delightful.

It is currently Mango season, so I’m getting beautiful mangoes in my organic veg box regularly. And just like pears, rarely do they arrive in perfectly ripe condition, so there is an element of waiting for the perfect moment of peak ripeness. Use up the mangoes we must do, and having them in a Lassi is one of my favourite ways to enjoy them!

We are blessed in West Cork to have Gloun Cross Dairy on our doorstep (more or less, West Cork is bigger than you might think!) I adore their milk, their cream and their Buttermilk too. It’s proper stuff, thick and full of goodness with just about the most perfect texture for Lassi making! Because its February, and because our immune systems are screaming for sunshine and warmth, (still a good few weeks away yet), I added organic, whole turmeric root here. It helps to boost the golden, sunshiny colour, but also is a great immune booster, good for the gut and to help ward anyway any nagging aches and pains with its anti-inflammatory properties. Despite its colour, it’s not sweet, but earthy in flavour, so a little goes a long way!

I added West Cork honey for some additional sweetness and goodness, and a little spritz of fresh lime juice just to enliven the natural acidity in the buttermilk to make the whole thing sing. Your blender does all the work for you, making this a perfect fuss free breakfast drink that sings of the warmer, sunnier days to come!

Time saving tip: keep ready to use frozen mango in your freezer, and simply add two handfuls to the blender!

Ingredients (makes 1 Lassi):

1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped;
2 cm piece of fresh turmeric root, peeled and grated (wash hands afterwards to prevent staining);
150ml of fresh Buttermilk;
2 tsp raw honey;
Spritz of fresh lime juice;

Method:

Place everything into a blender. Blend on high for 2 mins (or more if your blender is less powerful), ensuring everything has been well blended.
Pour into a glass and consume with glee!

Enjoy…

Talking of mangoes… Dianne Jacob won the MFK Fisher award for her essay, The Meaning of Mangoes. Have a read of it HERE.

If you liked that, you might be interested to know that Dianne will be coming to West Cork in October this year to co-host a food writing workshop and food tour with yours truly called Food With a Story to Tell. Full event information and online booking can be found HERE …

Early Bird offer runs until 31st March 2020!