I started The Flavour Files in 2012 and have added recipes celebrating our wonderful Irish produce ever since. My recipes show great produce is as much at home on our kitchen tables as on a restaurant menu. It's not just recipes though - there is news, reviews & other writing too!
June 2, 2016
Late spring into early summer you’ll want to revel in two things. Firstly, our gloriously short asparagus season. Secondly, brown crab season. Frankly, these two ingredients when used at their peak are seductive bedfellows. Earthy versus sweet, the two taste profiles couldn’t be more different and yet opposites attract. But the Kitchener cannot be fooled […]
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May 13, 2016
The idea for this salad came one Sunday morning when I was out walking the dogs. A bright sunny and warm morning was reflected in the hedgerows showing off their display of colours and every shade of green imaginable. There’s a saying in food that goes “What grows together, goes together”, and this is never […]
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April 23, 2016
A couple of weeks ago, I placed an order with the Wild Irish Foragers and Preservers for some of their amazing syrups: Gorse Flower, Rosehip (excellent for everything including keeping away the sniffles) and Elderberry Syrups. As with many things like this that I buy, I am purchasing more out of curiosity than anything else! […]
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March 31, 2016
I may be slightly biased but I like to think that I do holidays really well (yes, that may be the sound of distant horns blowing). Recently Mr Flavour and I set sail to Barcelona for the first time and we had a really great time. Famed for its shopping and eating opportunities, Barcelona is […]
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March 22, 2016
Here’s a thing you should know about me. I LOVE custard, in any shape or form it may come in. Crème Anglaise; proper custard; custard slices, Portuguese custard tarts; banana’s and custard (favourite comfort food ever) or just simply a beautiful egg custard tart. Anyway it comes to me, I will happily devour. A good egg […]
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February 14, 2016
Does anyone actually know what the name of the song is that tells us she likes Piña Colada and getting caught in the rain? Much less who sings it? But we all know it, well the chorus anyway, majestically sung out when someone orders it at a bar. I actually am not all the gone […]
Read morePlanning a visit to West Cork and want the low-down on the best artisan foods in the region? Or maybe just keen to support local food producers? A copy of the Artisan Food Guide will be your invaluable resource, and ideal for planning an independent food adventure of your own too!
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February 14, 2016
As it happens, I’ve never been a massive fan of potatoes. Shock horror. I blame my childhood. Endless evenings watching mum peeling and boiling spuds – the floury kind that stuck to the roof of your mouth. The worst kind being the “first earlies” that would be steamed and eaten in their skins with only […]
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January 18, 2016
In January every year we ditch the heavy sauces, rich dishes and heavy carbs for a much lighter way of dining altogether. It’s a month that is screaming out for cleansing, fresh, zingy flavours. Reducing the meat (or using lighter alternatives) and really packing in the fish. Plenty of veggies, raw and cooked and swapping […]
Read moreDecember 20, 2015
Well, Christmas is almost upon us but maybe you are planning more than just the Christmas dinner when it comes to dining this year? A pre Christmas party maybe? Or a bracing walk on St Stephen’s / Boxing Day? Tasty ways to use up delicious leftovers maybe? Well, we here at Flavour.ie have the […]
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November 24, 2015
It’s not often that I can get my hands on the tantalising wild venison hand cured salami from the amazing Gubbeen Farmhouse, expertly made by the hands of Fingal Ferguson in the sleepy West Cork village of Schull (pronounced Skull). I remember the first time I came across it. It was about 8 years ago, and […]
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October 28, 2015
I fear I can barely contain my excitement about the fact that it is finally full-blown squash season once more! Yes, yes I know…it’s all a bit “drama, drama” but genuinely, if autumn is my favourite food season, then the Squash is sitting pretty, right at the top of my pile of food loves, wearing […]
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September 23, 2015
Drive around the highways and by-ways this time of year around any part of Ireland and you’ll spy fields bursting with sweetcorn ripening. No truer herald for the end of summer and the start of autumn is there than the start of sweetcorn season. Bright yellow jewels of sunshine do well to raise the […]
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September 21, 2015
There’s nothing quite like the fevered build up to the Electric Picnic. In amongst the hedonistic daydreams of dancing all day long in a field with flowers in your hair with an almost mystical ability to never get completely pissed on a diet of mainly pints of Heineken are the tempered practical and fear inducing […]
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August 10, 2015
It’s pretty hard to get primal about your precious din-dins when you live a comfortable suburban existence. But grabbing sticky, fiery drumsticks and ripping asunder; licking tacky fingers, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand and going back for more is about as close to being a caveman as you can get. […]
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July 29, 2015
Pesto. Pesto, pesto, pesto. Be honest…do we really need another pesto recipe in our lives? Probably not, but necessity is the mother of all invention and also having shed loads of Kale growing in the garden will also make the cogs in your mind spin into overdrive as you wonder to yourself what the hell […]
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July 14, 2015
You can’t make an exceptional thing to eat or drink without exceptional ingredients. But more than that, the finished taste and experience should be in the hands of a skilled artisan. This is especially so for coffee and a skilled barista. Any old fool could make a cup of Joe, just the same as anyone […]
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July 1, 2015
It was a truth that I had previously never doubted that I would never be any good at making pastry. “It’s just too difficult” I thought, “It’ll just always go wrong and then it’ll be a waste”. But then I thought – how hard could it be to make some harmless pastry. Turns out that all I […]
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June 24, 2015
Following on from my last post about cheat ingredients where I shared my loved for ready made puff pastry, I’ve decided to carry on the theme for a little bit longer (if you let me indulge)! I’ve long been a fan of mid-week puddings, but even with the best will in the world having the […]
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June 21, 2015
As a life long meat eater, it can happen that the Sunday roast can become all to focussed on the meat as the centrepiece to the meal. Lately I’ve been challenging myself to think differently about the end of week feast and try to focus less on the meat, and look more to vegetables and […]
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June 21, 2015
Let’s face it…who has time to make puff pastry. Especially if you aren’t great at the baking. And definitely if its middle of the week from hell. Celeb chefs have been singing the praises of ready made puff pastry for the “meal in a hurry” for a good few years, and as far as […]
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May 12, 2015
OK, so it’s not technically “squash season” anymore, but thanks to the fact that squash can keep well for a long time once harvested if stored correctly, mean that really they are still good to go now as a seasonal veg. Of course, butternut squash are available all year round now too and thankfully this […]
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