Review: The Candied Walnut

The Candied Walnut

Portarlington, Co. Laois

Today, Ali and I found ourselves in Portarlington for  lunch. We'd been visiting Lisa Nic Eoin's Cats Without Homes sanctuary who we foster kittens with. I did a quick search on TripAdvisor to see what the town had to offer and we settled on The Candied Walnut, a not so visible restaurant on the Monasterevin side of town.

The Candied Walnut is a beautiful restaurant located at Kilnacourt. Upon arrival, the restaurant was busy and we had to wait ten minutes for a table, surely a good sign. We were seated and received a welcome from one of the chef's through the kitchen hatch. The breakfast and lunch menu is well laid out with plenty of options to choose from. The breakfast options looked reasonably priced while lunch had the usual sandwiches and wraps along with some main courses and desserts. The specials board hangs on the wall and we both decided on the fish special; cod and prawn penne with a white wine and cream sauce.

The food arrived quickly and was delicious. Both the fish and sauce were tasty and seasoned well. The pasta was a little overdone for my liking and would have benefited from being a little more al dente. The portion was generous and was topped with a good sprinkling of grated parmesan. My only issue with the service was that we were left waiting 20 minutes with empty plates in front of us before having to ask for the Dessert menu. After ordering desserts (again we ordered the same; carrot cake with candied walnuts and anglaise cream) they arrived promptly and were generous portions. The carrot cake was excellent. I sometimes find it can be too sweet but this one was just right. My only issue with the dessert was the addition of a couple of mint leaves. To me, the flavours didn't work and if they're purely for presentation then I'd leave them off. After scoffing the dessert, my double espresso arrived. It was good if a little unspectacular.

We found The Candied Walnut to be very good value. Two main courses, two desserts, a glass of red wine, a tea and a double espresso came to an impressive €42.30 with the wine making up €5.50 of that. We really enjoyed our lunch and will certainly return for dinner in the not too distant future.

Lunch Ratings:

Food: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 8/10
Selection: 8/10
Value for Money: 8/10

Overall: 8/10 Highly Recommended

Chicken and Prosciutto Pot Roast

Chicken and Prosciutto Pot Roast

As much as I relished the World Cup Challenge, I've loved cooking all the food I really enjoy again. Many people think cooking a whole chicken is the chore of a Sunday, but I think it's a great midweek meal with plenty of leftovers to help with lunch in the following days. This dish is simple but the flavours are delicious, especially the tomato sauce. Served with couscous and some stir- fried vegetables, it really is a no fuss dinner that everybody will enjoy!

The secret to the sauce is cooking the chicken on top of it. This allows the chicken to soak up the wonderful tomato flavour and the sauce benefits from the chicken juices and fat. You can remove the skin from the chicken before wrapping with prosciutto if you wish.

Serves 4

1 Whole Free Range Chicken (approx 1.5Kg)
5 slices of Prosciutto/Parma Ham
1 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion (finely chopped)
1/2 Chilli (finely chopped)
1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes (400g)
1 tsp Sugar
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Couscous and Stir-Fried Veg to serve

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

1. Cover the top of the chicken with slightly overlapping slices of prosciutto and sprinkle a little pepper on top. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil over a medium heat in an oven safe casserole dish (ensure the chicken will fit and the dish has a tight fitting lid) and add the onion and chilli. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5-7 minutes to soften. Add the tin of tomatoes and sugar and bring to the boil. Place the chicken on top of the sauce and cover the pot with a tight fitting lid. Place in the oven and cook for 1 hour.

3. After an hour, remove the lid and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. (check that it's 73 deg C with a thermometer) Serve with couscous and stir-fried vegetables.

Review: Fallons, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare

Fallons of Kilcullen

Kilcullen, Co. Kildare

Yesterday while I was deciding what new PC to splash out on, the hunger hit me. It was 3 pm on a muggy Saturday and having not eaten since an early breakfast, Ali and I decided to go for something fairly substantial. It was not our initial plan to go to Fallons (our intended haunt closed at 3) and I had never considered it for lunch. It was somewhere I would like to try for dinner some evening but it never crossed my mind for a midday meal.

Inside, Fallons is a stylish space and although it doesn't feel as relaxed as a cafe, it doesn't feel too formal either. The well trained staff provide an efficient and friendly service but it's the food that really catches your attention. After a decent espresso, I had the roast of the day on brioche with chips. The beef was delicious, it was cooked well done but didn't suffer from being dry or tough. The brioche was tasty but it was the addition of beautifully caramelised onions that set this apart. The sauce was excellent and while I'm not a fan of a sandwich loaded with leaves, this wasn't swamped with salad and suited me perfectly. The chips were well cooked and crispy and the garlic sauce I requested had a great freshness to it.

As for the price, it could be considered slightly expensive for everyday lunch. The total bill came to €30.80 for my sandwich with chips, Ali's pulled pork salad, a tea and an espresso. It was substantial though, you certainly won't leave hungry!

Lunch Ratings:

Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 7/10
Selection: 8/10
Value for Money: 7/10

Overall: 7.5/10 Recommended

Al Fresco Ideas - Fish

Al Fresco Ideas - Fish

In a country where the average temperature floats around 10 degrees celsius, it's important to take advantage of any good weather. This week has been particularly good - no better time to organize family and friends for a get together!

Growing up, our BBQ's were loaded with enough meat to feed a small army. It always worked out expensive and consequently, they were a rare event. Although occasions like these are memorable, it is possible to have a more affordable BBQ suitable for everyday dinners. The joy of al fresco cuisine is that it's simple; leaving plenty of time for beer! For a great sauce, try my recipe for the Colombian Hogao here. You can swap the coriander for other herbs to give a more unique flavour.

BBQ Sea Bream

Most fish can be BBQ'd with great success and work well if cooked whole. Ask your fish monger to gut and de-gill the fish and to de-scale it if you plan on eating the skin (I peel off the skin after BBQ-ing so I leave the scales on to stop the skin from tearing). Stuff the fish with slices of lemon, chopped parsley (or other herbs) and plenty of sea salt and pepper. Slit the fish a few times if you want to speed up the cooking process. Place on a hot BBQ until cooked through (all the flesh is flaky). Peel off the skin and enjoy.

Stuffed Mussels

Although not BBQ'd, mussels are a great treat to be enjoyed outdoors with a nice glass of white wine. Saute garlic and anchovies in butter and extra-virgin olive oil for 7-10 minutes and add dried breadcrumbs. Meanwhile steam mussels until opened (discarding any that don't) and remove the top (empty) shell. Spoon the breadcrumb mix into the bottom shells and sprinkle with chopped parsley. 

Skewered Crevettes

Soak some wooden skewers in water for an hour or so to stop them burning on the BBQ. Thread through raw crevettes/prawns and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and lemon juice. Cook on a hot BBQ for 2-3 minutes on each side.

My Dad never looks too optimistic:

World Cup, Playoff and Final

World Cup, Playoff and Final

Day 24 & 25

It's over. The spectacular 2014 World Cup has come to an end after a month of somethimes great, sometimes not so great football. It's been great to see so many unfancied teams do so well but I think it's fair to say that the best team won.

It's been a similar story in my challenge. The nations whose cuisines I hadn't previously paid much attention to were the ones that impressed me the most. The South American countries in particular took me by surprise and I'll be ensuring that I take plenty of inspiration from more of their dishes. For the 3rd/4th place playoff I decided to celebrate dutch cuisine as I had somehow managed to neglect them for the entirety of the tournament so far.

World Cup, Day 24 - The Netherlands

Old Style Chicken

I have never spent much time delving into Dutch cuisine, you don't really hear too much about it. I spent quite a bit of time researching recipes and dishes when I came across this one. It really jumped out at me, I was salivating just reading the ingredients list! It was a resounding success, I would actually consider this my favourite chicken recipe now, give it a try! It's important to cook the legs on a wire rack over a baking tray, it means that the skin will crisp up evenly and excess fat can drip off. This recipe is an adaption of Karin Engelbrecht's Chicken From The Golden Age. I served this with Sweet Potato Chips; cut a few sweet potatoes into chips and put them on a baking tray in a single layer. Add a good glug of oil with some salt and pepper. Mix well and put into the oven with the chicken. They should cook in the same amount of time.

Serves 4

8 Free-Range Chicken Drumsticks
2 Streaky Rashers
50g Butter
1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Dried Rosemary
1 tsp Dried Marjoram
1 tsp Dried Basil
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
2 Cloves

Sweet Potato Chips to serve

1. Put everything except the chicken into a food processor and blend until smooth. Push your fingers underneath the skin of the chicken creating little tunnels. Fill these with the bacon butter and rub whatever is left onto the skin of the chicken. Put on a wire rack over a baking tray and into a 200 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until cooked through. Check that they are cooked by inserting a thermometer and ensuring the reading is over 73 degrees celsius. Be sure that the thermometer isn't touching the bone when making the reading. Serve with Sweet Potato Chips.

World Cup, Day 25 - Germany

Apple and Caramel Tart

The final. The last day of The World Cup Challenge! For the final I needed to cook a dessert as we were invited to a friends house for dinner so I said I'd make dessert. I took inspiration from the most famous of German desserts, the Apple Strudel. I have never been a fan of any type of apple tart (rolled or not!) so I knew I would have to drastically change things to suit my tastes. I came to the conclusion that there is nothing in the World that doesn't benefit from the addition of caramel and so the concept was born. I had to buy Carnation Caramel as I was under serious time pressure but there is no reason you couldn't make your own (either by boiling a can of condensed milk or by using a recipe like this)

I like to use the shortcrust pastry recipe that can be found here. I just replace the salt with a pinch of sugar for a sweet tart/pie.

Serves 6-8

1 Quantity of Shortcrust Pastry (see above, rested in the fridge for at least 30 minutes)
800g Bramley Cooking Apples (peeled, cored and roughly chopped)
2 heaped tbsp + pinch of Sugar
1 Tin (397g) Carnation Caramel
1 Egg (beaten)
Pinch of Ground Cinnamon 

1. Put the apples and 2 tbsp of sugar into a pot over a medium-low heat and stir well. Cover and let stew until completely broken down. Stir in the Caramel and heat through for a couple of minutes. Set aside.

2. Butter a 28cm cake tin and roll out the pastry into a circle about 10cm bigger than the base of the tin. Line the bottom of the tin with the pastry ensuring to patch any tears. Keep the sides of the pastry up and pour in the apple and caramel filling. Spread it evenly with the back of a spoon. Allow the sides of the pastry to fold over the filling a little giving a lovely rustic look. Brush the top of the pastry with the egg and sprinkle over a pinch of sugar and cinnamon.

3. Bake in a 200 degree oven for 25-35 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked through. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before turning out of the tin. and allowing to cool completely on a wire rack.

World Cup, Semi Finals

World Cup, Semi Finals

Day 22 & 23

The World Cup is almost over. Almost a month has passed since the first match and first day of my World Cup Challenge. Two more dishes to go, Saturday and Sunday. The semi finals provided a couple of shocks including Germany's massacre of hosts Brazil. I decided to cook Brazilian for the second time on Tuesday and went with a Brazilian Style Chicken Stew:

World Cup, Day 22 - Brazil

Chicken Stew

My research into Brazilian cuisine has confirmed two things in my mind; 1. They love BBQ and 2. They love coconut milk in a stew! I really enjoyed my first Brazilian dish (can be found here) and wanted to try another. I went with a chicken stew as I couldn't handle anymore beef and, to be honest, the weather didn't lend itself to having a barbecue. I was going to serve the chicken with rice but i didn't check my larder first. I ended up mixing in some Lentils which worked very well.

Serves 4

1 Free Range Chicken (cut into pieces)
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
2 tbsp Rapeseed Oil
1 Onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
1 stick of Celery (finely chopped)
1 Carrot (finely chopped)
1/2 Hot Chilli (finely chopped)
1 Large Beef Tomato (diced)
1 Tin of Coconut Milk
250 ml Chicken Stock
150g Lentils (rinsed well)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Mix the ground coriander, cayenne pepper, turmeric, cumin and salt together and rub all over the chicken pieces. Lightly oil a baking dish and put the chicken in it. Cook in a preheated 230 degree oven for 15 minutes. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile heat the oil in a stewpot (oven safe with a tight fitting lid) over a medium heat and add the onion, garlic, celery, carrot and chilli. Season and cook for 6-7 minutes until softened. Add the tomato and cook for 2-3 minutes longer before adding the chicken. Pour the coconut milk into the baking dish (now empty) and scrape up any stuck on bits of chicken/spices before pouring into the pot along with the chicken stock. Bring to the boil and add the lentils. Season, cover and cook in the oven at 170 degrees for 20 minutes. Ensure the chicken is cooked through with a thermometer (make sure its internal temperature is at least 73 degreesC)

World Cup, Day 23 - Argentina

Rainbow Trout with Chimichurri Sauce

During this challenge I've really enjoyed cooking South American dishes. I hate to say that it's a continent who's food I had never really researched and felt no inclination to do so. I was very wrong, my three favourite dishes of the World Cup have been South American and I'll certainly be researching and cooking them more often. Argentina is famous all over the World for the high quality beef it produces. It is customary to serve any grilled meat/fish with a Chimichurri Sauce and so I decided to base my dish around it. I'm not sure how easy it is to find Argentinian Beef in Ireland but I didn't even try. I wanted fish! A trip to my reliable fish monger showed some rainbow trout on special, already butterflied and ready to cook. How could I resist. I served this with couscous that was loaded with onion, chilli, ramiro pepper and celery. (saute veg in oil and add in couscous and hot vegetable stock: 1 measure couscous to 1.8 measure of stock. Season, cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 10-15 minutes) Delicious!

Serves 2

For the Chimichurri:

25g Fresh Parsley (stalks included, roughly chopped)
3 cloves of Garlic (roughly chopped)
1 tsp Course Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Black Peppercorns
1/2 Chilli (roughly chopped)
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1 Small Onion (roughly chopped)
2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Juice of 1/4 Lemon
5 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

For the Trout:

2 Butterflied Rainbow Trout (skin on)
1 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Vegetable Couscous to serve (see above)

1. First make the Chimichurri by putting all the ingredients except the oil into a food processor. Blitz until the ingredients are blended pretty small. Scrape any bits from the side before putting the processor on its lowest setting and mixing in the oil. Set aside in the fridge until needed.

2. Heat a Griddle Pan over a high heat and add the oil. Brush the oil all over the surface and allow to get really hot. Add the fish, skin side down, and season the top well. Allow the fish to cook almost all the way through (you'll see it changing colour) before flipping it over and cooking for 1-2 minutes to finish. Serve on a bed of the couscous with a generous helping of the chimichurri sauce.

World Cup, Quarter Finals

World Cup, Quarter Finals

Day 20 & 21

The quarter finals provided a return to normality as the bigger teams eventually came through. Both nights I celebrated countries who were knocked out but the dishes were a great success!

World Cup, Day 20 - Colombia

Salmon with Hogao Sauce

While researching Colombian cuisine, I found several mentions of 'hogao' sauce. The mix of spring onion, tomato and coriander intrigued me, so I decided to base my dish around it. I was unsure as to what the sauce should accompany but after passing Nick's Fish in Newbridge, I noticed some Irish organic wild salmon. I'm not sure if it's served this way in Colombia but I couldn't pass it up. Wanting to stick to a healthy meal, I served the fish with quinoa (cooked as per packet instructions in a light vegetable stock) and stir fried vegetables - sugar snaps, mini sweetcorn and broccoli, boiled for 2 mins, drained and stir fried for 5 minutes with rapeseed oil. Add a splash of soy sauce for the final minute for an extra blast of flavour. This was my favourite dish of the World Cup so far, it just about overtook the Brazilian Shrimp Stew of Day 1.

Serves 2

For the Hogao Sauce:

2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
5 Spring Onions (white and green parts, finely chopped)
300g Cherry Tomatoes (halved)
2 cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp Cumin Seed
12g Fresh Coriander (stalks included, finely chopped)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

For the Salmon:

2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 fillets of Fresh Salmon (enough for 2, skin on)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Quinoa and Stir Fried Veg to serve (see above)

1. To make the sauce, heat the oil over a medium heat and add all of the ingredients except the coriander and seasoning to the pan. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the coriander and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. Stir and crush the tomatoes with a wooden spoon as it's cooking. Add a little boiling water if it gets too dry (depending on tomatoes). Check for seasoning and set aside until needed.

2. For the salmon, heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the salmon, skin side down and season the top with salt and pepper. You will see the fish change colour as it cooks. Allow it to cook like this until the colour changes almost to the top. Flip it over and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove the skin from the top with a knife. Serve the salmon on a bed of quinoa and top with the hogao sauce. Surround with the vegetables.

World Cup, Day 21 - Costa Rica

Roasted Fish, Costa Rican Style

I love my fish dishes! I was researching Costa Rica when I came across some recipes for roasted fish. I wasn't particularly looking for fish recipes after the salmon the previous night, but the style really grabbed me. I found it interesting to marinade the fish in orange and lime juice. I had never tried it and yet it made perfect sense. It was delicious! The cooking times may vary depending on how thick your fish is. Any white fish can be used here, I used haddock as it was cheap and available when I was in Naas.

Serves 2

200g Rice
300-400g White Fish Fillets
juice of 1 Orange
juice of 1 Lime
2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
12g Fresh Coriander (finely chopped)
1 clove of Garlic (finely chopped)
350g Fresh Broad Beans (podded)
2 Tomatoes (chopped)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Cook the rice in plenty of salted boiling water until tender. Drain and set aside.

2. Pour the orange and lime juice, oil, coriander, garlic and some seasoning into a baking dish and add the fish. Coat the fish and set aside for 20 minutes.

3. Blanch the podded beans in plenty of salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes and drain. Run the beans under the cold tap for a minute or two. This will make it very easy to remove their tough outer skins. The bean itself is dark green, the skins are much paler. Remove all the skins and set the beans aside.

4. Put the baking tray with the fish and marinade into a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees. Allow to cook for 10 minutes and remove. Carefully lift the fish out of the tray and pour in the cooked rice. Stir well to coat in the marinade and juices. Place the fish back on top of the rice and top with the beans and chopped tomatoes. Season well and place back in the oven for another 7-10 minutes. Serve.

World Cup, Round of 16

World Cup, Round of 16

Day 16, 17, 18, 19

The World Cup Round of 16 games proved to be some of the most exciting so far with the little teams really putting it up to the giants. I can now begin to plan my dishes for the quarter final clashes after some rather unsuccessful attempts during this round. On Saturday I decided to see why Chewy Luis is so hungry and cooked a Uruguayan dish:

Day 16 - Uruguay

Pollo en Escabeche

Marinated Chicken

This dish left a lot to be desired. I looked up about ten versions of the recipe but they were all quite different. I went with a bit of a mix but the basic idea is to brown chicken pieces in hot oil and then stew in vinegar until cooked through. Although some recipes recommended a mix of vinegar and stock I went with (to my eye) the more authentic ones, vinegar only. The chicken and vegetables are edible but the dish becomes dry as you can't really use the vinegar as a sauce.

I can understand using vinegar in a chicken recipe, a tablespoon or two into a stew can really bring it to life but this was too much for me. I don't blame Suarez for taking a bite out of Chiellini, he couldn't have tasted much worse than this!

There is, of course, the possibility that I made a right bo**ox of this or went in the wrong direction. If you have a good one or know someone from Uruguay that does, please send it on.

Day 17 - Mexico

Vegetarian Chilli

I love Mexican food and so decided I'd celebrate the vibrant cuisine for the second time. After a few days of heavy eating I wanted to go with something full of vegetables and very little meat. After browsing through Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's "Veg Everyday" book (which was living beside my bed for a few weeks) I decided to something crazy; a dinner with no meat! To say I love meat is to partake in the biggest understatement of all time. I didn't even eat vegetables until about two years ago (apart from potatoes of course) so to think that someday I would CHOOSE to cook a vegetarian dish is crazy. I have cooked vegetarian dishes before of course but this is different, this is a dish that is all about the meat. Not anymore! I've adapted Hugh's brilliant recipe to my own tastes but if you don't like it too hot then remove the seeds from the chillies.

Serves 4

2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion (finely chopped)
2 Chillies (finely chopped)
2 cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
1 stick of Celery (finely chopped)
1 tsp Cumin Seed
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Ground Coriander
Pinch of Allspice
1 Red Pepper (diced)
1 Green Pepper (diced)
1 tbsp Tomato Puree
1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 Tin of Kidney Beans (drained)
100ml Red Wine
100ml Water
1/2 tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Boiled Rice and Yoghurt to Serve

1. Heat the oil over a medium heat and add the onion. Season and cook for 5-6 minutes to soften. Add the chilli, garlic, celery and spices and cook for 5-6 minutes stirring regularly. Add the peppers and tomato puree, stir well and cook for 2 minutes before adding the tomatoes, beans, sugar, red wine, water and worchestershire suace. Simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes until thickened. Serve with the boiled rice and yoghurt.

Day 18 - Germany

Beschwipster Huhn

Drunken Chicken

On Day 18 I decided to cook German. I had done a German "dish" during the group stages but it was my cheat day. I put together some sour dough bread with lots of butter and topped it with a sliced hard boiled egg. Not exactly Gorden Ramsay! This time I decided to go with something that would require a little more effort. Although German's are particularly notorious for their sausages and sauerkraut, I wasn't really in the mood for pork so I picked a chicken dish instead. This is my take on the classic Beschwipster Huhn (Drunken Chicken)

Serves 4

2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
50g Streaky Bacon (chopped)
1 Onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
8 Chicken Thighs (or a mix of thighs and drumsticks)
1 stick of Celery (finely chopped)
2 Carrots (finely chopped)
200ml Red Wine
100ml Chicken Stock
1 tsp Dried Marjoram
1 Bay Leaf
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Bulgar/Potato/Rice to Serve

1. Fry the bacon in the oil over a medium heat for 5 minutes before adding the onion and garlic. Season and cook for 5-6 minutes to soften. Add the chicken pieces and brown all over before adding the celery, carrot, wine, stock, marjoram and bay leaf. Season well, cover and simmer over a low heat  for 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked. I served with Bulgar to keep things healthy but you could serve with potatoes/rice etc.

Day 19 - Switzerland

Bundner Nusstorte

Swiss Walnut Tart

It may have taken me 19 days of World Cup action but I've finally made a dessert. In my house it's never necessary for me to do any baking, Ali is the baking queen! It's a good mix, I do the savory, Ali the sweet. I thought I better try my hand at one for this challenge though and couldn't resist this wonderful looking (and tasting) tart. I used this recipe from the ever reliable food.com. The filling is fantastic, I swapped the standard sugar for demerara in the filling and it worked a treat, giving a deeper, more intense flavour. I wasn't overly fond of the pastry although I did add the 2 tablespoons of water without checking so it could well be my fault. If you have a favourite shortcrust pastry recipe though, I'd use it instead.