Rack of Lamb

There is no meat more quintessentially Irish than lamb. I am lucky enough to live just off The Curragh Plains so it's meat that is literally bred on my doorstep. This however, is no Curragh lamb. This is Bellewstown's best thanks to Ali's cousin Jo-Ann who runs Cairns Farm with her husband Brian.

I was never mad on the rack of lamb. I had always much preferred the leg, shanks or shoulder. I had only cooked the rack once before and was left disappointed with the results, which was probably down to my cooking to be fair. The key to the rack is simplicity. There are a million recipes with herb crusts and different flavourings but, to me, the real flavour only comes through when cooked simply. Salt, pepper and olive oil, you can't go wrong. Be generous with the portions, allow 3 cutlets per person.

Serves 2

1 Rack of Lamb, french trimmed (ask your butcher), with 6-7 cutlets.
1 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 stick of Celery (chopped)
1 Carrot (chopped)
1/2 glass of Red Wine
1 Tin of Cherry Tomatoes (400g)
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Remove the skin from the lamb and score the fat with a knife to create a criss-cross pattern. Massage the oil into the lamb before seasoning well with salt and pepper.

2. Put the celery and carrot into a roasting pan and put the lamb on top. Put into a pre-heated 190 degree oven for 25-30 mins (rare) or longer if you prefer it well cooked.

3. When cooked to your liking remove the pan from the oven and set the lamb aside to rest. Put the pan onto the hob and add the wine, scraping up any stuck on bits off the bottom as it comes to the boil. Cook off the alcohol for 4-5 minutes before adding the tinned tomatoes. Simmer for 5-7 minutes to thicken and check for seasoning. You can strain if you like but I prefer to serve with the vegetables still in.

4. Cut the lamb into cutlets between the bones and serve with the sauce and some roasted potatoes and veg.

Roast Pork with Crackling

Roast Pork with Crackling and Balsamic Gravy

I'm on a serious pork buzz at the moment. The pig is the most wonderful creature that just keeps on giving. The conditions that pigs are kept in in this country (aswel as most others) has me somewhat conflicted but I get around this by only eating the free range product. My refusal to eat factory farmed pork means that I can (for the most part) only enjoy pork in my own home as restaurants and café's rarely have free range pork/bacon on the menu. The upside to this is that I have now gotten quite good at making all sorts of pork dishes but this one, the simplest, is still my favourite.

Crackling.....the enemy of the home cook. Just the mention of the word brings out the hundreds of superstitions regarding the most mysterious of techniques. There seems to be a consensus online that the skin should be removed from the loin and cooked separately but I see no need to do this. The most important thing to guarantee good crackling is to dry the skin well before cooking. Ensure that it's bone dry, add some olive oil and salt and let the crackling sort itself out, simple!

Serves 6

1.2 kg Pork Loin (in one piece)
2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 Onions (chopped)
1 large Carrot (chopped)
1 stick of Celery (chopped)
3 cloves of Garlic (chopped)
2 Bay Leaves
1 sprig of Rosemary
1 litre of Pork or Chicken Stock
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Score the skin of the pork with a knife being careful not to cut into the flesh below. Dry it thoroughly with kitchen paper before rubbing the oil into the skin. Sprinkle with plenty of salt and set aside.

2. Put the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay and rosemary onto the bottom of a roasting dish and season lightly. Place the pork on top (skin side up) and put into a pre heated 230 degree oven. As soon as the pork goes in, drop the temperature to 175 degrees and cook for approximately 1 and a quarter hours or until cooked through. (check with a thermometer after an hour, it's cooked when the middle of the pork is 73 degrees celsius).

3. When the pork is cooked remove it from the tray and set aside to rest. Pour a little water into the tray and scrape up any of the stuck on bits of vegetables/meat. Pour this, along with all of the vegetables into a saucepan and add the stock and balsamic. Bring to a boil and allow to reduce by two thirds until there is about 350ml left.

4. Cut the pork into twelve slices and serve with potatoes and vegetables (or combine the two for colcannon like I did!) and pour over the gravy. Delicious!

Christmas Turkey

It's the most important part of Christmas dinner. The part that (usually) mother's slave over for hours on end. When I think back to any childhood Christmas, the two things that always stand out are the turkey and, of course, the presents! The smell of it roasting evokes warm memories of great family celebrations and playing in a sea of new toys strewn all over the kitchen floor. It does however also divide opinion. It has been labelled dry, flavourless and boring and in some families has been scrapped for a "tastier" Christmas meal. 

The flavour of a turkey, or any meet for that matter, can be directly linked to the life which the animal led. The commercially produced animals have little space to move and so cannot develop the deeper flavour of their free range or organic cousins. A traditional breed of turkey can also guarantee flavour and the meet tends to be a little browner than a regular bird.

Regardless of the type of bird, the most important thing about cooking turkey is: DO NOT OVERCOOK IT! Buy a thermometer, it will be your best friend and not just for Christmas. The turkey is done when the internal temperature reaches 73 degress celcius (an organic turkey can be removed at 65 degrees). That could happen a matter of hours before you are used to taking the turkey out of the oven and once not overcooked it should keep its moisture much better. Resting is also extremely important to allow the juices to redistribute evenly throughout the turkey, 40 minutes to an hour is perfect.

There is much debate on how best to cook the turkey. Some like to cook it upside down, some like to stuff under the skin while some like to put it in a big foil tent. All of this falls a distinct second to cooking time. Once it's not overcooked everything else is secondary. I do like to stuff under the skin of the bird and, because I use a free-range/organic bronze turkey which cooks in about half the time of a conventional bird, I don't bother with a foil tent.

My grandmother's trick of putting a pound of sausages into the cavity of the turkey may sound strange but does produce the greatest sausages known to mankind. We are probably the only family that eat sausages with our Christmas dinner!

I would like to extend a massive thank you to David at Termonfeckin Delicious for supplying me with a Bronze Turkey in August!

Instructions

(free range or organic bronze turkey):

1. Take the turkey out of the fridge at least 1 hour before cooking and remove any giblets from the cavity. Season the cavity with plenty of salt and pepper.

2. Run your hands under the skin of the turkey, lifting it a little from the meat. Stuff all of this with your stuffing, trying to be relatively even.

3. Grease a large roasting tin and add thyme stalks, a sliced onion, 2 whole cloves of garlic, a chopped carrot, a bay leaf and plenty of seasoning. This will add lots of flavour to your gravy.

4. Place your turkey on top of the veg and put approx. 1 lb of sausages in its cavity. Pour 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil all over the top/legs of the turkey and season generously with salt and pepper.

5. Put into a pre-heated 170 degree (fan) oven and allow to cook for 2 hrs and 30 minutes (15lb) before checking the thigh with a thermometer. If your turkey is smaller, check it a few minutes earlier. If it’s not cooked just put it back in the oven and check at 5-10 minute intervals.

6. Remove from the oven and carefully lift the turkey onto a large plate/serving dish. Loosely cover with 3-4 layers of aluminium foil. Allow to rest for 40-45 minutes while you make the gravy.

For a standard commercial turkey the recommended cooking time is often quoted as 35 to 40 minutes per KG and should be cooked under a foil tent to avoid it drying out too much. You can take the foil off for the final hour to give a crispy skin. Basting the turkey with the pan juices every hour or so will also help to keep the bird moist.

Recipes for great gravy, stuffing, roasties, veg and ham are all coming over the next couple of weeks.

Porchetta

Porchetta is a beautiful Italian dish which, along with Pecorino Romano, is probably the most important food to come from the Lazio region. Traditionally it was made by cleaning out and de-boning a pig, stuffing it with some of the entrails and herbs and roasting it whole over a wood buring fire. It is said to have been the favourite dish of the emperor Nero, clearly a man with good taste! 

This recipe is a slightly simpler approach to the classic. Pork belly gives the perfect mix of crackling, fat and flesh while the liver in the stuffing balances the sweet meat perfectly. Porchetta can be served as a roast dinner but to me it's at its best thinly sliced on a crispy bap. Whatever isn't eaten can be sliced and frozen.

Serves 6 as dinner or 12 sandwiches

1.5 KG piece of boneless Pork Belly
1 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 sprigs of Rosemary
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Butcher's String

For the Stuffing:

1 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion (finely chopped)
1 clove of Garlic (finely chopped)
150g Pork Liver (finely chopped)
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1/4 glass of Red Wine
Handful of Flaked Almonds
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. First make the stuffing. Add the oil to a pan over a medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Season lightly and cook for 7-10 minutes until softened. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the liver and oregano and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes before adding the wine. Cook off the alcohol for 2-3 minutes and remove from the heat. Stir in the flaked almonds and allow to cool completely.

2. Lay the belly out, skin side down, and season well. Spread the stuffing out evenly all over the meat and carefully roll the meat up so that the stuffing is on the inside with the skin on the outside. Tie up every few centimeters to hold the joint together. Cover and put into the fridge for a few hours (or overnight) to marinade.

3. Make sure the outside of the Porchetta is completely dry before putting it into a baking dish with the seem on the the bottom. Pour over the oil and scatter the rosemary on top. Season and put into a pre-heated 200 degree oven. Cook for 20 minutes before turning the temperature down to 160 degrees. Cook for a further two and a half hours, turning back up to 200 for the final 10-15 minutes.

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

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.