deelitefull

Summery soup

2011-08-02T13:26:00.000+01:00

Summery Soup

I have started getting a weekly organic box from these guys who farm from a walled garden in Glasnevin http://glasnevinorganic.com/index.html.

The contents of the box change from week to week but I quite enjoy the surprise. I had a few things left to use up so I decided a summer soup would be nice.

This was inspired by a Yotam Ottolenghi minestrone recipe I read in the paper. I changed the soup ingredients based on what I had to hand. This recipe was more the delicious than I expected, a lot of it down to the great veggies. While the soup would be great on its own the the basil and parmesan cream really make it special. The cream really improved the longer it was left to sit so try and make it at least an hour before serving if you can. I have yet to make a disappointing Ottolenghi recipe. This is definitely a keeper. Check out the original recipe here.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/08/summer-minestrone-poached-cod-recipes

Summer Minestrone with Basil and Parmesan cream

Ingredients

Soup:

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 yellow onion, sliced finely

A bunch of spring onions, chopped into 1 inch pieces

7-8 baby/teenage carrots, chopped in half if thicker than an asparagus spear

Handful of Peas - Podded (if you don’t have access to super fresh, I would go for frozen)

3 - 4 * Small Milan turnips, chopped roughly into cubes

A large handful of French beans

2 bay leaves

Few fennel seeds

A couple of tablespoons of Fino sherry ( the original recipe calls for white wine but I had none to hand)

750 ml of vegetable stock ( I use marigold brand if you don’t have the time to make your own)

1/2 teaspoon of tomato puree ( this wasn’t in original recipe so feel free to leave out)

Salt and pepper

Basil & Parmesan cream

3- 4 tablespoons of creme Fraiche/ thick greek yoghurt

Large handful of basil chopped finely ( normally I tear basil but needs to be fine for this recipe)

1 tablespoon of freshly grated parmesan

Method

1. First make the basil and parmesan cream by mixing all the ingredients together, season with pepper and salt ( Make not need as parmesan is quite salty). Try and make in advance if you have the time.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat and add the onion, turnips and carrots. Sweat until vegetables soften but don’t colour. About 10 minutes. Carrots should be al dente but definetly not crunchy.

3. Add the sherry,tomato puree, bay leaves and fennel seeds, and reduce for 4 minutes.

4. Pour in the vegetable stock, add the spring onions and french beans. Turn down the heat and simmer for five minutes.

5. Add the peas, and simmer for a final 2- 3minutes. Serve with dollops of the cream

Healthy habits for shrinking your waistline: eat with your eyes and share with your friends

2011-07-12T14:44:00.001+01:00

Healthy habits for shrinking your waistline: eat with your eyes and share with your friends

As I have probably mentioned before I don’t believe healthy food and tasty food are mutually exclusive. Incorporating healthy habits into your life have a far more effective long term benefit than any diet.

One area we can probably all take a look at is our portion sizes. Rather than cutting things out completely, cutting down portion sizes may help us all be a little bit healthier. Take for example scones. Scones used to be the width of say the lid on a jar of honey, recently I bought scone that was almost the size of a saucer. It was very tasty but it was enough for about 3 people. At home the size of our plates are steadily increasing. As result our idea of a normal portion has got somewhat skewed.

One of the best things we can all probably do for our waistline is downsize our plates. A recent study in Cornell University found that switching from a 12 inch to a 10 inch plate , lead people to eat 22% less calories. Just by shrinking your plate , you could eliminate more than 5,000 calories a month.

These picture here show a dinner of Thai flavoured steamed salmon, brown basmati rice and stir-fried veggies on three different plates. Moving either to a smaller dinner plate or to a small salad plate mens we eat less without being really aware of it.

Large dinner plate no rim

Same size dinner plate with rim

Small dinner/salad plate

On the other hand if you are struggling to eat enough vegtables than maybe put your salad on a large plate, you might eat more.

In relation to drinks, again the type of glass will have an influence on how much you drink , these glasses including 2 glasses in the last case are all holding the same amount of liquid. So a bigger wider glass for your water as most of us are not consuming enough water and either a smaller glass or a long thin slim one for those drinks you are trying to consume less of.

The portion of rice above looks pretty satisfactory to most people however when it comes to pasta we tend to overeat big style. Though I am not really into weighing food out, it can be useful with pasta until you get the idea of what a healthy portion looks like. This is the reason Italians can eat pasta and stay so healthy , they eat much smaller portions than us, often as a starter. Italians also tend to take more time over their meals, sharing and eating with company and not inhaling food in front of the TV. These pictures all show a 80g of pasta. Supposedly blue plates also make you eat less, though the science on this is a bit sketchy, I need to read up more. Something to do with blue suppressing your appetite while warm colours like red and yellow increase it. That explains the MacDonalds restaurants then.

80g of pasta before its cooked

80g of pasta cooked on large plate with no rim

80g of cooked pasta on blue plate with rim, small dinner/salad plate size

A comparison

Deep bowls can be misleading- here is 160 g a portion really for 2 people!

In fact that brings me to another tip for managing out portions. We should all try and share when we are eating out. Sharing a starter and a dessert is a great way of enjoying a meal without overeating. And with larger groups, order a few starters for the table, you get to try lots of different things. A few people for different reasons are very uncomfortable with this so probably best not to push them but for most people it will increase the sociability of the meal while also ensuring you don’t overeat.

Fishy Tales

2011-07-06T13:13:00.000+01:00

Salmon - Nobu-ish style

Nobu was the restaurant of the beautiful people in the 90’s. It now has outposts on most continents and will be packed to the gills any fashion week. Not quite as cutting- edge as it was once considered, many of its dishes have moved from hip territory into classic territory. And quite rightly so. One of these dishes is their Black cod miso. Unfortunately even in our bling-bling celtic tiger years , Dublin was never hip or rich enough for a Nobu. So if you wanted to try this dish you had to travel.

The recipe below is very , very , very, very distant relative to Nobu’s classic dish. Firstly in Nobu its made with Black cod ( also called sablefish), not available here . I use either salmon or halibut. You really need to use an oily fish.

Here I have served it with a salad using the last of the asparagus and sesame seeds. Its delish. While the glaze on the fish should definitely should be crisp , maybe not quite as crisp as mine, I got distracted looking for a sieve while it was cooking. Lesson learned - always use a timer ;-)

You should get most of the ingredients in an Asian supermarket.

Salmon Nobu-ish style - Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sake ( 1/2 cup of white wine if you are really stuck)
3/4 cup mirin
2 cups white miso paste
1 cup granulated sugar
4 salmon/halibut fillets, about 200g each

Method

1.Boil sake and mirin over high heat for 20 seconds to evaporate alcohol.

2. Reduce heat to low and add miso paste, mixing with a wooden spoon until it has dissolved. Then increase heat to high and add sugar, stirring constantly to ensure bottom of pan does not burn until sugar has dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Keep 1/2 a cup of sauce for serving with the cooked fish the next day, and use the rest as marinade.

3. Pat fish thoroughly dry with paper towels. Cover with marinade and place in a glass dish or bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Marinade overnight.

4. Preheat grill to high and preheat oven to 200c

5. Lightly wipe off and excess miso clinging to fillets, but do not rinse it off Discard marinade. Place fish on grill plate, and grill until surface of fish turns brown, about 2 minutes.

6. Place in oven at 190 c.

7. Move fish to center of oven and bake 10 to 15 minutes depending on thickness

8. Transfer fillets to individual plates. Add a few drops of reserved sauce to each plate.

Asparagus with sesame seeds

Serves 4

Ingredients
400 grams medium asparagus spears
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 teaspoons light (regular) soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds ( toast on a baking tray)

Method

1. Snap off the woody ends of each asparagus spear. Add the asparagus to boiling, salted water and cook for 1 to 2 minutes depending on thickness.

2. Drain in a colander, then immediately transfer to the cold bath to cool. This helps the asparagus stop cooking further and also keep its green colour. Drain again, pat the asparagus dry with paper towel or a clean tea towel.

3. For the dressing, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce and sugar in a bowl, stirring or whisking to dissolve the sugar. The flavour should be balanced between being rich, salty and sweet. About 2 hours before serving, toss the asparagus in the dressing and to let flavours absorb

4. Right before serving, transfer to a plate and garnish with a shower of sesame seeds.

Go green

2011-06-23T13:37:00.000+01:00

Go Green

Please don’t dismiss this smoothie without trying it. For people who are nervous of veggies in their smoothies this is great starter one.

The spinach is a really mild leaf , you will hardly notice its there. In parts of South East Asia they view avocados as something fruity and dessert-like rather than the more savoury view we have of it. Avocado ice-cream is quite popular there and in this recipe it adds a lovely creaminess as well as vitamin e and lots of healthy fats.

Antioxidants are important to anyone doing exercise as that can help neutralise some of the free radicals produced. But most importantly it tastes great , If you like mojitos you will love these, okay they are missing the rum but they are really refreshing and good way of sneaking more greens into your day.

I tend to drink this straight after I come in from my run. Which sounds way more impressive than it is. For anyone who runs marathons and such like it would be a walk in the park, but for me its more than enough! I have some lovely running buddies and a really scenic route down around the sea shore nature reserve out to the Pigeon House lighthouse in Dublin. Some days are easier than others but having this recipe to whizz up when I get in the door certainly makes it easier.

There is no protein in this smoothie so for anyone doing hard core endurance work outs you might need to add some in. I find I don’t have a huge appetite straight after running but this is perfect and really refreshing. Then I shower do a bit of work and about half n’ hour later I am more ready for my next breakfast - usually one of the following in case you are wondering: poached eggs on homemade whole meal bread with either tomatoes or baby spinach , porridge/home made granola with seeds, yoghurt and berries or somedays if its very chilly baked beans on wholemeal toast.

The recipe below serves 2 people. Use just half the ingredients for one person. (Just rub some lime juice on the avocado and apple you are not using and put a bowl in the fridge wrapped in cling film to stop them going brown.) Hopefully this will inspire you to go green ;-)

Ingredients to serve

1 avocado

1 apple – cored and roughly chopped ( leave skin on)

a glass of apple juice ( not from concentrate, use pressed apple juice)

a few Mint leaves (trying growing these in a pot, even I manage it)

Juice of 1 lime

Large handful of baby spinach leaves (optional)

Method

Put all the ingredients in a tall jug or blender and mix until smooth. You don’t need any fancy equipment a hand blender will work just fine and much easier to wash up.

Warrior food - Quinoa and red rice

2011-06-15T16:35:00.000+01:00

Warrior food

Seemingly the Aztecs went to war on a bellyful of quinoa and considered it a sacred grain. It supplies significant protein which is unusual for a food considered a grain. (Though technically it is not a grain but a seed and related to spinach and swiss chard.) In addition to supplying protein , it is also a complete protein, meaning that it supplies all 9 essential amino acids. Until recently it was only really available in health food shops but it is now stocked by most major supermarkets.

While I am not a fan of the term “super food” as it seems to imply that only exotic foods that are grown on the top of a mountain in remotest Himalayas, harvested by pink elephants using chopsticks are some how nutritionally better than home grown fruit and vegetables.

In reality super food is a marketing term usually used to increase sales. While goji berries are good for us, wild blackberries are just as good, but no commercial interest stands to gain from establishing them as a superfood. Same with homegrown raspberries , they are probably far more nutritious than imported blue berries that have spent weeks travelling half way across the world.

Take the super food label with a pinch of salt, we should all be eating more fruit and veg but consider seasonal, local , sometimes less perfect looking home grown varieties when out shopping.

So enough of my ranting, I do think quinoa is one “super” food we should try and include in our diet . This recipe also includes red rice from France, quite a nutty rice that makes a change from brown, adds some colour and provides a nice contrast of texture with the fluffy bouncy quinoa. I adapted this from my favourite Ottolenghi cook book making substitutions with the ingredients I had to hand

Red rice and quinoa salad (adapted from an Ottolenghi recipe)

200g quinoa
200g Camargue red rice
2 small onions, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp olive oil/Donegal rapeseed oil, plus a little extra for frying
Zest of 2 orange
Juice of 2 oranges
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
Handful of dried sour cherries( Ottolenghi recipe used apricots)
20g pistachio nuts lightly toasted and roughly chopped

20g of walnuts
Handful of parsley leaves picked

Crumbled feta - 50 g (optional)
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Roast the pistachios at 170C for 8 minutes, roast the walnuts for 3 minutes and chop both roughly. ( use a timer when cooking these , nuts burn quite easily and they are expensive, I tell you this from experience)

2. Put red rice in boiling water and simmer for 25- 30 minutes. In a separate saucepan put quinoa in boiling water and simmer for 12 minutes. Drain both, refresh under cold water, and leave in fine sieves to drain.

3. While the grains are cooking, fry the onion in a little olive oil until golden brown.

Allow to cool.

4. In a bowl, mix the cooked grains with all the other ingredients including the rest of the olive oil and season generously. Serve at room temperature.

The feta is an optional extra, its works quite well with the orangey dressing,( I think.) This salad would look lovely also in a big wide bowl served at a buffet lunch. I ate it with a green leafy salad with asparagus and beetroot. Lovely filling but light lunch, you know that lovely balance where you feel full but not heavy.

Easter lamb - something different to try

2011-04-22T17:18:00.000+01:00

Easter salad

The weather is being very kind to us this Easter. So I was thinking rather than a traditional Lamb roast for Easter dinner why not try something different and a little better suited to the sunshine. Though now I have said that, wait for the rain clouds to roll in.

This recipe also ticks a couple of other boxes , its cheap to make, its reasonably healthy and you won’t need to roll out of your chair after eating it. Handy also, if you only have to feed a small number. The recipe makes plenty for 4 but if you are feeding less than that , it tastes just as good the next day cold, as you dress the cous cous rather than the salad leaves.

Its based on a recipe by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall but of course, as usual I couldn’t leave well enough alone and have changed the recipe a little. Adding in some extra treats like pomegranates ( god, I really need to let them go....... their is season is well over....I just happened to have one in the house to use up ;-) )

I also add extra spice to the meatballs and used pistachio nuts rather than his suggested walnuts , not only cos I love the colour but I was all out of walnuts. Same with Bulgar wheat, so used wholemeal cous cous instead. I used smoked sea salt for an added dimension but this really isn’t necessary, common or garden sea salt is just fine.

Happy Easter Dx

Warm Lamb meatball salad

For the meatballs
3 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Large pinch of dried oregano
Large pinch of cinnamon
A few grinds of nutmeg
500g minced lamb
40g fine white breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 tsp pomegranate molasses
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad
150g cous cous - wholemeal if you can get it
2 handfuls rocket or baby spinach or both
3 spring onions, finely chopped
50g pistachios roughly chopped
1 small handful mint leaves, shredded

For the dressing
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses, plus a little more for trickling over the salad
Juice of half a small lemon
1/2 tsp sumac ( this is a lemony middle-eastern spice, lemon zest can be substituted)
3 - 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 230C/450F/gas mark 8 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

In a frying pan over a medium heat, toast the sesame seeds for about 5 minutes until slightly browned. Tip into a large bowl and set aside.

Sweat the onion in the olive oil in the frying pan over a low heat until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin and coriander, and sauté for a couple of minutes more. Tip into the sesame seed bowl and stir in the dried oregano, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Add the lamb and breadcrumbs. Whisk the egg with the pomegranate molasses and pour over the lamb. Season generously and mix with your hands until well combined.

Roll the mixture into balls about the size of walnuts – you should have about 18 balls. Place on the baking sheet(s) as you go, making sure they're not crowded together, then bake for about 10- 12 minutes, until golden and just cooked through.

While the meatballs are cooking, make the rest of the salad. Cook the cous cous as directed on packet.

Put all the ingredients for the dressing in a jar and shake. While the cous cous is still warm, trickle the dressing and fork it through.

When the meatballs are ready, toss with the cous cous, rocket and/or spinach, spring onions, pistachio and herbs. Trickle over a little more pomegranate molasses, sprinkle on a little more mint and parsley and the pomegranate seeds( arils), and serve.

2011-03-30T16:55:00.000+01:00

Check out Wafty Beetroot pop up tea party for something a little different of a saturday afternoon. Book at :

www.eventelephant.com/WaftyBHostsTea

Paddys Day - Give cabbage a chance

2011-03-16T20:13:00.000Z

Paddys Day - lets revisit Cabbage

One thing I have noticed when giving cookery classes is the amount of people who say they hate cabbage. Irish mammies are great but they did have a tendency to cook the b’jaysus out of cabbage.

The longer you cook cabbage the more sulfurous it becomes, this is also the case with broccoli, cauliflower, kale and brussels sprouts amongst others. The strong smell and soggy texture put a lot of people off for life. However lightly blanched or stir fried cabbage is delicious. Hopefully this recipe for cabbage soup with Asian flavours might persuade you to give cabbage a second chance. As well as tasting delicious , its really quick to prepare and very cheap.

Health wise its great for the liver, in ancient Egypt they ate loads of cabbage in advance of drinking binges, So if you are planning on spending your St Paddys day in the pub, try a bowl of this before you head out. The sulphur in cabbage is also great for healthy skin, hair and nails. So while cabbage itself might not win any beauty contests, it might help you win one ;-)

This recipe is inspired by one from Dennis Cotter of Cafe Paradiso in Cork, I came across it in one of my favourite vegetable cookbooks - Sarah Ravens Garden Cookbook. As usual I changed it a little bit, I used spring onions instead of regular onions as I had some in the fridge to use up. I also add 1/4 tsp of brown sugar at the end as I thought the asian flavours needed just a tweak to balance them completely. Happy Paddys day Dxx

Savoy cabbage, spring onion and coriander soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

Large bunch of spring onions/scallions - finely chopped

½ savoy cabbage (about 300g) very finely shredded

1 tbsp olive oil
2 red finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
about 5cm fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
2 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed
700ml good vegetable stock
400ml tin of coconut milk
bunch of fresh coriander, chopped - stalks n’all ( thats where all the flavour is)
juice of 2 limes

large pinch of palm/brown sugar (optional)
salt and black pepper

Method
1.Heat the oil in a pan, add the cabbage and onion and cook over a moderate heat for a couple of minutes,

2. Add the chillies, garlic, ginger and coriander seeds. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onion and cabbage are tender but still have a bite to them.

3.Add hot stock to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes, then add the coconut milk, half of the fresh coriander, the lime juice, the sugar and finally salt and pepper.

4. Sprinkle the rest of the coriander over the soup and serve

Sugar overload

2011-02-23T14:12:00.000Z

I still can’t stop thinking about an article I read in the health section of the Irish Times a couple of weeks ago about the amount of sugar in Uncle Bens sweet and sour sauce.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2011/0201/1224288677108.html

So I decided to share 2 recipes for sweet and sour type sauces that are not only better for you but taste much better than any commercial sauce and are very quick to make.

They still contain sugar and honey so they are not my healthiest recipes but alot healthier than what you find in the supermarket. One is a lemony one, courtesy of Bill Granger and the other is an orangey one that goes lovely with duck.

Here is a pictorial representation of the amount of sugar in Uncle Bens sweet and sour sauce (500g), 22.5 teaspoons . Yikes!!!

I don’t like to think of myself as a food dictator. I use sugar and butter in my cooking where needed. I love cakes and use both when baking - Lemon drizzle cake -mmmmmm.

But its all this sugar in processed food where you least expect that I really think is contributing to our obesity crisis. Foods labelled as low fat are often the biggest culprits. Food companies take all the fat out of products but generally stuff lots of sugar and salt back in so the food will taste of something. I really passionately believe the easiest way to start eating healthy is to learn to cook for yourself. By handing over responsibility for what you eat to a profit - driven food conglomerate is just asking for trouble. To be fair to the food companies they are just trying to make money, your health is not their concern. ands its not just Uncle Bens, loads of processed food is stuffed with sugar and salt.

These recipes are really quick and easy , go on...... leave the jar in the supermarket and give it a go. If you have any problems with any of the recipes don’t hesitate to get in touch. Happy (and healthy) cooking Dxx

Lemon chicken

Ingredients (serves 2 - 3 people)

25ml Sunflower oil

1 tbsp Plain flour

½ tsp Chinese five spice powder

Large pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Chicken breasts,

2 Lemons, 1 lemon cut into wedges, 1 lemon for juice only

2cm Fresh root ginger, cut into strips

2 tbsp Clear honey

2 tbsp Light soy sauce

1 tsp light brown soft sugar

Method

1. Heat the oil in a wok over a medium-high heat. Preheat the oven to 200C/190C fan/gas 6.

2. Mix the flour, five spice, salt and pepper. Toss the chicken in it to coat, then fry it for 3–5 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper, then put it on a baking tray with the lemon wedges. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes, until cooked

3. Drain all but 2 tbsp oil from the wok. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer to form a glaze.

4. Slice the chicken, drizzle with the glaze, squeeze over the roasted lemon wedges and serve with steamed vegetables and boiled rice

Another sauce I did recently for Easy food Valentines feature was a lovely sweet and sour type sauce to go with duck. But I like this with chicken and pork chops aswell. Just be sure to serve with lots of stir-fried veg for a balanced meal.

Or to make your Orangey sweet and sour sauce for 2 - 3 people:

1. Pour chicken/vegetable stock (125ml), soy sauce(2 tbsp) and rice wine (2 tbsp) into the pan and then add the tomato puree (1 tsp), chilli powder (pinch), orange juice and zest (1/2 an orange) and honey(2tbsp) .

2. Mix the sauce together over a high heat, bring to the boil and cook for approximately 2 minutes to 4 minutes until it thickens.

Serve with grilled/roasted chicken/duck breast or pork and plenty of stir fried vegetables.

Use brown rice to make it even healthier, try and buy the Tilda brand ( no connection to the company, just like it ) its a little more expensive but its worth it.

Pom Poms

2010-12-23T15:23:00.000Z

There is going to be a pomegranate theme to my next couple of postings.

Myself and the very talented Jo, work together on food shoots. Check out her website,

http://joannemurphyphotography.blogspot.com/

Basically I cook the food and she makes it look incredible. We generally raid our friends and families cupboards for nice props.

We decided just to do these photos for fun as we get a bit more artistic licence that way.

I love pomegranates and though they are not local, it is their season and lovely way to brighten up your table this time of year. They are also really versatile and can be used in savoury and sweet concoctions. And they are good for us too. To get the pomegranate arils (jewel-like seeds) out, cut your pomegranate in half, the same way as you would if juicing and orange. Then holding the half over the bowl bang on the skin and the arils will tumble out, pick out any white pith that falls in.

Another ingredient I am quite partial too which you may now from previous postings is pomegranate molasses. This has a lovely sweet sour taste that can be used to add depth to sweet or savoury dishes. Hope you enjoy the next few postings and have a great christmas and New year Dxx

These buttermilk and ricotta pancakes with frosted red grapes would make a lovely Christmas day brekkie. Serve the bellinis alongside for a really decadent start to the day. The ricotta makes the pancakes lighter than just buttermilk ones. The dip that follows is nice to serve with crudites if people drop by for drinks.

Recipe for light and airy ricotta pancakes with frosted grapes

This recipe is adapted from Anna Hansen of The Modern Pantry - a really lovely restaurant in Clerkenwell, London.

Ingredients

400g red seedless grapes

3 tbsp pomegranate molasses

2 tbsp demerara sugar

2 tbsp of pomegranate seeds

For the pancakes

150g self-raising flou

½ tsp salt

25g caster sugar

4 large free-range eggs, separated

185ml buttermilk

65g melted butter

375g ricotta

250g crème fraîche to serve

a dash of Sunflower oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C/fan120°C/gas 1. Put the grapes in a roasting tin just large enough to hold them. Drizzle with the pomegranate molasses, then sprinkle over the sugar and roast for 30-40 minutes. The grapes should just be beginning to break down. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in their juices. Once cool stir through some pomegranate seeds.

2. Sift the flour, salt and sugar together in a large bowl. Whisk the egg yolks, buttermilk and melted butter and lightly mix into the dry ingredients.

3. Carefully fold in the ricotta, taking care not to break it up too much. Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then, using a metal spoon, carefully fold them into the batter a third at a time.

4. Heat a little butter and oil in a large frying pan, then add 4 dollops (about 2 tbsp for each pancake) of the batter, spaced apart. Flip pancake over and cook on the other side.

5. Place the pancakes on a roasting tim in the oven to continue cooking through as they are quite thick. Continue to cook the remaining pancakes.

To serve, place 1-3 pancakes on each plate, spoon over the roast grapes and add a dollop of crème fraîche on the side.

Pomegranate bellinis

1 bottle of Prosecco /champagne

Pomegranate juice

Pomegranate seeds ( optional)

Agave syrup

1.Fill your Champagne glass a 1/4 with pomegranate juice , add a dash of syrup and a teaspoon of pomegranate seeds.

2.Fill glass up slowly with some bubbly. Maybe just warn people about the seeds as people sometimes gulp down too quickly. Merry Christmas

Pomegranate yoghurt dip

1/2 large ripe pomegranate - arils (seeds) only

2 cups plain yogurt

2 scallions, white and tender green, finely chopped

3 tbsp of finely chopped fresh coriander

1 teaspoon of cumin ground

1 teaspoon of pomegranate molasses

To serve: Steamed carrots and broccoli, radishes, pitta crisps and chorizo ,

Method

1.Cut the pomegranate in half horizontally and bang on the half with a wooden spoon to release the seeds.

2.Combine the yogurt, scallions, ground cumin, pomegranate molasses and 2/3 of the coriander in a bowl. Gently fold in all but 1 tablespoons of the pomegranate seeds. Mix it well

3.Transfer the yogurt dip to a glass bowl and garnish with leftover coriander and the reserved pomegranate seeds.

My next posting will look at further uses for pomegranates. I should be all “pomegranted” out at that stage Dxx

What to eat when hungover

2010-12-18T13:52:00.000Z

Deelitefulls hangover advice: Its that time of the year again, and here is some advice on how to reduce a hangover ! The obvious one is not to drink - but lets be realistic.

Before going out:

1. The only time we really have an excuse to eat a fatty meal is before drinking as fat digests slowly so helps prevent irritation of stomach and slows absorption of alcohol. Even a glass of milk will help. So rather than having a big fry up the morning after it would be much more beneficial to have it before heading out. Very fatty meals the next morning just put more pressure on your body.

Before bed

2. Dehydration is the main cause of most of the symptoms of a hangover so drink a pint of water before going to bed and fresh air also helps, so maybe quick walk/stumble ;-) around the garden if you can mange it

The morning after

3. Orange Juice - vitamin c helps speed up metabolism of alcohol by the liver and the fructose will help your sugar slump,

4. Wholemeal toast and eggs- scrambled, poached or boiled - eggs are full of cysteine that helps mop up some of the chemicals that build up in the liver when its processing alcohol.

Ginger tea or ginger sea sickness tablets will help reduce queasiness.

Hair of the dog will just prolong the agony. Best avoided. If you can go back to bed or even better curl up on the couch with your favourite box set. Dx

Deelitefull adventures - 2010 annual

2010-12-07T16:40:00.001Z

Well I am still here, I have had a very busy few months. But that's no excuse for my absolutely shameful abandonment of my blog.

Here are some highlights of a few things I have being doing since August.
Jeez, its being varied : Cook and catch weekends with Stag parties, wedding cupcakes, Food styling, eaten my way around Cornwall, a wide variety of cooking classes and talks and I have included some pics of the food I have cooked.

NOTE TO SELF, set some time aside for blogging in the New Year. This blog posting is a detail low, picture heavy but promise more regular postings in the new year.

Cook and catch stag weekend- Despite the weather and hangovers, the boys caught all their own fish, learnt how to prepare and cook their bounty and then had a barbecued feast of mackerel, pollock and lobster:

Its always useful to have someone with surgery skills when dissecting a lobster!

Cupcake/Fairy cake wedding cake party - Everyone got involved in icing and decorating the fairy cakes for the wedding cake. There was swirly white chocolate, rosewater and pistachios cakes or my favourite, lemon meringue fairy cakes - yummo

TAa-daah - good work ladies

Some food styling with the lovely photographer Joanne Murphy

Check out her lovely blog - That's our delish Dahl on the cover, who would have thought you could make lentils look this good ;-) Check out Easy Food Oct, Nov, Dec and Jan for some more of our work.

http://joannemurphyphotography.blogspot.com/
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Here is some food I have cooked: My problem with being a blogger and general greedy person , is that I often forget to photograph the finished recipe before I eat it ;-) Anyway here is a selection starting with Buttermilk pannacotta with roasted rhubarb and ginger.

Healthy Breakfast sundae with homemade granola and berries and passion fruit:

Sticky lemon chicken with broccoli , green salad and meringue cake

Book club platters and dips

Egg mimosa

Scandi platter

Crudites with spicy aubergine dip

Leek and potato soup with chorizo and brown bread - simple , cheap and delish

A very early morning visit to Billingsgate fish market in London - very "friendly" fishmongers and some interesting fish.

A visit to the WaftyBeetroot Pop up tapas and Ulysses reading ;-)

........................................WHEW

Courgette invasion

2010-06-28T12:20:00.000+01:00

Courgette fritters

I am pretty new to the gardening world and somehow managed to grow some courgette plants from seed. Yeah!

However I don’t think I really needed 10 plants ,seeing as one plant should feed a family of four for the whole summer. In anticipation of my courgette glut I am trying out some of my courgette recipes. There will be plenty more to follow I would imagine :-)

This is also a good way of getting kids to try some veggies. Funnily enough if you call them Zucchini pancakes they prefer them even more and technically you are correct.

Ingredients

2 courgettes (mine were quite big)

75g plain flour

2 eggs, beaten

A handful of mint leaves, shredded

Thyme leaves from a few sprigs of thyme

The zest of 1 lemon

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 red chilli - deseeded and finely chopped

2 spring onions sliced finely

Feta or other goats cheese - crumbled

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Method

1. Grate the courgettes coarsely. Then take a clean tea towel and place the grated courgette pulp in the middle and scrunch up into a ball. Wring the tea towel out over the sink. A lot of water will come out!

2 Place the flour in a bowl and add the beaten eggs, herbs, lemon zest, garlic, spring onions, chilli, courgettes, salt and pepper and mix well. Gently stir in the cheese.

3. Heat a large frying-pan with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil is hot, take a heaped tablespoon of the courgette mixture and drop it into the pan, flattening it out slightly with the back of the spoon. Leave for a few minutes until the bottom is brown, if you try and flip over to early the fritter will fall apart.

Turn over and cook for another couple of minutes. ( If you want to be cheffy and get a perfectly round circle, place the mix inside a stainless steel chef ring - to be honest I think free form look much better - see pics below)

4. I served with some rocket leaves and tomatoes and some sweet pepper relish I had lurking in the back of the fridge. These can be served for lunch, brunch or as an accompaniment to some pan fried fish.

Sunshine food

2010-06-16T12:29:00.000+01:00

After a day spent gardening (not namby pampy planting some seeds gardening, it was heavy duty digging up old shrubs and brambles gardening) some simple-to-prepare summertime food was called for .

I had some pizza dough in the freezer which I had remembered to take out and defrost a few hours before.. I like my pizza with super thin, “size zero” crust, really the only place size zero is ever appropriate ;-) I hate doughy, thick pizza crust and have found the only real solution to getting pizza the way I like it, it to make it myself. I tend to make a big batch and then freeze it in small ball portions suitable for individual pizzas as and when needed.

My favourite recipe is the Jamie Oliver one, using Italian 00 flour which you can get in good delis nowadays. Its super fine and makes lovely pizzas, if you can’t get hold of it strong white flour will do. Plain flour doesn’t really cut it as it doesn’t have the necessary gluten content. Here is a link to Jamies recipe - I tend to mix it in a huge bowl rather than on the counter top after a few incidents where the liquid escaped from its floury walls and dripped all down my counter top- the ones they sell in DIY stores for washing up dishes are a perfect size.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pizza-recipes/pizza-dough

Sometimes if I have a homemade tomato sauce around I use that, some advise plain passata ( jars of sieved tomatos) but I find it a little bitter and lacking somewhat in the flavour dimension department. Luckily my friend Maria who is involved in the gardening project had brought some lovely sun-dried tomato pesto so that was recruited in. We went with my old favourite topping Fiorentina: spinach, garlic, mozzarella, pine nuts and an egg. I didn’t have as much spinach as I would have liked but I was serving with loads of salads so you see pizza night can be reasonably healthy with the right accompaniments.

I had a lovely mix of tomatoes which I turned into a simple tomato salad with a warm garlic oil dressing and feta with lemon zest and fresh oregano on the side. I made another simple salad of some asparagus spears drenched with a simple mustard vinaigrette. With the dough already made, this was the ultimate fast food dinner - on the table in less than 15 minutes, much quicker than ringing the Dominos and in my humble opinion, a whole stratosphere of difference in the taste department.

Tomato salad with warm garlic oil and feta with lemon zest and fresh oregano.

Ingredients

A selection of different tomatoes - colours and sizes if you can get them

1/4 of a packet of feta cheese

1 clove of garlic sliced finely

1 dessertspoon of olive oil

A small splash of balsamic vinegar

Some fresh oregano leaves ( These grow really easily, invest in a pot)

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Chop up the tomatoes and drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper

2. Crumble the feta into a small bowl or ramekin, gently mix through the lemon zest and oregano

3. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over a low heat and very gently fry the garlic

4. Just before serving the salad, pour the warm flavoured oil and garlic over the tomatoes.

Asparagus with mustardy vinaigrette

Ingredients

Large bundle of asparagus spears ( try and get Irish or British if you can - much more flavour as they haven’t got to travel so far)

Mustard vinaigrette

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon of honey

1 teaspoons of white wine vinegar

3-4 teaspoons of olive oil ( add 3 and adjust if necessary)

salt and pepper

Method

1. Steam asparagus for 3-7 minutes depending on how thick they are

2. Place all the dressing ingredients in a clean jar with a lid and shake well until emulsified

3. Pour over the asparagus, any extra dressing can be kept in the jar in the fridge.

Devour all at a leisurely pace, preferably eaten outside ;-)

Cardamom spiced "healthy" banana and walnut bread

2010-05-31T12:10:00.001+01:00

There has being slight delay in blogging the last couple of weeks. Much apologies. I was entertaining my oldest friend Sophie (aka Betty - not that she is old, I have just known her since I was a toddler) and her 3 lovely boys.

One of my earliest friendship memories with Soph is giving motivational speeches to the non-egg laying hens her Dad (a vet) was trying to cure when they lived on a farm in Somerset. They duly preformed and we very proudly collected eggs on the last day of my holiday - it later turned out our mums had bought the eggs in the shop and placed them in the hen-house the night before. However we were convinced for years that we had single- handedly cured the hens with our delicious scraps, gently coaxing and wise words. Who needs an X-box and play station when you have got hens to converse with. I believe it was the same holiday my Dad got tossed into a hedge by an angry bull..... but thats a whole other story.

Anyway some ripe bananas and recipe tinkering , I think I have come up with my latest banana bread recipe. Now if you belong to the “banana bread should be like cake” camp, this recipe may disappoint. If however you are like me and think banana bread should be more bread like, then you should enjoy this recipe. And.... bonus... its relatively healthy. It does have sugar but much less than many conventional banana bread recipes. And no butter just a tablespoon of oil. Don’t get me wrong , I quite like to make proper cakes with butter and sugar but for something like banana bread , it seems quite unnecessary. Traditionally cinnamon is the spice for banana bread but I can’t get enough of cardamom. Its absolutely one of my favorite spices, for savoury and sweet dishes alike. As a result you could probably fry up an old shoe and sprinkle it with cardamom and I would think it was delicious. but I understand that not everyone has my cardamom obsession so please feel free to substitute with cinnamon. Also because it is relatively low fat it doesn’t keep as long as some banana breads but it toasts beautifully.

This is a great way to use up really ripe bananas, the riper the better, mine had a leopard-like skin but an all black panther like skin is even better.

Ingredients

2 large eggs

100g of brown sugar

3 mashed very ripe bananas.

100ml of buttermilk

1 tablespoon vegetable oil ( I use rapeseed)

A dash of vanilla extract ( 1/2 tsp in this case)

130 g of plain flour

130g of wholemeal flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

50 g of walnuts , roughly chopped ( Pecans would be nice too)

Cardamom seeds (seeds from about 8 - 10 pods) / 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

Method

Preheat oven to 180c/Gas 4/Fan 165c

Grease a 2lb loaf tin well and dust with flour. ( I cheat here and use greaseproof loaf tin liners - available from lakelands.co.uk - some of my tins have lost their non stickiness and it saves tears later on)

Crack the cardmom pods with a knife and take out the seeds. Crush in a pestle and morter or use your knife.

Beat eggs and sugar until thick and light, This takes around 4 minutes with an electric beater, very much longer by hand ;-)

Mix in mashed bananas, buttermilk, oil, vanilla and cardamom seeds.

Add in both flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt, fold until just blended. Then gently stir in the walnuts. The mix will be quite sloppy

Pour mix into the prepared tin.

Bake in the oven for about 1 hour until golden brown on top. Test it is cooked by inserting a skewer into center. The skewer should come out clean.

It may take a little longer depending on your oven. Tip : If you feel the inside not fully cooked but the outside is getting to brown - Just put some tinfoil over the top and continue cooking in the oven. This works for most cakes and breads.

Leave cake in the tin for a couple of minutes then turn out onto rack and cool. I like to eat it while its still warmish.

Leaves of my own

2010-05-06T09:39:00.000+01:00

My windowsill salad leaves had come on a lot in the last week. Just enough to provide a lunch time salad for 2. I have been growing them in old clementine crates and last week’s sun really did its magic. Added to the; you-couldn’t-get-fresher-than-these leaves were some fat asparagus spears, crumbled greek feta and a pomegranate molasses dressing from the Moro cookbook. The sweet-sour dressing, salty feta and fresh tasting asparagus and salad leaves provided a tumbling contrast of flavours. You can steam, grill or boil the asparagus spears. Sometimes the ends of asparagus can be a little woody, just flex the ends and the woody ends will snap off in just the right place. Steam or boil for 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the spears. I like them slightly bendy but still with some bite.

Here is the recipe for the dressing. Pomegranate molasses is a delicious sweet-sour syrup used across the Middle East. It is available in The Asian Market on Dublin's Drury street and also in Spiceland off Harcourt street. I have also seen it in some supermarkets. It is used in lots of Middle Eastern dishes and also diluted for a refreshing drink. Its made from the juice of sour pomegranates boiled down until it looks like Molasses or treacle hence the name.

Pomegranate molasses dressing ( adapted from a Moro recipe)

Ingredients

1 garlic clove crushed

1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses

1 tablespoon of water

4 tablespoons of olive oil

salt and pepper

Pinch of sugar

Method

Put garlic, cinnamon, pomegranate molasses, salt and pepper in a clean screw top jar and shake (with lid on ;-) )

Add water, olive oil and pinch of sugar and shake again until dressing emulsifies

To assemble salad

Place salad leaves in salad bowl

Add cooked asparagus spears

crumble over some feta

Add dressing and mix gently using your hands

Eat straight away --- yummo

Fairy cakes for Lily

2010-04-28T10:39:00.000+01:00

I am a little bit off the healthy eating track for this blog posting but sometimes sugary, glittery, swirly icing is yer only man. One of my favourite chilled out babies got christened last weekend so I had to make her some extra special fairy cakes. Personally I like my cakes pretty plain or choclately but for a christening some sparkles, swirly icing and rose water was called for. I have a tendency to find some new ingredient, over use them and then get sick of them. However given a sufficient body of time, I usually return to the ingredient with a more measured approach. Such is the case for rose water in my repertoire, which I over indulged with a couple of years ago, but now is returning to favour.

I used my regular fairy cake recipe. But feel free to use whatever works for you. I include ground almonds in mine as it I like the flavour and they keep moist for longer. It was really all about the icing. I found an icing recipe on this lovely Australian blog after much searching for one that inspired.

http://tastedbytwo.com/2009/11/04/recipe-white-chocolate-and-rosewater-cupcakes/

I adapted it slightly by adding a few drops of pink food colouring paste, a teaspoon extra of rosewater and I also added chopped pistachios to some of the cupcakes. I love the contrasting colours of the pink and green. I also only needed half the amount for 24 cupcakes but I think its because I used a different piping nozzle.

I made little minis for the kids - though I did spy a lot of adults eating them too ;-)

Back to your roots

2010-04-20T18:51:00.000+01:00

This is another one of those dishes that doesn’t really know if its coming or going.... in a good way. By that I mean its got a touch of winter about it with the roasted root veg but the cous cous brings a nice light feeling of spring to it. I am not sure its really a recipe more of a throw-together but I had a busy week last week and I wanted something that was portable but not a sandwich for when I was out and about. It takes a little time in the oven about an hour but there is very little work involved. I doled up the last of it to my impromptu barbeque guests after an afternoon walk and a lot of lounging on Howth Head. They seemed happy enough to munch away on it.

Couscous and feta with herb roasted root vegetables.

Ingredients

For roasted veg

1 packet of vacuum packed beetroot - cut in half or quarters ( can use fresh , mine haven’t grown yet)

3 parsnips peeled - cut into wedges

4 carrots peeled - cut into wedges

2 sweet potato, peeled - cut into wedges / Some new potatoes cut in half

1 red onion peeled- cut into quarters

4 plum tomatoes cut in half

1 whole head of garlic cut in half ( leave skin on and pop them out after cooking)

A few sprigs of rosemary or thyme chopped - I used thyme from my garden

A glug of olive oil

Drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

For cous cous

300g of cous cous

500 ml of stock or water

Zest and juice of a lemon

Good handful of chopped coriander/ parsley/mint ( I had coriander in mine)

Drizzle of olive oil

1/3 - 1/2 packet of feta.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C/gas 3

2.Put all the vegetables bar tomatoes into a large roasting tin

3.Pour over the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, chopped herbs and slat and pepper and toss all the vegetables around using your hand to ensure they are all coated

4.Put in the oven for 1/2 hour and then add the tomatoes and cook for a further 1/2 an hour. ( If you notice your garlic has got a little too brown, cover it with a little tinfoil.)

5.Meanwhile prepare the couscous by placing in a medium sized bowl and pouring over the salted water or stock. Leave for about 5-8 minutes for grains to absorb the water and soften.

6.Let the couscous cool down a little then rub in a drizzle of olive oil. Use your fingers to rub the cous cous and get rid of most of the lumps

7.Then place the cous cous in an oven proof dish and place it in the oven with the roasted vegetables for about 15 - 20 minutes. This gives you lovely fluffy cous cous with nicely separated grains. ( You don’t have to do this step but I think it is worth it especially as you have the oven already on.)

8.Take the cous cous out of the oven and stir in the lemon zest, chopped coriander, drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice and more salt and pepper if needed.

9.Place your roasted vegetables on top and sprinkle all over with feta.

*This is lovely served warm or as a cold salad. If you are going to serve it is as a cold salad, try and remember to take it out of the fridge a little bit before serving as it is much nicer when it has come to room temperature.

** You can roast up these vegetables in the same way without the cous cous to go with your sunday roast chicken, whole red chillies deseeded and butternut squash make nice additions.

Eggs - the perfect whole food

2010-04-09T19:15:00.002+01:00

I don’t think I have being anywhere in the world they don’t eat eggs. They are the perfect whole food coming ready-packaged in their pretty shells. For anyone trying to be more healthy, eggs are a real superfood and also cook quick smart. What more could you ask for?

While I love to experiment with new dishes for lunch and dinner , I do find its easy to become stuck in a breakfast rut. My go-to-while-still-half-asleep breakfast tends to be granola, yoghurt and fruit. But I am aiming to eat eggs 3 times a week. Last week it was boiled eggs and brown toast soldiers/purple sprouting broccoli soldiers.... yum.

However wednesday I decided to inject a bit of spice into my brekkie. One advantage of working from home , is that I can be at my desk at 8.00, albeit still in my pjs. I don’t like to eat that early so I can do some work and then sit down to a leisurely half-hour breakfast at 9.30. I adapted this recipe from an Ottolenghi (if in london make sure to visit) one, I read in the Guardian a while ago. I probably didn’t remember it right but its in and around, I could have probably googled it but I decided to live life dangerously and make it up as I went along ;-). You will need to ramekins for this recipe.

Baked eggs in a bed of spinach with some spicy butter on top.

This serves 2 people

Ingredients

2 eggs

Large bowl of baby spinach

dash of olive oil

1 small garlic clove crushed

Squeeze of lemon juice

3 tablespoons of low fat yoghurt

15 -20g of butter (about a heaped teaspoon) If you were being very virtuous you can substitute some olive oil

1/2 tsp of sweet paprika

1/2 tsp of chilli flakes

Salt (I used maldon smoked sea salt but its not fundamental)

Pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 150c/Gas mark 2

2. Wash your spinach and whizz it in your salad spinner

3. Heat a dash of olive oil in a frying pan or wok, and throw in your spinach with some sea salt and a dash of lemon. Cook for about 3 mins until it has wilted. Using a large wooden spoon, push the spinach to one side of the frying pan to drain out as much water as possible from the spinach ( the leaves can be quite watery sometimes)

4. Divide the spinach between the 2 ramekins. Make an indentation in the centre of the spinach with enough room to pop the egg in.

5.Carefully crack the egg into the little hole you have made for it , repeat with the other ramekin.

6. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes depending on how well done you like you eggs

7. Meanwhile add the crushed garlic to the yoghurt with a pinch of salt

8. 2-3 minutes before the eggs will be ready, eat up a small frying pan to a medium heat, add the paprika and chilli - warm for about 10 seconds then add the butter until its just melted.

9.Take eggs out of the oven, spoon over the yoghurt and then drizzle over the spicy melted butter.

10.Serve with some nice toasted sourdough or some brown soda bread - nutritious and deelicious!

** Big ups to Miriam who sliced all the clementines for my St Patricks day brunch (see previous post) with such style and precision - I forgot to give her a mention - muchos apologies!

Spring has unsprung

2010-04-01T22:57:00.001+01:00

Its the time of year when all the fashion magazines talk about transitional wardrobes ..........those clothes that one should be wearing between seasons.......clothes that will see you through the day........ whether a ‘summery’ spring day or a ‘wintery’ spring day. As far as I can gather the mainstay of advice seems to be buy a very expensive burberry trench coat! For the moment with my bank balance, I think I will just have to continue being unstylish ;-)

The weather here in Ireland this week has being transitional to the extreme - t- shirt weather on sunday , snow boot weather by wednesday ?!? So just as the fashion editors think we need transitional wardrobes, much more importantly, I think we need transitional cuisine. Food that takes us from the rib tickling, comfort stews and soups of winter to the lighter summer dishes of BBQs, salads and ice-creams. Those in-between days where you need something to warm you up but which also require a nod to the coming summer and a certain lightness of touch.

My friend Rosie dropped by for dinner yesterday with some delicious sea bass so we had an impromptu cooking lesson. She was ravenous as she had being outside all day in the brass -monkey- weather, cleaning her boat. I had made some spicy tomato, carrot, sweet potato and coconut soup earlier - it was a bit of a dustbin soup as I had some carrots and sweet potatoes to use up. I added some spices and coconut milk, red lentils, tin of tomatoes and some veggie stock and it turned out quite well. I made a crunch topping to sprinkle on top. Simply by crushing up some pistachio nuts, fresh coriander and some desiccated coconut and a couple of tablespoons of water and voila a slightly fancier soup to serve to the guest.

I had some lovely pink rhubarb which I simply chopped and roasted in the oven with some thinly sliced stem ginger, some of the lovely gingery syrup from the jar , the zest and juice of an orange and about a dessertspoon of brown sugar. I love rhubarb compote but roasting is a nice alternative and allows to rhubarb to keep its shape. I made a very basic custard (follow your favourite recipe) , I just added a few saffron strands and a crushed cardamom pod for a touch of the exotic and a hint of summer.

So then for the fish. I am a big fan of doing as little as possible to fish. One of my favourite (and also super healthy) ways of cooking fish is en papillote ( just fish cooked in the oven in a bag made of greaseproof paper) The tightly sealed bag creates a little steam room for the fish to cook - what a nice way to finish out your days - I like to think. You just add a few flavours in with the fish, cook it up and bring your fish parcel directly to the table. Absolutely none of the juices are lost and and you have a complete meal there in the bag. You can vary the flavours according to your mood.

This recipe is loosely adapted from a lovely book by Sally Schneider, an american food writer who I am quite a fan of. Ideally get a 800g fish to share but Irish fishmongers don’t always stock them at this size. The alternative is to get 2 smaller whole fish and you can each have your own individual fish parcel. Go with whatever you prefer. If you are going with the 2 fish just half the following ingredients between the two fish parcels. Fish cooked on the bone has much more flavour, I find. But I do use this method for fillets just as successfully.

Lightly curried ‘steam room’ fish with all the fennels, white wine and leeks

Ingredients

750g whole sea bass/ 2 x 400g whole sea bass - Gutted, scaled and pin bones removed

1 fennel bulb - very thinly sliced, keep the fennel fronds ( feathery green leaves) and chop coarsely

1 small leek - white part very thinly sliced

1/2 tsp of fennel seeds

1/2 tsp of a good quality curry powder

2 tsps of butter softened

2 tablespoons of white wine

salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 210C/400F/ Gas 6

2. Rinse the fish and pat dry, season the inside and outside of the fish with salt and pepper and then stuff the fish cavity with the fennel fronds. (If you are using 1 large fish - use a sharp knife to cut 2-3 diagonal cuts either side of the fish)

3. Chop the fennel seeds and mix with the curry powder and butter

4. Cut a square(s) of greaseproof paper large enough to make a parcel to enclose the/each fish. Approx. 40 cm by 40 cm - you may need larger squares for larger fish.

5. Rub a little olive oil on one half of the paper, then place half the fennel and half the leeks on the paper, dot with a little of the butter

6. Place the fish on this bed of leeks and fennel. Dot the fish with the remaining butter. Scatter more fennel and leeks on top of the fish.

7. Seal the fish in tightly almost all the way round by making little folded pleats starting at one corner. Continue nearly the whole way round, leaving just a small gap that you will close after adding the wine

8. Place the fish on a baking tray, pour the wine in the little gap and seal completely

9. Bake the 2 x 400g fish for about 18-20 mins, allow to rest for 2 minutes before serving. One large 800g fish will take 25 to 28 minutes and 4 minutes resting time.

I like to serve the fish in its bag at the table either individually or in the centre of the table depending on which size fish you have chosen. Use a scissors to cut open the fish , being careful of the escaping steam. But you can fillet it if you like and serve on plates. I find two spoons are the best tools for doing this.

Daffodil day

2010-03-26T15:28:00.001Z

Daffodil Day.

I wasn’t planning to blog today and I don’t have any recipes prepared but I thought I would write a little about how what we eat can help prevent certain cancers. This is not going to be a preachy blog, I promise, just good to know the facts given the day thats in it. After this posting the focus will primarily be on tasty recipes ( with a little bit of nutrition advice)

For anyone living in Ireland, its hard to avoid wearing something yellow today. This is one of the biggest days of the year for the Irish Cancer Society, where an army of volunteers take to the streets persuading people to part with just €3.00 for a daffodil brooch(see picture) or a bunch of daffodils. Its hard to find anyone who has not been touched by cancer in some way, either themselves or someone close to them.

http://www.cancer.ie/

The other pictures are of some daffodils growing in my garden.

While genetics play a significant role in cancer development, its estimated up to 40% of cancers are lifestyle and diet related. In my final year of my nutrition course I did my dissertation on the link between low selenium and prostate cancer. Don’t worry I am not going to bore you with that, just some easy to follow advice for reducing your cancer risk ( and also you diabetes and heart disease risk)

If you read the papers are listen to the news there is always some new superfood that is linked to cancer prevention. Usually some rare berry that only grows up the side of a rock in Outer Mongolia. But it actually its much simpler than that. Unfortunately for us there is no magic bullet nutritionally but we can do a lot to reduce our risk. Drinking pints of pomegranate juice is not going to make much difference if you are guzzling pints of beer every night and wolfing down highly processed meat products and lots of dairy every day. The key is ............ta-dah............a healthy balanced diet

Epidemiological studies - (fancy word for studying the health of populations) show that a balanced healthy diet made up of lots of vegetables, fruit, whole-grains, fish and low on saturated fat has a positive impact on the incidence of cancer. Take the studies of Japan and South East Asia where incidence of many types of cancer are quite low when compared to those eating a “western diet”. In relation to prostate cancer there seemed to be quite a clear link between the amount of saturated fat consumed and the risk of prostate cancer. Studies of immigrants from Japan have demonstrated that native Japanese have the lowest risk of clinical prostate cancer, first-generation Japanese Americans have an intermediate risk and subsequent generations have a risk comparable to the US population.

Now I like my meat and especially my cheese but I also love vegetables and fish. My approach is not give anything up but just to work on getting the balance right. Rather than eating lots of cheap plastic cheese, I focus on buying one small piece of good cheese and savouring it. Even better choose cheeses that are strongly flavoured, I use parmesan and feta a lot when cooking as a little goes a long way.

Nowadays I tend to eat red meat once a week, sometimes twice but this was never a decision I made it just happened. When I do have it, I really enjoy it or I use it in dishes where it is bulked out with delicious veg. Thai beef salad is a delicious way of making a small amount of delicious steak go a long way.

I am always searching out for new ways to cook veggies and fruit. There is nothing worse than over cooked, soggy, flavourless veggies. I think that is what has put a lot of people off veggies here in Ireland. But a few simple tricks can make your vegetables a lot more exciting and less like a chore. No recipes but here are some quick tips, Roast up some sweet potatoes wedges with crushed fennel seeds, salt and a drizzle of olive oil - much tastier alternative to chips. Roast some beetroot( even the precooked vacuum packed ones) with some honey and thyme. Fry a few breadcrumbs with chilli and garlic and toss in some cooked (but not over cooked)broccoli. Add some lemon/orange zest, a grating of parmesan and some olive oil to steamed asparagus. I will be focusing on other ways of including more vegetables, fish and whole-grains in your diet - yes because they are good for you but also because with a few new ideas and recipes they taste great! It can be easy to get stuck in a food rut, even me! So if anyone has any suggestions for vegetables to try and jazz up or vegetables they are not sure what to do with, please feel free to comment and I will try to cover them.

Healthy eating that may help reduce your cancer risk

Foods to enjoy

Lots of these

- Foods rich in Selenium : Found in brazil nuts ( only a few a day though, not like my Dad who only heard half what I said and went through a whole packet in one day which can be dangerous too!/ Also nuts keep much fresher in the fridge), fish, whole grains and seeds

- Foods rich in Vitamin E : Found in nuts and seeds: walnuts, linseeds, pecans, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, vegetable oil, egg yolks

- Foods rich in Lycopene: Tomatoes( particularly cooked tomatoes); Ketchup is great source. Also found in grapefruit and watermelon.

- Cruciferous vegetables : Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, mustard greens, brussel sprouts, cabbage, rocket, watercress

- Increase fibre – found in fruit, vegetables and whole-grains

- Aim for 5-7 servings of vegetables and fruit a day. If you are not eating many portions at the moment. Try and eat one extra portion every day for a month, then increase that again the following month etc. Small changes are much more achievable

- Eat a mixture of colourful vegetables -

Foods to enjoy, just less often and in smaller quantities

X Foods high in fat especially animal fats.

X Red meat and processed meats. Particularly well done/burnt red meat and

processed red meat. Try and replace with fish and poultry when possible. if you're eating red meat every day at the moment - Try and change 2 days a week - 1 to fish and 1 to chicken. Try this for one month and then increase by another day the next month etc.

Happy Daffodil day ( promise to keep my blogs a little shorter in future ;-)

Deex

St patricks day brunch

2010-03-25T11:13:00.000Z

My first blogging post and where better to start than with a St Patrick's day brunch.
Yes I know its risky, an outdoor BBQ brunch in Ireland in March.... but the sun shone, yipee! I tried to bring an Irish twist to all the dishes, considering the day that was in it. Some of the Irish twists are pretty tenous - Sweet Potato representing the orange in the Irish flag - weak I know.
Anyway the main reason I love these dishes for a large brunch is that you can prepare most of them ahead and they are all reasonably healthy ( well, maybe not too many of the sausuges!) oh and of course they taste pretty good. The lovely flower arrangements were done by my friend Maria - who is a true domestic goddess and puts all the rest of us to shame.

The menu:

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Rhubarb Bellini s - Swishy

Bacon and champ frittata with parsley pesto

Sweet potato, red onion and feta frittata (v)

with

Lovely green salad brought by Klara

Delicious Irish Pork sausuges with Mango coleslaw and Guinness baked beans

Clementine, Yellow plums and Pomengranate with Spiced "Barrys" Tea Syrup - served with yogurt and pistachio nuts. (v)

Baby spud, Smoked salmon and beetroot salad

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All the friends brought lovely contributions ; fairy cakes, giant and smartie cookies, cheese-board of Irish cheeses, breads, mini lemon cheesecakes (yummy - ). Last of the guests left at 9.00 which was pretty civilised, I am not sure if that was beacuse Paddys day fell midweek or we are all getting old.
Here are some pictures ( In case you haven't guessed as well as the blogging I am new to photography too.) My 2 favourite dishes were the Guinness beans and the Spiced "barrys" tea syrup with clementines. So here goes the recipes for those:

The Clementine recipes is adapted from a recipe by Vicky Boghal in Waitrose food illustrated - one of my favourite food magazines.

Clementines, yellow plums and pomengrantes with "Barrys tea" spiced syrup

Fruits
20 Clementines
10 yellow plums
2 pomengranates
Syrup
150g Golden caster sugar
6 Green cardamom pods, cracked
6 Cloves
½ tsp Fennel seeds
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Star anise
½ tsp Ground ginger
2 tbsp Barrys loose leave tea

1. Heat the sugar in a small sauce pan with 300ml water over a low heat; add the cardamom pods, cloves, fennel seeds, cinnamon stick and star anise. Stir now and again until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Turn up the the heat and boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Switch off the heat, allow to cool for 1 minute, then stir in the ground ginger.

3. Steep for 10 minutes, then strain, reserving the spices (to add back in later)

4. Add the tea leaves to the strained syrup and steep for 5 minutes

5. Strain again, discarding the tea.

6. Return the spices to the liquid and leave at room temperature to cool. ( This can all be done days ahead and the syrup stored in the fridge)

7. Peel the clementines and slice into 3-4 rounds ( ie not segments) and place in a large serving bowl

8. Halve the plums, destone them and cut into quarters and scatter in the bowl.

9. Cut the pomengranate in half and scoop out the seeds over the clemintine and plums( bashing the back of the pomengrante halves with a wooden spoon can sometimes dislodge some of the more reluctant ones)

10. Pour over you syrup and spices and serve with yougurt and chopped pistachio nuts.

Guinness baked beans

These don't take alot of work but do take a bit of time as you need to soak the beans overnight and then cook them for 5-6 hours. I did kinda of make this up as I went along so I hope I rememberd all the ingredients correctly. This fed about 20 people as a side dish, there wasn't one bean left

Ingredients
500g of dried haricot beans
500g of dried cannelini beans
300g of smoked bacon, cut into small cubes
2 large onions, peeled and quartered
4 large cloves of garlic crushed
3-4 tablespoons of molasses
2 table spoons of honey/maple syrup
1 cinnamon stick
4 bay leaves
2 tbsp of dijon mustard
2 whole dried chillies
1 can of guinness
2 tbsp of Jameson whiskey
1-2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp of Maldon smoked sea salt ( If doesn't have to be smoked)
1 tsp of paprika

1. Put the dried beans in a large bowl or baisin of cold water and soak over night.

2. Next day drain the beans and place in a large oven proof saucepan with enough water to cover them by about an inch or so( I borrowed my mums large creuset pot). Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 45 minutes

3. Meanwhile prepare the rest of the ingredients, stud the onion quarters with the cloves. Preheat your oven to 180 C.

4. Drain the beans keeping the liquid. You need about 1 litre of this liquid, add the guiness, molasses, honey, mustard and paprika to this liquid and keep to one side

5. Put the beans back in the large oven proof pot, push all the other ingredients bar the balsamic vinegar and salt into the beans.

6. Pour the reserved liquid mixture over the beans, you probably won't use all the liquid but keep it and continue to add to the beans throuthout cooking.

7. Put the beans in the oven for 5-6 hours, ensuring you stir every hour and add more liquid if needed.

8. Halfway through cooking, add 1 -2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and the salt.

9. At 5 hours test the beans to see if they are cooked, they should be very soft, Season to taste. They may need another hour.

10. These reheat beautifully, I am quite sure they freeze quite well, but I have never got the chance as they are always gobbled up. This also explains the lack of photos as they were all eaten before I got a chance to take one.

Apologies for spelling - not sure where spell check is on this blogging set up, will rectify as soon as I have discovered how to do it ;-)