Café des Irlandais

So Café des Irlandais is open a month or two now and things have settled down nicely. The original chef (Fred Souty) has moved on due to creative differences and duties have passed to Alan Hamilton who has worked in the likes of Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud and Guilbaud's baby bistro cousin Venu.

Sadly also departed is the meat jelly that Souty used to put in his salads - an intriguing mix of rich meat juices from the rotisserie mixed with agar agar (Japanese gelatin made from seaweed). I was ready for an aspic revival but I am probably in a fairly small minority.

Pictured above is my lunch which could have fed 2. The oyster has a small subtle spoon of lime jelly to add some zing and aromatics and cut through the briny juicy oyster. Of course we are all supposed to like our oysters au naturel and decry anything that takes away from the pure simple flavour, I beg to differ. Why not take the occasional oyster and deep fry it in bread crumbs and make a New Orleans Po'boy sandwich, why not add a dash of tabasco if you feel like it. I don't want to eat my steak with pepper sauce every time. The lime changed the oyster and added an ethereal hint of sweetness to it, a little limey accent if you will.

The Lyonnaise salad had good meaty bacon slices, a melting, barely cooked poached egg and crisp, lightly dressed salad leaves. The bread was airy and light and the glass of Grand Metaire Bordeaux Blanc (6.50) was crisp, lemony and fragrant.

My trainee chef companion (son's babysitter) almost managed to eat her oyster but couldn't quite manage it. She is young yet and has plenty of time to learn to love such things. She did however gobble her way through her 7 hour braised lamb and most of her creamy mash, enormous roast potato and various veg.

This is comfort food. We felt the need for just a little more comfort so we ordered a pear tart to share with an espresso and hot chocolate. Sweet moist pear, crumbly pastry, rich creamy inside.

fine espresso and creamy hot chocolate left us more than comforted, we felt cosseted.

Spelt Olive Bread

Spelt has been the new flour for a few years now. I do like its nutty texture and the aromatic bread it creates but I still think it benefits from a little added something.

I actually adapted this from the recipe on the back of the Dove Spelt packet.

Spelt Olive Bread
300g Wholegrain Spelt Flour
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp dried yeast (or 2 of fresh)
1 tsp brown sugar
175 ml warm water (hand hot)
3tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
70-100g of pitted olives (kalamata for preference)

Add the warm water to the yeast and allow to ferment. Mix the flour with the salt and sugar in a large bowl. Once the yeast is frothing add to the flour and quickly mix with a spoon. Once it has come together but is still loose add the olive oil. Knead for 4-5 minutes until you have a silky texture. Cover and leave in a warm place for an hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Pre-heat oven to 200C. Add the olives to the dough and knead again for a further 3-4 minutes or so until the olives are distributed through the bread. Rub a loaf tin with olive oil. Shape the dough and add to the tin. Cover and allow to rise for a further 25-30 minutes. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 35 minutes. Remove and tap the bottom to check for a hollow sound. Allow to cool out of the tin on a wire rack to give the crust a chance to crisp.

One Good Thing The Boom Brought Us...

firstly the usual apologies about my absence from this blog. usual excuses apply. I simply cannot listen to the radio these days as we endlessly discuss the mess we are in and how long it will take to extricate ourselves.

I passed the Gasometer hotel/apartment block yesterday in Ringsend and it still looks great but as it remains empty and will probably be empty for the next 20 years or so, it is hard not to see it as a folly - a beautiful but useless monument to our over-reaching ambition.

a few years ago in 2007 Ireland was the richest country in the world according to one of the standard measures. Someone in Paris heard this and decided that Dublin deserved a Ladurée shop of its very own along with Tokyo, London and Paris. They would never have been crazy enough to open the shop could they have seen into the future, so this is the one thing the boom did for us - it brought us macaroons.

This may seem trivial but only to those that have not placed a whole rose petal macaroon in their mouth, closed their eyes and let it melt gently down their throat. The Mimosa one can taste of pure energy - champagne bubbles mixed with orange tangy deliciousness and an overall warm feeling moves gently through your bones. i could go on about the deep hued and fragrant violet and blackcurrant or the pure distilled essence of pistaccio (also pictured above) but you get the idea.

They cost just €1.60 each - about all we will have left out of our pay packets after the budget but I can think of no more pleasurable way to spend your money. Buy them regularly for your own pleasure and so they stay in this fair town for a while at least...

so fuck the bankers but give a silent prayer for the gift of Ladurée.

Blackout Pizza

So what do you do when the electricity goes out and you have about 2 kilso of pizza dough and all the cheese and toppings ready?

Well last night in Terenure at around 8pm as our Italian student was heating the oven to cook his lovingly prepared pizzas (they took all afternoon), we looked out at the pouring rain and thought we were glad to be indoors about to be fed our dinner. His host family and two friends from his english course were sitting waiting in anticipation (the dough seemed to take forever to rise). The wine was open and hunger was beginning to bite, and then the lights went out.

A quick look on the street made it clear that every house in the area had no lights either.

Unlike the other houses on our road however I have a clay and straw built oven in the back garden. built a couple of years ago by a French builder friend. It is really more of a bread oven than a pizza oven but it can do pizzas in small batches. It also can be heated with about 3 logs chopped into small pieces so it is very inexpensive to run (far cheaper than cooking pizza in a conventional oven).

The outside is covered in lime plastering to protect from the rain but given it is made from all natural materials I usually keep it covered. You see in the pics that I had an umbrella over it and a piece of polystyrene to deflect the rain that was pouring down in torrents from our damaged gutter. It is never fun cooking outside in the pouring rain but it is made much worse by the constant splashing of water from a leaky gutter!

Anyway I had to begin cooking as soon as it got any heat or we would have all starved with the hunger so there were a few charred edges but all in all it worked well. Everyone was fed and I just sat down to eat my own pizza, enjoying my triumph over adversity and the romantic atmosphere created by the candles, when the lights came back on!

I used the extra heat and the remaining pizza dough to cook some foccacia as the oven cooled and I am munching a piece as I write this.

Mushroom Season

Mushroom season is upon us again. The dry weather in August and much of early Sept. did not produce much in my usual spots except the odd shaggy ink cap. This week I found lots of ink caps (shaggy and non - the latter avoided as who wants to eat wild mushrooms without a glass of wine)

This beauty pictured is 600g of pure giant puffball and will be fried in steaks. An inch thick steak fried on the pan will shrink down by half but taste delicious on buttered toast (rub the toast with garlic first for extra zing). Sadly they are nearing the end of their season I reckon so search for them while you can.

Lots of growth of (poisonous) yellow stainers - these little buggers look just like field mushrooms or horse mushrooms but smell of ink and piss and make many people sick (not willing to see if I am one of those that is unaffected). Lots of russulas around but no edible ones and also spotted a mass of cortinarius limonius (or similar) - similar to what nearly did for the author of the Horse Whisperer and his family (see here).

Parasols are also out but in very small numbers. Off to Wicklow and Carlow this weekend to see what else I can find.

Crepe Suzette

Crêpe Suzette is a dessert from the grand old days of French cooking before nouvelle cuisine and diets came along and ruined things.

It is a perfect pre-Lenten indulgence but works just as well in the middle of summer.

Serve with a muscat based dessert wine such as Moscatel de Setubal from Portugal which has a distinct orange rind flavour. Brown Bros. Orange Flor Muscat will also work well (and will be easier to find) and failing that you should be able to find a Muscat de Beauces de Venise.

In its simplest form Crêpe Suzette is pancakes flamed with Grand Marnier (or Cointreau or Curaçao) but the version below is richer and more satisfying.

The pancakes can be made ahead of time and warmed in the pan at the last moment.

Crêpe Batter (makes 8-10)
Break an egg into a jug, add 175ml milk and whisk vigorously. Grate in the rind of a Satsuma and next squeeze in the juice. Gradually add 175g flour, whisking the batter all the time, until it is the consistency of thick cream. Finish with a splash of Grand Marnier.

The batter will improve if left to settle for an hour or so, but if you want to use it immediately it is said to be best to mix the batter more gently using a hand whisk rather than an electric beater.

To make the crêpes heat a frying pan until it is very hot, add a small knob of butter the size of the tip of your finger and roll it around the pan. Pour or spoon on enough crêpe batter to just cover the base of the pan. After 20-30 seconds the edges should start to curl and you will be able to flip the crêpe (use a spatula unless you are a proficient crêpe tosser).

Keep the pan on a medium-high heat and add a tiny knob of butter between each crêpe, stacking them on a plate as you go.

Orange Butter
Beat 50g softened butter with 50g of sugar, the juice and rind of a Satsuma, and a tsp of Grand Marnier.

Spread a little orange butter on each crêpe and fold it into 4. Melt 25g butter in the pan and arrange the crêpe in a circle.

To Serve:
Warm a generous splash of Grand Marnier and a similar amount of Brandy in a small saucepan. Bring the crêpe pan to the table, pour on the alcohol and flame in front of your guests. Serve with Vanilla ice cream or softened vanilla ice cream, laced with more Grand Marnier and orange rind.

Most Beautiful Vegetable

Surely a contender for most beautiful vegetable. bought this kohlrabi from Udo Lange from his farm stall on Brighton Sq. in Ternure.

Kohlrabi is a brassica and related to the cabbage.and turnip. It tastes of mild sweet turnip and is quite tender. I simply sautéed it in a little butter and olive oil, a splash of white wine and then covered it for five minutes. I then used it as a base for a risotto with left over pork belly and a mix of chicken and pork stock (from the freezer). I finished the dish with white wine, lemon balm and orgegano.

Summer Poaching

Summer is approaching rapidly and begs for lighter, simpler flavours. Even if it rains throughout June, July and August we are still unlikely to be in the mood for a rich stew or other winter warming fare.

In summer we eat salads, new potatoes with butter, strawberries and cream – simple flavours that are easy to prepare. Summer also seems the right time of year for poaching fish.

To poach a fish you first need to make a Court-Bouillon, a stock that is mainly used for fish and shellfish but also for chicken and white offal such as sweetbreads.

The stock is used from cold, so must be prepared up to one hour before you plan to cook the fish. Placing fish into a hot court-bouillon causes the flesh to shrink and increases cooking time. Allowing the stock to cool also improves its flavour.

Firm fleshed fish such as salmon, trout or ray work best but any fish that will not fall apart can be poached.

Once used, the court-bouillon should not be discarded but strained and poured into a (hot) sterile jar and kept in the fridge for making soup or poaching more fish.

Ingredients are flexible but a court-bouillon generally contains salted water, white wine, lemon juice, bay leaf and pepper corns. Feel free to add celery, carrots, onions or garlic and replace the wine with cider or the lemon juice with wine vinegar.

Court-bouillon
Ingredients: 1.5ltr Water, 2tsp Sea Salt, ½ Chopped Onion, 2-3 slices of lemon, 1 bay leaf, some parsley stalks, 3 peppercorns.

Bring all the ingredients, except the peppercorns, to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes, add the peppercorns, and remove from the heat to allow to cool.

Ray with Noisette Butter
Place two ray wings in cold court-bouillon, bring to a boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.

Remove with a slotted spoon to a serving dish and sprinkle with a squeeze of lemon juice and 1tbs of finely chopped parsley.

For Noisette Butter, heat 75g of butter in a small pan. The butter will foam and after 1-2 minutes at medium heat it will begin to colour and emit a nutty aroma. Once it reaches this stage pour over the fish and serve.

Mangos mangos mangos

Delicious Fresh Indian Kesar mangos are back in the Asian shops after the disruption of the volcanic ash.

Kesar (the varitey) are from Gujarat in north western India and have an incredible heady aroma and are as sweet as you could imagine. Along with Alphonso they are said to be some of India's best mangos.

I bought these in Shop Easi on Clanbrassil St. near Leonards Corner for 14.99 (12 in a box).

If all you know of mangos is the hard red green variety in supermarkets you simply have not lived.

mango tart tatin recipe from last July here made with the Anwar Ratol variety from Pakistan (similar to Kesar but perhaps not as sweet) - http://atedrank.blogspot.com/2009/07/mangos.html

Eggs

Easter is a festival of spring and re-birth as much as a religious holiday, and all over the world the humble egg is venerated as part of the celebrations. In my house eggs are celebrated virtually every day.

Eggs for breakfast are an every day thing so for weekend treats try mixing some smoked salmon into your scrambled eggs, cook eggs in a ramekin in a pan of simmering water and decorate them with tarragon or try the ultimate eggs recipe below.

Eggs Benedict
Ham or Bacon on a Toasted Muffin, topped with a Poached Egg and Hollandaise sauce.

This wonderful American breakfast is a true celebration of the egg. Ham is more common but I prefer bacon and I use Hovis muffins.

The Bacon or Ham: Use thick cut ham or fry some dry-cured back rashers (e.g. Rudds, JJ Youngs).

Poach the Eggs – bring 1ltr of water to a boil, add 1tbs vinegar. Break an egg into a cup and slide into the boiling water, simmer for 3 min. or longer if you dislike runny eggs. Remove, trim and repeat.

Hollandaise Sauce
The classic sauce for egg (and fish) dishes.

Place a saucepan of hot water on a low heat with a glass bowl on top. Separate 2-3 eggs and cut 100g of chilled butter into cubes.

Reduce 1tbs white wine vinegar in a pan until a teaspoon remains; add to the bowl along with the egg yolks and 3 cubes of butter and whisk vigorously with a fork until melted. Add the remaining butter a few cubes at a time, whisking until incorporated.

Adjust the flavour with salt, pepper and lemon juice. To lighten the sauce, add a little water or cream. The sauce should be just warm – too hot and the eggs will curdle.

Eggs Royale replaces the bacon with smoked salmon. Eggs Florentine replaces the ham/bacon with spinach.

Chickpeas

Chickpeas are the tastiest and most useful of dried beans, rich in protein and carbohydrates.

They are popular in India, North Africa and especially the Middle East (where the recipes below come from). Chickpeas blend well with goats cheese, roasted peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, lamb, mint, coriander and Indian spices.

Tinned chickpeas are acceptable but dried ones are best. Most books recommend overnight soaking but the following “hot soak” works just as well.

Hot Soaked Chickpeas
Cover the dried chickpeas with lots of cold water, bring to a steady boil, and cook for 15 min. Remove from heat and allow to soak for 1-2 hours.

To cook the chickpeas add fresh water and simmer for 2-3 hours until tender. Drain and reserve the useful liquid.

Bulgur and Chickpea Salad (from Claudia Roden’s Arabesque)
Ingredients: 200g Bulgur wheat, 2 smashed Garlic Cloves, juice of 2 Lemons, salt & pepper, 7 tbs Olive Oil, 250g Cooked Chickpeas, Large Bunch of Flat Leaf Parsley and Mint
Soak the bulgur in cold water for 20 min. Mix the garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper and oil and mix in the chickpeas. Leave for 10 min. then add the bulgur and chopped herbs.

Hummus
The proportions in this recipe are flexible so feel free to add more of any of the ingredients to get the flavour you like.

Ingredients: 600g Cooked Chickpeas, 2 Garlic Cloves, Juice of 2 Lemons, 5 tbs. Tahini,½ tsp Salt, Chickpea Cooking Water, 6-8 tbs Olive Oil.
Add the chickpeas, garlic cloves, lemon juice, tahini and salt to a food processor and blend. Add a little chickpea water until the hummus becomes creamy. Blend in some of the olive oil and pour a little over the hummus once you transfer to a bowl.
Serve with pitta or any flat bread.

Potato Soup

First Published in the Evening Herald on Thursday 11th March, 2010.
No matter how much pizza, pasta and chicken chow mein we eat, the Irish love affair with the potato will never fade.

St. Patrick’s Day is as good a day as any to celebrate the potato. I recommend you roast a chicken or some rib beef on the bone and serve three kinds of potatoes - buttery mash, duck fat roasties and gratin dauphinoise.

For a more traditional dish try some dry-cured loin of bacon (try JJ Youngs in Celbridge and Clane) with cabbage and buttery mashed potatoes – a dish to please any gourmand.

Potato and Smoked Bacon Soup

There is “eatin and drinkin” in this soup. To make the soup a little more posh use Italian Smoked Pancetta (try Nolan’s Terenure or one of the Italian shops) instead of streaky bacon.

Ingredients: 600g of Potatoes, peeled and cut into dice, 200g of Onions peeled and cut into dice, 50g Butter, 4-6 Rashers of Smoked Streaky Bacon cut into dice, 900ml Chicken or Veg. Stock, 2 tbs chopped fresh Mint (or Parsley),100g Crème Fraiche., Salt and Pepper.

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan and once it foams add the bacon. Cook until the bacon begins to crisp and then add the potatoes and onions, stirring until they are fully coated in butter. Put a lid on the pot, turn the heat to low and sweat for 10-15 minutes.

Add the stock and the chopped mint and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Purée the soup with a stick blender or in a liquidizer. Add the crème fraiche, taste and adjust the seasoning. Thin the soup with a little milk if you wish.

Serve with crusty brown or white soda bread.

Foccaccia

The Italians love bread. Thankfully many of their classic breads are quite easy to make at home.

Italian “00” Pasta flour is available from good delis and mixing it 50-50 with Irish Strong White Flour (e.g. Odlums in the orange pack), is a good substitute for basic Italian bread flour. Double zero flours vary so experiment with the ones available.

Sadly we have no olives growing in Ireland but cold pressed Rapeseed oil is an interesting substitute for dipping or drizzling (but not for salad dressing).

Foccaccia
This easy version is from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Everyday Cookbook, a good basic cookbook.

Ingredients: 250g “00” Flour, 250g Strong White Flour (or 500g of Strong White Flour), 1tsp Fast Acting Yeast, Sea Salt Flakes, 2 tbs. Olive Oil or Rapeseed Oil, 350ml Warm Water, Fresh Rosemary (or Thyme, Sage).

Pre-heat oven to 220oC, Gas 7. Add the flour and a sprinkling of sea salt to a bowl with the fast acting yeast and the water.

Work the flour and water until it has come together roughly. Add 2tbs.Olive or Rapeseed Oil and squish the dough until the oil is integrated. Remove the dough to a floured work surface and knead until smooth and silky.

To knead you add air by folding and re-folding the dough (or use a bread maker). Add a little more flour if the dough is very sticky. After 7-10 minutes the dough should feel stretchy and pliable. Return to the bowl, cover and leave in a warm place to rise. Once risen, place the dough in a square baking tin, cover and allow to rise again (1 hour).

Finely chop fresh Rosemary or Thyme and mix with flaky Sea Salt. Drizzle some oil over the surface of the bread, sprinkle over the herb/salt mix and push some holes in the dough with your finger. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Sausages

All hail the sausage. Perhaps I should clarify: all hail the high meat content butcher’s sausages.

Sausage making is going through a renaissance in Ireland. Butchers in Dublin sell Romanian and Polish Sausages (smoked and regular), Whelans on Parnell St. make Boerwurst, Halal butchers have Merguez and if you pass through Gort in Co. Galway you will find Brazilian Pork and Garlic sausages.

Pork is still the king, but many are using ingredients like Venison (JJ Young, Celbridge), Wild Boar (Downeys, Terenure) and of course chicken, beef and lamb.

JJ Young’s Butchers in Celbridge and Clane Business Park (good value factory shop) recently won Supreme Sausage Champion at the Craft Butchers Awards for their Beef and Guinness Sausage – a dense meaty sausage with lots of beef flavour and some dark hints of malt.

Young’s Venison sausages are also worth a try as are their Dinner Sausages, not to mention their dry cured bacon.

Expand your repertoire by mixing garlic sausages with a tomato and onion pasta sauce, a Cassoulet, or serve Bangers and Mash (like every bistro in the country).

Toad in the Hole
I like this best with beef or venison sausages.

Ingredients: 500g JJ Young Beef and Guinness Sausages, 1 large mug of Eggs, 1 large mug of Flour, pinch of Salt, 1 large mug of Milk and Water (half and half), 1tbs Malt Vinegar, 60g fat (dripping, duck fat or oil).

Set oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Break eggs into the mug until it is almost full and add to a bowl with half the milk/water. Beat well, sift in the flour and whisk again until all the lumps have disappeared.

Add the rest of the liquid and the malt vinegar and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Melt the fat in a pan, separate the sausages and fry them gently for 8-10 min. until brown on all sides.

Add the sausages and fat to a baking dish and pour over the batter. Bake for 30 minutes.

Tuna

During the recent cold snap there was a run on bottled water and non perishable goods. Don’t wait for an apocalypse or the next cold snap to stock up on fine quality tinned goods.

Everyone needs tins of pâté in their cupboard along with jars of olives, tinned tomatoes (San Marzano variety are best) and of course tinned fish in olive oil – tuna in brine or spring water may have less calories but misses the point of tinned food.

Ortiz Tuna is not just useful it is an essential store cupboard ingredient, so far ahead of the average supermarket brand it could be from another planet. Ortiz is imported by Sheridans Cheesemongers and found in many good delis such as Nolans in Terenure.

Also pick up some Prir Piri sauce (or ground Piri Piri Chilli Peppers if you can find it) – also from good delis.

Piri Piri is the essential Portuguese condiment for quality tinned fish as found in these typical Portuguese Pâtés. Don’t forget to serve some Portuguese wine – Touriga Nacional for preference.

Tuna Pâté
1 x 112g Tin of Ortiz Tuna in olive oil, 100g Butter, 2 Anchovies (also in olive oil), Squeeze of Lemon Juice, Splash of Piri Piri Sauce.

Drain the tuna and add to a food processor along with the other ingredients. Blend for 30 seconds and scrape the sides of the bowl. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more Piri Piri or lemon juice and blend again.


Sardine Pâté
1 x 120g Tin of top quality Sardines in Olive oil, 100g Butter, Squeeze of Lemon Juice, 2 Anchovies, 2 tsp Tomato Purée, Splash of Piri Piri Sauce.
Blend the drained sardines with the other ingredients as for the Tuna recipe above.

Serve these Pâtés with crusty bread and an extra dash of Piri Piri Sauce.

Lamb and Orange Stew

Seasonal cooking can seem something of a chore at this time of year, especially if you are not a fan of turnips and cabbage.

Carrots and parsnips however, are almost as tasty at this time of year as in the summer and autumn. Winter fruits such as oranges and satsumas offer a promise of warmer times and don’t forget the bitter Seville oranges are now available for making marmalade or flavouring duck.

Lamb is often at its cheapest in the winter. For example Donovans butcher in Rathgar is currently offering 2 shoulders for 13 Euro, surely some of the cheapest lamb in the country.

Adding fruit flavours to meat dishes is more common in North Africa and the Mediterranean (e.g. Morrocco’s Lamb and Date Tajine and Pigeon and Date Pastilla) but is worth an experiment or two in these colder climes.

Lamb and Orange Stew
This is an adaptation of a Lebanese dish and the orange peel along with the spices adds pleasant warming flavours perfect for this time of year. Feel free to add Mediterranean vegetables such as courgettes, aubergines and peppers which will work just as well as the root vegetables mentioned below.

Ingredients: 500g Gigot Lamb Chops (or lamb pieces), 1tbs Butter, 2 Onions finely chopped, 3 Carrots, 2 Parsnips, 2 x 400g Cans of Tomatoes, Peel of 1 whole Sweet Orange, Peel of ½ Lemon, 1tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1tsp Ground Allspice, Salt, Black Pepper.

Trim the lamb chops of most of their fat. Heat the butter in a large frying pan until sizzling and fry the trimmed chops until browned. Remove to a plate. Fry the chopped onions until brown and caramelised. - add a little more butter or oil if necessary.

Add the tinned tomatoes, break them up with a wooden spoon, and replace the chops. Peel the orange and ½ lemon with a potato peeler, tie with a piece of string and add to the pan. Peel and chop the carrots and parsnips into small batons and stir in along with the cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper.

Cover the pan with tin foil and cook on low heat for 90 minutes. Remove the orange/lemon peel and check to ensure the lamb is tender – it should come off the bone. Cook for longer if wished.

Serve with plain boiled rice or some flat bread.

Tajine

One of the great boons of our immigrants is the wonderful ingredients they brought with them.

Spiceland on Richmond Street in Portobello is typical and stocks food from Pakistan, Bosnia, Russia and North Africa (the owner Abraham is from Libya).

You will find Halal meats, Georgian Bread (made in Finglas), Libyan Honey, Tunisian Olive Oil and lots and lots of spices.

Spiceland’s Halal butcher makes Merguez (Lamb Sausages) and is one of the few places that sells mutton (2 year old lamb – perfect for stewing).

Spiceland have also opened up a Souk next door selling couscousiere (for steaming cous cous), Turkish coffee makers and Tajines. I picked up a huge Tajine for €25 and made the following recipe.


Abraham’s Lamb/Mutton Tajine
Feel free to use any ovenproof dish (cover with tinfoil). Change the proportions as you wish and feel free to omit the meat or add honey, preserved lemon, prunes, apricots, aubergines etc.

Ingredients: 2kg Mutton (or Lamb or Chicken); 3kg of Veg – Potatoes cut in wedges, Carrots cut in strips, Celery, Squash, Tomatoes; fresh Coriander, Ras el Hanout Spice Mix (see below), garlic, ginger, salt, pepper.

Brown the meat in oil and set aside. Fry the onions until browned then add the remaining veg. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Replace the meat and mix in.

Finely chop the fresh coriander, ginger and garlic; add 3-4 quartered tomatoes and 3-4tbs. Ras El Hanout spice mix or use a mix of the following: cumin, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric, cayenne, salt and pepper. Mix into the veg and meat, adding a good splash of strong olive oil (Tunisian or Greek).

Finely slice some potatoes and line the bottom of the Tajine or dish. Add the veg and meat and press firmly into place. Add a teacup of water, cover and cook in the oven at Gas 4 – 180oC for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender. Check after 1 hour and add more liquid if needed.

Serve with Rice, Flat Bread or Cous Cous.

Cous Cous - Pour 500g of couscous into a dish and pour on 600ml of boiling water containing 1tsp of salt. Stir vigorously so that the water is absorbed evenly and leave it to swell for ten minutes. Add a dash of olive oil and (most importantly) rub the couscous between your fingers to break up any lumps and to ensure it is light and fluffy

Salsa Verde

Mexican food is a perfect cure for Turkey and Christmas Pudding overload.

Sadly in Ireland we are mostly offered Tex Mex food, which has as much connection with Mexico as a bacon and cabbage pizza has with Naples.

Real Mexican food can only be found from the likes of Theresa and Gustavo Hernandez at Leopardstown Market on Fridays and Temple Bar Market on Saturdays. Their website/blog has recipes and tips - www.meromeromexico.com.

Theresa and Gus are virtually the only people in the country selling the correct ingredients such as Mexican sun-dried chiles: Ancho, Chipotle and Mulato.

Salsa Verde is the ubiquitous Mexican Salsa (sauce) that can be used with virtually all Mexican dishes as a base sauce or to flavour rice, meat or fish. It also makes a very good dip for corn chips.

Tomatillos add the acidity to this recipe but lime juice can be substituted. Theresa’s ultra secret substitute (never before revealed in print!) is under-ripe Kiwi fruit, first cousin of the Tomatillo.

Tomatillos can be found in some veg. shops or from Duncan Healy's Organic Stall also at the Leopardstown and Temple Bar Market.

Theresa’s Salsa Verde
Ingredients: 2-4 green Chiles (pref. Jalapeno), 1 small Onion, 2 Cloves of Garlic, 4 sprigs of Coriander Leaf, Flesh of 1 large RIPE Avocado, 2 Tomatillos (lime juice or unripe kiwi), Salt..

Heat a heavy pan and lightly char the chiles, peeled garlic and peeled and quartered onion.

Cut the tops from the chiles and blitz in a liquidiser with the other ingredients. The salsa should be thin so add a little water. Add more chiles for extra fire.

Keeps well in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 7 days.

Fry come chicken pieces on the pan and warm in the salsa, pour over fish or use to flavour rice

Mexican Rice
Soak 250g of white or light brown rice in lots of water for 20 minutes. Drain and fry the rice in a little oil until squeaking. Add 500ml of Stock and half the quantity of Salsa Verde (use Theresa’s Salsa Adobada for red rice). Add frozen peas & diced carrot and simmer for 20 minutes. Mix in coriander leaves & salt and cover for 5 min. to fluff.

Serve with fried slices of Plantain and chicken or fish cooked in Salsa Verde.