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.