“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” said David Puttnam.

We were talking about his having taken up residence in West Cork some 22 years ago. Then he glanced down the table towards his wife and smiled, “well, it’s the second best thing, the best was marrying Patsy…”

Either way, it was quite a statement from a man whose career has included film production credits for, among others, the Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire, and it said a lot about how locals and blow-ins alike regard this particularly captivating corner of the world.

View from Glebe Gardens, Baltimore, West Cork

I met David and Patsy in Skibbereen as part of a weekend visit to West Cork for a preview of West Cork Food, a new food tourism initiative of which the Puttnams are patrons. The aim is to provide visitors with an opportunity to meet and visit with artisan producers, and to watch them at work. It’s a proposition that’s bound to appeal to anyone with an interest in artisanal food and the production thereof, particularly given the stellar array of producers who live in, and operate from, this area.

A land of peninsulas and pasture, West Cork is where the revival of Irish farmhouse cheesemaking began in the late 70′s, and the region now boasts what is probably the highest concentration of artisan food producers in Ireland. It’s here that you’ll find, among many others, Durrus and Milleens cheese, Skeaghanore Duck, cheese and charcuterie from Gubbeen, butter, yoghurt and more from Glenilen Farm and smoked wild fish from Sally Barnes’ Woodcock Smokery.

Sally Barnes

It is the aforementioned Sally Barnes who is one of the driving forces behind the West Cork Food initiative, along with Stephen Sage of the West Cork Guide. Prior to my visit, I knew Sally only by reputation as one of the finest smokers of fish anywhere. Over the weekend, we visited her smokery, filleted own our fish, and watched the brining and smoking process. We also listened as Sally talked.

At Sally Barnes' Woodcock Smokery near Castletownshend

Like many West Corkonians, she’s a blow-in, originally from Scotland, but ended up here more than 30 years ago when she married a fisherman. Her fish smoking skills are self-taught – wanting to preserve the fish that her husband had caught and lacking a freezer, she started experimenting, first with a tea-chest and pan, and later with a kiln acquired in settlement of a debt. She later studied food production systems and oceanography through the Open University.

As is the case with many of the producers in the area, she’s both knowledgeable and passionate about her subject and you can’t help but become enthused yourself. Enabling visitors to have access to people like Sally is what West Cork Food is all about. Be warned, though – if you do visit West Cork, you might not want to leave. Staying, in fact, might be the best thing you’ve ever done.

One whiting, ready for filleting

Sally talks filleting and fish

Brining the fish: Sally's formula is simple, she adds salt to water until the fish float;
these whiting fillets were brined for about 15 minutes, others will be brined for shorter or longer periods;
salmon, on the other hand, she dry salts;

Into the kiln for 6 hours of cold-smoking, using beech smoke

Et voilà, a beautifully smoked fillet of whiting

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Potatoes And Lentils With Smoked White Fish

“Nothing goes with fish better than potatoes,” so commented Prue Leith while scrutinising a submission for the fish course of The Great British Menu. I don’t recall the dish in question, but the comment sprang to mind as I thought about what to do with my two beautiful fillets of beech-smoked whiting from Sally Barnes.

Truth be told, Sally’s beech-smoked whiting is such a fine piece of fish that, really, very little, if anything needs to be added in order to enjoy it. Her own suggestions were to either poach it in milk with potatoes and onions or simply acidulate it for about an hour before eating, perhaps along with some spring onions. I took the latter idea, allowed strips of the fish to marinate in lemon juice, while I made a kind of thick, earthy potato and lentil stew to be eaten alongside. It’s hearty, satisfying fare.

You’ll need:

• approx. 200g good quality smoked white fish (I used Sally Barnes’ smoked whiting)
• juice of one lemon
• 2-3 spring onions, finely sliced
• vegetable oil for frying
• 1 medium-sized onion, approx. 150g, sliced into fine half rings
• 300g tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 0.5 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
• 0.5 tsp paprika
• 400g potato, peeled and cut into approx. 1cm cubes
• 200g puy lentils, rinsed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1.5 tsp salt
• approx. 750ml water or vegetable stock
• 200g kale, thick stalks removed and leaves finely chopped (or use swiss chard or spinach)
• freshly ground black pepper
• freshly chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)

You’ll also need:

• A large, heavy-based saucepan

The Steps:

• Slice the smoked fish into very fine, narrow strips, spread onto a plate or board, scatter with the spring onions, squeeze generously with lemon juice and set aside.
• Place a large saucepan over a medium heat. When hot, add vegetable oil to coat the pan. Add the sliced onions and stir and fry for about 5 minutes or until starting to soften.
• Add the tomatoes and garlic, fry for another 5-8 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened.
• Add the crushed fennel seeds and the paprika, stir briefly, then add the cubed potatoes, puy lentils, bay leaf, salt and water or stock. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Add the chopped kale and simmer for about 30 minutes more or until the lentils and vegetables are tender. Add black pepper to taste and additional salt if it needs it.
• Remove from the heat and stir in about half of the smoked fish and spring onions. To serve, ladle into bowls and scatter with the remaining smoked fish and some chopped parsley if using.

The Variations:

• You could perhaps replace the smoked fish with some smoked bacon or leave both out and enjoy as a satisfying vegetarian main course on its own.

The Results:

• Serves 4-6 for lunch or dinner

Yes, ’tis true. There’s nothing worse than turning up to a potluck empty-handed when everyone else has brought dishes that people would stampede to get to. Yet, despite having had the best part of two months to ponder the latest five star makeover – which called for a little gourmet creativity to be applied to our choice of seasonal farmer’s market produce – I sat there yesterday morning, deadline looming and nary an idea in my head about what to bring to the makeover party.

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I sipped my coffee and considered the options. Deploying the ‘laptop ate my blogpost’ excuse was top of the list, followed closely by a handwritten sicknote from my Ma. Alternatively, I could take my chances, potter down the road to my local vegetable vendor and hope for inspiration to strike (or, failing that, lightning, in which case I would probably have singed hair but an excellent reason for needing an entirely different kind of makeover). Lucky for you (and for my future hairdressing expenses) the lightning stayed away.

My most local source of fruit and veg, after my own backyard, that is

It’s only a small outlet, but this place still manages to sell at least five different kinds of potato, which, as you might expect, gets a big thumbs up from me. Yesterday, though, it was tomatoes which caught my eye, local tomatoes, going for cheap.

This being the only time of year when it makes any sense to buy Irish tomatoes, I filled my bag with the juicy booty. Even at the height of an Irish summer, though, you’re not always assured of getting tomatoes with full, sweet flavour, so, to get the best out my haul, I started to think that a little bit of roasting would be in order (and better, says you, to have roasted tomatoes than frizzled hair).

Down the way, I spied onions and courgettes, which make such a happy threesome when buddied up with tomatoes that I was powerless to resist. By now, I was coming over all Mediterranean-like, so I picked up some spuds for a bit of native Irish balance, while free range eggs, for some reason, seemed like a good idea.

A little while later, and with the addition of some garlic and herbs from the backyard, and a generous glug of olive oil, a tian – or crustless quiche – filled with slow-roasted vegetables, was born. It burst with juicy roasted tomatoes and couldn’t have been more summery if it tried.

Tian of tomatoes, courgettes and sunshine

Now, I’d be the first to say that this dish is altogether more rustic than gourmet and, as you’ll see, its flavours do travel a well-worn Mediterranean route. For all that, though, I was more than happy to have it grace my lunch plate, and ’twas surely a far better thing for me to eat this than for the dog to eat my homework, or my hair for that matter.

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Summer Vegetable Tian

The name tian, as described by Elizabeth David in Is There a Nutmeg in the House?, derives from the Provençal name for the earthenware dish that this kind of vegetable and egg mixture is usually made in.

The dish could not be easier to put together. Layer the vegetables and herbs in an ovenproof dish, douse with olive oil and slow-roast for an hour or so, then mix the lot with beaten egg, some cheese if you like and return to the oven until set. Then eat.

It’s really a dish to build around what you have to hand. I would have added fennel if there had been any available, along with fresh goat’s cheese or perhaps some feta. You can replace the regular yellow onion with red onion if you like, use oregano instead of marjoram, or add parsley or other herbs of your liking to the mix. It’s all good.

The veg:

• 3-4 tblsp olive oil plus extra for greasing your dish
• 1 small-ish courgette, about 250g, cut into 0.5cm rounds
• 2 cloves garlic, slivered
• 400g tomatoes, halved if small, quartered if large
• half a small onion, about 50g, peeled and cut into 1-2cm chunks
• 1 small potato, about 100g, peeled, cut into 1cm dice, rinsed and patted dry
• 2 x approx. 10cm sprigs rosemary
• 2 x approx. 10cm sprigs thyme
• coarse salt
• freshly ground black pepper

The tian:

• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp freshly chopped marjoram leaves
• 0.5 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 50g fresh, soft goat’s cheese (optional)
• 2 tblsp freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)

You’ll also need:

• An ovenproof dish, mine was around 20cm x 20cm and 5cm deep

The Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 150C
• Brush your baking dish with some olive oil, then cover the base with a layer of courgette slices. Scatter over the slivered garlic, then add a layer of tomatoes, cut side facing up.
• Tuck the chunks of onion and the diced potato around the tomatoes. Break the sprigs of rosemary and thyme into 2-3cm lengths and tuck them in around the dish also.
• Sprinkle with a couple of pinches of coarse salt and a few twists of black pepper. Drizzle over the olive oil and place in the oven for about an hour or until the tomatoes have started to wrinkle and the vegetables are still fairly firm but can be pierced easily with a sharp knife.
• Remove the vegetables from the oven and turn the heat up to 180C.
• In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs well and add the marjoram, salt and a few twists of black pepper. Crumble the goat’s cheese into the mixture if using.
• Tip the roasted vegetables into the beaten egg and stir to mix, then pour the entire mixture back into your baking dish. Sprinkle with parmesan if using.
• Return to the oven for around 25 minutes or until set and golden on top. Serve warm or at room temperature with salads and the like.

The Variations:

• If I’d had a small bulb of fennel, I’d certainly have added pieces of that to the vegetable mix

The Results:

• Serve 2-3, along with salads and what have you.

Time was when “pop-up” was a term you’d apply to your kitchen toaster.

These days, you’re more likely to hear it used in reference to something more substantial, yet less enduring than your average toaster, namely pop-up restaurants.

Pop-up restaurants are, by definition, transient. Perhaps not as transient as, say, news on Twitter, which can be old within hours but, nevertheless, they have, by their very nature, a short and limited life-span. In a way, they’re a product of the internet era, where attention spans are short, the volume of information is high, and you can only hold people’s attention for so long before they demand something new or at least different. In the case of the recent Jacob’s Creek pop-up wine and dine experience, which took place for four evenings at the end of June, attendees got both, through a combination of new wines and an unusual venue that was guaranteed to captivate.

Old setting for a new phenomenon:
The Jacob's Creek pop-up experience took place in the atmospheric (and not a little spooky) crypt underneath Christchurch Cathedral

The crypt underneath Dublin’s Christchurch Cathedral is almost as old as the city itself. Having been renovated over the past few years, it is now open to visitors and, it seems, the occasional pop-up dinner guests. For the Jacob’s Creek event, each evening saw the very knowledgeable David Whelehan lead guests into the world of wine-tasting, with a three-course dinner cooked by Clodagh McKenna to match the wines being tasted.

Crab salad with lime, grapefruit and fennel & wild Irish salmon, roasted with lemon and dill: the dining part of the experience

How much of David’s wine lore sank in, I don’t know, though we certainly sank a goodly range of sparkling, white and red wine the evening that I was there. I do remember David’s comment about the Irish being longtime appreciators of wine, and, to judge by the level of banter and general good cheer, the wines in general, and the evening in particular, were greatly appreciated by those in attendance. Especially enjoyed were some of the new regional reserves, in particular the Reserve Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2009, which was the standout wine of the evening. It’s not available here in Ireland just yet, though it should be appearing on shop shelves nationwide soon and, might I say, is well worth popping out (or even popping up) for.

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Roasted Lemon and Dill Salmon

This dish from Clodagh McKenna was the hit of the evening, foodwise.

A very simple dish, really, and one which had everything to do with the quality of the ingredients used, namely fine, thick fillets of wild Irish salmon. Clodagh stuffed the fillets with dill and very finely sliced lemon and then roasted them. The lemon cooked beautifully inside the salmon and was eaten along with it.

Recreating the dish at home, my salmon fillets were not as thick as I would have liked, so I made cuts at an angle along the length of the fillet in order to create pockets for the lemon slices (to which I also added some slivered garlic, just because). If you have a fillet that’s, say, 5cm thick, you can just slice into the salmon along the length of the fillet in order to create a pocket for the lemon. Also, depending on the lemons you use, you might find that the pith just underneath the skin is still a bit bitter to be eaten after cooking.

You’ll need, per person:

• fillet of salmon (around 150g-200g), use thick fillets if possible
• approx. half a lemon
• approx. 1 tsp finely chopped dill
• small clove of garlic, slivered (optional)
• olive oil for frying
• butter
• coarse salt
• freshly ground black pepper

You’ll also need:

• A roasting tin or tins, large enough to accommodate the fillets.

The Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 180C
• Slice the lemon into very thin half moon shapes. Use slices from the middle of the lemon rather than the top or bottom, which will have a greater proportion of bitter pith.
• If your salmon fillets are fairly thick, cut into each fillet along its length, cutting about 2/3rds of the way across the fillet in order to make a pocket for the lemon slices. If your fillets are thinner, you may find it easier just to make a few angled cuts into the fillet along its length. In either case, you want cuts deep enough to fully accommodate the lemon slices.
• Insert slices of lemon, some chopped dill and slivered garlic (if using) into the cuts so that they are covered, top and bottom, by the salmon flesh.
• Place a frying pan over a high heat and add olive oil to coat the pan. Sear each salmon fillet on the skin side, then place in a foil-lined baking tin. Dot with butter and sprinkle with some coarse salt and a few twists of black pepper.
• Bake until cooked through – 15 minutes or less, depending on your oven and the thickness of the salmon fillets.
• Serve immediately – I had mine (surprise, surprise) with some new potatoes, which I can highly recommend, while Clodagh served hers with a basil hollandaise sauce and roasted asparagus.

The Variations:

• You could certainly replace the dill with other herbs, perhaps some parsley or coriander. I’d even think of popping some slivered root ginger in there.

The Results:

• Dinner for as many people as you have salmon fillets

I’ll admit that what you will see below was more carefully assembled (to say nothing of being more psychedelic) than my lunchbox usually is, but, in the bento scheme of things, I’m not sure that it counts as being especially kawaii. (If, at this point, you are sporting a blank or quizzical stare, then I should explain that bento refers to a packed meal common in Japanese cuisine and kawaii to the cuteness thereof – and some bentos are, indeed, tremendously cute).

The call to create a bento began (as many things do these days) as a series of exchanges on Twitter, resulting in an invitation from Chef Pandita to take up the bento challenge – a mission that has been variously tagged on Twitter as #bentomadness, #bentocuteness, #badassbento and (my own particular favourite) #halfassbento.

Lunch is served, bento-style

And while I will say that my efforts to fashion a face out of my food might indeed have been a bit half-assed (I mean, did you even guess that it was a face?), the assembled items, nonetheless, made for a satisfying and seasonal summer lunch (and that, surely, counts as a bento win).

Proudly making up the face in the top half of the box were the first of my newly harvested potatoes (woohoo!) tossed in homemade garlic mayonnaise, with spring onion slices for hair and two egg and smoked salmon rolls for eyes. Below, a triangle of toasted brown soda bread, topped with a cherry tomato smile (yes, I know, work with me on this), a carrot nose (no, I don’t actually know anyone who has a nose that looks even vaguely like that) and an anatomically misplaced cucumber moustache. It was, truly, a face made for eating, so that is precisely what I did.

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Egg and Smoked Salmon Rolls

These simple rolls were a vague nod to the Japanese origins of bento and the sushi rolls you might find in a Japanese bento box, though the fish used here is the much more Irish choice of smoked salmon. The recipe below, using a single egg, will make about 4 rolls, which will do one or two people, depending on how much else you’re having for lunch. You can easily double the amounts (or more) depending on how many you want to serve.

You’ll need:

• vegetable oil for frying
• 1 egg
• pinch of salt
• 1.5 tblsp cream cheese
• 1 tsp finely chopped chives
• freshly ground black pepper
• 50g smoked salmon, sliced thinly
• squeeze of lemon juice
• 1 tblsp finely diced cucumber

You’ll also need:

• A small frying pan, around 20cm diameter, plus cocktail sticks to hold the rolls

The Steps:

• Place your frying pan over a medium heat and, when hot, add oil to coat the pan.
• Beat the egg and add a pinch of salt. Add to the pan and swirl so that it coats the pan thinly and evenly. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until the egg has set. Remove and allow to cool.
• Mix the cream cheese with the chives and a little black pepper and spread onto the cooked egg. Top with the smoked salmon and a squeeze of lemon juice.
• Place a line of diced cucumber across the middle of the smoked salmon and egg pile, then, starting from an edge parallel to the line of cucumber, roll the whole thing up – the cucumber should end up in the middle of the roll.
• Slice into 4 pieces, skewer with cocktail sticks and serve.

The Variations:

• You could tweak these by, say, adding a little crushed garlic when cooking the egg and/or adding some chopped dill to the cream cheese either instead of, or in addition, to the chives.

The Results:

• Makes 4 individual rolls.

So, how much fish do you think you could scarf down in one day?

If I had been asked that question before attending the fish cookery course in Clodagh McKenna’s cookery school last month, I would probably have underestimated by a long shot.

While I was there, I managed several helpings of gorgeous Thai fish curry, sneaky pieces of fabulous Irish crab from the crab cakes, a glorious pesto-crusted fillet of sole, a more-ish pile of clam-filled spaghetti vongole, not to mention the fact that we were all sent home with the finished crab cakes, some creamy smoked haddock chowder and mackerel fillets with a lovely beetroot and horseradish relish. I feel full all over again just thinking about it.

Clockwise from top left:
Crab cakes; Spaghetti Vongole; Pistachio pesto crusted sole; Thai fish curry;
And yes, I was very full afterward.

Clodagh’s cookery school is located at the Village at Lyons, which (alas for the Francophiles among you) does not refer to Lyons in France, but to the terribly-pretty-all-the-same country estate surroundings of the Lyons Demesne in Co. Kildare, about 20km from the heart of Dublin.

The Village at Lyons: enter this way...

Needless to remark, I was pleased as punch to be invited to attend a course at the cookery school. The fish course seemed, to me, a natural choice – what with Clodagh having both the Fresh from the Sea television series and book of the same name under her belt, it’s safe to say that the lady knows her fish. The course, presented by Clodagh herself, was a pleasure from beginning to end.

Clodagh in action

We talked about skinning fish, making fish stock and we would have tackled filleting if a somewhat over-eager fish supplier hadn’t done the job for us. Throughout the day, a range of simple, tasty fish dishes made their way from burner to plate to tummy. We also whipped up homemade mayonnaise and tartare sauce, and amassed plenty of practical fishy tips along the way.

Scenes from the cookery school

Mostly, though, there was charm and enthusiasm, the inspiration to cook fish more often and the desire to cook all of the dishes from the course again. With that in mind, let’s have some more of that pesto-crusted sole, shall we?

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Pistachio Pesto Crusted Sole

This dish was the hit of the day – a simple pesto-crusted piece of sole, quickly made and devoured by the attendees at the course, despite having already eaten our way though several other seafood dishes.

Clodagh’s original recipe replaces the pine nuts that you would find in a traditional pesto with pistachio nuts. I, in turn, have replaced the basil with flat leaf parsley (though the basil version gets my vote too). I have also added some lemon zest to the mix, as we all agreed on the day that (like so many fishy creations), it benefitted muchly from a bit of lemony zing.

Clodagh suggests the amount below as being enough for about 4 fillets of fish, though it does really depend on the size of your fillets and how generously you coat them. Perhaps because I like to pile on the pesto, I found that this was enough for something more like 2 medium-sized fillets (say around 150g each). Though the fish is fried here, you could also use this pesto to coat some fish before baking it.

You’ll need:

• 50g shelled pistachio nuts, unsalted
• large handful (around 20g) of flat leaf parsley leaves (or substitute basil)
• 0.5 tsp lemon zest
• 50g parmesan cheese, finely grated
• approx. 50-75ml good quality olive oil
• 2-4 fillets of sole (or other white fish, such as whiting)
• lemon wedges to serve (optional)

You’ll also need:

• A mortar and pestle for making the pesto, or you can use a food processor.

The Steps:

• Place the pistachio nuts, parsley or basil and lemon zest together in a mortar and pestle or food processor and grind together. Alternatively chop the ingredients very finely and mix together.
• Stir in the grated parmesan and olive oil, enough to give the consistency of an easily spreadable paste.
• Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Coat the sole with the pesto and fry for around 2 minutes on each side or until the fish is no longer translucent. Serve along with a wedge of lemon and a green salad. This would also be lovely with some steamed baby potatoes (and, yes, I would say that).

The Variations:

• You could certainly add garlic to the mix above, as you would with a classic pesto.

The Results:

• Serves 2-4, depending on the number of fillets used.

Irish 'sushi': presenting the mackerel potato roll

Sushi, and more particularly the notion of eating raw fish, is not something we’re especially used to in Ireland.

We like our fish cooked or, at the very least, cured or smoked. In fact, for an island nation, we are often guilty of underappreciating the quality and range of fish on our shorestep. Take mackerel – cheap, full of flavour, and with the extra brownie points that come from being sustainable. Popular with the Japanese either raw or salt-cured as a sushi fish, I thought I’d give mackerel and the sushi roll an Irish interpretation which involves (a) cooking the fish first (I’m Irish, remember) (b) replacing sushi rice with potatoes (well, obviously) (c) using the cooked mackerel skin as a wrapper instead of seaweed, though seaweed does feature, in the form of dillisk added to the potatoes.

I’m submitting this as part of this month’s 5 Star Makeover, hosted by Natasha of Five Star Foodie and Lazaro of Lazaro Cooks. Following last month’s twisting and turning of the Bacon and Eggs theme, this month sees Sustainable Fish get the makeover treatment. Look out for a fishy feast on Natasha and Lazaro’s blogs this coming Friday.

hosted by 5 Star Foodie & Lazaro Cooks!

Stacking 'em high

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Mackerel Potato Rolls

The idea is simple, if a little fiddly to execute: fry the mackerel fillets, gently separate the cooked flesh from the skin, season (with, say, parsley and lemon or ginger and spring onions), then top the skin with dillisk mashed potatoes, some seasoned mackerel flesh and form into rolls. Leftover cooked mackerel can be served with salad alongside the rolls or mixed with additional potatoes. As with any use of mackerel, the fish should be as spankingly fresh as possible.

For the mash:

• 600g potatoes (about 3 medium-sized), preferably a floury variety
• salt
• 3 tblsp butter, melted
• 3 tblsp milk
• A couple of pieces of dried dillisk, soaked briefly in cold water to soften and finely chopped (abt 2 tsp chopped dillisk)
• vegetable oil for frying

For the fish:

• 2 tblsp plain flour
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 mackerel, filleted, with skin left on (so 8 individual fillets, about 500-600g)
• vegetable oil for frying
• a handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 4-5 tblsp lemon juice or to taste

You’ll also need:

• A potato ricer is useful, though not essential, for mashing the potatoes, plus you’ll need large frying pan, preferably non-stick.

The Mash Steps:

• Wash your potatoes and peel them, keeping aside the peels. Cut the potatoes into roughly even-sized slices, around 1-2cm thick. Rinse them under cold water.
• Bring about 1.25l of water to the boil in a saucepan, add about 1.5 tsp salt and the potato slices.
• Bring back to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer gently, covered, for around 10-15 minutes or until just fork-tender. While they’re simmering, you can shred the potato peels and fry them in a hot pan with a little oil and a pinch of salt until crispy, as described here.
• When the potatoes are done, drain well and return them to the saucepan. Then either let them sit, covered by a tea-towel, for about 5 minutes or place the pan over a low heat and stir the potatoes gently for a minute or so while they dry out.
• Put the cooked and still warm potatoes through a potato ricer, if you have one, or mash with a potato masher or, if all else fails, a fork.
• Pour in the melted butter and stir through the potatoes, followed by the milk. You should have a fairly stiff mash.
• Add the chopped dillisk and check for seasoning – the dillisk will add some saltiness so you may not need additional salt.

The Fish Steps:

• Mix the flour with a pinch of salt and some black pepper and use to lightly coat the mackerel fillets.
• Place your frying pan over a medium-high heat. When hot add a small splash of vegetable oil.
• Working in batches, fry the mackerel fillets: place them skin side down first, fry for 2-3 minutes, turn and fry for another 1-2 minutes, until the flesh is no longer translucent. Drain on kitchen paper.
• When the mackerel are cooked, carefully separate the cooked flesh from the skins, removing any stray bones as you do so.
• Add the cooked mackerel to a bowl along with the chopped parsley, lemon juice, black pepper and salt to taste. Mash together well.
• To assemble, lay out the mackerel skins, external side down. Spread about 2 tblsp of the dillisk mash along each skin and top with about 2 tblsp of cooked mackerel. Gently roll up each filled skin.
• You’ll need a bit less than half of the mash and the cooked mackerel to fill the skins, so once you’re done, take the remaining mash and mackerel, mix together, check seasoning and serve alongside the mackerel rolls, garnished with the fried potato peels.

The Variations:

• You can certainly vary what you add to the fish and/or the mash e.g try replacing the parsley with about 1 tsp grated root ginger and 6-8 finely chopped spring onions. You could also try using smoked mackerel instead of fried here.

The Results:

• Serves 4 as a lunch, along with, say, a green salad.

If it was your mission to design a new signature dish for Ireland, suitable for service in the finest restaurants, then just what would that dish be?

That’s the question being asked of chefs and cooks, professional and amateur alike, in a competition being run as part of the Só Sligo Food Festival. The festival, one of an increasing number of food-centric events to be found gracing the Irish calendar, will see that particular corner of the north west awash with edible possibilities from the 16th to the 20th of this month.

As to the question of the signature dish, well, I don’t suppose a bowl of coleslaw would cut it?

An Irish coleslaw: it's certainly got the national colours going for it

And yet this slaw is, in its own little way, an ode to the possibilities of Irish food; a demonstration of what you can do even if native Irish fruit and vegetables are thin on the ground (as they were on my last trip to the supermarket). On that trip, I did, however, manage to find natively-grown savoy cabbage, carrots and bramley apples and introduced them to some Donegal rapeseed oil and a splash of David Llewellyn’s cider vinegar for what was a satisfyingly Irish (and Paddy’s-Day-worthy) slaw.

For all its merits though, I doubt that the restaurants of Ireland will be falling over themselves in the race to serve up a new national coleslaw. As an emblematic Irish dish, it falls down on one point above all else: there are no spuds. Personal bias aside, there is no other food so closely bound to the Irish psyche, so a national dish must, of necessity, have potatoes. That doesn’t mean that they can’t cut a dash, though – might I suggest some individual potato cups as just one way to spruce up the spud.

There are, of course, many other things that can justifiably compete for a spot on the national plate: our grass-fed beef, award-winning black pudding, bacon, whether with or without the cabbage, smoked salmon, trout and mackerel, world-class farmhouse cheeses and, most especially on the western seaboard, our native seaweeds. It is a truly daunting task to decide how best to distill that abundance into a plated essence of Ireland. So much so, that I think, perhaps, I will leave that job to the competitors and stick to the coleslaw after all.

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An Irish Coleslaw

Not having been organised enough to get my greens elsewhere, I found myself in the supermarket skirting past broccoli from Spain, celery from Holland and Chinese cabbage from Turkey (if that’s not a contradiction in terms). Apart from potatoes, other Irish-grown produce was scarce, so this is what I made with the cabbage, carrot and apples that I managed to find. A coleslaw-like dish seemed inevitable.

I opted for a vinaigrette rather than mayonnaise-based dressing and, while you can obviously use the oil and vinegar that you have to hand, it’s good to know that there are native Irish choices available, like Donegal rapeseed oil and David Llewellyn’s cider vinegar. I also used local honey and a homemade Irish beer mustard as part of the recipe.

For the dressing:

• 1 tblsp rapeseed oil
• 1 tsp cider vinegar plus a bit extra for tossing on the apples
• 0.5 tsp mustard or more to taste
• 0.5 tsp honey or to taste
• coarse salt to taste
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the slaw:

• approx. 125g carrot (about 1 med. sized carrot)
• approx. 125g bramley apple (about ½ a large apple)
• approx. 125g savoy cabbage (about ¼ of a small head of cabbage – any dark, tough, outer leaves removed)
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 2-3 tblsp chopped flat leaf parsley
• squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

You’ll also need:

• A grater or food processor for grating the carrot and apple.

The Steps:

• Make the dressing by whisking together the rapeseed oil, cider vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings if you need to.
• Peel and grate the carrot and apple and sprinkle the apple with a little cider vinegar.
• Shred the cabbage, toss together with the carrot, apple, spring onions, parsley and dressing. Brighten with a squeeze of lemon juice if you like, then eat and enjoy.

The Variations:

• Of course this doesn’t have to be an exclusively Irish affair – you can add whatever else takes your fancy. Personally, I wouldn’t be averse to some added interest from, say, toasted sunflower seeds or chopped walnuts.

The Results:

• Serves 3-4 as a side dish

]]> http://www.thedailyspud.com/2011/03/11/coleslaw-recipe-irish/feed/ 19 http://www.thedailyspud.com/2010/11/22/potato-crumbs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=potato-crumbs http://www.thedailyspud.com/2010/11/22/potato-crumbs/#comments Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:14:16 +0000 Daily Spud http://www.thedailyspud.com/?p=24304

The astute among you will have observed that this week’s Spud Sunday is suffering from a mild bout of tardiness. If this were school, I’d have a note from my parents to say that it was their 60th wedding anniversary celebrations that had me otherwise engaged this weekend. Either that or I would be trying to convince someone in authority that the dog had eaten my blog post. Sure by the time I got to it, all that remained were these few potato crumbs, your honour.

Lil' potato bits

Still, crumbs though they may be, they are worthy of mention.

They started out life as leftover riced potatoes, spent a bit of time in a low oven, and emerged dried, golden and crunchy. They could easily take the place of breadcrumbs if you wanted to top a savoury pie in a gluten-free way or, fried briefly in a little oil, you could sprinkle them on soup instead of croutons. You might even find yourself eating them as a snack. They will keep in a sealed container or ziploc bag in the fridge for several weeks or they can hang out in the freezer until you have something for them to do. Not bad for a few old crumbs, all the same.

I could justifiably have hung a sign on my door that read “Gone Fishin’.”

I was making a trek across the city to Donnybrook Fair and smoked mackerel would, I hoped, be my reward. I was on the trail of mackerel from Inish Turk Beg, a privately owned and faintly mysterious island off the coast of Mayo. A tasting of their newly available range of smoked fish earlier that week had left mackerel on my mind, and I was heading to the one place in the city that could provide me with that particular smoky fix.

Inish Turk Beg smoked mackerel

It was with some delight, then, that I had realised that the number 10 bus would take me straight to my mackerel dealer. It was with no small degree of sadness that, upon boarding, I discovered that the number 10 was reaching the end of its well-worn route. The bus, which, all those years ago, had ferried me to and from my first grotty student flat, would deposit its last passengers at the end of that day. My fishing trip was turning into a trip down memory lane.

The Number 10: Last chance to see

As the bus traced its way across the city, my mind wandered back to a time when smoked mackerel was the furthest thing from my student diet and fish fingers were more my style. I arrived at my stop, secured a good smoky catch and waited for one last bus to bring me home.

As I alighted at the other end, I watched, for a moment, as the bus continued on its last, heavily punctuated journey. I smiled a goodbye smile and couldn’t help but borrow the words of Douglas Adams: so long, number 10, and thanks for all the fish.

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Smoked Mackerel Pâté With Ginger

Well, after all of that, I wanted to do something with my mackerel that would be worthy of the effort involved in acquiring it. Of course, you really don’t want to do much, if anything, to good smoked mackerel before you get down to the business of eating it, so smoked mackerel pâté, where the fish is simply blended into a paste, fit the bill nicely. For this pâté, in addition to some sour cream, I’ve mixed the mackerel with ginger and spring onions, both of which complement it very well.

You’ll need:

• 200g smoked mackerel fillets, skin removed
• 4 tblsp sour cream
• 6 spring onions, white and green parts sliced (around 75g sliced spring onion)
• 2 tsp very finely grated root ginger
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• freshly ground black pepper
• toasted rye or wholewheat bread or crackers to serve

You’ll also need:

• A food processor to blend everything together

The Steps:

• Flake the mackerel and remove any stray bones.
• Add the mackerel, sour cream, spring onions, ginger, rice vinegar and a few twists of black pepper to the bowl of your food processor and blend until well combined. Taste and add more pepper, ginger and/or vinegar if to your taste.
• Serve with toast or crackers and get spreading.

The Variations:

• You can replace the sour cream with natural yoghurt for a version that is not quite as rich but still tasty.

The Results:

• Would serve around 4 as a starter, with toast or crackers.

They were worth the tummy ache.

At least, they must have been, because we could never resist picking and eating the apples from our tree long before they were ready (and, in truth, they never got that sweet anyway). We would use them to play bob the apple at Hallowe’en and, later, they would be arrayed on makeshift tables in the shed and would keep us in stewed apple, apple tarts and glorious baked apples for the winter.

Neither, I might add, could we resist climbing our apple tree and, on occasion, swinging from its branches.

My brother demonstrating the fine art of swinging from an apple tree

My brother Tom doesn’t swing from apple trees anymore (at least, I don’t think he does) and, while my parents long ago moved away from the site of that particular tree, there is another in its place.

One of the best things about October: the Ma's Howgate Wonder apples

As my mother’s Howgate Wonders don’t keep particularly well, most of them are stewed and frozen to make them last. At this time of year, though, when they’re not long off the tree, there is no better thing to do than bake them. And my Ma’s baked apples, tasting of times past and present, are, quite simply, the best.

The Ma's apples, baked

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Ma’s Baked Apples

These really are the simplest things in the world to make.

You just need apples, sugar, butter, cloves and either an apple corer or some other means of removing part of the apple core. I improvised with a corkscrew and a spoon handle to get the job done.

No appler corer? Then may I suggest you improvise.

The only other thing that you need to be aware of is that the degree to which the apple flesh softens while baking will really depend on the type of apple you use. Bramleys, for example, will break down quite readily, while my Ma’s Howgate Wonders are much firmer, but they do bake divinely.

You’ll need, per person:

• 1 cooking apple (large or small, depending on your appetite)
• 2-3 tsp granulated sugar
• small knob of butter (0.5-1 tsp)
• 2 cloves

You’ll also need:

• An apple corer or other implement to remove part of the apple core, plus one or more baking trays or ovenproof dishes, enough to accommodate your apples.

The Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 180C
• Cut a slit in the skin of each apple, right around the thickest part of the fruit (around its waist, you might say). This will head off any irregular bursting that might happen while the apple bakes.
• Remove about 2/3rds of the apple core using an apple corer, leaving a base for the sugar to sit on. If you don’t have an apple corer (and I didn’t), you can use a corkscrew or perhaps a small vegetable knife to cut down through the core and, say, a narrow spoon handle to clear the contents.
• Fill the now-empty core with sugar, top with a knob of butter and stick 2 cloves into the butter.
• Sit the apples on a tray or ovenproof dish, pour a small amount of water (say 100-200ml) around them and bake, uncovered, until the skin has started to brown in spots and shrink back from the centre slit. The flesh will also have softened to some degree, though this will depend on both the size and type of the apple – mine take around 30 minutes or so for large-ish specimens.
• Eat on their own or with the very classic accompaniment of warm custard.

The Variations:

• Of course you can use whatever kind of sugar you like to fill the apple, while my Ma sometimes puts sweet mincemeat into the hollowed out core instead of sugar

The Results:

• Baked apples for those that wants ‘em