“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

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.

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.

Frankly, I blame the fish pie.

For the delay, I mean.

It’s been almost 2 months since I met Natasha, she of 5 Star Foodie, and her daughter Hannah for lunch.

It’s been so long, in fact, that Bentley’s, where we ate, is no more, having morphed into the Cliff Town House. And while I am more than happy to see an outpost of the Cliff House Hotel come to Dublin, this does mean that the Bentley’s menu is gone from our shores.

Which brings me back to the fish pie.

Bentley’s creamy, mashed potatoey fish pie.

The restaurant’s signature dish and the one that I had to have when I met Natasha, despite the fact that it was the middle of (an admittedly Irish) summer.

And it was good. Heavy and rich but very good.

The fish pie in question

So I got it into my head that I should make some kind of Bentley’s inspired fish pie to accompany this post. Except that, until last weekend, we were experiencing anything but fish pie weather. Not that I was complaining about that, you understand, but now that the weather has started turning, I find that fish pie and five star foodie lunches have bubbled right back up to the top of the menu.

And, my, what a lovely lunch it was. Though the fish pie was good, the company was even better.

And before the pie, there was the lobster bisque

Natasha was as delightful as I had imagined, but it was her daughter Hannah who stole the show. Despite being all of 6 years old, she has experienced her fair share of fine dining, both at restaurant tables and in her mother’s kitchen. Based on her forthright opinions on all we ate, she could certainly challenge her mother for the 5 Star Foodie title and could probably give most restaurant critics a good run for their money.

During the meal, she asked if Bentley’s had a Michelin star, ‘cos it was “kinda fancy.” I explained that it had the involvement of a well known, Michelin star kind of chef, if not an actual Michelin star. And I realised that this was most definitely not the kind of conversation I was used to having with 6 year olds of my acquaintance.

And so, a couple of months later, as I pondered my fish pie, I couldn’t help but wonder if it would pass muster with Hannah. That seal of approval would, I feel, be worth more than any Michelin star.

My lemon posset dessert but, more importantly, my charming 5 star companions

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Fish-A-Leekie Pie

As you might expect, this pie takes its lead from the recipe for Bentley’s fish pie, which is included in Richard Corrigan’s fine book, The Clatter of Forks and Spoons. I’ve used a similar creamy white wine and thyme sauce and a mix of smoked and unsmoked fish, as does the Bentley’s pie, though I’ve added leeks and capers and swapped the mashed potato for a topping of potato slices.

While I might mourn the departure of Bentley’s and its fish pie from Dublin, having this in my repertoire will ease the pain considerably.

For the sauce:

• 50g butter
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 medium leeks, white and light green parts finely sliced (about 200g)
• 0.5 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 75ml white wine
• 50g plain flour
• 500ml milk
• 0.75 tsp salt or to taste
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp English mustard (Colman’s)
• 1 tblsp capers, rinsed and drained
• 4-5 tblsp chopped flat leaf parsley, loosely packed
• 1.5 tblsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp malt vinegar

For the rest of the pie:

• 300-350g potato (about 2 medium sized spuds – preferably waxy as they will hold their shape better)
• 250g smoked haddock (or other smoked white fish)
• 250g salmon fillet
• 1 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tblsp freshly grated parmesan

You’ll also need:

• An ovenproof dish – mine was 20cm x 20cm x 5cm deep – plus a processor or blender for blending the sauce (an immersion blender is handiest).

The Sauce Steps:

• Place a large, heavy saucepan over a medium heat and, when hot, add the butter.
• Once the butter has melted, add the garlic, leeks and thyme and cook over a medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or until the leeks have started to soften.
• Add the white wine and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
• Add the flour and stir quickly until combined, then very gradually start adding the milk, stirring vigorously all the time. Continue until all of the milk has been incorporated. Don’t worry too much about lumps as you can blend the sauce later.
• Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add the salt, black pepper, mustard, capers, parsley, lemon juice and vinegar and stir to combine.
• Remove from the heat and blend briefly (though don’t worry about making the sauce completely homogenous). Taste and check seasoning, adding more mustard or lemon juice if you think it needs it.
• Cover and set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the pie.

The Rest:

• Preheat the oven to 180C
• Scrub the potatoes and, leaving the skins on, cut into approx. 0.5cm slices.
• In a saucepan, bring about 1l of water to the boil, add 1 tsp salt and the potato slices.
• Bring back to a simmer and simmer gently, covered, for 5-6 minutes or until the potato slices are just starting to become tender.
• Remove the potatoes from the heat, drain and leave to sit for about 5 minutes, covered with a tea-towel to absorb the steam.
• Cut the smoked haddock and salmon into approx. 1cm cubes.
• Spoon some of the previously prepared sauce onto your ovenproof dish, add the fish pieces and spoon over the remaining sauce.
• Top with a layer of overlapping potato slices. Drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle with the parmesan.
• Bake for about 30 minutes – the potatoes should have crisped up around the edges. Serve with some salad and the rest of that bottle of white wine you had to open for the sauce.

The Variations:

• If smoked fish is not your thing, you can certainly replace the smoked fish with with any unsmoked white fish. You can also top the pie with mashed potato or a pastry crust instead of the potato slices if you like.

The Results:

• Serves 2-3 pie-eaters

Looking out at the view, I couldn’t help but agree with Adam Medcalf, head chef at Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa. The graceful sweep of West Cork coastline at Inchydoney is not a sight that you would tire of easily.

Around Inchydoney

I was in Inchydoney as a guest of the resort, invited to sample their new West Cork menu (yeah, it’s a dirty job…). Except, as Adam – who has worked here for over five years – will tell you, the West Cork nature of the menu is not really that new. From farmhouse cheeses, locally grown vegetables and Clonakilty black pudding, to fish and meats, both fresh and smoked, anyone looking to source high quality, locally produced food in West Cork is spoiled for choice. The restaurant at Inchydoney has always taken advantage of the bountiful raw materials within arms reach. It would have been rude of me not to get stuck in and see what exactly they made of those raw materials.

Dinner, in other words, was served.

Let there be bread

You know you’ve embarked on a fine dining experience when additional, unordered courses start to appear on your plate. In this case, proceedings began with an amuse bouche consisting of a claw which had parted company from its parent crab.

West Cork crab claw

Not so amusing for the crab, one supposes, but I thank you crab for your sacrifice. It was well worth it.

In between courses, a palate-cleansing white port and rosemary sorbet was possibly my favourite bite of the evening.

White port and rosemary sorbet

As for the principal courses, they arrived beautifully presented and artfully deconstructed. I am always tempted, in these situations, to nibble at each carefully presented mound in turn but, if the chef has done his job well, the amalgamation of separately presented edibles into a single forkful is always greater than the sum of its parts. That, by and large, was the case here.

Dinner at Inchydoney:
starters (top): dressed local crabmeat (left) and Ardsallagh goats cheese parfait (right)
main courses (middle): pan fried hake with smoked salmon and scallion risotto (left) and roasted pepper and potato herb gnocchi (right)
desserts (bottom): iced vanilla parfait (left) and hot chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream (right)

Truth be told, I could probably have dined exclusively on the West Cork crab and been well satiated, but my belly didn’t exactly object to the company assembled within by the end of the evening.

And the rest of me didn’t exactly object to the hospitality at the resort, which was staffed, among others, by possibly the most gracious hotel manager I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Their spa treatments, meanwhile, provided an opportunity to be both scrubbed with strawberries and wrapped in chocolate. A dessert menu of a profoundly different kind.

Moon over Inchydoney Strand

So, if you could capture Ireland in a single mouthful, what would that mouthful be?

I think that Pádraic Óg Gallagher, he of the Boxty House, may have captured it perfectly when he drizzled Connemara Peated Single Malt Whiskey over smoked Irish salmon.

Connemara peated single malt whiskey and Irish smoked salmon

It’s like a modern interpretation of a John Hinde postcard. It tastes like you’re sitting close to, or possibly in, a turf fire, an experience that certainly used to go with the territory in rural Ireland.

Classic John Hinde Postcard: Collecting Turf from the Bog, Connemara, Co. Galway, Ireland
(image from www.johnhindecollection.com)

The marriage of whiskey and salmon was only the beginning, though.

It was the opening dish on the menu for the gala Saturday banquet presented as part of the recent Oxford Symposium On Food And Cookery by Pádraic Óg Gallagher, along with Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire and a host of Irish artisan producers.

The theme for this year’s symposium was Cured, Fermented and Smoked Foods and banquet attendees were treated to the full Irish experience of same. Pádraic Óg is the first Irish chef to have been invited to present a meal at what is a highly prestigious event in the food calendar – I only wish I could have been there.

You can see below just what I missed (or read what Katrina had to say about being there).

The Oxford Symposium banquet menu

And finally, on the assumption that you may not have been invited to any Irish banquets lately, here’s how you can create a little taste of Ireland at home…

It was one of those moments when you try something new and you know what the joy of good food is.

So said resident sis after we had practically inhaled a lunch of mildly sweet and delicate gravad lax from Kinvara Smoked Salmon (proving that you don’t have to be famous to get quoted on this blog, but it does help if you’re related).

She’s in good company as far as her opinion of Kinvara’s smoked salmon goes. Nigel Slater and Jeffrey Steingarten are among the noteworthy food writers who have had kind words to say on that particular subject. Having worked my way through the samples very kindly sent to me, I can’t say that I would object to finding any of them on my plate (though the gravad lax remains a particular favourite).

Pressies from Kinvara Smoked Salmon

And though it is fair to say that you should do very little to good smoked salmon except eat it, I think that there’s nothing wrong with using some classic potato salad to provide a soft, creamy filling around which to wrap a slice of perfectly smoked salmon. But there again, I would say that. You can quote me if you like.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Smoked Salmon Stuffed with Potato Salad

This part hardly needs a formal recipe – just wrap your slices of salmon around a dollop of potato salad, serve with a wedge of lemon and some dill and you’re done. Apart from eating the end result, that is, but I was taking that part as read.

The amount of filling you can add to a slice of salmon will naturally depend on the size of the slices you have. The slices of Kinvara smoked salmon were around 15cm long and between 5cm and 8cm wide and I filled them with 2 heaped tablespoons of the salad. Adjust according to the size of slices you have.

You could serve a couple of these as a starter, say, or for a lunch serving, have two or three of these with an additional helping of the salad on the side, along with some brown soda bread.

You’ll need:

• Smoked salmon, sliced fairly thinly, with individual slices large enough to be formed into a small filled roll
• Potato and egg salad (see below)
• Lemon wedges to serve
• Chopped dill to garnish

The Steps:

• Scoop around 2 heaped tblsp of potato salad onto the centre of each slice of smoked salmon and form into a roll.
• Garnished with chopped dill and serve with a lemon wedge.

The Results:

• As many filled smoked salmon rolls as you have slices of salmon.