I would like to blame jet lag as the reason I didn't really post last week, but it was really down to pure laziness! But I'm back and that's what really counts. Saturday gave us the last sun, Ireland will probably see for the next 7 months, so we made the most of it and had a lovely salad on the balcony, which was actually the first time we have used it since we moved in!
I made a lovely salad with a dressing that I just had to share here!
Classic Dijon Balsamic Dressing
1/4 Cup of Olive Oil
3/4 Cup of Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard
1 Clove of crushed Garlic
A good pinch of Sea Salt and Black Pepper
I used to have a handy little plastic dressing mixer, but it's gone walking so if you don't have one like me, just place all the ingredients in a small glass cover tightly with some cling film and give it a good shake. It's ready to serve or you can store it in the fridge!
It can really bring out the flavours in a plain old salad and put a SMILE ON YOUR FACE!
You may have noticed there has been a serious lack of recipes around here lately, but I want you too see that as a good thing! The good news is that behind the scenes I have started work on my new book, so right now that's the main focus and everything else is kind of on the back burner at minute! Hopefully very soon I'll be able to reveal a lot of really exciting news about the book and some other VERY exciting projects coming up. I will do my best to keep the recipes coming but for now here's a really great little summer dish! Enjoy!
Zingy Purple Potato Salad When people think of potato salads in Ireland, heavy mayonaisse laden over boiled potatoes come to mind, but I'm here to change all that! This potato salad is light, bright breezy and packed full of zingy flavours! There is nothing better than great veggies being shown off at their best with a really simple recipe! While most good vegetable shops have them from time to time, t these purple potatoes can be tricky to come across and while not essential for this recipe, they really add great colour to the dish! If you can't get your hand on them, normal baby potatoes will do just fine. This dressing is a great compliment to any steamed or boiled vegetables like asparagus or garden peas!
Serves 4 750g of baby potatoes (mix of purple and white) 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil Juice of 1/2 a lemon 1 garlic clove, finely minced 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard 3 spring onions, finely chopped A handful of dill and basil, roughly chopped A generous pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
Place the potatoes in a pot of cold water, cover, place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Simmer until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Drain the potatoes and slice in half lengthways. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the dressing. Whisk together the vinegar, oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, spring onions, and herbs. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Pour the dressing over the cooked potatoes and gently toss, until everything is combined. Serve straightaway!
One of the most exciting things about Foodstock was getting to show of some really fantastic quality Irish products, and it wasn’t really until I actually arrived in Paris that I realised the importance of this. Myself and Raphael spoke about organising what he called a “Dégustation” so that everybody at Le Fooding could sample the dishes we would be serving up. When we arrived at the hotel we met with the lovely Constance who would be tasting the dishes along with two of her colleagues from the magazine to give us the green light. It was only after I served up the Kelly’s of Newport Black Pudding and Cashel Blue Cheese salad that I realised how specifically Irish these products really are and just how distinctive the flavours were. I have to say with the initial reaction I was really proud, not just to be serving up a salad that went down well, but also to a certain extent that I could claim these fantastic ingredients as my own!
On the night when we served up the salad, I’m pretty sure people were a little bit apprehensive about trying the black pud but when they did the reaction was really great and we had people coming back for seconds! Louise a lovely Danish girl who is living in Paris and working for Le Fooding was overseeing the serving of the food and was on the tables with me all night. There was a system they were using where you could only get a portion in exchange for a coloured ticket. Now anyone who knows me will know that I am colourblind and have trouble differentiating similar colours or different shades which made it extremely hard to be strict with the tickets when it came to serving in the dark! However Louise was on hand with a fantastic sense of Scandinavian organisation covering up for my shoddy ticket skills and making sure things ran smoothly!
If you are Irish, this is a lovely little salad to show off some of our distinctively Irish produce to foreign visitors and if you're not you can always substitute the cheese and the black pudding for something more regional! Let me know your suggestions! :)
Kelly's Of Newport Black Pudding and Cashel Blue Cheese Salad Make sure to prepare everything ahead of time and only assemble with the dressing when you are ready to serve!
Serves 8 280g of Kelly's of Newport black pudding in 1cm slices 120g of mixed baby leaves 80g of Cashel blue cheese broken into chunks 40ml of balsamic dressing
Balsamic dressing (makes 55ml of dressing) 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon of Jameson Whiskey 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard Salt and pepper to taste
Arrange the black pudding slices on a baking tray, and place in an oven at 200oC/Gas Mark 6 for 7-8 minutes. Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. Dress the salad leaves lightly with half the dressing and toss to combine. Arrange the leaves on serving dishes with a slice of black pudding and a little crumbled Cashel blue cheese. Serve with an extra drizzle of dressing.
Since the launch of the book I have been asked to do quite a few kids school demonstrations, and although I was a little apprehensive at first, I have pretty much grown to love them. The amazing thing that I forget about everytime I do a demo, is just how excited they get about food, and not only that, but how much they actually take in, when you speak about food. Today a little guy, around 7 years old, bravely stuck up his hand during the demo, in front of all of his mates and asked me, what was the best healthy substitute for mayonnaise. I was totally taken aback because it just shows that these kids are really thinking about the food that is being cooked! Having grown up learning how to cook from a very early age, I guess I always took that sort of knowledge as granted and to a certain extent it was just a part of normal life for me. After reading recent reports that 1in 5 of Ireland's children are obese, it's quite disturbing to think that these kids with unhealthy diets are growing up without that sort of knowledge. Knowledge which could potentially change their lives and have a dramatic impact on their health both now and in the long run.
From what I can see on the TV and in the press, the problem with kids eating unhealthy diets doesn't lie with the schools, they can only do so much, the problem and the solution lies with the food routines set out by the parents at home. Which is why an emphasis has to be put on teaching those parents who can't cook, the basic meals and cooking habits which will set them up to run a healthy, happy household. I am of course coming to you from the viewpoint of someone who doesn't have kids and I don't mean to get all preachy on you, I know there are time constraints and all sorts of other factors to consider but when you see kids who have such an active interest in food you seriously have to question where the problem actually lies. What do you think?
Food politics aside, I started a brand new weekly food column with Cork based newspaper, The Cork News, a few weeks back and it has been getting a really great response so far! Here is the recipe from today's column!
Garlic and Rosemary Chicken with Roast Cherry Tomato Salad Although I do try to buy as much in season vegetables as possible I just can't resist using cherry tomatoes in this tasty little dish. The good thing about roasting the them is that it brings out the best from even the most tasteless tomatoes. By feeding them with a little sea salt, black pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar you are guaranteed little morsels packed with punchy flavour. It's dishes like this which are really simple and full of flavour that make mealtimes far more enjoyable and take the hassle out of cooking for groups. Feel free to adapt the recipe as you wish, try using different herbs, different salad leaves, just use what you have.
Serves 4 4 chicken breasts 6 cloves of garlic 2-3 sprigs of rosemary 4 tablespoons of olive oil A good pinch of ground black pepper A good pinch of sea salt
For the salad: 4 tablespoons of olive oil 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar A good pinch of ground black pepper A good pinch of sea salt 1 large punnet of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half 120g of rocket leaves 1 small red onion, finaly sliced Shavings of parmesan cheese to serve
In a bowl whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the salad. Add the tomatoes to a large roasting tray cut side up, pour half the dressing over and toss to combine. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Place in an oven at 200oC/Gas Mark 6 for about 35 minutes or until the tomatoes have reduced in size. While the tomatoes are roasting in the oven, in a pestle and mortar or with the back of a knife, crush the garlic cloves with a little sea salt, until you have a fine paste. Remove the leaves from the sprigs of rosemary, and add them with the mushed garlic, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, and chicken breasts to a bowl and allow to marinade while you prepare the rest of the salad ingredients. On a large hot griddle pan, fry the chicken breasts for 3-4 minutes either side, depending on the size, but just make sure they are cooked through. In a large bowl, toss together the rocket, roasted cherry tomatoes, red onion and remaining dressing. Serve alongside the chicken with some shavings of parmesan cheese.
Just when I thought there was a bit of spring in the air, I find myself out de-icing my car windscreen again! I am so ready for the spring to start, I am already dreaming of all the vegetables I'm planning to grow. In anticipation of what I like to think of as the lighter eating months of the year I have been cooking up some really tasty salads. I am particularly proud of this one, as it fits in nicely with my Chinese New Year recipes this week and is really fresh and healthy, so enjoy!
Spicy Sichuan Chicken Salad A lot of Chinese dishes can be heavy going but this spicy Sichuan chicken salad, is light, bright and crisp. To get the best aromatic flavour out of the Sichuan peppercorns, toast them in a hot oven for a few minutes, allow them to cool and grind in a pestle and mortar.
Serves 2 2 chicken breasts 1 tablespoon of soy sauce 1 small thumb sized piece of ginger, grated 1 clove of garlic, minced 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil 4-5 spring onions, sliced finely 1 stick of celery, sliced finely 5 shitake mushrooms, stalks removed and sliced finely ½ cucumber, sliced finely 1 large carrot, sliced finely 1 teaspoon of soy sauce ½ teaspoon of sesame oil 2 teaspoons of lime juice 1 teaspoon of honey ½ teaspoon of ground roasted Sichuan peppercorns ½ teaspoon of sea salt ½ teaspoon of dried chilli flakes Toss the chicken in a bowl with the soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Heat the oil over a medium high heat in a large frying pan and add both chicken breasts. Cook for 3-4 minutes either side or until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan, slice thinly and set aside. Place the chicken slices in a large mixing bowl and toss together with the rest of the ingredients, until everything is evenly coated. Serve the salad in delicious high piles and sprinkle with a little extra Sichuan pepper and sea salt.
Well with the new year well in swing, and the days becoming brighter, I am already starting to get excited about the whole new season of ingredients to play with in the kitchen. I love really light and bright salads and getting back into the garden means being flooded with lots of fresh and tasty veg to make my way through!
There are so many options when it comes to salads, and you can make them as healthy or different as you want. For me it just depends what sort of mood I'm in, but when I'm in a really healthy buzz, I absolutely love using as many fantastic healthy ingredients I can get my hands on.
I don't know if you have come across a brilliant little food company called Good4U foods in the supermarket, but they produce a load of really healthy ingredients that are so easy to incorporate into salads. I originally thought the company was UK based because of their web address, but last year I got an email from the lovely Laura Butler who started the company with her mum Bernie in Limerick. I was thrilled to hear they were Irish based which gives me even more reason to rave about them. Their full range of products include, alfalfa shoots, brocco shoots, sunflower shoots, and a whole host of seeds which are all perfect for sprinkling over salads! Stay tuned to the blog this week as I have a fab competition coming up from the Good4U folks!
Rocket Power Chicken Superfood Salad As the winter months are thankfully coming to end, I am already starting to look towards more fresh and healthy dishes. Thankfully the days are becoming longer and brighter, now don't get me wrong, I'm all about comfort food, but as we start to look towards the spring nothing beats a really fresh and zingy salad. This Rocket Power Chicken Superfood Salad ticks all the boxes for me, it's perfect for a healthy lunch box, just save the dressing until the last minute. I absolutely love Brocco shoots and Lentil and Bean Shoots from Irish owned health food company Good4U, and they can be found in most supermarkets, perfect for boosting healthy salads! The Good4U range has a whole host of healthy ingredients which include, alfalfa shoots,
Serves 2 100g bulgar wheat 170ml boiling water A drizzle of olive oil 2 chicken breasts A little black pepper 25g brocco shoots 60g lentil and bean shoots 150g soy beans 30g spinach leaves 30g rocket leaves
For the dressing: 2 tablespoons of lemon juice 1 tablespoon of natural yoghurt 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil 1/2 teaspoon of English dried mustard A good pinch of sea salt and black pepper
Place the bulgar wheat in a bowl with the boiling water and cover with cling film. The bulgar wheat will cook in the water while you can get on with the rest of the salad. Season the chicken breasts with a little black pepper, brush a griddle pan with a little olive oil and cook over a medium high heat for 4-5 minutes either side or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and slice thinly. While the chicken is cooking, cook the soy beans according to the packet, drain and rinse in cold water, set aside. Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing together in a small bowl. In a large bowl toss the spinach, rocket, brocco shoots, lentil and bean shoots and soy beans with the dressing. Assemble the salad with a layer of bulgar wheat on each plate, top with the salad leaves and shoots and finally place the chicken slices on top and serve!
If you haven't heard of Sally Bee before, and I hadn't up until recently, Sally is a mother of three who at the age of 36, despite a healthy lifestyle, suffered 3 major heart attacks in the space of one week. I'm not even going to go into the amazing story of her recovery, you really just have to read it. "The Secret Ingredient" is a collection of super healthy recipes which don't go over the top and features meals which are perfect for family home cooking.
I recently got the opportunity to meet the lovely Sally Bee, and despite our extremely brief encounter she comes across as an extremely vibrant and fun individual and when I remarked on her incredible story, joked and feigned heart pains! This is one of the fantastic recipes from her book, "The Secret Ingredient" which is out on Thursday 21st of January and can be ordered online via Amazon.
Prawn, Avocado and Pecan Herb Salad
You know, salads don't have to be boring. This dish is full of flavour! You can serve it as a main meal or smaller portions for a healthy starter. If you don't like prawns, you can substitute with chicken; anything goes, really. Be adventurous with your salads and make this a regular, everyday dish. Prawns give great texture and flavour to this recipe, but they do contain cholesterol,so I have allowed only four prawns per serving. If you want to make it more substantial, you can add extra protein: such as tuna, chicken or turkey.
Serves 2 Drizzle of olive oil 2 salad onions or spring onions (scallions),peeled and finely chopped 1 garlic clove,peeled and crushed 1 tbsp soy sauce Freshly ground black pepper 8 uncooked king prawns (jumbo shrimp) Mixed salad leaves Watercress 1 ripe avocado 2 tomatoes, sliced Juice of 1 lemon Handful of fresh basil, torn Handful of shelled pecan nuts
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped salad onions, crushed garlic, soy sauce, black pepper and raw prawns. Sauté until the prawns have turned pink all the way through. Arrange the salad leaves, watercress, avocado and tomatoes in a big dish, then pour over the prawns and other cooked ingredients. Squeeze over the lemon juice, sprinkle with torn basil and pecan nuts and serve.
I first tried this salad as a kid, and back then I was never really convinced on the addition of pears. Even going as far as insisting on the pears having to be picked out, but then again I was a pretty, particular, little brat! I guess you could say, my palate has slightly expanded since then, and I can truly say that I now appreciate this punchy flavour combination. We had this with barbequed mackerel for dinner on Sunday and I'm not sure about the combination, but this salad really stands strong alongside whatever dish you choose to serve it with.
Rocket, Pear, Parmesan and Pine Nut Salad Toast the pine nuts in frying pan for a minute or so until they turn a nice golden brown. Make sure to keep your eye on them as nuts cook really quickly, I can't tell you how many times I've burnt a pan of nuts and I still haven't learned my lesson!
Serves 4 120g of rocket 2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced wafer thin. A good handful of parmesan shavings 50g of pine nuts, toasted
Dressing: 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar 1 clove of garlic, minced A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
In a large salad bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the rocket and toss in the dressing until evenly coated. Scatter the toasted pine nuts, parmesan shavings and pear slices on top of the rocket. Serve straight away and enjoy!
We've had a pretty bad summer here in Ireland weather wise, and I had high hopes for lots of lovely summer evening BBQ's with some tasty salads. Instead I have had to settle with eating out whenever it's been dry for more than 30 minutes and dragging a full table setting in out of the rain on more than one occassion. However we still have the whole of August to go so fingers crossed for that perfect summer evening! I have one more recipe from our little bank holiday break and few more photos too, enjoy! This was the view from our table while we ate this salad:
Spinach and Cherry Tomato Salad If you don't have avocado oil, don't worry, just use some good quality extra virgin olive oil. As I mentioned in a previous post I picked up some recently and it tastes great, plus it's super healthy, so if you can get your hands on some try it out!
Serves 4 3 large handfuls of spinach 2 large handfuls of rocket 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half 3 tablespoons of avocado oil 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon of English mustard 1 clove of garlic, finely minced A good pinch of sea salt and black pepper
Add the oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, garlic, sea salt and black pepper to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the tomatoes, spinach, and rocket to the bowl and toss until all the leaves are coated in the tasty dressing. Serve straight away. You could also make the dressing ahead of time and keep in the fridge.
We (Industry) just started our radio tour for our brand new single, "Burn" which is due for release on the 21st of August, so we have been travelling all over Ireland visiting all the radio stations. It is quite hard going, early mornings and late nights, but after the last single going to number 1, it's well worth it! The one thing I have been finding difficult is eating on the road. Unless you plan ahead you are at the mercy of petrol stations at the side of the road where the choice ranges from a hot deli counter to plastic wrapped sambos- not really my cup of tea!
My quick solution is to make my own healthy salads, and somehow I got roped into making one each for the other three! Now I say roped, but really I offered and totally enjoy making them, plus I have this thing for praise... Anyway, this is the favourite salad so far and I can see why, it's pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself! Try it out, give it a whirl, let me know how you get on!
Asian Teriyaki Chicken Salad
I make this salad to go, if you want to do the same, keep the dressing separate and add it when you are ready to eat.
Serves 4 4 chicken breasts 4 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 1 small Chinese cabbage, finely chopped in shreds A large handful of sugar snap peas, finely sliced 2 red peppers, sliced finely 1 red onion, sliced finely 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
For the dressing: 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil 1 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce Juice of 1 lime 1 clove of garlic, finely minced ½ a thumbsized piece of ginger, finely minced
Combine the teriyaki sauce and garlic in a bowl and add the chicken breasts. Toss to combine, cover and then place in fridge while you chop the salad ingredients Heat a griddle pan over a medium heat with a little oil and fry the chicken breasts for 4-5 minutes either side or until hey are cooked through. Remove the breasts from the pan set on a chopping board to cool. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the salad dressing. Add the Chinese cabbage, red peppers, red onion and snow peas to the bowl. Toss until the vegetables are nicely coated with the dressing. Serve the salad in large deep dishes and sprinkle with a little shredded coriander. Slice the chicken thinly and arrange on top of the vegetables. Serve straight away.
I have to admit that I am a little bit obssessed with bulgar wheat at the moment, which is probably why you're getting a second recipe using it here in two weeks. I have already raved about it's health benifits, but have I mentioned it is so easy to make, and goes with practically everything? Well maybe not everything, but it still is one of my favourite ingredients! Have you tried it yet?
Mediterranean Roast Vegetables with Bulgar Wheat Roast vegetables are delicious enough to be eaten on their own with just a little sea salt, but pair them up with some bulgar wheat and you have the makings a really delicious meal. You can use any roast veg here really, stuff like carrots, beetroot, or asparagus all work, but I really love the combination of aubergine, courgettes, red onion, and red pepper.
Serves 4-5 generous portions. 200g of bulgar wheat. 1 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon powder. 1 aubergine chopped into bitesize chunks. 2 courgettes chopped into bitesize chunks. 2 red onions chopped into bitesize chunks. 1 red pepper chopped into bitesize chunks. 2 tablespoons of olive oil. A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper.
Place the bulgar wheat in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Stir through the vegetable bouillon powder, cover with a cloth or cling film and allow to sit for about 30 minutes or until all the water is soaked up. Preheat the oven to 200oC. Add all the prepared vegetables to a large bowl and toss with the oil, sea salt and black pepper. Arrange the vegetables on a large non-stick low sided roasting tray, making sure not to overcrowd it, as this will make the vegetable pieces become soft. Place the roasting tray in the oven for approximately 40 minutes or until the vegetables become slightly scorched on the edges. Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool. Add the roast vegetable pieces to the bulgar wheat and stir gently to combine. You may want to season with a little extra sea salt and black pepper at this point. Serve the bulgar wheat as tasty side dish or a super lunch box filler.
I have a huge respect for the way people in Sweden view food. There is a major emphasis on eating well from a young age and also making the time to eat. While I worked as a chef in Gothenberg one of things that I was always impressed with was how, when lunch time rolled around, everything stopped and everybody working, from the kitchen porter to the restaurant manager, sat to eat a meal cooked by the head chef. The meals we ate were not just sloppy seconds, they were well thought out, healthy and delicious.
I've seen a similar emphasis on eating well being set in Swedish schools also, with fresh and healthy meals being produced for kids on a daily basis. When I went to school we were constantly served processed food with very few healthy options. I am aware that in Ireland many schemes have been introduced to teach kids about healthy options but it still does not seem to have a deep impact. In a world where we have more knowledge about food and it effects on the body than ever before, from what I can see our younger generations aren't easily provided with healthy wholesome meals as standard. It can't be hard to achieve and with with some simple planning this sort of eating can easily become common place. What do you think? How do schools in other countries approach healthy eating?
Swedish Cabbage Salad In Sweden it is quite common for restaurants to provide diners with a salad buffet table to accompany any main meals ordered. This tangy salad is quite common and is one of my favourite Swedish side dishes.
Makes about 6-8 portions. 500g of Dutch Cabbage (About half a head of cabbage). 100ml of rapeseed oil. 4 tablespoons of malt vinegar. 1 tablespoon of sea salt. 3 tablespoons of ground black pepper.
Prepare the cabbage by slicing into thin pieces and add to a large mixing bowl. Add the rapeseed oil, vinegar, sea salt and ground pepper. Mix the cabbage until all the ingredients are combined. Taste a piece of cabbage, you may want to add another spoonful of vinegar or perhaps a little more black pepper. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge. It's best to leave the salad for at least an hour or two or even over night. Serve cool as a tasty, healthy side dish.
Originally a middle eastern ingredient bulgar wheat is made from cracked wheat kernels. It's an excellent store cupboard ingredient which is highly nutritious and can be stored for long periods of time. This wholegrain product is packed with fiber and protein, but is low in calories, plus it's so easy to make. If you have never tried it before I would describe it as mix between couscous and brown rice.
Bulgarwheat Chicken Rocket and Parsley Salad This sort of recipe is perfect for entertaining, it can easily be made the night before and stored in the fridge.
Serves 4-6 people. 200g bulgar wheat. 1 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon powder. 3 chicken breasts. A large handful of parsley, roughly chopped. A large handful of rocket, roughly chopped. 400g tin of chickpeas, drained and roughly chopped. 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper.
Place the bulgar wheat in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Stir through the vegetable bouillon powder, cover with cloth or a cling film and allow to sit for about 30 minutes or until all the water is soaked up. Brush the chicken breasts with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Heat a griddle pan over a high heat and just before it begins smoking add the chicken breasts. Reduce the heat slightly and cook on both sides for approximately 6-7 minutes either side depending on the size of the chicken breasts. Remove the chicken from the pan and roughly chop into bitesize pieces. Add the chicken, parsley and rocket to the bulgar wheat and stir through to combine. Season with a good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper and stir through the remaining olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy!
I have a notebook full of all my great ideas for Christmas posts for the blog, which will just have to wait until next year. For those of you who don't know where I have been for the last month and a bit, I have been playing Peter Pan in the Tivoli Theatre panto! Two shows a day for over a month has meant that there has been no time for the blog unfortunately. I had my first proper day off last Monday but stayed in bed all day, but I was up with and with it today so I finally got around to some cooking!
I have been living on this salad from The Food Room in Clontarf over the last few weeks, so I thought I would recreate it here! It's really delicious and full of healthy ingredients, plus it's so easy to make!
Broccoli Feta and Cherry Tomato Salad
1 large head of broccoli, chopped into bite size pieces.
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes. (250g)
1 packet of ready chopped pancetta or bacon.
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
A good pinch of ground black pepper.
A good handful of crumbled feta cheese.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. While the water is boiling, combine the olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a serving bowl. Add the broccoli to the pot of water and blanch for 60 seconds, you should see the broccoli turn a vibrant green. Drain the broccoli pieces and run under cold water. Add the broccoli to the serving bowl and set aside.
Place a small frying pan over a high heat and fry the bacon pieces until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan, place on on some kitchen paper and allow to cool before adding to the rest of salad. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and tumble in to the bowl on top of the broccoli. Add the bacon pieces and feta cheese to the serving bowl. Gently toss all the ingredients in the dressing and season with black pepper. Serve as a tasty side dish or a really tasty lunch. You can also add walnuts or pine nuts for an extra crunch!
And I know it's a bit cheeky having not posted for a few weeks but here's a shameless plug to remind you, if you like the good mood food blog, you can nominate it for the Irish Blog Awards here!
What is it with caterers who seem to think the only solution to feeding a large amount of people means sticking everything in a deep fat fryer? Recently I have been to more than 3 events which have resorted to battered chicken nuggets, onion rings, and cocktail sausages! Now I'm not going to completely condemn them as I did have a quick nibble, as most people do, but I would far rather some simple, fresh finger food with healthy ingredients which don't rely on a vat of boiling fat to make them look pretty!
This little antipasto salad is my simple solution to any pre dinner nibbles. Three tasty ingredients combined to make a delicious little starter which can be thrown together in no time at all. Best of all it looks so damn good your guests will think you went to a whole lot of bother! To be honest this is more of a sit down affair, but if you did want to transform this dish into proper finger food, simply toast some small slices of bread, spread with a little pesto, wrap a few rocket leaves, wafers of parmesan cheese and crushed olives in some parma ham slices, place on the pesto toast and hold together with a cocktail stick.
Simple Antipasto Salad This is a great base for any salad so feel free to throw in some lovely extras if you so wish. Things like toasted pine nuts, garlic croutons, and sun dried tomatoes would all work great in this. If you buy olives unpitted, simply crush them with the back of a knife and remove the stone with your fingers.
3 large handfuls of rocket leaves. (Arugula) Half of a 100g jar of green olives (pitted). 1 packet of parma ham slices. 1 Large handful of wafer thin parmesan cheese slices. 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. A small pinch of ground black pepper.
The method for this one is so easy- Simply mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently. Tumble the salad onto a large serving dish and serve. Make sure to provide lots of crusty bread to eat alongside and enjoy!
Sorry to leave you hanging on the recipe front, I really got into writing the book last week, so it's left the blog a little quiet. But I haven't been far, I've been keeping up to date with the world of food blogging and beyond.
I recently got a message from John Maguire who has set up a great little forum for all things Food in Ireland, at www.askaboutfood.ie. Take a look at the site- lots of interesting topics.
Eoghan and Nathalie at CasaCaseyCourtney have announced they will be food blogging, and I'm looking forward to it, because they already have a great eye for pictures!
A special congrats to Kate at LidlTreats who has exploded on to the blogging scene and has even made the National Evening News! Brilliant stuff!
But now, back to our scheduled programming, I have a recipe! After writing out a grand menu plan for the week in order to keep things running smoothly, three days later it has gone to pieces and I haven't cooked one of the meals from it! But I'm not too disappointed, because in an attempt to save an Avocado from becoming over ripe, I came up with a tasty little salad.
Even my just about overripe Avocado, is one of the true underrated super foods- It's packed with essential fatty acids, Vitamin K and antioxidants- it also makes a lovely face mask! (But you didn't hear that from me...) Radish's are often linked to aiding digestive problems and are beneficial for the teeth and gum's- So overall this salad is packed with nutrition and is a perfect Good Mood Food recipe!
Enjoy! (In case your wondering, those are pea shoots on top of the salad.)
Balsamic Chicken with Avocado and Radish Salad (Serves 2)
2 Free Range Chicken Breasts.
1 Avocado.
6 Baby Radishes.
A Large Handful of Oak Leaf Lettuce Leaves.
1 Red Onion, cut in half and sliced wafer thin.
1 Small Garlic Clove, Peeled and Minced.
1 Teaspoon of Wholegrain Mustard.
2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar.
6 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
The Juice of Half A Lemon.
A Good Pinch Of Coarse Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Peppercorns.
If you have the time to marinade the chicken breasts overnight, by all means go ahead. Remove any fat (or "icky bits" as I've heard them reffered to in my kitchen) from the breasts and place in a zip loc baggy. Pour in 1 Tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar, 3 Tablespoons of EV Olive Oil, the Juice of half a Lemon, and a pinch of Black Pepper, seal and give a good shake! In a jar, bowl, or whatever you want to make your dressing in, combine, 1 Tablespoon of Balsamic Vinegar, 3 Tablespoons of EV Olive Oil, Garlic, Wholegrain Mustard, and a pinch of Sea Salt. Whisk or shake to combine, set aside and prepare the salad. Place a good handful of lettuce leaves on each plate, and scatter with the red onion. Slice the Avocado in half and remove the stone, spoon out the green flesh and slice into thin strips, arrange on top of the salad. Cut the baby Radishes into quarters and place on the outside of the plate. Heat a large frying pan (I would use a griddle pan if I had one!) till just before it begins smoking and place the breasts on, you shouldn't need any extra oil as Olive Oil is used in the marinade. Cook for approx 4-5 Minutes either side, remove from the heat, let it rest (if you can wait...) and slice into thin strips. Arrange on top of the avocado and using a spoon dribble the dressing over the salad.
You know one of those days where everything seems to be a little bit off center? The days where everything just doesn't go as planned? Well yesterday was definitely one of those days, it started off with a phone call from my dear old mammy, claiming she couldn't find her booking on Ryanair and wanted help to locate it. Being the ever accommodating son, I spent the next forty minutes, trying every combination of reference number, credit card number, and email to try and retrieve it from the Ryanair website to absolutely no avail.
I eventually gave up after the website told me I had too many unsuccessful login attempts, and gave her a call to inform her of this. But was she bothered? No! And let me tell you why- during the time I was banging my head against the computer screen, she had gone back too her notes and realised that her booking was with, wait for it.... AER LINGUS!!! You see this is what I have to deal with! Anyone else out there with parents suffering from technical difficulties? I'm sure there are!
(Sorry Mammy...)
As I arrived home, I went to get the lift up to the apartment, but the electricity seemed to be on half voltage, so it wasn't working. Got up to the apartment, NO WATER AND NO ELECTRICITY! That was my grand plan for baked Mackerel in tinfoil out the window. But the panic of the blackout seemed to have gotten to poor little Sofie, who develops a serious problem when she is hungry- she looses the ability to think rationally and until she gets food, goes into severe depression. So we needed food fast, and despite all my cold food suggestions- we had to eat out!
After a lovely meal at the Orangerie in Malahide (always order the specials), we got home and went to get the lift up, which still wasn't working. I had given my security key for the outside doors to our visitor, so I didn't have one on my bunch, which meant disaster struck one more time, when we realised no one else had their keys with them, which resulted in standing outside until someone came out!
It was definitely one of those days...
That's my little rant over for now, sorry to put all of that on you! To make up for it, here is a really handy little dressing to make when you're short on ingredients and time.
Quick Mayo Caesar Style Dressing
2 Tbsp of Mayonnaise.
1 Tsp of English Mustard Powder.
1 Tsp of Worcester Sauce.
Juice of Half a Lemon.
1 Clove of Garlic Finely Minced.
A Good Pinch of Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper.
I make all my dressing in jam jars, as they are easy to give a good shake in and will keep in the fridge. Dollop the Mayo into the jar, followed by the Mustard Powder, Worcester Sauce, Lemon Juice, Garlic, Salt and Pepper. Put the lid on top, close tightly and shake the bejesus out of it. Drizzle over some freshly tossed Salad leaves and top with some Freshly Grated Parmesan and some croutons if you have some hanging about. Dig in!
Unfortunately, the convenience of picking up a pre-washed bag of designer salad leaves has quickly become common place in our modern lives. In fact in 2005, the bagged salad market was growing at 7 percent a year and was estimated to be worth over 1.2 billion dollars a year in the US. However success stories aside, the gases and chemicals sometimes used in the production of these bags, add unnecessary toxins which our bodies can seriously do without. A normal salad leaf will last about 4-5 days in the fridge where as some of these cut salad leaves can keep on looking fresh for a whopping 10 days! That just can't be right!
There is nothing more satisfying than preparing your own salad leaves which you know were produced locally. It's a much greener kitchen practice, and it tastes so much better. I actually got the idea to write a post about this because Sofie had never seen anyone washing salad leaves before me, (she has led a very sheltered life in Sweden ;) and thought maybe there were a few people out there like her who didn't know the easy process to do so.
There are so many exciting salad leaves you can choose from, so be adventurous, it'll make the difference when it comes to plating up! Here's my quick and simple steps to preparing salad:
Fill your sink with cold water.
Remove any packadging from your Salad and cut out the core or seperate the leaves from the stem.
Submerge the leaves in the water and give them a good swill, allow to sit for about 10 mins. (This will allow dirt to settle to the bottom, and the cold water will bring wilted leaves back to life.)
Take a handful of leaves out of the water at a time and spin in a salad spinner until they are completely dry. (Salad Spinners can be picked up relatively cheap, I got mine for 5 Euro. Moisture is not your friend here as it will shorten the life of the stored leaves, so make sure they're dry.)
Store the leaves swaddled in a dry tea towel, or in an airtight zipper bag, in the bottom crisper drawer of your fridge . The leaves will last anywhere between 4-6 days depending on the leaf.
And that's it, about 25 mins work for healthy salad all week long. It's so worth it, and once you start, you will never go back to soggy bags of chlorinated leaves again!
I would like to blame jet lag as the reason I didn't really post last week, but it was really down to pure laziness! But I'm back and that's what really counts. Saturday gave us the last sun, Ireland will probably see for the next 7 months, so we made the most of it and had a lovely salad on the balcony, which was actually the first time we have used it since we moved in!
I made a lovely salad with a dressing that I just had to share here!
Classic Dijon Balsamic Dressing
1/4 Cup of Olive Oil
3/4 Cup of Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard
1 Clove of crushed Garlic
A good pinch of Sea Salt and Black Pepper
I used to have a handy little plastic dressing mixer, but it's gone walking so if you don't have one like me, just place all the ingredients in a small glass cover tightly with some cling film and give it a good shake. It's ready to serve or you can store it in the fridge!
It can really bring out the flavours in a plain old salad and put a SMILE ON YOUR FACE!
Cookes Restaurant,14 South William Street , Dublin, Ireland
A quality restaurant, very tasty and inventive food.
We went out for dinner in Dublin on Thursday evening, to celebrate Sofie getting a job! We hadn't booked anywhere so we ended up going for a bit of a walk to find a place we both liked!
After a walk down South William St, up Georges St, and through Georges St. Arcade we ended up stumbling into Cookes, who were offering a set menu of, starter and main course for €21.95, probably the best priced set menu for it's class we came across that evening.
Unlike my last meal in town, the waiting staff were extremely professional and very attentive. I was asked three times if I was finished my starter but in general they paced the courses quite well, leaving time to digest and have a good chat!
For a starter I had a Caesar salad, and Sofie ordered a Beef Carpaccio with rocket. The Caesar salad was very tasty but lacked croutons and had just that bit too much cheese. Sofie's Carpaccio was excellent, a perfect balance of taste and texture. For me the perfect dish is one that has a variety flavours that combine to become the perfect mouthful!
For mains, in a bit of turning of the tables Sofie went for the Caesar salad, and I chose the Duck Confit with Beans. The salad was standard again with the same criticism, however the duck was very tasty, I felt that the beans could have been stewed a little longer in the sauce as they were still a bit hard and didn't really compliment the texture of the dish.
All in all the meal was really enjoyable and perfect for an early meal out. I would definitely recommend Cookes, it definitely has a feel for food.
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