We Love Cooking! [Search results for rice] 

Earlier this year while the frost was still on the ground in Gothenberg, we went to Gunnebo slot, a castle and gardens just outside the city. The castle is famous for it's large gardens which provide the restaurant on the grounds, with an abundance of fresh produce throughout the year. The restaurant, Kaffehus och Krug, which serves lunch daily, has won many awards for its excellent standard of food and its menu which changes every week with different specials every day.

Buffet's are quite common for lunch in Swedish restaurants but Kaffehus och Krug have a particulary interesting selection of food. Homemade breads, desserts, and salads are all on the menu, and they also have a great emphasis on healthy fresh ingredients.

I was thrilled to see that the castle has its on blog which focuses on the progress of the gardens throughout the year. It seems a lot of work has been done since our visit, so check out the blog to see some great pics of the gardens and the vegetable patch. We are heading over to Gothenberg next week and I am really looking forward to seeing the gardens for myself, it might give me a bit of inspiration for my own little vegetable garden!

Saffrans Pankkakor (Saffron Pancake)

Recipe from "Swedish Homecooking" by Catarina Lundgren Astrom and Peter Astrom.
I'm told this is a traditional Swedish recipe from one of largest islands off the coast of Sweden. It's an extremely distinctive dessert, full of flavour which is definitely worth a try.

60g of Japanese rice.
240ml of water.
1/4 teaspoon of salt.
480ml of whole milk.
120ml of cream.
2 tablespoon of sugar.
1/2 teaspoon of saffron.
4 eggs.
50g blanched almonds.

Boil the rice with the water and salt in a covered saucepan until the water is absorbed.
Add the milk and cream and let the rice mixture simmer over a low heat until soft, about 30-40 minutes. Stir every now and then so it doesn't catch at the bottom. You may need to add a little extra milk if needed.
Let the mixture cool a little. Stir in the sugar and the saffron. Preheat the oven to 220oC. Add the eggs to the rice, one at a time. Then add the almonds. Pour the rice mixture into a buttered oven-proof dish.
Bake on the lowest rack of the oven for approx. 30 minutes. Serve the saffron pancake lightly cooled, with whipped cream and blackberry jam.

If you ever find yourself in Gothenberg definitely give the place a visit. For more info check out:

www.gunneboslott.se
www.gunneboslott.wordpress.com

Last month we stayed at Grouse Lodge, (the recording studios Michael Jackson used while he stayed in Ireland, don't you know!) to record Industry's new material which will be released in the UK. Now, when I'm "on the road" with the band I am usually fairly starved for foodie delights, however the lovely folks who own Grouse prepare the most amazing homecooked food! Not only that but they also have their own apple orchard, vegetable garden, and even a giant pumpkin patch. Not to mention the ducks and chickens which roam around keeping an eye on everything!

As you can imagine, I was fairly excited and spent every opportunity out taking pictures of the amazing garden! We had breakfast, lunch and dinner all freshly prepared, but one of my favourite meals was the delicious risotto which made a really tasty lunch. This is my version of it!

Pumpkin and Crispy Pancetta Risotto

I absolutely love this recipe, it is a real cosy dish, which leaves you full, satisfied and warm. Risotto may seem a little tricky, but it's just a case of giving it your full attention and slowly incorporating the liquid, so give it a go! If you can't get your hands on pancetta slices, use smoked streaky bacon.

Serves 4
850g pumpkin, cut into slices
A few fresh sage leaves
3 garlic cloves, roughly sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
8 slices of pancetta
1 litre of chicken stock
150g butter
1 red onion, finely chopped
300g risotto rice
75ml white wine
150g parmesan freshly grated
A good pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 220oC/425oF/Gas Mark 7.
Peel and gut the pumpkin and cut into slices. Make sure to save the seeds they are super tasty roasted with a little butter and sea salt.
Place the pumpkin on a roasting tray with the garlic, sage, salt and pepper, toss together.
Cover with tin foil and bake until soft for about 50 minutes.
10 minutes before the pumpkin is ready remove from the oven, lay the pancetta over the pumpkin and place bake in the oven till crisp.
Melt 75g of the butter and the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the onion until soft for about 15 minutes.
Add the rice and off the heat stir through until it is totally coated with the onion mix.
Return to the heat, add enough stock to cover the rice and simmer stirring until the rice has absorbed nearly all the liquid.
Continue to add a little more stock at a time until it is all absorbed. This should take about 15 minutes, until the rice has a creamy coating.
Add the remaining butter, roast pumpkin, white wine, garlic and parmesan. Gently stir though.
Serve immediately.

I always had a sweet tooth growing up and it hasn't helped that I now am a bit of a demon in the kitchen when it comes to baking sweet things. My theory is that if you're going to go to the bother of baking, you might as well make a big batch of whatever you're cooking up. Now whether you share your baking creations or scoff them in a corner rocking by yourself, well that's entirely up to you! I try and balance all my baking and sweet stuff out with lots of healthy food too, so in mind it all balances out just perfectly. While I do very much enjoy spending time beating sugar into butter, whisking eggs into stiff foamy peaks, and icing cupcakes, sometimes, yes sometimes folks, it all comes down to little more than rice crispy buns. To be honest, I'm not ashamed to say it, there is an incredible sense of satisfaction to melting chocolate and then pouring it over crisped grains of rice, placing in paper cases, popping them in the fridge, licking the spoon (and the bowl if you maneuver yourself correctly!), and gorging on the buns when they are set! I decided recently to go one better and take the simplicity of rice crispy buns and combining them with the American sweetness of rocky road cookies, and "hey presto!", my very delicious Crunchie Rocky Road Buns!

Crunchie Rocky Road Buns
Okay, so you've gotten past Rice Krispie buns; well, these Rocky Road Buns are the next step up in deliciousness. Packed with lots of goodies, these little babies will give you that quick hit of sugar you crave. They're easily thrown together in a matter of minutes with ingredients that can be found in the store cupboard. I picked up a very cute pack of 'mini mini marshmallows' to decorate the top of mine.

Makes 12 big buns
150g digestive biscuits, roughly bashed so you have nice chunks
200g mini marshmallows, or large ones chopped up
4 Crunchie bars, chopped into chunks
250g chocolate (milk or dark)
3 tbsps butter

In a large bowl combine the digestive biscuits, marshmallows and Crunchie bar chunks and set aside.
Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and sit over a pan of simmering water and stir until melted. You can also do this in the microwave -- just keep your eye on it and don't forget to stir halfway through.
You ideally want the chocolate to be glossy and smooth.
Pour the chocolate and butter over the biscuits, marshmallows and Crunchie chunks and, using a wooden spoon, stir until everything is nicely coated.
Place heaped spoonfuls into paper cases and place in the fridge to firm up for about 30 minutes.
You can also turn the mixture out on to a baking tray and spread it evenly, then slice them up into squares when they are set, but the paper cases are far less trouble, with no washing up!

This isn't exactly the most amazingly intricate Chinese dish I have made but I chose to write about it because, if you have all the ingredients it is a very simple, tasty, balanced and healthy meal.

The first time I was introduced to real Chinese cuisine (I'm not talking about the deep fried slop from the local take-away which uncontrollably I am partial to now and again) was during a visit to my Aunt's house where a Chinese friend was giving a cooking demonstration to a group of her friends. I was encouraged to try beef, ginger and scallion, a simple dish which seemed to capture the simplicity of this extensive cuisine.

A short while after this encounter I was taken on a trip to the Asian market in Dublin city, it was then and there I fell in love! The bottles full of strange and foreign ingredients, the cling wrapped chicken paws poking out the sides of freezers, the huge bags of various assortments of rice and noodles were all enough to create great excitement at such a young age.

Now having tried hundreds of recipe's and still exploring new ones, Chinese cuisine has become a staple part of my diet.

Chili Chicken Broccoli Asparagus Noodles

1. 2 Large Chicken Breasts
2. 1 Red Chili chopped finely
3. 1 inch of fresh ginger chopped finely
4. 2 Garlic Cloves chopped finely
5. 2 Tablespoons of Oyster Sauce
6. 1 tablespoon fish sauce
7. 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
8. 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
9. 8 Asparagus Sprigs cut in to bite size pieces
10. 1 Broccoli head cut in to bite size pieces
11. 1 Red Onion cut in half moon pieces
12. A handful of Ho Fan Noodles

Chop the chicken breasts into thin strips and place in a bowl with the chili, oyster sauce, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and half the garlic and ginger. Combine the ingredients and place in the fridge to marinate.

Drizzle the prepared broccoli, asparagus and onion with a little oyster sauce and sesame oil. Fry the garlic and ginger in some oil until brown then add the onions and follow with the rest of the veg. When this is cooked through remove from the pan and place on a plate.

Now add the noodles to the boiling water and stir, they should only take about five minutes, keep checking them and make sure not to overcook. Now fry off the chicken, when it's cooked add the veg and by this time your noodles should be cooked. Drain them and mix with the chicken and veg. Serve immediately!

This was the piece I wrote for my feature in the Irish Independent Weekend Magazine, about the fantastic cookclub I attended recently:

Bright and bubbly Sadhbh McCarthy hosted one of her regular dinner parties as part of her cook club with a celebration of some of her favourite recipes for pals, Brid, Fiona, Karen, Peter and Colm. Sadhbh who works as a European policy advisor, chose her menu which was a hearty mix of cultures, based around a refreshing and aromatic starter of Vietnamese beef and noodle soup, Beef Pho. A dish which she fell in love with on a trip travelling from Ho Chi Minh City to Shanghai and was determined to recreate it when she came home. The soup caused a friendly heated debate as some of the more apprehensive guests were unsure about the addition of red chilli. However the debate quickly dissipated when Sadhbh helped by Peter, presented a glowing platter of hot sizzling Thai Fish Cakes straight from the pan. Originally a Rick Stein recipe, Sadhbh adapted it using her own blend of curry paste and spoke encouragingly about being flexible when cooking Asian dishes as long as you keep the base flavours.

All the ingredients used for the recipes were sourced from the indoor Honest2Goodness farmers market in Glasnevin, run by Sadhbh’s friend Brid Carter. The pair met through a combined love of good food and Brid provided the secret ingredient for a wonderfully tender pork belly and added an extra zing to the dish by using her own blend of 5 spice powder sourced from the market.

Dessert was provided by Sadhbh’s son Jamie, who is training to become a chef in DIT, he made a mouth-watering cheesecake topped with summer berries adapted from a Bill Granger recipe which was accompanied by a smooth berry coulis which cut through the creaminess to add another dimension to the dish. It was a unanimous decision around the table that the addition of Moonshine Organic Cream Cheese from artisan producers Gerry and Mary Kelly in Mullingar set the standard when it came to adding an extra creaminess to the dessert.

Wines were carefully selected by trained sommelier and wine obsessive Colm Carter who works alongside Brid at the market every Saturday. He chose Domaine de l'Amandine Cotes du Rhone 2007 for the starter, a Vina Marro, Crianza 2006 Rioja Doca for the rich pork belly and a fruity Oddero Moscato d'Asti 2007 to go with the cheesecake.

I hadn't intended on interrupting by staying the whole evening, but Sadhbh and her friends fully welcomed me with a glass of wine and in a true case of Irish hospitality I found myself polishing off dessert with a full belly! Sadhbh summed up the fantastic evening by sharing her ethos on her cook club which was to “Cook with love and a desire to share and enjoy the experience”.

Pho Bo – Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup
(from Annabel Jackson’s Street Café Vietnam)

To serve 4
450g fresh flat rice noodles or rice sticks
225g beansprouts (blanched briefly to soften slightly)
8 shallots, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander
225g beef fillet, thinly sliced

For the broth
1.7 litres beef stock or canned beef consommé
115g piece fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
2 sticks cinnamon bark
½ teaspoon coriander seeds
3 pieces star anise
1 teaspoon each caster sugar, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons nuoc mam (Vietnamese equivalent of nam pla (fish sauce)

To serve:
Hoi sin sauce and chilli sauce
2 limes, cut in half
2 fresh red chillies, thinly sliced
Bunch of fresh ngo gai (if available) – this is a Vietnamese herb
Bunch of fresh Thai Basil

To make the broth: bring the stock to boiling point. Add the ginger, cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds and star anise. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the sugar, salt, pepper and fish sauce. Strain the broth and return to the pan. Keep hot over a low heat.
Bring a pan of water to the boil, and warn through fresh noodles or cook rice sticks until al dente. Drain and divide among individual bowls. Add a handful of blanched beansprouts and some shallots and coriander to each bowl and top with the beef (still raw). Ladle the hot broth over the food in the bowl (this will cook the beef slightly).
At the table, each diner can add hoi sin, chilli sauce, lime juice, fresh chilli ngo gai and basil leaves to taste.

- I will be posting the rest of the delicious recipes from the dinner party this week!

So I'm kinda working backwards a little here, but last week was a busy one so there was a LOT to digest (no pun intended!). After Paris I was back in Dublin before I had time to blink, and just in time to help launch the Stop Food Waste campaign on Tuesday with the lovely Rachel Allen and the incredibly talented Kevin Thornton. The campaign highlights the fact that by using our leftovers we can save money and reduce waste.

All the recipes I demonstrated were based around using the leftovers of a roast chicken, which, as a regular on most Sunday dinner menus, always leaves you with a few bits of leftover meat. I always save the chicken carcass and bones in a large resealable bag in the freezer until I have the remains of about three or four; the perfect amount to make a really good chicken stock. The rest I used for a delicious Chicken Caesar Pasta using mayo, Dijon mustard, parmesan and olive oil to make a simple Caesar dressing. It's dishes like these that really make the most of the ingredients that are close to hand. More often than not, they're even tastier than something you'd spend a lot of money on in the supermarket.

My mom was the queen of leftovers so I was brought up making the most of all the ingredients in the house before heading out to buy more. The veggies in the bottom of fridge were made into tasty soups and the leftover meat into sandwiches for school the next day. This chicken and sweetcorn soup is a zingy little way to make the most of leftover chicken pieces and it's absolutely packed with flavour... perfect for the cold snowy evenings we're having at the moment!

Leftover Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup
This super tasty soup has become a classic in our house, it was always requested on sick days home from school. I always find sweetcorn lends a warm and comforting taste to soups and its bright colour puts a smile on my face. Try not to skimp on ingredients for this one, it tastes best when you use the best ingredients – homemade stock and fresh ginger are a must!

Serves 4
Leftovers of half a roast chicken, shredded
1 litre/2 pints of homemade chicken stock
2 x 400g tins sweetcorn
1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
1 large thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
2 eggs lightly beaten
4 spring onions finely sliced diagonally

In a large pot with a little oil, fry the garlic and ginger for about 3 minutes, add the corn and cook for a further 3 minutes.
Add a little bit of the chicken stock and, with a hand blender, blitz the mixture until it becomes smooth.
Add the rest of the chicken stock, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Beat the eggs in a pyrex jug, which will make it easy for you to trickle them into the soup.
Reduce the heat and while the soup is still simmering, stir it continuously in a figure of eight motion and gently trickle in the beaten egg a little bit at a time to form thin strands.
Add the chicken shreds and stir through. Serve with a generous garnish of spring onions.

As I think I mentioned before I am a HUGE fan of Asian cuisine, so I thought I would write a post about the essential ingredients for your very own Asian pantry.

I have been having a terrible time recently when it comes to cooking Asian inspired dishes because my girlfriend is extremely allergic to soya and nuts. Soya is a staple part of Asian cuisine and in many recipe's hard to avoid. However not one to be beaten I have been adapting some of my favourite dishes without the addition of soya, so I will include some of these here in the future with soya as an option.

On to the reason were here, in the ever shrinking world getting your hands on international ingredients has become ever so easy! I would normally have said just pop down to your local Chinese supermarket as this is what I would do in Dublin, but I was living in the north of Ireland for a couple of months recently and asked where the nearest Chinese supermarket was and the answer to which was laughter. There is a great little shop in Dublin that I visit regularly to stock up and it's nuzzled in the back of a building of Georges St. So if you ever get a chance to visit, do!

You can purchase lots of these ingredients in supermarket's now but I like the having the options of more than one brand to choose from.

1. Soy Sauce- A fermented sauce made from soy bean, roasted grain, water, and salt. I was a bit of an addict before my recent situation arose, as it really adds a salty sweet taste to dishes.
2. Chilli Flakes- Made from crushing dried chilli peppers, give a nice spice when added to dishes.
3. Rice Wine Vinegar- A much milder vinegar than the western variety, can be used in most dishes and sauces.
4. Fish Sauce- A sauce brownish in colour and salty in taste. Is often substituted for salt in dishes. It is more common in Thai cooking but I use it all the time.
5. Sesame Oil- Used mainly as a flavour rather than a regular cooking oil as it burns very quickly- has a very distinct nutty flavour.
6. Ginger- An aromatic root of the ginger plant, has a strong fresh flavour. Can be used in stir Fry's soups and marinades.
7. Oyster Sauce- It's name alone tends to put people off, but this sauce doesn't have a strong fishy taste due to the fact the oysters are boiled. It's a very rich sauce with a strong savoury flavour.
8. Lemon Grass- Another strong aromatic flavour here. This herb gives a distinct lemon smell and taste. It can be used in soups and chopped finely into stir fry's.
9. Chinese 5 Spice powder- A seasoning which combines sweet sour bitter savoury and salty all in one. It consists of cinnamon, star anise, ginger, cassia, and cloves.
10. Noodles- I always aim to keep a wide selection of noodles in my press, these include different varieties of Egg noodles, Rice noodles and Wheat Noodles. My best advice on this one is to experiment, it's the only way of finding your own taste.
    

Is it me or has it been a little quiet around here recently? I think I've only just gotten back into the swing of cooking again after my little break. Sofie and I finally made the journey up to IKEA in Belfast over the weekend to get all those essential apartment items after nearly a year. We have been threatening to make the trip, since it opened in December, but it just kept getting put off- but we did it in style and spent a whopping eight hours in the store as if to make up for it!

I know that's a bit mad but we did like 4 sweeps of the place and missed out on very little. I love the kitchen stuff in IKEA, and my favourite thing we got on our shopping trip was this cool little kitchen trolley thing which doubles up as both a storage unit and a work top! I particularly like this because now I can perform a mini cookery show when we have guests over! :) (Pictures coming soon!)

On to the food! I cooked this dish over the weekend as a bit of an experiment and thankfully no plates were left empty so I'm taking thath to be a good sign.

Cajun Salmon and Asian Greens (Serves 2)
For Salmon:
2 Organic Salmon Fillets
1 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. black pepper

For Asian Greens:
Selection of veg diced (Broccoli, Carrot, Asparagus, Red Pepper)
2 Tablespoons of Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon of Nam Pla (Fish Sauce)
1 Teaspoon of Sesame Oil
A pinch of salt

In a large bowl combine the Rice Wine Vinegar, Nam Pla, Sesame Oil and salt, then add the diced veg and mix through. Cover and set aside in the fridge.

Mix the spices for the salmon together. Place the salmon fillets skin side down on a grill plate and sprinkle with the seasoning. Place under a hot grill for approx 7-8 mins.

While the Salmon is under the grill, in a hot frying pan stir fry the diced veg mix until soft.

The Salmon should be cooked by this time, if your worried it isn't cooked through, poke a knife into the centre of the flesh and check if it is still pink- if its is you may want to give it another minute or so under the grill.

When everything is cooked serve on a plate and enjoy!

This is still a fairly experimental dish, but the idea is similar to the duck salad I posted earlier this month, but without the noodles. It's really easy, quick and spicey! If you have a cold this will really clear those sinuses!

Spicy Chicken and Cucumber Salad

1. 2 Chicken Breasts finely sliced
2. Enough flour to coat the chicken slices
3. Salt and Pepper
4. 1/2 Cucumber finely sliced length ways
5. 2 Peppers finely sliced
6. 1 Red Onion finely sliced
7. 6 Radishes finely sliced
8. The juice of 1 Lime
9. 3 tablespoons of Rice Wine Vinegar
10. 1 tablespoon of Fish Sauce
11. 1 Teaspoon of sesame oil
12. 2 Cloves of Garlic very finely chopped
13. Half a red chili very finely chopped
14. Thumb sized piece of ginger peeled and very finely chopped

Wow fourteen that's a lot! STAY WITH ME! Mix the flour with salt and pepper and coat the thinly sliced chicken. Fry them in a very hot pan with vegetable oil until nice and brown, leave to the side.

In a large bowl, combine the lime juice, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, garlic, chili, and ginger. This should be to your taste so add something, subtract something be my guest! Add to the bowl, the cucumber, radish, red onion and red pepper. Mix the all the ingredients together in the spicy dressing.

Serve the spicy cucumber salad with the chicken strips on top and enjoy!

Back in the land of the living, I flew home on Sunday morning after a late night bus across Sweden which left me totally wrecked! The big news this week is that I'm heading over to London to appear on Good Food Channel's "Market Kitchen" and I am so excited! I hope they will let me take a few shots behind the scenes so I can post them here on the blog. So while I'm gearing up for my UK tv debut (hehehe couldn't wait to say that!) here is a recipe which is perfect for everyone who probably headed back to work today, it's a super lunchbox filler from the book and I hope you like it!

Tahini Noodle Toss

This little recipe came about after I ate at the California Pizza Kitchen in America; they served a really tasty crisp salad, with this rich and tasty peanut dressing. I recreated it from taste, adapted it and recently discovered it goes perfectly with noodles. This is another great little lunch box filler as it can be served hot and cold. Tahini is a creamy, yet smoky paste made from sesame seeds and is similar to peanut butter, which you can also use as a substitute. I sometimes add finely shredded raw Chinese cabbage to these noodles for extra crunch. I love this recipe because you basically combine all the wet and dry ingredients just before serving.

Serves 2
250g/9oz wholewheat noodles
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
4 tablespoons of tahini paste
1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
1 tablespoon of soya sauce
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
A good handful of bean sprouts
Toasted sesame seeds
A small handful of coriander, freshly chopped

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet, rinse in cold water and set aside.
In a small saucepan, fry the garlic and chilli for about 30 seconds, then add the soya sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and tahini paste.
Cook over a medium heat until the mixture comes to the boil and, when it does, reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, add the noodles and bean sprouts, toss together with the tahini sauce until mixed through.
Serve in hearty bowls and top with toasted sesame seeds, freshly chopped coriander and thinly sliced spring onions. Time to get those chopsticks out!

This is a great little lunch you can prepare the night before, it's simple fresh, tasty, and can be eaten hot or cold! I've started taking lunch in every day to work so it's become interesting experimenting with what works being bundled in a bowl and reheated!

QUICK STIR FRY LUNCH (Serves two)

1. 2 Cloves of Garlic finely chopped
2. 1 Red Onion cut in half moons
3. 1 Head of Broccoli
4. 2 Red Peppers
5. 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
6. 1 tablespoon fish sauce
7. 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Prepare the veg, finely chop the garlic, slice the red onion into half moons, remove all the florets of broccoli, and slice the peppers horizontally. In a hot wok put about a tablespoon of sunflower oil and fry the garlic for 1 min, add the onion and fry for a further 2 mins, then throw in the Broccoli and peppers and stir with the garlic and onion.

Keep stirring and add the rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, and sesame oil. Serve hot or keep in the fridge for lunch tomorrow!

This is such a tasty, fragrant and fresh dish, I have had the idea for this dish for a while now and eventually got round to cooking it last night. The whole process took about 30 mins and was pretty hassle free. The duck is from Silverhill foods, it's a really great product, it's so handy to have in the freezer and is nice and crispy when cooked.There is nothing more appealing to me in fresh cooked food as combining texture's and this dish has it all, crunchiness from the cucumbers, crispiness from the duck, and softness from the aromatic vermicelli noodles.

This recipe is a perfect example of experimentation in cookery. I had a vague idea of what I was doing when I started but the dressing itself came purely from my own tastes. That's the way cooking should be, not meticulously following recipe's to the last word, but adding something here, adding something there till it tastes the way YOU want it!

So fly my pretties and make MAGIC!

AROMATIC DUCK NOODLE SALAD

1. 1 Crispy Half duck portion (available at most supermarkets)
2. 180g Vermicelli rice noodles
3. 1/2 a Cucumber
4. Bunch of Spring Onions

For Dressing

1. The juice of half a lime
2. 2 cloves of garlic minced
3. 1 thumbsized piece of ginger peeled and minced
4. 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
5. 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
6. 1 teaspoon of sesame oil

Before you start put the duck in a roasting tin and throw in the oven for 25 mins at 210 degrees C. Soak the noodles in hot water while you are preparing the veg and dressing.

In a small bowl mix the ingredients for the marinade and set aside.

Cut the cucumber in half again and slice very thin, trim the spring onions and slice thinly, set aside. Drain the noodles, rinse them in cold water and then mix them with the marinade in a large bowl.

Take the duck out of the oven, slice thinly and add to the noodles along with the cucumber and spring onion. Serve straight away!

When I was kid I was always in the kitchen cooking and once I'd worked through some of the basics I was introduced to Chinese cooking, after a visit to the Asian market in Dublin. With so many new and exciting ingredients to explore, I tried everything I could! If you want to try your hand at some Chinese dishes, it’s really important to make sure you pick up some store cupboard essentials. People laugh at me when I drag them around the Asian market pointing out all the exciting ingredients, but it is so much fun and a visit to your local market is well worth it. You can pick up ingredients for far cheaper, and in larger quanitities than in the regular supermarket. The one big purchase I have to suggest if you want to really experience true Chinese cooking at home, is a really good wok, there are so many out there, and it’s important to find one you are comfortable using, but carbon steel woks come well recommended.

Sticky Star Anise Honey Duck
One thing I love about Chinese cooking is the fantastic spices that are used, I remember first coming across star anise and thinking it was one of the coolest spices I had ever seen and that was before I had even tasted it! If you haven’t used it before, don’t be put off, it’s really easy to use, just bash it in a pestle and mortar until you have a fine aromatic powder. The combination of ingredients in this recipe makes a wonderfully sticky and delicious dish.

Serves 2
1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon of rice wine
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon of ground star anise
2 large duck breasts.

In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, honey, rice wine, garlic and star anise.
Toss the duck breasts in the marinade until completely coated, cover and place in the fridge to marinade for at least 2 hours, or overnight if you have the time.
Place the duck on an oven tray and cook for about 25 minutes at 200oC/Gas Mark 6 or until cooked all the way through. Make sure to baste the breasts with the juices during the cooking time.
When the duck is cooked, place the tray under a hot grill to caramelise the duck skin for 1-2 minutes.
Cut into thin slices and serve with a drizzle of the juices.

I did promise some great winter warmer meals, and here is one! Coq Au Vin sounds fancy and complicated buts it's basically chicken cooked in a creamy wine sauce. It's a delicious meal which goes great with steamed vegetables, brown rice, or salad. The other thing to mention is that this is another dish which can be easily frozen and reheated at your leisure. Wait until the dish has cooled, place in a freezer bag and place in the freezer. It should last you up to 3 months.

Coq Au Vin

Coq au vin was a regular winter dish in my house when we were growing up. It's a wonderfully warming meal which is perfect for cold November evenings! Chicken joints like thighs and legs are often far cheaper to buy than chicken breasts and there is something special about meat cooked on the bone that adds extra flavour.

Serves 4
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
150g of bacon or pancetta pieces
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 chicken legs
200g of mushrooms sliced in quarters (about 10-15 mushrooms)
500ml of white wine
300ml of cream
A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
A good handful of freshly chopped parsley

In a large heavy casserole pot, add the butter and olive oil.
When the butter has melted add the pancetta pieces and fry until crisp.
Add the garlic and onion and fry until soft.
Remove and set aside.
Brown the chicken thighs and legs on all sides in the same pot and then add the mushrooms, white wine, garlic, onions and pancetta.
Bring to the boil and simmer over a low heat for 20-25 minutes.
Turn the chicken legs halfway through the cooking time and remove any fat or scum that rises to the top.
When the chicken is cooked remove from the pot and set aside.
Stir the cream into the juices, add a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the sauce is has become a little thicker.
Place the chicken back in the pot, add the parsley, stir through and make sure it's hot when you serve it at the table!

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!

The beauty of a good hearty chicken stock is, that not only is it packed with health benefits, it can be the base for hundreds of different, quick and simple recipe's. The recipe I'm posting is fairly basic, but really you can add whatever herbs or root veg you have in your kitchen, and experiment with the flavors. The cooking process breaks down the ingredients and the finished product contains minerals like calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, in a form which the body can easily absorb.

Now I know that making stock is not the most exciting of recipe's to talk about, but once you do have the rich golden finished product, it can be transformed so easily. Boil a portion of the stock, add some minced garlic, ginger and chili, some fish sauce and rice wine vinegar and drop in some cooked noodles. Top with some spring onion sliced thinly and within minutes you have a healthy, hearty, Asian inspired soup.

The easiest time to make this stock is probably right after you have devoured a roast chicken, as the bones are more than likely ready for use! Just throw the ingredients in the pot and let it boil away for a few hours- effort level zero! Alternatively you can throw the bones into a zip lock bag and store in the freezer until you find a perfect stock making day.

Basic Chicken Stock

1. Leftover bones and carcass of chicken
2. 8 Litres of Water
   
3. 12fl oz White Wine
4. 1 white onion Chopped
   
5. 1 large carrot Sliced
6. 1 Large Leek Sliced
7. 1 Stick of Celery chopped
   
8. 3 Stalks of Parsley
9. 8 Black peppercorns

Then add the rest of the ingredients and allow to simmer consistently for 3 hours or until the flavour is right for you.

Make sure to check on the pot ever now and then to skim any fat that rises to the surface- this while make sure you have a nice clear stock.

The stock can be kept in the fridge for a few days or frozen in handy bags in the freezer. You can also store some of the liquid in ice cube trays, which comes in handy to add an extra bit of flavour to sauces, and gravy.

And if thats not enough about stock for one day check out this interesting article.

I have mentioned here before that I like to have my finger in all the pies of life, and staying true to that statement I have a really tasty steak and mushroom pie recipe to share here. Not only that but I thought it was time to tell you that, I’ll be playing Peter Pan this year in the Tivoli theatre Panto in Dublin (For international visitors, panto is like a kids Christmas show). Will I have any self respect left after donning a pair of green tights while being suspended in mid air? Time will tell! We had our first day of rehearsals today and last week we all got flying lessons, which was so much fun! Check out this video, I think I still have a bit more practice to go until this looks perfect!

If you’re in Dublin at all over the next two months make sure to come to the show, there’s a really great cast, lots of laughs, and sure the kids will love it! Tickets can be bought here.

On to more pressing issues, I recently bought a huge quantity of stew steak from the butcher, so I have been trying to come up with ways to get through it. This is a really simple recipe, which makes a really tasty winter warmer. The process is fairly easy, for convenience I use ready to roll puff pastry and just place it over the top of the pie dish, but you can easily make your own and add it here. The steak and mushroom mix is really tasty and can even be eaten by itself with rice. So if the thoughts of pastry are all too much for you, don’t count it out just yet!

Steak and Mushroom Pie

These look great served in individual little pie dishes, but if you don’t have any to hand, simply use one large pie dish. You can cook the pie mix ahead of time, freeze and defrost when you want to use it.

2 tablespoons of sunflower oil.
1 ½ lb of stew steak or diced beef.
250g of mushrooms.
500ml of beef stock.
250g of puff pastry.
2 red onions, finely chopped.
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
A generous pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper.
2 egg yolks.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan, and brown the meat on all sides. You may need to fry the meat in batches in order to get a nice colour. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the rest of the oil to the pan and fry the garlic and onions until soft. Add the beef stock, meat pieces, salt and pepper and combine. Lower the heat, cover and cook over gentle heat for approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. Make sure to give the mix a stir every now and then to prevent it sticking at the bottom. The aim is to get the meat as tender as possible, so you may need to add a longer cooking time depending on the meat you buy.
10 minutes before the mix is finished add the finely sliced mushrooms and stir through to combine. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 220˚C/ 430˚F/ Gas 7.
Dust your work surface with a little flour and roll out the pastry to about ½ a centimetre in thickness. Empty the steak and mushroom filling into your chosen pie dish or dishes and drape over the pastry. Leave about 1cm of pastry over the side of the dish and then push the pastry in to the dish so you end up with a nice crust the whole way round. Using a pastry brush, coat the pastry with the egg yolk, this will produce a delicious golden coloured crust.
Place in the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the pastry puffs up and turns a nice golden brown.
Serve straight away with a tasty salad and enjoy!

This is my recipe contribution to December's edition of Irish Tatler, and it also just so happens to be one of my favourite recipes of all time forever and ever the end! It is also one of my favourite recipes from my cookbook which may I remind you would make a lovely christmas present for a loved one! Ok shameless plugs aside, this is such a wonderful dish and it's super easy to prepare, stick the duck in the oven slice the vegetables, make the dressing and you're done! Couldn't be easier!

Open Aromatic Duck Salad

This is basically an adaptation of the classic aromatic duck and pancake dish which is available at most Chinese restaurants. It’s one of my favourite dishes and is so simple to produce. The tender crispy duck goes well with the fresh raw vegetables and tangy Asian dressing.

Serves 2
1 crispy half duck portion (available pre-cooked at most supermarkets)
2 large carrots, thinly sliced
½ cucumber, thinly sliced
½ Chinese cabbage, finely shredded
Bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced

For the dressing:
Juice of ½ lime
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of sesame oil

Before you start, put the duck in a roasting tin (you can stick the breast on a wire wrack, this way the fat will drip) and place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes at 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 or until heated through.
In a large mixing bowl mix the ingredients for the dressing. Add the carrot, cucumber, cabbage and spring onions, and toss to combine.
Take the duck out of the oven, slice thinly and add to the salad. Serve straightaway.

Photo credit: Jocasta Clarke

After months of hoping and wishing, the lunchbox of my dreams has finally arrived! A big thank you to my lovely Auntie Ann who was visiting Canada recently, and lugged it back to Ireland for me. Unfortunately none of the stockists in the US, seem to deliver the product internationally, which makes getting your hands on these handy insulated lunch flasks quite an ordeal!

However now that I have it, I am a true convert! Initially when I opened it, I was a bit concerned about the size, all the containers are a bit on the small side, and I'm a growing boy! But after using it all last week, it's actually just the right size. It's also very handy to help keep your metabolism working more efficiently throughout the day by eating small meals rather than three large one's.

The flask can either be hot or cold, and does a fairly good job of keeping things hot just in time for lunch. Here is just one of the lunches I had last week, Pineapple chunks, Mint and Green Pea Soup, Chicken and Asian Brown Rice, and Wholemeal Pizza bites- It does slightly take the magic out of fresh food but it's a whole lot better than buying out. And if your impressed with all that, head over to Flickr where they have a group specifically devoted to Bento Box lovers around the world, it's great to see all the different combinations, and has definitely given me a bit of inspiration!

So if your in Canada or America make sure to look out for Zojurushi, Mr. Bento!

*Quick update- My Bento Box was bought @ Sanko, 730, Queen St, West Toronto, ON Web:www.toronto-sanko.com*

If you don't know who Ken Hom is, where have you been hiding! When I was growing up he was the king pin when it came to Chinese cooking, he was the guy you turned to when you needed advice on which wok to buy and how to create that very first stir fry. I was introduced to him via his first cookbook "Ken Hom's Chinese Cookery" which one of my aunts had bought back in 1984, being an avid fan of Chinese cookery I tried so many recipes from this book and have been a fan ever since.

Now although, there have been many Chinese chefs since Ken introduced the cuisine to our TV screens, I still think he is the best and he is regularly regarded as the world's leading authority in Chinese cookery. He was in Dublin launching a new range of Chinese ready meals he has developed with Tesco which includes Crispy Aromatic Duck, Spare Ribs, Duck Spring Rolls, Crispy Chilli Beef, and Chicken Chow Mein all quite reasonably priced. Although people can be cynical about chefs selling out and doing these sort of things, Ken had loads to say on the whole process of recipe development and taking what he described as really bad ready meals to ones which had far more authentic flavours and interesting back notes. I was convinced!

During the demonstration, he spoke about the idea of Chinese cooking and how the aim is too build layers of flavours and textures. He really emphasised the importance of cooking with a really hot wok to seal the in the flavours and how it was so important to marinate any meat you cook with, but generally no more than 20 minutes. I loved the fact that throughout the demonstration, Ken tasted absolutely everything he put in to the wok before it went in, and was really particular in the amounts he used. He also introduced us to a brand new ingredient he had started using called Chee Hou sauce which is made from fermented soy beans with garlic and has a sweet and salt taste, I will be keeping an eye out for it. If you've tried it let me know!

Beef and Black Bean Stir Fry
This is the recipe we were given along with the press release and Ken actually demonstrated the dish for us. I can tell you it is absolutely delicious and you should definitely give it a go. It follows through from what he mentioned about using different ingredients to build layers of flavours and many different notes.

Serves 2
200g of beef, sliced in strips
25ml of rapeseed oil
2 teaspoons of ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Zest of one orange
1 teaspoon of birds eye chillies, chopped
25g of black beans
75g of spring onions, chopped in 1 inch shanks
50g diced onion
75g diced red peppers
75g diced green peppers
45ml oyster sauce
40g of Chee Hou sauce
2 teaspoons of sugar
200ml water
20ml sesame oil
1 teaspoon of cornflour

Heat the wok over a high heat and add oil to coat. Quickly stir fry the meat and when it is cooked through, remove from the pan and set aside.
Heat the oil in the wok and add the ginger and garlic. Stir fry over a high heat until it becomes golden and toasted.
Add the orange zest and fry until it releases fragrant citrus notes.
Then fry the chilli, black beans and chopped onions for 20 seconds.
Add the spring onions and peppers and fry lightly until tender.
Add the the Chee Hou sauce, oyster sauce, water and sugar and stir through. Then add the meat and toss until it is coated with all the sauce and vegetables.
Finish with the sesame oil and thicken with the cornflour.
Serve with noodles or rice.