Something Fishy on Donegal's Food Coast. Learning to Love the ‘Weed in Malin Caifé

Something Fishy on Donegal's Food Coast

Learning to Love the ‘Weed in Malin Caifé

At long last, Ireland seems to have realised the good things in our seas (and coasts) and chefs up and down the country are leading the way. Take these three very different places that I came across in a short visit to Donegal last month: Wild Strands Caifé in Malin, Fisk in Downings, and Johnny’s Ranch Truck in Ramelton. The first two may be described loosely as cutting edge while Johnny, committed to serving fresh, tasty local food, is no doubt more traditional.

Wild Strands Caifé

You’ll find the Wild Strands Caifé in the Community Centre at Malin. The distinguishing factor here is seaweed. I didn't see it when my dish arrived and asked the server. She explained they use it in the cooking, in the sauces and in the dressings. It was an element in my Fish (haddock on the day) with Abernethy Black Garlic Butter on a flatbread with a small side salad. 

Fish (haddock on the day) with Abernethy Black Garlic Butter on a flatbread with a small side salad

William McElhinney is the man leading the quiet revolution here and not just with the seaweed. Convinced that our ancestors used some kind of hot stone to make their bread, he is trying to replicate the method with a special oven. 

His Ineuran wood-fired oven is used to make beautiful and versatile flatbreads that are the base on which many of the dishes are served. Their Vegan Ineuran Flatbread are all cooked in the wood fired oven using local, seasonal or organic produce with the wonders of seaweed. Here, on the stone, he also cooks his local meats (from Boggs Butchers) “with our own seaweed spice mix along with Carraigín moss”.

We had a lovely chat with his enthusiastic daughter, Réaltín, and she  filled us in. Not alone that, we finished up with two of the loveliest cakes that we’ve ever tasted. Couldn't get over the amazing Coffee Cake and Carrot Cake as we devoured the slices before taking on the steps at Fanad Lighthouse a couple of hours later. 

Fisk

Mackerel Fillet with spicy tomato sauce

In Downings, you’ll see a blue sign with the word Fisk on it, but your eyes may well be drawn to the splendid view of Sheephaven Bay in the opposite direction. Take that in and then look towards Fisk and more than likely you’ll see lots of people around. “Will we ever get in here?” you ask. It takes a bit of persistence, we had to come back the following night.

Fisk is all about fish, is tiny and is hugely popular because of the innovative way in which the fish is cooked and presented. Cutting edge in a hole in the wall. Fisk (guessing it may be Swedish for fish) has room for about 15 people and takes no bookings. But they do start a waiting list each evening and you can pass the time in the adjoining Harbour Bar, another popular spot here.

Sardines with pickled veg

Fisk specials

The menu keeps changing and there’s always a specials board on the white wall. Also inside it is a bit higgledy piggledy with a few tables of various sizes, even a shelf on the wall where four guests on high stools may be accommodated. 

The place may not be the most comfortable but the fish is different class. Different fish too - you don’t often see sardines and mackerel offered in Irish restaurants. Certainly not sardines with pickled veg. Virtually all small plates here and some delicious wines to pair with them. No point in giving you their phone number so get in early and be prepared to wait a pleasant hour or so in the bar.

Johnny’s Ranch Truck

Johnny's Fish 'n Chips

You’ll have to wait a wee while too at Johnny’s Ranch Food Truck by the quayside in Ramelton. Johnny Patterson apologises for our very short delay: “Your order is cooked from scratch, no precook here.” He opens most evenings here and you could check his Facebook page to make sure or maybe ring in your order to 083 8399305.

What surprises first timers to this food truck is the long menu, not just fish but meat too from the butcher about fifty yards down the street. That butcher provides the meat for “Ulster’s Best Burger 2019”. There’s even a Lennonside Beef Stroganoff with rice or chips. The local meat finds it way into tasty baguettes and tacos and more.

And the Fish ’n Chips from Ulster’s Best Takeaway 2019 is the stuff of legends. For just €8.50, I got three large pieces of battered haddock and a big box of chips. Took the package over to a rickety quay-side seat and took my delicious time with that fresh fish and superb chips. Well worth seeking out of an evening, early or late!

Also on this trip: Kinnegar Brewery
 Mary T. From Mallow to Donegal's Castle Grove
Superb Day Out at Oakfield Park & Buffers Bistro
Malin Head, Fanad and Rosguill Peninsulas
Downings. A Great Base for Donegal Visit

Taste of the Week. Seagull Bakery Seaweed Sourdough

Taste of the Week

Seagull Bakery Seaweed Sourdough

While dining in the Copper Hen in Tramore, I overheard the server praising one of their suppliers, the nearby Seagull Bakery and mentioning that the premises were new. I had come across the Seagull breads before in Dungarvan and Kilkenny and the backstory was good.

The Seagull Bakery is a small artisan bakery which specialise in naturally fermented sourdough breads. Sarah Richards, who trained in Ballymaloe and later with Declan Ryan (Arbutus), is the owner and sole baker. All breads are handcrafted using unbleached additive free flours, and quality local ingredients.

You may also sit and enjoy a cup of coffee and a pastry here

Sarah makes a limited range of sourdough and one that caught my eye when I eventually strolled up from the Copper Hen was the Seaweed Sourdough. A little bit more expensive, I thought to myself when I handed over four euro.

But it was worth it. There are quite a few sourdoughs around these days, coming from many sources, and I’m not sure they all deserve the sourdough title. But this Seagull loaf was extra special, that slight sourness in the crust delightfully confirming it as the genuine article; certainly, with its super taste and texture, one of the very best sourdoughs I’ve come across and, to borrow a phrase from the nearby racecourse, a shoo-in for Taste of the Week.

Seagull Bakery  

4 Broad Street

(The Cross on Main Street)

Tramore

Co. Waterford.

Taste of the Week. Seaweed Salad

Taste of the Week
Seaweed Salad

 Seaweed is all around us. All around the coast, obviously.

For a long time, it just grew there, except for the odd picker, acting out of a folk memory, of dillisk and carrageen moss. And then came the odd purposeful forager. Some became authors, spreading the knowledge, among them Prannie Rhatigan, Marie Power and Sally McKenna.

And then the seaweed and plants from the shore began to find their way onto restaurants plates, in all kinds of dishes, from starters to mains to desserts. Food producers too, including bakers such as Arbutus, took it up. Indeed, I enjoyed a gorgeous Nori bread in O’Dowd’s of Roundstone (Connemara) recently.

It looks like the march of plants from the sea and the shore is very much on. Next step is to get it from the plate on the restaurant to the plate in the kitchen at home. And that step will surely be aided by a product I came across at the recent Cork Kerry Food Forum in the Cork City Hall, seaweed salad that is our Taste of the Week.

The company based at the Rubicon Centre, on the CIT Campus, is called Healthy You and the products seem to be aimed at “busy people on the go, the elderly, teenage school children or sports enthusiasts”. At present, they have two products available: Ginger Seaweed Salad and Sesame Seaweed Salad.

For three euro, I bought one of the 100g packs of Sesame Seaweed, after a little tasting of course. These salads may be enjoyed on their own or as a component in a meal with other elements and, helpfully, Healthy You have recipes http://www.seaweedsalads.ie/?page_id=14  on their website.

Indeed, if you use the term seaweed salad recipes, you’ll get a great catch from all over the world. Basically though, we used a salad with big prawns and couscous, cucumber, red onion and roasted red peppers, not exactly the stir-fry on the site. It worked very well indeed, lovely flavours and textures and, especially, a lovely crunch and taste from the seaweed.

For more info, contact Dermot Twomey, see below.

Healthy You

The Rubicon Centre

CIT Campus

Bishopstown

Cork

Tel: (353) 21 4892726

Mob: (353) 87 9600775

Email: dermot@seaweedsalads.ie

Web: www.seaweedsalads.ie

Stockists: http://www.seaweedsalads.ie/?page_id=14

The Sea Gardener. Interest in seaweed rising

The Sea Gardener

Interest in seaweed rising

Marie, busy at her market stall

Amazing how seaweed, so long out of the Irish diet, has made such a comeback in recent years.

Now the natural produce of the seashore is being used in all kinds of things. Samphire is everywhere there’s fish. Fenn’s Quay chef Kate Lawlor uses Carrigeen Moss in a dessert. I’ve eaten Nori crisps in West Cork. You may buy Nori Bake from Galway company Connemara Food Ventures. Arbutus are one of the bread companies using it. Recently, from a new Union Hall venture, I sniffed a gin with a seaweed ingredient! Today, there was a Seaweed class in UCC (Diploma in Speciality Food Production).

 Many people deserve credit for the rise and rise of seaweed and related products in our restaurants and in our homes. Prannie Rhatigan of the Irish Seaweed Garden is one. The McKenna's, Sally and John, are eager supporters. And there are many more.  In Dungarvan, Sea of Vitality supply Milled Dillisk and Ground Kelp and recipes galore and neighbours Dungarvan Brewing Company have a Seaweed Saison.

Today, I just want to shine a little light on Marie Power, the Sea Gardener, also from County Waterford. I met Marie during the Harvest Festival. I had to wait a little while as her stall was so busy. We enjoyed a little chat and then I moved on as people were starting to queue!

 One of the things I bought that day was little bag of Dillisk. That brought me back to my childhood and holidays in Mayo with my mother who loved her Carrigeen and Dillisk. These are straightforward seaweeds.

But things have moved on a lot since those good old days. Maire had a few bars for sale and I helped myself to a couple. The Almond and Orange Bar was good but my slight favourite was the Coconut and Lime. Both contain free range eggs, seeds galore, dark chocolate and, of course, a seaweed mix.

Dillisk & Sea Salt from Wild Atlantic Way Products

She was also doing a tasting that sunny day of her Mushroom and Olive Caponata. I tried that and bought and it was used just the other day on top of a pasta dish, “180 mls of goodness”. It can also be used on vegetables or cold on crostini or salad or use as a dip with raw vegetables or crackers. Recommended!

By the way, Marie learned much of her early knowledge from a 2007 workshop in Annestown with Prannie Rhatigan (see above).  Now Marie herself does foraging walks, cookery demos, ecology workshops, nutrition talks and visits schools and colleges as she spreads the good news about seaweed. And she has a book published too called The Sea Garden - a guide to seaweed cooking and foraging. The book and her products (also a list of stockists) are available online here - no queue!

Seaweed ingredient in Mayo Pudding

Kelly’s Greenway Pudding

Pictured at the launch of Kelly’s Greenway Pudding yesterday (Monday 30th July) at Mulranny Park Hotel were Anna Connor (Walking Development Officer, Mayo County Council), Sean Kelly (Kelly’s Butchers, Newport) and Dermot Madigan (Manager, Mulranny Park Hotel).

Here’s a clever response to the highly successful Greenway walking and cycling trail. Kelly’s Butchers, Newport, Co. Mayo have introduced Kelly’s Greenway Pudding sporting a map of the Greenway trail on the label. The new pudding, which contains Atlantic seaweed, was launched at Mulranny Park Hotel by Anna Connor (Walking Development Officer, Mayo County Council) and Dermot Madigan (Manager, Mulranny Park Hotel). The Greenway goes through Newport and walkers and cyclists pass by Kelly’s door when they are on it.

“We’re part of the Gourmet Greenway food trail”, says Sean Kelly of Kelly’s Butchers, “We have a lot of cycling and walking tourists coming into the shop and we wanted to create something specially for them. That was the inspiration for Kelly’s Greenway Pudding. We find the tourists are fascinated by the label, they love a souvenir that shows the Greenway itself. It’s our modern twist on the old stick of rock.”

Seaweed from the wild Atlantic shore is the special ingredient in the Greenway Pudding which is available as both a black and a white pudding. The taste is distinct, with a delicate hint of the ocean, but still has the unique Kelly’s flavour and texture. As with all Kelly’s puddings it holds its shape very well when cooked, which chefs love.

Kelly’s have also introduced a brand new seaweed flavoured sausage to their range, bringing the total of speciality sausages to an impressive 15.

At just €6 a pop Kelly’s Greenway Pudding  is proving an irresistible draw for Greenway users and locals as well. It is exclusively available in Kelly’s Butchers Shop, Newport and at Knock Airport. You have to come to Mayo to get Kelly’s Greenway Pudding .