Twenty Four Hours in Kinsale

Twenty Four Hours in Kinsale
Forts, Food, Craft Beer!

It was Friday the 13th but we weren't staying at home. We were on the road to Kinsale for an overnight stay.

First call was to Charlesfort, this time, not to visit the early 17th century fort but to take the harbourside walk that begins with a stroll down the left hand side of the sprawling complex.  There are good views of Charlesfort and the town as you start off and later the Old Head comes into view.

Charlesfort (above) and James Fort

The path, with the waters of the harbour on your right, is not the smoothest and, at one point, you have to make a short walk across a stony beach. You pass through a boatyard on your way to Lower Cove. This was where we turned back. The way forward is not clear but apparently you can reach the point with views across to the Old Head and out to sea where the Sovereign Islands lie.

We had a date with Sam and Maudeline Black at their brewery in Farm Lane. They were working their way through a busy afternoon but found time to give us a tour and tasting. After that, we checked into our hotel, the Old Bank. Though this is right smack bang in the middle of the town, I must admit I'd never heard of it.

Kinsale evening

It is part of the Blue Haven holdings here and it proved a very good base indeed. It has no parking but the public car park is quite close. We got a warm welcome and indeed spent a pleasant night here and the breakfast was very good indeed. They had some decent choices and the toast was cut from a proper loaf (Cuthbert’s), not your usual sliced pan. Good value too.

Time now for a walk down the Pier Road as the sun began to set. Got a few photos in before heading back to the hotel. Our next port of call was the relatively new restaurant, Bastion (they have Prosecco on tap!), where we enjoyed an excellent meal.

Evening in Kinsale

 Afterwards, just a few yards away, I sampled some craft beers, Black’s (of course) and Metalman, in the Malt Lane. They had quite a selection here and an even bigger selection of whiskeys.

Old Bank

We visited another fort in the morning. This is James Fort, across the water from Charlesfort which it pre-dates. Nowadays, it is stoutly defended by the OPW (no interior access) but there are fine views and also some excellent walks in the surrounding fields.

Back down to the car then and away to Garretstown where we expected to find the surfers. But they were outnumbered by canoeists from a city club who were getting some much needed practice in. Needless to say, the camera was out of the bag again.

Stayed with the coast roads until we came to another beach, this Harbour View near Kilbrittain. This looks safer, certainly calmer, than Garretstown but not as well equipped with parking facilities. Still, a lovely place to stroll around in the sun and we weren't the only ones taking advantage of the beach and the dunes.

Harbour View

 We had a late lunch pencilled in at another relatively new restaurant, this the Monk’s Lane in the middle of the village of Timoleague, famous for its ruined abbey. But before all that the camera, with fast lens attached, was put into action again in an attempt to get a few shots of cars taking part on the West Cork Rally. They were driving (though not racing at this point) along the road by the abbey.

 The meal in Monk’s Lane was superb and great to see local craft beer on sale there as well. The rally cars had vanished at that stage and we headed up towards Bandon on the way home after a lovely twenty four hours, well maybe 26, in the area.

See also: My Kinsale Guide

Black’s Brewery

Monk’s Lane Restaurant

Bastion Restaurant

Part of a walk-on circle of plaques depicting local people and
connections in the grounds of Timoleague church

Taste of the Week

Taste of the Week
Instead of the Easter Egg?

Glenstal Abbey’s Monastic Liqueurs Dessert Truffles

This delicious 16-piece pack, a big brother of an earlier Taste of the Week, is filled with absolute deliciousness. Some top class liqueurs are used, spread among five of the eight pairs of truffles.

Of the five pairs containing alcohol, I found it very hard to choose between the Chartreuse and the Liqueur de Mandarine. Both liqueurs are French, both splendid in the chocolate. And not far behind, on my palate at least (I’m sure you'll have your own preferences) are the Irish Coffee, the Nocina di Valserena and the Benedictine.

The three pairs not containing alcohol were given very serious consideration indeed and my “winner” was the Milk Praline: caramelised hazelnuts ground and delicately blended with chocolate. Next position went to the Almond (Turkish almonds caramelised) and the Whole Hazelnut covered with smooth praline.

Over to you now to see what you think of our latest Taste of the Week, available at Bradley’s, North Main Street, Cork.

Taking a look at Cork City cuisine!

Fresh from the farm and sea in Ireland’s largest county

Hederman Smoked Salmon

Cork city, capital of Ireland’s largest county (County Cork), has more than 1,000 kilometers of coastline to the south and productive farmland to the east, north and west. Big or small, farmers and fishermen play an important role in the area’s  cuisine.

Here, on a slide show by Chowzter, the international food APP, are some of the finest examples of Cork cuisine. Click here for a tasty treat!

Schull’s Café Cois Cuan. Good View, Good Food

Schull’s Café Cois Cuan.

Good View, Good Food

Roast Mediterranean Vegetable salad

 Many visitors will arrive in Schull around lunch-time. You park the car in the car-park above the fishing boats and wonder where will you get lunch. Just look up towards the street and there you’ll see Café Cois Cuan, serving breakfast, lunch, teas and coffee.

It wasn't there last year, you might say. And you'd be right. The bright and tidy café, run by Kevin Rochford (chef) and Brittany Ingram, opened at the start of 2015 and, during a lunch-time visit last week, Brittany told me that each week so far has been better than the previous one.

And we hope that trend continues. For here you will find good food at a fair price. And, by the way, you'll find excellent coffee. They prefer the “classic” and so they went for a Maher’s blend and the cup I enjoyed was one of the very best I’ve had in a long while.

There is quite an extensive menu at this family run place and be sure to check the board for their daily specials. Indeed, we went for two of the specials. CL picked the Roast Mediterranean Vegetable salad, a very impressive plateful indeed in which the aubergine played the starring role. It was available in two sizes, one for €6.95, the larger for €9.95.

I had been thinking of going for the De Roiste Black Pudding and Cashel Blue Cheese salad but instead picked the Tune special, basically a Tuna Wrap Special with salad and chips. Quite a meal, I must say, and the salad, just like CL’s, was superb.

There were lots of sandwiches available as well, including a Ploughman’s Lunch for just €5.95. You could also start with a bowl of soup and if you were feeling the chill, they were offering a Beef and Murphy’s Stew!

And if you enjoy something sweet, well they have you covered as well. They have Baked Apple cake, Chocolate Fudge cake and Maple Banana Slice (in nibble and full size!). No alcohol here but they have lots of soft drinks and teas and that superb coffee. Service is efficient and friendly and yes the view from the window seats is excellent.

Café Cois Cuan http://www.cafecoiscuan.ie

East End, An Scoil, Cork, Ireland

Tue - Sat:

8:30 am - 5:00pm.

028 27005

kevin@cafecoiscuan.ie

Beer Versus Wine

Beer Versus Wine
Colm v Caroline.

Scrumptious Blackpudding from Jack McCarthy.
Great flavours from the L'Atitude kitchen.

Lots of good humour and great drinks at the Beer v Wine Smackdown in L’Atitude last Thursday night where the protagonists were Caroline Hennessy and Colm McCan.

Caroline, co-author of the Irish beer bible Sláinte, made it clear at the outset that she was making the case for craft beer saying “the other beers have no flavours”. Her first beer, Black’s Kinsale Pale Ale, was a perfect example. “Hops are the spice of beer,” she said.

“Beer is just to wash away the dust”, joked Colm as he introduced his heavy hitting first, the Decanter Gold winning Wiston Rosé, an English Sparkling Wine, made in the South Downs by Limerick’s Dermot Sugrue. Both were matched with Hederman Smoked Mackerel with Rhubarb Compote from the L’Atitude kitchens.

Colm did admit he was a big fan of craft beer as he put a call, on speaker-phone, through to Dermot in the UK and they chatted about the huge honour received by Wiston when their wine, a twenty-bottle bottle of it, was chosen, instead of the traditional champagne, to launch the mega cruise liner Britannia.”Twenty minutes later the Queen was still saying wow”, referring to the pop (explosion!) when the Nebuchadnezzar made contact with the ship. See it here on video.

Ireland is fast becoming a big producer of all kinds of drinks, including spirits, and so Caroline decided to include cider as her second round choice. And the local cider she picked was the Stonewell medium dry, a great match with Jack McCarthy’s black-pudding and apples.

Colm said cider, in the way it is made, is the closest thing in Ireland to wine, “at the moment!” as he introduced his biodynamic 2012 Vinsobres from the Southern Rhone, “a winter-warming wine..with a natural acidity that should cut through the black pudding”.  It sure did and even won the round with “victory” in round one going to the Pale Ale.

And then we were on to round three where Double Chocolate Porter Brownies were paired with Knockmealdown Stout and Taylor’s 2008 LBV. The stout, with its traditional flavours, is by Eight Degrees where Caroline can't help but be involved considering that husband Scott is one of the two founders. The brewery, set up in 2011, has been going well ever since. She said the current craft beer wave is well underway thanks largely “to a tax break in 2005 by then finance minister Brian Cowan”. Eight Degrees are just about to start a “massive expansion”.

Chris Forbes of Taylor's was next the next speaker on Colm’s phone and he explained some of the terms used in the port industry including LBV (late bottled vintage, all from one year). “Slow aging,” he said, “helps maintain the flavours and the tannins. The beauty of Port is that it cannot be made anywhere else in the world, only in the Douro. “We use all kinds of traditional grape varieties here”. He mentioned the various Tourigas and Tintos but he said the really important thing for Taylors was not the individual varieties but the blend itself.

Contestants in round 2,
paired with the pudding.

That attention to detail was evident in the LBV as it held its own with the brownies. The Stout was an excellent match, not surprising since a generous amount went into the Brownie mix! Then we had the voting, via murmurs of approval. Caroline and Colm had a round each to their credit and the final matching ended in a draw and that meant honours were even overall.

The point of all this is that there are very good wines out there and, increasingly, very good Irish beers and ciders. And now, the Irish is taking its place alongside wine at the dinner table and in the restaurant.

Here's my recent example. I spent 24 hours in Kinsale on the weekend before last and enjoyed craft beer Malt Lane and in Monk’s Lane in Timoleague. Last Friday and Saturday, I was in Bantry and sampled craft beer in the Fish Kitchen, across the road in Ma Murphy’s, in the Maritime Hotel and, on the way home, they had a selection in Church Lane in Macroom. Don’t think that would have happened 12 months ago. Point made!

The next “match” between Caroline and Colm is likely to be at Savour Kilkenny in the autumn.

Amuse Bouche

“I will willingly tell you everything, Inspector Jones,” I said. “…..I am greatly in need of any help you that the British police can provide.” I broke off as Frau Steiler returned to the table with two bowls of steaming soup and Spätzle - which was the word she used to describe the little dumplings floating in a murky brown liquid. It smelled better than it looked and, with the scent of boiled chicken and herbs rising in my nostrils, I began my narrative.

from Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz

Come Join The Cheerful Chorus at Monk’s Lane

Come Join The Cheerful Chorus at Monk’s Lane

There is almost an monastic silence as we stroll towards Monk’s Lane in the centre of Timoleague. But, open the door, and there is the happy sound of people dining. Our table is ready and soon we join the cheerful chorus.

The menu is full of promise. The sandwich section uses the best of local produce: Toons Bridge, Gubbeen, Ummera. And so it continues. In the mains and salads you see O'Neill's sausages, Crozier blue cheese and Clonakilty black and white pudding.

I spotted an Eight Degrees tap on the bar and that was just the start of the craft beers as a separate menu lists over a dozen of the best including the local Black’s of Kinsale. And the wine list is good too, quite a few available by the convenient (it was midday!) 100ml glass.

Service is excellent, knowledgeable, chatty. The furniture has touches of the ecclesiastical and there are lovely bunches of wild flowers on the tables.

It is a cold day so we start with the soups. They are very simply titled: Roast Vegetable Soup (4.50) and Spanish Fish Soup (6.50). Both are excellent but that Spanish dish is a gem, packed with fish, mussels, vegetables too, and warming spice. We get real bread and butter on the side. Great start.

CL then goes for the Lamb Quesadillas with salad and salsa fresca. You can have a small portion for eight euro and the larger one will cost 11.50. Well cooked and presented, the minced lamb was very tasty and not too spicy (no great need to use the cooling dip).

My choice was the Steak Salad and I hit the jackpot here: Seared steak salad with pecorino shavings, toasted pumpkin seeds and cherry tomatoes, all for 12.50. The steak, in strips, was plentiful and perfectly cooked and all the elements, including a robust salad, complemented each other in an explosion of flavours and textures. Compliments to the chef!

Dessert. The usual question: would we? The usual solution: we shared. And there was plenty to share when our generous slice of Apricot and Raspberry cake arrived, surrounded by some fresh fruit cubes, cream and ice-cream! Happy out, as we say around here.

We made a detour to get here. Well worth it. Very Highly Recommended.

Monk's Lane,

15, Mill Street,

Timoleague

(023) 884 6348

Margaux and Riedel

Margaux and Riedel

Charmes de Kirwan, Margaux 2010, 13%, €31.00 Maison du Vin de Margaux.

Thought this Kirwan would be just the one to baptise the new Riedel glasses and indeed, it proved a very compatible pairing indeed.

It may well be the second wine of the estate but it is a very drinkable classic and “one to watch” according to the 2014 Hugh Johnson handbook.

The dark fruit aromas were highlighted by the Riedel. On the palate, the fruit (plum, cherry mainly) is upfront in a very well balanced wine. Tannins in evidence but not in major way and you’ll also notice the characteristic freshness of the Cabernet Franc. Second wine, yes, but a first class drop and Very Highly Recommended.

Cabernet Franc makes up 23% of the blend and the other grapes are Petit Verdot (12%), Merlot (25), and Cabernet Sauvignon (40%).

La Reserve d’Angulet, Margaux 2009, 13.5%, €20.00 Maison du Vin de Margaux.

Continued the Margaux-Riedel combination with this gem, the second wine of the Angulet estate. Like the Kirwan above, it is made from the fruit of younger vines. The blend in this case is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot.

The Sichel family, the owners of Angulet, say it “offers the best quality for price in the entire Margaux appellation”. A bold statement indeed but I think there’s more than a tannin of truth in it. Oz Clarke reckons the last ten years or so have seen it get better and better while Hugh Johnson says it is stylish and good value. 

Delicious red fruit aromas rise from this one which has a dark opaque colour. Superb fruit, some spice too, as the wine, with its rounded supple structure, washes gently across the palate, the pleasant sensations carrying right on through a long finalé. Very Highly Recommended.

*****

I think you can take it that I am now, after taking part in a few demonstrations, the most recent last month at Ballymaloe, a Riedel convert. I’ve no doubt but that they enhance the wine. The glass used for the two wines here is the Riedel Restaurant Cabernet Merlot 446/0, recommended for Margot in particular and for Bordeaux in general; the recommendation details: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Fronsac, Graves rouge, Listrac, Medoc, Moulis, Pauillac, Pessac Leognan rouge, Pomerol, St Estephe, and St Julien.

Great glass too for Port. Just don’t pour too much in!

Kinsale's Latest Bastion of Culinary Excellence

A Bastion of Culinary Excellence

Kinsale’s Latest Restaurant

Tuna & Apple

No shortage of restaurants in Kinsale but Bastion, the latest, seems to have found a niche of its own. You’ll find it on the corner of Market Street and Main Street in the town centre and inside you’ll find great local produce, cooked and presented with some style. Bastion may not be out of the way but it is certainly out of the usual.

You walk into the first room, with tall tables and seats, and here you can sip some of their fine wines and nibble on tasty Bar Bites including Marinated Olives and Serrano Ham. The interior room, normal level tables, is where the serious eating takes places and here you may choose from selections of Small Plates and Large Plates.

Scallops

We were there at the weekend, celebrating a significant birthday (they are all significant at this stage!) and didn't get any further than the Small Plates. The selection was right up our alley and we shared no less than six of the plates before moving on to dessert.

Our choices - they were brought to the table in pairs - were Wild Mushroom Orzo (7.50), Charred Quail (9.00), Ham Hock Croquettes (7.50), Char-grilled Scallops (12.00), Tuna and Apple (12.00), and Smoked Salmon and Beetroot “Cannelloni” (7.00). All were excellent, well cooked, well presented and made for a very exciting meal indeed.

Wild Mushroom Orzo

My favourite was the Scallops, with cauliflower purée, chorizo, panagratta and parsley. CL was thrilled with the Tuna & Apple, charred, tartare, saffron pickled fennel, apple variations and blueberries. And another that really excited the taste buds - we both agreed - was the Wild Mushroom Orzo: Forest Mushrooms, caramelised onions, chive butter sauce and truffle.

The same high standard prevailed when the desserts arrived. My delightful bowl contained their Irish Coffee Crème brûlée (6.75), a clever (the brûlée was hidden half-way down) and lovely combination of whiskey jelly and anglaise foam. The other dessert, Toasted Apple (6.50), may not sound great but it too was a delightful mix of textures and sweet flavours with Burned caramel mousse, pain d'epices, apple and ginger custard.

Smoked salmon

A couple of cups of the excellent Badger & Dodo Coffee finished off the evening. Earlier we had been sipping two of their white wines, the Butterfly Ridge Riesling Gewurztraminer (5.50) from Oz and the Senorio de Ayud Chardonnay (6.50) from Spain. Very Highly Recommended.

Bastion

Market St/Main St corner

Kinsale

County Cork.

Tel: 0214709696

Email: helenbastion@hotmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BastionKinsale/info

Ham Croquettes, Toasted Apple below and, bottom Quail

See also: Black's Brewery, Kinsale
My Kinsale Guide

Black’s Brewery of Kinsale. Up and Away on a Rocketship.

Black’s Brewery of Kinsale

Up and Away on a Rocketship
Or maybe a Model T

It was a “productive January” for Sam and Maudeline Black, the lively friendly couple behind the fast growing Black’s Brewery in Kinsale.

“It’s a good month to try things,” added Sam, when I called there at the weekend. And they've added a few to their already popular range, including the Model T Stout. Love the name. Henry Ford, maker of the Model T motor car, went on to sell 15 millions units. Reckon Sam and Maudeline would settle for 15m pints over the next few years!

It was one of the beers we tasted at their little bar in the brewery. The other was the Rocketship IPA. Sam has been surprised by the reaction to this one. “Not everyone likes it but those that do are fanatical followers.” He knows a bunch of fellows that will drink nothing else now!

I asked Sam what was his own personal favourite. A tough question, a bit like asking a parent if they have a favourite child. The baby of the family always gets the attention. Sam started loving the Kinsale Pale Ale, then drank the Session for a long time and then came that Rocketship. Now he’s singing the praises of Hi Viz. “This has extra hops and is the best we’ve made..very pleased with it”. 

He’s not the only one. The Hi Viz won a Silver Medal at the recent Alltech Brews & Food Festival. There was silver too for the Black IPA and a bronze for the Rocketship. 

You must be wondering now where you can find all these smashing beers from Kinsale. Well, in the space of just over two years the Blacks, who have given major attention to distribution,  now have a long lost of stockists.  You’ll see their products in lots of restaurants as well.

Not too many guys get a home-brew starter kit as a Valentine's Day present. But that’s exactly what Clonakilty girl Maudeline presented to Sam some years back. “It was the best present ever,” said Sam and that started the road to the current Kinsale operation on Farm Lane.

I asked if they saw any trends on the near horizon. “There's always trends. Saison had its run. I think collaborations, between two breweries, will be the next one.” Already, there has been one between Cork’s Rising Sons and Beara Brewing in the US.

The busy Blacks are always looking ahead, always planning for their customers. And those customers come from a large range of ages and backgrounds. “All ages, male and female. And great to see young people now going for quality.” 

Rocketship and medal!

Great too to meet and chat with the enthusiastic Blacks. Delighted to be a customer. Spent the following 24 hours in Kinsale and had no bother finding their products. Local places to note for craft beer are Malt Lane in the town and Monks Lane in nearby Timoleague.

* Tours of the brewery will start soon. Keep an eye on the website and on their Facebook page for updates.

See also: My Kinsale Guide
Bastion, Kinsale's latest restaurant

Amuse Bouche

In this spirit I launch my enquiry into the disappearance of the small and wiry Londoner. The jockey-shaped Cockney, he of the fast fingers and the pipe-cleaner limbs, is an endangered species. Bottoms, and breasts (bristols, boobs, knockers, etc.) are growing unchecked. Londoners are eating McDonald’s, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken. They live entirely on these protein-packed foods with the consequence that they are becoming bulky. The little pickpockets, purse snatchers, chimney sweeps, and sneak thieves have vanished in one generation.

from City-Lit, London, this from an extract from Look At It This Way by Justin Cartwright

Commons Express Inn. Lovely Meal. Great Buzz

Commons Express Inn

Lovely Meal. Great Buzz

Enjoyed a terrific dinner at the Commons Express Inn at the weekend, the best of local produce washed down with some excellent local beer, including Kinsale Pale Ale by Blacks and the Stag Ban from 9 White Deer in Ballyvourney. Great buzz there too as we were guided to our table in the very comfortable dedicated dining area.

Had a look at the specials on the blackboard - you'll also see them on an insert in the main menu. The new chef here is from Canada so we decided to try out a couple of his specialities and I was soon tucking into the BBQ Slow-roasted Baby Back ribs with Bourbon sauce. Despite the messy fingers, I certainly enjoyed those “melt-in-your-mouth tender morsels of pork”, enhanced by that special sauce and also by the sweetcorn salsa.

It was a little less messy (just a little!) at the other side of the table where a quiet CL was enjoying her Spicy Buffalo Wings, “exactly like the Frank and Mary’s originals from Niagara Falls N.Y. right down to the special cheese dip and the carrot and celery sticks”. 

Brilliant starters then and the mains were on a par. I had been looking forward to the char-grilled lamb but that had run out so I picked the 8 oz fillet instead. All their steaks are aged to 35 days and this was char-grilled to perfection. I had requested Medium and that is what I got along with crispy onion rings, sautéed mushrooms and, on the side, there were fresh cut chips and a crispy salad.

CL had picked one of the specials: Pan-fried Cod Fillet with a herb crust and roasted vegetables and, on the side, she had mashed potatoes and vegetable selection, all very good and all for €15.95!

There was a bit of a debate about dessert before the decision to share their splendid Sherry Trifle and soon two happy customers were walking out into the misty evening, well fed and heading for the fire at home.

 New Food Offering at the Commons

They start early at the Commons Express Inn. Residents can have breakfast in the lovely Bailey Restaurant from 7.30am until 10.00am. But don’t worry if you sleep late. In a new departure, breakfast is now being served in the bar from 10.00 until noon and is open to residents and walk-ins alike.

The big bar has been the beating heart of the Commons for close on thirty years now but, under new chef Arthur Van Leeuwen, the food offering is becoming more and more important. Indeed, Arthur and his team will feed you all day long.

As soon as breakfast is over in the bar, the carvery lunch kicks in, as it has for the past 27 years! It is a very popular lunch with many customers coming from the nearby business parks. And you won't get bored with the menu; it has its regular favourites of course but do watch out for the variations, including tasty items not often seen in a carvery, such as ham hock, beef stroganoff, and braised lamb shoulder chops.

Later, the evening menu draws the customers to the dedicated dining area in the spacious lounge. Jason Sleator, Sales and Marketing Manager, tells me the menu is evolving under Arthur who describes himself as “a Canadian backyard boy”.

The chef uses local meats and is “very fussy on quality”. Using his experience, he often chooses the cheaper cuts, briskets and ribs for example, and loves marinating them and especially char-grilling. And the dishes, including Spicy Buffalo Wings (exactly like Frank and Mary’s from Niagara, New York) and Back Ribs with Bourbon Sauce, Char-grilled Rack of Lamb, and Char-grilled Burgers, are increasingly popular. 

“We are still on a journey,” Jason told me as regards the regular menu and hints of where they are going can be gleaned from the weekly specials. One of this week’s mains sees Chicken Supreme served with chunky butternut squash and a Cajun jus, the jus a contribution from Arthur’s repertoire.

The Commons, now part of the Great National group, are lucky in the continuity of management and staff. Myles O’Neill is the General Manager while brother Greg is Food and Beverage Manager. That have been there since day one and quite a few of the staff also have impressive long serving records, all of which helps the Commons run smoothly.

They have many functions here, social and sporting celebrations, and all kind of family occasions. Many of these are held in the Bailey while the Roebuck Suite is an impressive ballroom style hall for the really big occasion, including weddings, although there is also a trend currently towards restaurant weddings. The Bailey too, by the way, comes into its own as an impressive Sunday lunch venue and is much demand for private dining. 

The Bailey

Taste of the Week. Cully & Sully Lentil & Smoked Bacon Soup

Taste of the Week

Cully & Sully Lentil & Smoked Bacon Soup

The latest Taste of the Week is packed with flavour and makes for a great lunch after a rainy midweek morning. Full of goodness too as Lentils provide “plenty of protein, cholesterol-lowering soluble fibre and about twice as much iron as other legumes”. Cully & Sully provide lots of information on their packs and even a recipe on this one where you can combine chickpeas with the soup.

Cully & Sully have a big range of soups and also do Hot Pots and Pies, all widely available. Check it all out here, either before or after enjoying our Taste of the Week!