Quartet of Fabulous Recipes from Ballymaloe Foods, celebrating 30 years in business!

Quartet of Fabulous Recipes from Ballymaloe Foods, celebrating 30 years in business!

Ballymaloe Foods has compiled some very special Christmas recipes for you to enjoy.

This has been a very special year for Ballymaloe Foods as they celebrated 30 years in business. 

Ballymaloe Foods was established by Yasmin Hyde, the daughter of Myrtle Allen 30 years this year. Myrtle established a country house hotel and restaurant at Ballymaloe in the 1960s and it was here she developed her now famous, Original Relish recipe. In 1990, Yasmin decided to start Ballymaloe Foods from her kitchen. 

Today the company has 33 staff and 18 products and exports into the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and the US and its products include relishes, mayonnaise, pasta sauces and dressings. 

 

Christmas Recipes:

Sausage Roll Garland

Ingredients

-  For the sausage mix:

-  225g Lean pork, minced

-  225g Pork fat, minced

-  1 Clove garlic, crushed

-  2 Teaspoons thyme, marjoram, basil and rosemary, mixed and chopped

-  1 egg, beaten

-  1 ½ cups soft breadcrumbs

-  Salt and pepper to taste

-  For the pastry:

-  350g all butter puff pastry

-  Ballymaloe Original Relish

-  1 egg, beaten

-  A little milk

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

2. Combine all the ingredients for the sausages together and mix well. Fry a little of the mixture on a frying pan to check the seasoning, adjust if necessary.

3. On a floured work surface, if using homemade puff pastry: roll the pastry out into a big rectangle, a little thicker than a one euro coin. Roll the sausage mixture into a sausage shape with your hands and lay it lengthwise on one side of the rectangle.

4. Spread Ballymaloe Original Relish over the pastry, leaving the last ¼ free for sealing.  Roll the sausage and pastry into tube, pressing the seam together. Join both ends together forming a circle, pressing to seal tightly. 

5. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Mix the egg and milk and brush the pastry with the mixture. Using a sharp knife, score through the garland to within 1cm of the inside, at 2.5cm intervals.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until puffed, golden and cooked through. Serve with more Ballymaloe Original Relish on the side.

 

Chicken and Camembert Crostini with Ballymaloe Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

-  Half a baguette, cut into 1/2 inch slices

-  A clove of garlic, cut in half

-  Some good quality extra virgin olive oil

-  A chicken breast

-  Salt and pepper

-  A round of camembert (Cooleeney make a delicious Irish camembert)

-  Ballymaloe Cranberry Sauce

Recipe:

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan, add some olive oil and fry the chicken breast on a medium heat until it is golden on the outside and cooked through. Slice the chicken breast into 1/2 inch slices and keep warm.

2. Grill the slices of bread until they are just golden on both sides. While they’re still hot, rub them gently with the cut side of the garlic and drizzle with good quality extra virgin olive oil.

3. Slice the Camembert into small wedges. On a serving plate arrange on the crostini, with a slice of chicken, camembert and a teaspoon of Ballymaloe Cranberry Sauce.

 

Loin of Bacon with Ballymaloe Ham Glaze

Ingredients

4-5lbs (1.8-2.25kg) streaky or loin of bacon, either smoked or unsmoked

whole cloves 20-30 approx.

Ballymaloe Ham Glaze

 

Method

1. Cover the bacon in cold water and bring slowly to the boil, if the bacon is very salty there will be a white froth on top of the water, in this case it is preferable to discard this water. It may be necessary to change the water several times depending on how salty the bacon is, finally cover with hot water and simmer until almost cooked, allow 25-30 minutes approx. to the lb. Remove the rind, cut the fat into a diamond pattern, and stud with cloves.

 

2. Spoon Ballymaloe Ham Glaze Spread all over the bacon. Bake in a fully preheated hot oven 250°C/475°F/Gas Mark 9 for 20-30 minutes approx. or until the top has caramelized – baste the bacon 3-4 times during this time.

 

3.Remove to a carving dish. Carve in thick slices lengthwise so each slice includes some of the eye of the loin and streaky bacon.

Bread and Butter Budding with Ballymaloe Cranberry and Prosecco Sauce

Ingredients

25g softened butter

100g white chocolate chopped/ broken into pieces

150ml cream

150ml milk

2 large eggs

1 oz cater sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 small jar Ballymaloe Cranberry and Prosecco sauce

7 thick slices of bread (use 9 slices if regular sliced pan)

1 tblsp sugar to sprinkle

 

Whiskey Cream

250 ml cream

25ml whiskey

 

Enamel dish (28cm) or similar oven proof dish.

Serves 4 (this recipe multiplies beautifully).

 

Method

1) In a medium saucepan gently warm (do not boil or simmer) the milk, cream, sugar and white chocolate. Stir until the chocolate dissolves then set aside.

2) In a separate bowl beat the eggs with the vanilla extract.

3) Combine the egg and chocolate cream mixture, stir well, then pass it through a nylon sieve to remove any lumps and place in a jug. Pour 100ml of the white chocolate mixture into a clean bowl, cover and refrigerate (this will become the white chocolate custard tomorrow).

4) Using a serrated knife cut off all of the crusts and use for breadcrumbs in stuffing.

5) Now butter each slice of bread all the way to the edges

6) Generously slather each slice of buttered bread with Ballymaloe Cranberry Sauce

7) Butter the serving dish then start to assemble by placing two slices of bread cranberry side facing down.

8) Place another layer of bread on top again cranberry side down

9) The remaining three slices- cut each slice in half to create 2 triangles, do the same with the remaining two slices. Take these triangles cranberry side facing down and overlap each one to cover the top layer fully.

10)  Take the remaining chocolate cream and egg mixture and pour it over the bread ensuring full coverage.

11)  Carefully sprinkle the sugar over the triangles then wrap and refrigerate for 24hrs.

12)  After 24 hrs… preheat your oven to 180* Conventional.

13)  Place a bain-marie in the oven half filled with hot water. (you can use a roasting tray for this).

14)  Remove the pudding from the fridge. Discard the foil and place CAREFULLY in the bain-marie and bake for 1 hr until deliciously golden brown and fully cooked.

15)  Just as the pudding is baked, put the remaining custard into a small saucepan and place on a gentle heat. Stirring continuously allow the custard to thicken slightly. This can take up to 10mins. Remove immediately from the heat and place into a warm jug to serve over the pudding.

16)  The whiskey cream- lightly whip the cream then fold in the whiskey. Jameson is delicious but it will work with whatever your favourite is. Don’t be shy with the measure- adjust according to your taste.

17)  Once the Ballymaloe Cranberry and white chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding is out of the oven, bring it straight to the table.

18)  On warm dessert plates serve each portion of delicious pudding with a great big dollop of whiskey cream and lashings of white chocolate custard. Enjoy every mouthful!

press release

A Quart of Ale± #21 Moving on over to craft. Sour.

A Quart of Ale± #21

Moving on over to craft.  

Sour

So, what is a sour? It is perhaps the style of beer most likely to put someone off with a single sip. But, according to Craft Beer for the People, “they are hugely rewarding for those who can get past the initial shock.” Think of lemons, sauerkraut, pickles and Citron Pressé (the French non-alcoholic thirst quencher) as that essential first step. “Once you gain a taste for them (sours)…. there’s no going back!” And I can tell you, hand on heart, that the conversion can come as early as the third sip. Stick with it and try some of the beers below - you won’t be sorry!

Crooked Stave “Sour Rosé” 4.5%, 355ml can Bradley’s of Cork

Colour is a deep pink that in some lighting might pass for orange; it is cloudy, with lots of bubbles rising; the head doesn't hang about. Fruit plus yeast notes in the aromas. Refreshing and effervescent on the palate, this is the most delicious sour, ideal for a summer’s day in the garden with a salad at hand, perhaps one with fish. Yet, as they suggest, it’s probably perfect for all seasons. Just a few sips in and I’m delighted with this one which is going to be hard to top in this section. Put it on your short list.

The American brewery says: Showcasing bright effervescent characteristics, Sour Rosé is the perfect sour beer for all seasons and occasions. Unfiltered and naturally wild, we package each can with a small amount of yeast to maintain maximum freshness for wherever life’s adventures take you.

Beer Specs

• Serving Temperature: 8-12 degrees
• Alc/Vol: 4.5%
• Cultured in Yeast

Pairings: 

Cheese, Jasper Hill Cellars Harbison with Washed-rind;
Chicken Liver Mouse & Pancetta;
Ceviche with Raw Fish and Shrimp, Aji, Onion, Salt and Cilantro, all Cured in Citrus Juice

Saltimbocca with Veal lined Prosciutto & Basil

Kinnegar “Olan’s Tart” Apple Sour 5.0%, 440ml can Bradley’s of Cork

This unfiltered, naturally carbonated Apple sour from Donegal’s Kinnegar Brewery looks a little like a cloudy pale apple juice once the short-lived head vanishes. I was expecting more of a crab apple but, while certainly sour,  this, one of the better Irish sours, is very drinkable indeed, quite refreshing too.

The style is “Kettle sour with apple” and it tastes clean and crisp. It is  labelled as ”a year-round reminder of summer” and is “fermented with freshly pressed apple juice from our friends at Dan Kellys Cider.”

They say: A bunch of rabbits and their mates having the craic and making good beer Yep, that's pretty much our branding in a nutshell. A big thanks to one of our twitter fans for putting it so simply and succinctly. Nothing in life is however quite that simple…..

Yellow Belly Castaway Passionfruit Sour 4.2%, 440ml can, Bradley’s

Yellow Belly like their sours, so be prepared!

Cloudy light amber is the colour. Not so much fruit in the aromas; yeast seems to be the main element. Once it reaches the palate though, the face puckers as promised and the Belgian malts, aided by the passionfruit sweetness, begin to calm it all down a bit. Just a little bit! This is after all a sour, and a pretty good one at that. Quite a thirst-quencher!

They say: The perfect sour. Our house Berliner Weisse recipe (soured with our, continuously evolving, barrel stored lactobacillus culture) conditioned on a small tropical islands worth of passionfruit. Expect a lovely fruity aroma, more fruit on the tongue, and even more fruit on the finish all rounded with a gentle acidity from the souring process. Brewed with only the finest Belgian malts and our House Lactobacillus Culture under the careful watch of our Head Brewer, Declan Nixon.

 

It is a seasonal beer – mostly found during the Summer months, but from time to time as a limited release. It is unfiltered and not pasteurised.

All the artwork you see across their Tap Badges and Cans features their fictional hero ‘YellowBelly’. He’s the “Dr. Who” of Beer; travelling through time and space to find new recipes, discover ingredients and to fight the bad guys trying to destroy good beer. Creative Director, Paul Reck, creates all the artwork and is the mastermind behind the ‘YellowBelly Tales’ Comic Book Series, which can read for free on the site.

Lervig “Passion Tang” 7%, 330ml can Bradley’s of Cork

The eye-catching can pours an orange and gold colour while this Norwegian sour holds its head just for a few seconds. Mainly fruity aromas. And the Passionfruit is your main man on the tangy palate. Perhaps not as sour as some or perhaps I’m getting used to the style. Either way, not quite on the same level as the Crooked Stave. Easy enough to forget, with all that Passionfruit, that this is 7% abv.

Lervig is an independently owned and operated craft brewery located in Stavanger, Norway. They produce a wide range of beers from easy-drinking pilsners and pale ales to bold and complex barrel-aged stouts, barley wines, and sours.

They say: We fermented an oat rich sour ale with our house ale yeast, then add brettanomyces trois in the secondary fermentation along with passion fruit. Grains of paradise were also into the mix, giving this beer a tropical, floral yet woody character. This beer bridges with those who don’t really like beer to craft beer.

Malts: Pale, Munich, Caramalt.

Hops: Ella, Victoria Secret.

Yeast: American Ale, Brettanomyces

Additive: Grains of Paradise.

Passionfruit extract also listed in ingredients.

Goldie Bouncing Back In A Rocky Old Year. New Fish Shop And More!

Goldie Bouncing Back In A Rocky Old Year.

New Fish Shop And More!

The Goldie voyage started so well last September. Praise poured in from customers and critics alike as the Cork city centre fish restaurant cast off. Along with a high tide of critical acclaim came the "Best Chef of the Year 2020" award for Aisling Moore. Then came the Covid storm. 

Now, two lockdowns later, Aisling is fed up of Covid 19 but told me last week she'll never be fed up of fish. The restaurant, a shining example of sustainability and ethical sourcing, may not be able to offer you table service these days but Aisling and fellow proprietor Stephen Moore are hooking customers with their new fish shop, along with some of their signature dishes (pre-prepared to cook at home) and you can also get some hot stuff. Indeed, as I write, I note their tasty Bhan Mi Sando is sold out but don't worry, they'll have more in a couple of hours. Bouncing back for sure!

Ready to cook

The fish shop will be open only when the day-boats from East Cork sail (usually Wednesday – Saturday) so fish lovers can join the restaurant’s mailing list to get alerts about when the shop will be open and what will be on offer. This new venture will directly support the fishermen who have supplied them from the beginning.  

See www.goldie.ie.

As with the restaurant, Goldie Fish Shop will also take a ‘whole catch’ approach.  This means that it will take whatever is caught on the day, regardless of the quantity and species, ensuring a daily changing menu featuring the freshest produce available and a guaranteed livelihood for the fisherman.  The restaurant is committed to ordering in the same quantities as before lockdown. You won't see a menu for the take-out option as it depends on what the boats bring in but do sign up for their newsletter and that will keep you in the know.

In addition to pin-boned fish, portioned with the utmost care, some of the restaurant’s signature dishes will also be pre-prepared to cook at home.  These include ‘tarragon, chervil and parmesan crumbed pollock’, ‘tandoori spiced monkfish’, ‘squid ragu’ ( just reheat and add to spaghetti), it's signature salt fish brandade with seaweed crackers, fresh boxes of Panko fish fingers for kids and lots of the restaurant’s favourite sauces, which work so well with fish.  The variety will grow as the restaurant adapts. 

Back when I was a young teenager, I used to catch pollack (with the aid of my cousins and some eel as bait) on the north coast of Mayo and many a delicious meal we had late at night cooked over an open turf fire.

Ready to eat!

Delighted then to get two portions of perfectly prepared pollack when we called to Goldie last week. Two small cartons of Tarragon and Parmesan Crust delivered a magnificent crown to the superb fish, white and moist. And another bonus was the Café de Paris Butter. Spoiled! 

And if its fresh fish you're looking for, study the up-to-date info on the window. On the day we called, Monkfish, Langoustines, Crab Claws, Cod, Hake, Brill, Dover Sole, Ling, Pollack, and John Dory were all available. The Ban Mi Sando was available from the hot counter with an option of Sea Salt Shoestring Chips.

Ban Mi. Note the fish boxes

Moore and Keogh see the shop as a natural progression for the restaurant, (known for its gill to tail cooking), particularly in the current environment.  “We have used the time in lockdown to really learn about drying, salting, pickling and storing every part of the fish, as well as how best to use the seaweed and sea vegetables readily available on our coastline” says Moore.  

“We feel that this knowledge will bring something totally new to Goldie going forward and means that we will be in complete control of our output.  We look forward to the fish shop becoming a permanent feature of our business.” And I look forward to calling there more often in the future.

Keep Going Cork. Just like Goldie.

Amuse Bouche

 

… We walked up to the Seaport…. We put our stuff down on the chairs outside, and we went to go inside this Pizzeria Uno - and it was locked. The bartender was leaning against the bar, watching the television with his back to us, cleaning a glass. We were pounding on the door, like “Let us in! Let us in!” He turned around and said, “We don’t open till 11.30.” I said, “Look at the TV! Let us in!” “He kept saying, “We’re not open yet. We don’t open until 11.30.”

from The Only Plane in the Sky, The Oral History of 9/11, by Garrett M. Graff (2019). Very Highly Recommended.

Taste of the Week: Ballyhoura Oyster Mushrooms GIY Block

Taste of the Week

Ballyhoura Oyster Mushrooms GIY Block

Ready to cook: 5th November

Something totally different for the current Taste of the Week, oyster mushrooms with a Grow It Yourself element. Don't worry. It's simple and very delicious.

Must say it doesn't look too promising when it arrived. It being a block in a bag. Gave it a few days rest as instructed, cut the bag as indicated and misted on some water. Left it in a corner of a cool-ish room and soon they began to grow. Five days later, we were picking, cooking and eating. We got about three meals out of that first picking.

Now, stage two is starting. We gave the block a 5-day rest in a cooler room. It's now back in the original position and the misting regime has commenced again - you get full instructions with the block - and we're hoping for another crop (probably not as vigorous as the first) in a few days.

 

3rd November

Arrival  28th October.
We ordered ours via Neighbourfood and it cost €12.00.
Their current offering is a Nameko Mushroom Growing Kit.
Suitable to be grown inside and outside, a cold loving mushroom. Easy to grow, minimal attention required, will crop within 3-4 weeks. 

Two Superb Reds for your Short-list from Rioja and Central Otago

Two Superb Reds for your Short-list

 from Rioja and Central Otago 

LAN Rioja Reserva (DOC) 2014, 13.5%

€22.99 Wineonline.ie; Baggot Street Wines; Sweeney’s; Jus de Vine; Egans Off Licence; Molloys Liquor Store; La Touche Wines; The Corkscrew; The Ely Wine Store, Maynooth; J. J. O’Driscoll

On the back label, LAN insist: “Bottled wines don’t last forever. They evoke and mature, yet also grow old and die. Keep this Reserva wine in the best conditions possible but don’t cellar it forever..” 

So, let us get going! Colour is a glossy cherry red. Aromas are quite intense, with an elegant vanilla and a touch of spice, ripe red fruit too. More fruit and spice on the smooth and velvety palate, followed by a persistent and moreish finish. Very Highly Recommended. 

Grapes used are 92% Tempranillo and Mazuelo (also known as Carignan), the fruit coming from selected vineyards in the Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa subzones with an average age of more than 25 years. Rioja rules mean that Reserva red wines spend a minimum of one year in oak. They cannot be sent to market until a full three years after vintage. 

Founded in 1972, Bodegas LAN lies in the heart of Rioja Alta. The name LAN comes from the initials of the three provinces of the Rioja Designation of Origin: Logroño (nowadays called La Rioja), Álava and Navarra. In her 2012 book, Rioja, Ana Fabiano describes the Lan wines as “modern classics”.

They say: LAN Reserva spent 18 months in hybrid barrels of French and American oak, and 21 months in bottle, inside our cellars, in the ideal storage conditions. Don't keep this Reserva for a special occasion that might never arrive.

By the way, those hybrid barrels have American staves with French oak heads and LAN has pioneered their use and reckon the hybrids give their wines the best of both worlds.

Akarua RUA Pinot Noir Central Otago (New Zealand) 2018, 14%, 

€29.99 Mitchell & Son; Avoca; The 1601; Wineonline.ie; Clontarf Wines; Baggot Street Wines

This Central Otago Pinot Noir is a light, and bright, ruby. A complex nose of dark and red fruit (cherry, plum), floral (violet) with some spice notes. Amazing depth of bold berry fruit (strawberry, raspberry) on the palate, its velvety power enhanced by its gentle spice, fine tannins and juicy acidity. The finish is strong and long. Quite an experience, start to fruit-driven finale; silky, it is easy-drinking and Very Highly Recommended.

They say: Winemaker Andrew Keenleyside ensures that the fruit is nicely balanced. He avoids the raisiny flavours that some in Central Otago seem to obtain, and produces wines with lovely aromatic lift and fine tannins, which are perfectly illustrated in the 'RUA'. The 2018 spent seven months in French Oak barriques (of which 10% were new).

Akarua is “proudly family owned” by the Skeggs family who were among the first people to buy and plant vineyard land in Central Otago in the mid-1990s, so were lucky enough to acquire a superb north-facing site in Bannockburn. Sustainability in the vineyard and winery is integral to the Akarua ethos. Water conservation, recycling, the use of lightweight bottles, fully insulated barrel rooms and energy efficient lighting in the winery are a few of the initiatives taken by Akarua to guarantee their accredited status as a sustainable producer.

CONRAD DUBLIN VOTED IRELAND’S LEADING LUXURY HOTEL AND IRELAND’S LEADING HOTEL SUITE 2020

 IT’S OFFICIAL!

CONRAD DUBLIN VOTED IRELAND’S LEADING LUXURY HOTEL AND IRELAND’S LEADING HOTEL SUITE 2020

  

To celebrate Conrad Dublin  been recognised as Ireland's Leading Luxury Hotel and naming Conrad’s Presidential Suite as Ireland’s Leading Hotel Suite at the 27^th annual World Travel Awards, it is offering a very special December stay rate (if current restrictions lifted) from €259 for two people sharing to include dinner, breakfast and onsite car parking.

Celebrating a remarkable 27 years, the annual Travel Awards are the leading independent awards for the European hospitality industry and aim to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of the very best of the region’s travel and tourism sector to the world. Despite the incredible challenges faced by our industry over the course of 2020, this year’s Word Travel Awards nomination programme reported record visitor traffic and engagement from the public voter (the all-important tourism consumer). This shows that as the global recovery begins, the appetite for tourism has never been as keen and offers hope and much needed encouragement to us all.

With the rising demand for future travel comes a notable trend from the consumer to seek out and book the very best tourism products from across the world. As we look to the future, this trend is why winning a World Travel Award this year, has never been more valuable.

 

Martin Mangan, General Manager, Conrad Dublin said, “This has been a very challenging year for the Irish hospitality and tourism sectors.  To receive two major awards during this current climate is testament to the genuine passion and dedication our hotel puts into going the extra mile for our guests. We look forward to welcoming all guests back to our hotel this December for the festive season”.

 

Conrad Dublin has has kept busy since March developing the Terrace Kitchen & Social House & Pantry and Café a concept born when the hotel seized an opportunity to place a converted horsebox, creatively named the ‘Horsebox’, on the Piazza taking full advantage of the vista and sun trap. Serving gourmet coffee and snacks to a few locals and passers-by at a time when the city was effectively empty, the team at Conrad Dublin decided to expand on this offering following the success of the Horsebox. The team at The Terrace are working on a few other concepts, which are yet to be unveiled.

 

To learn more about or connect with Conrad Dublin, please visit www.conraddublin.com, call +353 1 6028900 or follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

press release

O'Mahony's Looked To The East And Netted Dim Sum Hat Trick. This Week, They Focus On Mexico

 O'Mahony's Look To The East And Net Dim Sum Hat Trick. This Week, They Focus On Mexico*!

Mexico Menu at bottom

Okay, we've got quite a few Dim Sum aficionados in Ireland. And, on the other hand, quite a few who know very little about this element of Chinese cuisine that has spread worldwide. Dim sum itself refers to a style of Chinese cuisine, served in small bite-sized portions, including but not limited to dumplings.

Cantonese dim sum culture developed rapidly during the latter half of the nineteenth century in Guangzhou. It sum was based originally on local foods. As dim sum continued to develop, chefs introduced influences and traditions from other regions of China and this was the start of a wide variety of dim sum. Dim sum restaurants typically have a wide variety of dishes, usually totaling several dozen.There are over one thousand dim sum dishes in existence today.

And that 1000 plus would not include this Watergrasshill version from O'Mahony's, solidly based on top class local produce, including Carrigcleena free range chicken and duck, Fitzgerald’s pork belly, Ballyhoura mushrooms, Jack McCarthy’s and Hanley’s Black Pudding and more. I got mine at the weekend. It was their third offering and all sold out. This week, I'm told the focus will be on Mexico. Check their Facebook page for details (from today Tuesday) as I'd expect something of a rush. 

I'm always amazed with how Asian cuisine in general makes the very best of vegetables. And the team 
at O'Mahony's didn't let me down, serving up a Cashew Matsu Slaw and a Cucumber & sesame salad. One of the highlights of the meal.

Chicken, pork and mushroom, all wrapped up in delicious little parcels!

Jack McCarthy Black Pudding on the right with
Carrigcleena duck on left. Both delicious.

According to Wikipedia, Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake containing a variety of ingredients in a wheat-flour-based batter; it is an example of konamon. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "how you like" or "what you like", and yaki meaning "cooked".

There were quite a few elements in the package, including Adam's Egg Fried Rice
and a terrific dipping sauce as well. Oh, I almost forgot the Miso Soup.

This week's menu - Rápida Rápido