Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks, Apple Tea Cake

Maggie Beer is a force to be reckoned with. With 9 cookbooks, this renowned Australian author believes in classic, wholesome cooking using simple, local ingredients. As I write about Beer, I can't help of think of her journey. It seems like she, and the other authors I've been blogging about, have been inspiringly ambitious and followed a passion that led to success. In Beer's case, starting a pheasant-based farm shop led to opening a restaurant when she realized the shop alone wasn't quite paying the bills. Similarly, Tim and Darina Allen went from farm shop to cooking school when they, too, realized that the direct sale of their farm's goods was not quite enough.

One has to then consider the current price of food. People are slowly beginning to catch on that the price of food is still too low – not the other way around! For the amount of work that needs to be done, versus the expectations people have for food costs often means a degradation of quality in food.

Here's a brilliant 3min video explaining the True Cost of Food:

Verjuice is one Beer's favourite ingredients.

For those who don't know what it is, it is the juice of tart young grapes that are then stabilized with alcohol. You can juice the grapes yourself if you have a vine but if you pick them and they don't make your mouth pucker, they are too ripe. When you make it yourself, you can make the quantity you'd like without the addition of alcohol, but it won't keep. So, freeze the young grapes and juice them as needed if you can't find this delicate ingredient.

It is intended to add a piquancy with a subtle hint of grape in the background. As you can see by the recipes I've delved into below from her book Maggie's Table (2001), it can be used in sweet or savoury dishes, as is (ie. in a salad dressing), cooked down to deglaze a roasting pan of poultry or caramelized to use with sweet treats.

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Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks with Verjuice, Preserved Lemon, Bay

17 cloves garlic 8 milk-fed lamb shanks 12 sprigs rosemary Extra-virgin olive oil 5 quarters preserved lemon 8 bay leaves 500 ml verjuice 1 teaspoon peppercorns 1 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 120C.

Finely chop 3 of the garlic cloves and put them into a heavy-based non-reactive pot with the shanks, rosemary and a splash of olive oil. Brown the meat on the stove over a low heat, turning it regularly. Remove the pulp from the preserved lemons, then rinse the rind and cut each piece in half.

Put the preserved lemon and remaining ingredients into the pot with the shanks and stir to mix. Cover the pot with a lid, then bake very slowly or 4 hours

Served with Freekah Salad: A Mediterranean toasted grain-based salad.

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Apple Tea Cake with Caramelized Verjuice Syrup

6 small Golden Delicious apples
Castor sugar
250 ml verjuice
¾ tsp ground cassia

Cake
100 g softened unsalted butter
100 g castor sugar
2 x 61 g free-range eggs
250 g unbleached plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1⁄2 tsp salt
125 ml milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Caramelized verjuice syrup
250 ml verjuice
240 g castor sugar
300 ml reserved apple cooking syrup

Peel and core the apples, then cut them into eighths and put them into a saucepan with castor sugar and verjuice. Bring to a boil over a high heat, and gently stir until the sugar has dissolved. Turn off the heat and leave the apples in this light syrup for 10 minutes, then drain, reserving the syrup.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line a 22 cm spring form tin. To make the cake, cream the butter and castor sugar until pale and thick. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and salt and add alternately to the egg mixture with the milk and vanilla extract. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin. Arrange the apple on the top in a concentric pattern, pushing the pieces into the batter slightly. Mix 2 teaspoons of castor sugar and the ground cassia and sprinkle evenly over the top. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake stand for at least 10 minutes before removing the tin.

While the cake is cooking, make the syrup. Have iced water ready in the sink or a large bowl. Bring the verjuice and castor sugar to a boil in a saucepan and cook until a deep, golden brown. Remove the caramel from the heat and cautiously add the reserved apple cooking syrup – the mixture may spit a little. Stand the saucepan in the iced water immediately to arrest the cooking, then pour into a jug ready to serve.

To serve, brush the warm cake with the syrup. Put a wedge of warm cake onto each plate (one with a gentle lip is best), then ladle over the syrup and offer with a hearty dollop of thick cream.

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You won't want to miss Maggie Beer's cookery demonstration at this year's LitFest!

Cooking with Spring Produce

One of my earliest memories as a child was visiting a farmer's market where my family lives in Serbia. I remember being asked what I would like for supper. I insisted on having a cucumber salad at the beginning of May and I couldn't possibly understand that 'it wasn't in season'. Clearly, I was used to the luxury of imported foods. This experience was my first taste of what eating seasonally meant.

Farmer's markets have now become a special outing and a pleasurable shopping experience where you know you'll go home afterward with the most delicious food. They are also a place of conviviality and certainty that your food is fresh and seasonal. As Alice Waters writes in the introduction of Christopher Hirsheimer's Book, San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market Cookbook (co-written by Peggy Knickerbocker),

"It starts with a transaction that's essential, an exchange of food, but it widens to include the fundamental experience of being alive. And by providing the element of surprise, going to the market frees us from our rigid agendas and teaches us what being alive can mean."

Hirsheimer is an American author of Canal House Cooking Volumes, a well-known series of amazing, simple and meticulously written recipes. Hirsheimer and Knickerbocker spread their art of cooking authentic cuisine with character and passion.

What I love about the Farmer's Market Cookbook is that they alphabetize produce respective to the season they're available in. Of course, seasonality differs from country to country. Check out your local, seasonal produce guide or chat with a farmer at your local market.

Buying food by the season is a great place to start for anyone interested in eating to improve their health. Starting with a recipe that focuses on one fruit or vegetable that is in season can make any novice cook that much more capable of making delicious food. Fresh, locally produced and organic food inherently tastes better than commercially store bought. Once something is picked, it begins degrading in nutrients and flavour. Farmer's market vendors usually pick their produce the morning it's sold whereas supermarket foods are usually picked before they are ripe and are altered chemically to ripen when they arrive at the store.

Here are some of my favourite spring vegetables in recipe form using some of Hirsheimer's Farmer's Market Cookbook recipes.

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Cecilia Chiang's Asparagus with Soy-Sesame Dressing

as adapted by Saveur

I used sea kale in this recipe. It is a Spring vegetable that looks like celery and tastes slightly of asparagus.

1 ½ lbs. asparagus, trimmed and cut crosswise on the diagonal into 2" pieces

1 tbsp. Japanese reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tsp. Asian sesame oil

2 drops red chile oil

½ tsp. toasted sesame seeds

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add asparagus or sea kale to pot and cook until tender-crisp and bright green, 1½–2 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain, then immediately plunge into a large bowl of ice water; set aside to cool, 2–3 minutes. Drain again, then transfer to paper towels, pat dry, and set aside.

Whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, and chile oil in a medium bowl. Add asparagus and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with sesame seeds.

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Dandelion Salad Lorraine

4 bacon slices, finely chopped

1 shallot, minced

small handful of fresh chives, minced

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

¼ cup walnut oil

4 large handfulls of small, young dandelion

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to a paper towel to drain.

Put the shallot, chives, vinegar, oil and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a large salad bowl and mix together with a fork. Add the dandelion leaves and bacon and toss until the leaves are evenly coated. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and serve.

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Rhubarb with Vanilla and Crème de Cassis

transcribed by Andrea At

2 pounds rhubarb, sliced into 1" pieces

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup crème de cassis

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Oven preheated to 350F. Stir all of the ingredients together in a large baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes. The rhubarb should be tender and should release some of its juices.

Remove from the oven and take out the vanilla bean. Scrape the seeds into the rhubarb mixture with the tip of a knife. You can serve it warm or cold, over yogurt or whipped cream.

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What do you look forward to eat most in the spring?

Dandilion Greens Salad & Lamb Koftfas

Looking through the list of what Ariana Bundy (writer of Pomegranates and Roses) will be demonstrating during her cookery demo at Lit Fest, her recipes look as good as the cookbook title sounds. Elegant, floral, fresh. An award winning author and chef to the stars of Hollywood, Ariana's success is well deserved. Her recipes are full of heart and authentic to her Iranian roots. Not only has she become an international go-to chef for the booming interest in Middle Eastern cuisine, but her food comes from the heart. Her book Sweet Alternative was written for her family's food intolerances and is a compilation of 100 dairy, gluten and soy-free recipes.

Joining Ariana for her cookery demonstration at Lit Fest is Ballymaloe's Rory O'Connell. Recent winner of the Andre Simon Award for his 2013 cookbook, Master It. I've included two of his recipes that will be demonstrated. The lamb koftas feature one of my favourite Middle Eastern herb blends: za'atar. Za'atar is typically sesame seeds, dried sumac, salt and thyme.

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Salad of Purslane with Yoghurt dressing, Chilli Oil, Roast Hazelnuts and Cumin.
Serves 4-6 as a starter

Ingredients
150g purslane or rocket gently washed and dried *I used rocket as seen in the photo

Yoghurt dressing
150ml yoghurt
50 ml buttermilk
1 small clove of garlic crushed
Pinch of salt and black pepper

2-3 tablespoons chilli oil (see recipe)
2 large pinches of roasted and ground cumin
15-20g hazelnuts, roasted, peeled and coarsely chopped

Mix the yoghurt with the butter milk and garlic and season gently with salt and pepper.

Remove any long stalks from the purslane, chop finely and add back to the leaves. Toss the leaves gently in the yoghurt dressing. Taste and add a pinch of salt if necessary. Spread out on a large flat serving dish. Drizzle over the chilli oil and scatter on the roast hazelnuts. Finish the dish with the ground cumin dusted over the top. Serve as soon as possible.

Chilli Oil
2 large red chillies
¼ pint if olive oil
Pinch of salt

Chop the chillies (including the seeds) and add with a pinch of salt to the olive oil in a very small saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer and cook at the gentlest bubble for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and with the back of a spoon or a mortar, crush some of the chillies to break them up a little bit. Allow to cool completely and strain through a fine sieve again using the back of a spoon or mortar to press some tiny bits of chilli flesh through. I try to get about 1 teaspoon of the fine flesh through the sieve into the oil. Taste again and add a pinch of salt if necessary.

Store in a sealed glass container such as a jam jar.

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Lamb Koftas

Makes circa 50 small koftas

Ingredients
450g minced lamb
100g raw onion grated on a grater
1 clove of garlic peeled and grated on a micro plane
2 tablespoons of chopped hyssop or 2 pinches of zatar
1 red chilli, medium hot, finely chopped
1 dessertspoon of date syrup
Salt and pepper

Olive oil for frying
Grated zest of 1-2 lemons

Mix all of the ingredients for the koftas together. Fry a tiny piece in a frying pan to check the flavour and adjust the seasoning accordingly.

Form into little balls, circa 10g each and store on a parchment paper lined tray in the fridge.

To cook, heat a little olive oil in a heavy frying or grill pan and cook the koftas turning regularly until they feel slightly firm to the touch.

Transfer to a hot serving dish and sprinkle with very finely grated lemon zest. Serve immediately

Coriander Mushrooms & Coffee Granita

Not going to lie, I thought I knew a lot about cooking already before I started the Ballymaloe course.Oh, sure wine goes with food.. yadda yadda. An omelette is a omelette, right?

Ya, no. I learned very quickly that there are incredible intricacies to making these 'every day' dishes that much better. I hate to use the word 'better', though. It reminds me how we use words like 'organic' to imply that the food is 'alternative'. Organic, well made food with care and with good quality ingredients was and should be the norm. Store bought and highly processed should be the 'alternative'.

An Omelette and a Glass of Wine (1984) by the late Elizabeth David is a collection of David's cookery articles she wrote for magazines all over the world. In the title article she talks about making a 'simple omelette' to perfection. She suggests the pan used is very important. Cast iron? Washed or unwashed? If you're wondering.. David uses an aluminum pan, washed up like all other utensils.

David's cookbooks are also part History of English Cookery. In her book Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen (1970), David recounts the gradual progress and integration of spices and herbs in Northerly cooking. The thing that popped into my mind was sustainability. Spices were originally some of the highest priced commodities! Since the poor couldn't afford the luxury of importing such expensive spices and exotic ingredients, they substituted local fare for an attempt at a similar taste and flavour. Some who couldn't afford copious amounts of oil for pickling and canning presumably had to ferment instead. That's where Sandor Katz comes in, right?

Ok, now I'm just picturing a time travel device and am getting really excited.

All in all, Elizabeth's David's cookbooks are "beautifully written, they are full of information allied to inspirational recipes" - Terence Conran's 2006 forward in David's Third Printing of Italian Food (1954).

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Omelette Moliere
An Omelette and a Glass of Wine (1984) as transcribed by Leslie Blythe Miller
serves 1

3 eggs
1 Tbs Parmesan, finely grated
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs gruyère
1 Tbs heavy cream

Beat 1 tablespoon of finely grated Parmesan with 3 eggs. Heat the pan on the stove for about a minute. Put a tablespoon of butter in the pan. When the butter bubbles, and is about to change color, pour in the eggs.

Add one tablespoon of gruyère cut into small dice and one tablespoon of heavy cream. Tilt the pan towards you so that some of the mixture from the far edge runs into the middle. Then tilt the pan away from you. In the time it takes to do this twice, the gruyère will have started to melt, and your omelette is ready. Fold it over in three with a fork, and slide it on to the plate. Serve instantly.

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Coriander Mushrooms
Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen (1970) Serves 3

6oz/180g button or closed cap mushrooms
3 tbsp lemon juice, separated
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
2 bay leaves
salt and black pepper

Brush mushrooms with a soft, dry pastry brush and cut into quarters. Toss in a bowl with lemon juice. In a heavy frying pan, warm olive oil. Cook the coriander seeds for a few seconds over a low heat. Add the mushrooms and bay leaves. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. After a minute, cover the pan and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Pour the mushrooms with their cooking juices into a serving dish and sprinkle them with fresh olive oil and lemon juice to taste. Serve chilled, or hot with veal or chicken.

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Coffee Granita - Granita al Caffe
Italian Food (1977)

6 oz., 170g coffee
3 oz, 80g castor sugar
2 pt, 1 ¼ L water
¼ pt, 60mL cream (optional)

Put the finely ground coffee and the sugar into an earthenware jug, pour the boiling water over it, and put the jug in a saucepan of hot water. Leave it, with a very gentle flame underneath, and let the coffee infuse for 30min.

Leave it to get cold, strain it through a very fine muslin, and freeze in a non-reactive tray. Stir it every 30min as ice crystals form. It will take 21/2 to 3 hrs to freeze. Fresh cream may be served with it.

The addition to the granita of ¼ pt of cream, after it has been frozen, produces the best and simplest made iced coffee I know.

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And - YES I DID! Mmm. How wonderful to be transported back into time when recipes weren't a dime a dozen and to hear a real passion for where food comes from and why. A discussion on Elizabeth David's works is on May 18th at 11:30am. Do you have a favourite cookbook from the 1950s?

French Chocolate Cake and the Good/Bad Fats Debate

Growing up in North America I've been painfully aware that in a society that puts health-conscious labeling at the forefront of processed food, we have some of the highest obesity rates. During my nutrition course in university we were told to be wary of health charity approved foods because although they may be low-fat they are usually high in sugar. There is a surge of foodies converting to the paleo diet. I myself had to go on this diet for about 6 months after I discovered that I had a number of food intolerances. Did I ever get fit! I even had a 1-pack (that's.. almost abs..). This diet was prescribed to me by a health professional due to the inflammatory properties of certain foods that were making me physically and mentally ill.

Of course, I had to throw the dairy and sugar-free way of eating out the door if I wanted to learn anything about Ballymaloe cooking. You never see margarine in traditional recipes and they had to be seasonal. Fat was our winter resource to keep us alive!

..and then processed* sugar was introduced. *Disclaimer: Not all 'processed' foods are 'bad' – If you think about cheese, it involves some sort of processing.. but I digress.

One of the questions I get frequently asked about taking the course at Ballymaloe is, “Why didn't you gain weight? Isn't there a lot of butter and cream in Ballymaloe cookery? Oh, and the desserts!!!”

Steak, Chips & Bernaise Sauce

My Gluten Free Candied Kumquat and Whipped Cream Victoria Sponge Cake

Shortbread & Whipped Cream

When I came to Ireland, the only thing that changed in my diet was that it went from low carb and high fat to high carb and high fat. Anecdotally speaking, I noticed that my over indulgence in sweets (particularly because I'm gluten-intolerant and I was excited about finally making my own delicious gluten-free treats) led me to feel a bit more lethargic and gain a bit of.. erm.. padding. In essence though I realized that, “fat is not fattening.”

My Irish Breakfast! Gluten Free Toast, Fried Tomato, Mushroom Cap, Lamb Kidney, Back Rasher, Streaky Bacon, Potato Cake, Blood Pudding

Having a background in Western Herbalism I know that the role diet plays on our health is determined on a case by case scenario. It's not just about fat or no fat, sugar or no sugar, but our entire diet!

“[There is a] previously underestimated role of vitamin D in supporting good health. The best sources of this fat-soluble micronutrient... are animal foods. When we diligently drink low fat milk or avoid cream and fatty meat, we deprive ourselves of this crucial vitamin.” Joanna Blythman

I like this way of thinking.

One thing that really irks me about other food articles with limited scientific backing is that they create health fads for their vulnerable and desperate readers searching for an answer. There is an over generalization that certain foods are either 'good' or 'bad'. This approach implies a health standard for a varying genetic makeup of different humans from all around the world. Thus, I'm very interested to hear the answers the real professionals will provide.

Before I talk about them, let me share my favourite buttery recipe from Ballymaloe. Equal portions of butter to flour excites me. Oh wait.. aren't carbs bad?

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Almond Gateau Chocolate Cake

Ballymaloe Chocolate Almond Gateau with Crystallized Violets

serves 10

4 ozs (110g) best quality dark chocolate
2 tablespoons (2 American tablespoons + 2 teaspoons)
Red Jamaica Rum 4 ozs (110g/1 stick) butter, preferably unsalted
4 ozs (110g/1/2 cup) castor sugar
3 free-range eggs
1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) castor sugar
2 ozs (50g/scant 1/2 cup) plain white flour
2 ozs (50g/scant 1/2 cup) whole almonds

Chocolate Icing
6 ozs (175g) best quality dark chocolate
3 tablespoons (3 American tablespoons + 3 teaspoons)
Red Jamaica Rum 6 ozs (175g/1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

crystallized violets or toasted almonds or praline

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4.

Grease two 7 inch (18 cm) sandwich tins and line the base of each with greaseproof paper. Melt the chocolate with the rum on a very gentle heat, peel the almonds and grind in a liquidizer or food processor they should still be slightly gritty. Cream the butter, and then add the castor sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks. Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Add 1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) of castor sugar and continue to whisk until they reach the stiff peak stage. Add the melted chocolate to the butter and sugar mixture and then add the almonds. Stir in 1/4 of the egg white mixture followed by 1/4 of the sieved flour. Fold in the remaining eggs and flour alternatively until they have all been added. Divide between the two prepared tins and make a hollow in the center of each cake.

IMPORTANT:

Cake should be slightly underdone in the center. Sides should be cooked but the centre a little unset. Depending on oven it can take between 19 and 25 minutes.

Chocolate Butter Icing Melt best quality chocolate with rum. Whisk in unsalted butter by the tablespoon. Beat occasionally until cool. When the cake is completely cold, fill and ice with the mixture. Pipe the remaining icing around the top and decorate with crystallized violets or toasted flaked almonds

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Joanna Blythman, whom I've quoted above, is one of the journalists along side Ella McSweeney that will be taking part in the Good Fats / Bad Fats event. Given their online and newsprint presence, they will be sure to be incredibly informative. For more on butter, John McKenna (McKenna's Guide) is also participating. It's bound to be an interesting talk.

Check out this gallery showing a step by step guide on making butter from scratch by none other than McSweeney herself. And if that wasn't enticing enough, here's one of McKenna's YouTube videos on making mashed potatoes. Before I came over to Ireland, I didn't believe my Irish cookbooks when they said 'make a dip in the middle of your hot colcannon and add a wedge of butter.

If you can't make it to the debate, check out the Cork Butter Museum or Butter Vikings Workshop on the LitFest weekend.

For more, here is BBC Radio 4 Food Program: Butter a delicious story of decline and revival.

I'd love to hear your opinions and experiences with fats in the diet. Feel free to start the conversation below!