Dear Edwina,
Christine is taking a break from writing the newsletter and has asked me to stand in for her. The highlight of June has to have been the long anticipated festivities surrounding my father's eightieth Birthday. Neil McFadden, Hazel's husband cooked an excellent dinner on the Saturday night, lobster, filet steak and a delicious Birthday cake, while I was delegated the Sunday lunchtime slot.... |
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Hands-On Course Information
Tuesday 20 July from 19:00-21:30
Have you spent all your life either being cooked for or relying on "ready meals" and do you want to be able to impress your family or friends by proving that you can cook Dinner Read More
Saturday 24 July from 10:30-16:30
Many men have that secret desire to don the apron and get behind the cooker and many women wish they would! This course is specifically designed for men with little or no experience Read More
Tuesday 27 July 19:00-21:30
It's every cooks challenge; 30 minute meals, on the table that appeal to ALL the family. If your constantly being harassed with the question "what's for dinner?" from your little darlings, Read More |
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Chocolate News Travels Fast
Congratulations to La Rousse Foods, on the opening of their new venture Cocoa Atelier. This 3 star chocolate shop has a distinctive French edge. Housing beautifully packaged goods, with its various flavour combinations of sophisticated hand made chocolates, macaroons, sauces and caramels all tasting as amazing as they look. D'ont just take our word for it - go sample.
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Christine's Letter
Men like to barbeque and show off, and so I decided to do both. We expected about sixty for lunch and roast lamb seemed to be the answer, or to be more precise two roast lamb. These we ordered from Ray Collier, who hung them beautifully. Clearly he felt we were going to be hungry- they were quite large beasts.
While this may seem ambitious, I did have the benefit of some previous experience, a failed pig-roast aeons ago at which I was a blameless onlooker, a friend's Birthday party for which I foolishly volunteered and Christine's fiftieth. I, therefore, know the major pitfalls; these are as follows;
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Firstly unless you have specialist equipment, dig a pit; - student idleness and the consequent failure to dig any sort of pit (too much hard work) was the key to the pig-roast fiasco.
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Stick to lamb- pigs are big beasts and need to be cooked totally through.
Chances are that you will need to improvise the spit. Clearly whatever you use must be man for the job, and clean. It must also have fixed points on it to which you can secure wire tightly. If you do not the lamb will rotate at will, and be impossible to cook evenly. Two secure supports need to be improvised at either end, with some method of altering the height of the spits above the fire.
Finally prepare the lamb so that when it is cooked it is easy to carve. Butchering a hot greasy lamb that has just been secured to a spit is no fun.
Thus it was on Thursday that I found myself in Ray's shop. He took out the entire rib cage, then put it back, filleted the meat off the back bone but left it in and removed the pedal bone to which the two back legs were attached. It would now be easy to take the beast apart.
On Saturday we secured the lamb to the spit- wire hangers are a useful raw material. We stuffed the rib cage and belly- mostly mint rosemary and lemon balm, but any edible herb will do, nettles even, as the main purpose was to bulk up the body so that it cooked at the speed of the legs. We sewed up the belly with picture wire and studded the flesh with garlic, rosemary and anchovies. All was ready.
Sunday morning, after a night of dancing (light up time delayed half an hour due to oversleeping) we got the fire going in a pit about 2 ½ ft deep; firelighters small bits of wood and then the big stuff piled to 2ft above the ground. The wood must be seasoned need not be dry and must be deciduous, ash, beech sycamore or the like,; use conifers only if you like your food to taste of pine resin.
Two hours after lighting the fire had started to burn down; time to put on the lamb, well above the fire so that it cooked rather than burned and any fat the dripped onto the wood ash burned off without tainting the meat.
Three hours later, having lowered the spits as the fire died down, the lambs were ready. A half hour rest to let the meat relax and they were on guests plates; delicious and a great way to show off!
Julian St Lawerence |
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Irish Grown celebrating the lush green country side and the best it has to offer.
Broadbeans | Broadbeans are now in their prime and found on tables at farmers markets, and locally at The Country Kitchen in Howth, and Nolan's Supermarket in Clontarf. A much celebrated vegetable on Spanish menu's they are delicious when fresh and young. To prepare; split the pods and remove the beans. The pale green skins can be left on or removed according to preference. To remove the skins, blanch in boiling water for one minute and then refresh in iced cold water. Drain and slip off the skins. Cook further for a softer finish. Toss into a salad with bacon or pancetta and avocado. Add to a summer risotto, with peas and asparagus. Go Spanish, puree with a little softened onion, thyme leaf, lemon juice and crème fraiche and enjoy warm with black pudding stuffed roast red peppers!
Irish Lamb |
We are delighted to get the news from Euro-toques that the Connemara Hill Lamb Season is coming round again, and it will be available to buy from the week beginning July 12th.
Last November the Connemara Hill Lamb Producers Group won a Euro-toques Food Award for their efforts to protect the integrity of this unique west of Ireland product through European PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status.
These lambs, produced only from Connemara Blackfaced Horned Ewes and within a specified region by registered farmers, are slow-growing and reared naturally on the heathers and wild grasses which grow in the Connemara Hills, giving the meat its special taste and aroma, with rose red meat and a light fat covering.
The season is shorter and starts later than lowland lamb, beginning in late Summer and remaining in season through Christmas. www.connemarahilllamb.ie
Gooseberries. |
Juicy, tart and full-flavoured early season Gooseberries are the last fruit to be picked from the orchard, while the raspberries, strawberries and blackcurrants never make it to the kitchen! Gooseberries tarts, fools and jam are all enjoying a revival. To prepare; peel away the husk if any and rinse. Pat dry, top and tail. Gooseberries are know for their sharpness and can vary quite a bit ; adjust the amount of sugar in recipes to taste. |
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Fish and shellfish
Mackerel. |
This month, Cockles, Razor Clams, Black sole, Lemon sole, Seatrout and Mackerel are all in their prime and all are acceptable on the sustainability scale. |
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This Months Recipe
Sole cooked on the bone is a simple and satisfying meal at anytime!This recipe features on our popular Feast From The Sea Fish Class.
Sole à la Meuniére Serves 2 Preheat grill to high
1 medium-sized black sole, cleaned, skinned, on the bone
50g butter
1 tbsp chopped mixed fresh herbs, including flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice lemon wedges, to serve .
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Christine St Lawrence
The Kitchen In The Castle
+353(01)839 6182 | |
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Home-Made Baby Food Demonstration
Tue 14 Sept 10:30-12:30 |
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Final preparations  |
Stuffed with herbs  |
Lamb Spit Roast |
A Perfect Sunday Lunch |
Who wants to carve? |
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