These are the sorts of dishes I like to serve as a casual supper or a light lunch. They are versatile recipes and not too filling. A soup, for example, can easily feed a family if accompanied by lots of delicious crusty bread. Probably due in no small part to our blustery and bracing weather, there is a real tradition of warming soups in Ireland. It might be a nourishing broth such as the West Cork Broth with Gubbeen Bacon or a rich and creamy comforting soup like the two different chowder recipes in this chapter.
Lots of the recipes in this chapter would also work really well as an starter for a larger meal. Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce is one of my absolute favourites when made with perfect Irish butter from our greenest pastures. It makes the most divine supper on its own, but if you’re having guests over, then a few asparagus spears cooked this way is a lovely way to begin a meal. The same is true of the wonderful combination of fresh oysters with a glass of Guinness.
Asparagus has to be my favourite vegetable. The exquisitely flavoured bright green spears have a season that is always sadly short. Ireland has perfect growing conditions to produce some of the best asparagus I’ve ever tasted. There are lots of different ways of cooking and serving asparagus, but to me this is the very best: simply boiled in salted water and served on Brown Soda Bread with butter and lashings of hollandaise sauce.
Vegetarian
Serves 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
16–20 asparagus spears
Good pinch of salt
A few slices of Brown Soda Bread
Butter
Snap off the tough woody end of each asparagus stalk and discard. Fill a large saucepan to a depth of 4–6cm (1½–2½in) with water, add the salt and bring to a boil. Tip in the asparagus and cook in the boiling water for 4–8 minutes, until tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Drain immediately.
While the asparagus is cooking, toast the bread, then spread with the butter and remove the crusts, if you wish. For each person, place a piece of toast on a warmed plate, put 4–5 asparagus spears on top and spoon over a little hollandaise sauce.
Vegetarian
Makes 75ml (3fl oz)
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp cold water
50g (2oz) butter, diced
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water over medium heat. (The water must not boil to avoid heating the sauce so much it scrambles or curdles; take the pan off the heat every so often.) Add the egg yolk and cold water. Whisking all the time, gradually add the butter, a few pieces at a time, until each addition has melted and emulsified before adding the next.
Once all the butter has been incorporated, season to taste with lemon juice and salt and pepper, if necessary. Remove from the heat and serve immediately or leave to sit over the warm water until you’re ready to serve.
Globe artichokes have been grown in the gardens of Irish country houses such as Ballymaloe for years. They make a beautiful plant, tall and proud, but it is their bright purple thistle-like flower heads that cooks prize. This is my favourite way of serving them. No olive oil here, only simply boiled artichokes and perfect Irish butter. I love the quiet methodical way one eats artichokes. To eat them, pull away each leaf from the artichoke, dip in the butter, then put the leaf in your mouth and scrape off the flesh from the base with your teeth. Discard that leaf and pick another. Eventually you’ll get down to the yellow choke: Scrape this off and discard to reveal the tender and juicy heart.
Vegetarian
Serves 6
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
6 globe artichokes
Salt
White wine vinegar
175g (6oz) butter
Juice of ½ lemon, freshly squeezed, plus extra for dipping
Just before cooking, trim the base of the artichokes so they will sit steadily on the plate. Dip the cut end in lemon juice to prevent it from discolouring.
Fill a saucepan large enough to hold all of the artichokes three-quarters full with water. Add 2 teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar for every litre (1¾ pints) of water. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Carefully add the artichokes (they should be completely covered with water). Bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 25 minutes, until the larger leaves at the base of the plant come away easily if you pull on them. If they don’t, then continue to cook for another 5–10 minutes. When cooked, remove the artichokes from the water and drain upside down on a plate.
While the artichokes cook, heat the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat just until melted, then stir in the lemon juice, transfer to a few serving bowls and set aside.
To serve, remove the tough outer leaves and discard. Place each artichoke, while still warm, onto a serving plate. Either give each person their own serving bowl of butter or have the bowls within easy reach.
The divine sweetness of Dublin bay prawns (also known as langoustines) is a result of our cold waters, and I love to eat them simply, with just a little mayonnaise, either plain or with a few herbs stirred through.
Serves 4–6
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
4.8 litres (8½ pints) water
4 tbsp salt
1kg (2lb 2oz) Dublin bay prawns with heads on, or any large prawns
Mayonnaise, to serve
Fill a large saucepan with the water, add the salt and bring to a boil over high heat. When the water is at a good rolling boil, add the prawns. Return the water to a boil and cook for 2–3 minutes, depending on their size. The best way to tell when prawns are cooked is to take one from the pan once they rise to the top of the water, after a minute or so of boiling. If it is opaque and firm all the way through, then they are ready to drain.
As soon as the prawns are cooked, drain and lay them out to cool on flat trays to keep them from cooking any further.
Serve at room temperature with a bowl of mayonnaise on the side.
Vegetarian
Makes 300ml (11fl oz)
Preparation time: 5 minutes
2 egg yolks
Pinch of salt
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp white wine vinegar
200ml (7fl oz) sunflower oil
25ml (1fl oz) extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (chives, dill, fennel) (optional)
Put the egg yolks in a bowl and mix in the salt, mustard and vinegar.
Mix the sunflower oil and the extra virgin olive oil in a jug.
Very gradually, whisking all the time (either by hand or using a hand-held electric beater), slowly pour the oil into the bowl in a very thin stream. You should see the mixture start to thicken. Keep whisking and adding the oil slowly until it has all been incorporated. Season with pepper and more salt to taste. Stir in the chopped herbs (if using).
Ivan Allen was Isaac’s grandfather, and this is his recipe. I remember him coming into the kitchens at Ballymaloe and checking the dressed crab whenever it was on the menu to ensure it was just right. If you are using brown crabs, try to find whole crabs so that you can use both the white and flavourful brown meat. I’ve given instructions for cooking a crab from scratch, but if you can’t get hold of a whole crab, you can use ready-cooked fresh or frozen crabmeat instead. For serving you will need two or three crab shells or six 250ml (9fl oz) ramekins or small dishes.
Serves 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes (plus 45 minutes to prep crabs)
Cooking time: 20 minutes (plus 40 minutes to cook crabs)
425g (15oz) meat from 3–4 cooked fresh large crabs, reserving the crab shells
200g (7oz) soft white breadcrumbs
150ml (5fl oz) Basic White Sauce
2 tbsp Tomato Relish
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard, or a generous pinch of dry mustard powder
75g (3oz) butter, melted
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE TOMATO AND BASIL SALAD
8 vine-ripened tomatoes (using one variety or a mixture)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of sugar
Juice from a good squeeze of lemon
2–3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Small handful of basil leaves, larger leaves torn
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. If you plan to serve from the crab shells, scrub them clean, dry well and arrange upside down on a baking tray. Alternatively, place six 250ml (9fl oz) ramekins or small dishes on the baking tray.
In a large bowl, mix together the crabmeat, just over three-quarters of the breadcrumbs, the white sauce, relish, vinegar, mustard and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter; season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the crab shells or ramekins. In a separate bowl, toss together the remaining breadcrumbs with the remaining butter and sprinkle over the crab mixture.
Bake for 15–20 minutes, until heated through and browned on top. Briefly place under a preheated grill, if necessary, to crisp up the crumbs.
In the meantime, prepare the salad. Cut the tomatoes into quarters or 1cm (½in) slices. Spread out in a single layer on a large flat plate and season to taste with salt, pepper and sugar. Drizzle over the lemon juice, then the extra virgin olive oil; scatter the basil leaves over. Toss together gently.
Serve the baked crab with the tomato salad and some fresh crusty bread on the side.
First place the crab in the freezer for a couple of hours so that it is unconscious before boiling. Place the frozen crab in a large saucepan, cover with warm water, add 1 tablespoon of salt for every 1.2 litres (2 pints) of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes for every 450g (1lb). Pour off about two-thirds of the water, cover with a lid and continue to cook for another 6 minutes. To see if the crab is cooked, gently shake it quite close to your ear; you shouldn’t hear liquid splashing around. If you do hear water, the crab isn’t quite cooked and will need another few minutes. Remove the crab from the water and allow to cool.
To remove the meat, first remove the large claws and crack these (using a heavy weight or nut crackers), then extract every bit of meat using the handle of a teaspoon. Turn the body of the crab upside down and pull out the centre portion. Discard the gills, known as ‘dead man’s fingers’, each about 4cm (1½in) long. Scoop out all the lovely brown meat from the body and add it to the meat from the claws. The meat can be used immediately or frozen for future use. Retain the shell if making dressed crab, otherwise discard.
A really useful relish recipe, this is my version of Ballymaloe’s famous Country Relish. It works with many different foods, from cold meats and sausages to cheese sandwiches and dressed crab.
Vegetarian
Makes 1 × 300ml (11fl oz) jar
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
1 × 400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
200ml (7fl oz) white wine vinegar
130g (4½oz) caster or granulated sugar
100g (3½oz) sultanas or raisins
4 tbsp water
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp tomato purée
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
Pinch of ground cloves
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook on a low simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 1½ hours, until a slightly reduced chunky consistency. Use immediately or store in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 2 months.
These are a retro favourite, beloved of Irish restaurants in the eighties. When done right, they’re absolutely fantastic: crisp crunchy breadcrumbs atop plump mussels. Mussels, one of the least expensive of shellfish, grow freely on our shores and have long fed the people of the coast. They’re such good value, and I love that they’re so quick to cook. Serve with bread or toast to mop up all the juices.
Serves 4–6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
900g (2lb) mussels in their shells, scrubbed clean
50g (2oz) butter
50g (2oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
1 large clove garlic, crushed or grated
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Check over the mussels and, if any are open, give them a tap; if they don’t close, discard them. Put the tightly shut mussels with just 1 tablespoon of water in a large saucepan over low heat and cover with the lid. They will open in the steam. If you catch them when they are just opening, they will be delicious and juicy, so don’t overcook them. Remove the mussels from the pan (keeping any juices for a fish soup, pie, stew or even to mix with mayonnaise served with shellfish such as prawns). Discard any cooked mussels with unopened shells.
Discard half a shell from each mussel and pull out the beard – the little fibrous tuft – from the straight side of each mussel.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the breadcrumbs, garlic and parsley and mix together. With a spoon, firmly pack the breadcrumb mixture on top of each mussel. Place the mussels, crumb side up, in a single layer on ovenproof plates or gratin dishes. (These can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance.) When you are ready to eat, pop them under a preheated grill until golden, crunchy and bubbly, 1–2 minutes.
While it isn’t classically Irish, sometimes I feel like adding a bit more zip to this recipe, so in place of the parsley, I add 1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander together with one-quarter to one-half of a fresh red chilli, deseeded and chopped. Or you could try adding some grated lemon zest to the crumbs.
To make breadcrumbs, place slices of white bread (with or without the crusts) in a food processor, and whiz until you have crumbs, about 20 seconds.
Once considered a food for the peasants, oysters are now a prized delicacy. There is nothing quite like the salty, creamy flesh that tastes so much of the sea. In Ireland, oysters are always shucked to order and they are celebrated at oyster festivals across the country with shucking competitions and various oyster-based events.
Oysters need little accompaniment; some people like a few grinds of pepper or drops of Tabasco or lemon. It’s up to you, though I like the pure unadulterated oyster flavour and have mine on their own. Stout and oysters go particularly well with each other, and the two served together is a quintessentially Irish dish. For a more celebratory drink, you could make Black Velvets, made by adding two parts stout to one part Champagne. Both my husband Isaac and I adore Black Velvets whether with oysters or without, and we served them at midnight at our wedding.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes
24 oysters (opened in their shells)
A glass of Guinness each, to serve
Lemon wedges, pepper or Tabasco sauce, to serve (optional)
It is best to use an oyster knife, which is designed for the purpose and will make your life much easier (and safer). If you don’t have an oyster knife, you can use a thin chisel, but do not attempt to open oysters with any knife that has a bendy blade.
Fold a tea towel lengthways and wrap it around your hand once or twice to protect it. Place the oyster on the remaining edge of the towel, with the flatter side of the oyster facing up. You will see a slight crevice where the shells meet at the narrow end.
Take your oyster knife (or thin clean chisel) and insert the blade into the crevice while holding the opposite end steady with your wrapped hand. Press and turn the knife, levering upwards. Once the shell pops open, insert a clean knife just under the top shell to cut the oyster away; it will suddenly become free.
Cut the membrane where the oyster is attached to the shell and remove the oyster altogether or replace it on the shell, discarding any bits of broken shell. Serve immediately, if possible, or store in the fridge in a sealed container until serving.
This is one of my favourite quick recipes, as impressive as it is quick to put together. I love having some of this in my fridge for a snack or a packed lunch, and it will keep there for a week. The better the smoked mackerel you use the better your pâté will be. I sometimes serve this on slices of Brown Soda Bread with Cucumber Pickle. For a family meal I like to serve this pâté as a starter, in a bowl in the centre of the table with lots of crusty bread or toast to go around. That way everyone can dig in while the rest of the meal is being prepared.
Serves 4–6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15–20 minutes
1 large fillet smoked mackerel (about 100g/3½oz)
75g (3oz) cream cheese, softened
75g (3oz) crème fraîche or sour cream
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a food processor, whiz the smoked mackerel. Add the cream cheese and the crème fraîche or sour cream and whiz just until smooth. Empty into a bowl and fold in the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
I adore chicken livers for their soft texture and rich flavour. Chicken livers are less popular in Ireland than they used to be, when people would make sure to eat every part of the animal. Chicken livers and crispy bacon is a classic combination and makes a divine starter with some crusty bread, or serve as a supper with Creamy Mashed Potato.
Serves 2–4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
150g (5oz) bacon, cut into 2cm (¾in) pieces
1 clove garlic, sliced
300g (11oz) chicken livers, green parts removed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1–2 tbsp chopped fresh sage
2 tbsp marsala, port or brandy
4 tbsp single cream (optional)
Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry for a few minutes until golden, then transfer onto kitchen paper to drain, then set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the garlic and fry for 1–2 minutes, until slightly golden.
Add the chicken livers, season with salt and pepper and cook the livers for 2–3 minutes on each side, until they’re browned on the outside but still a little pink in the middle.
Add the reserved bacon, sage and marsala. Increase the heat and bubble for just 30 seconds (be careful as the alcohol may flame) then remove from the heat.
If you’d like a creamier dish, leave the pan over high heat, add the cream and allow it to bubble for 30 seconds or so.
Season to taste and serve immediately.
The Irish have always believed it is important to eat the whole animal. Livers or kidneys are often served alongside our beloved potatoes, which may be simply boiled or in a creamy mash. This is a more modern version of a dish my grandmother used to make a lot. The dry sherry gives the dish real depth; you could also use brandy, port or even white wine. If you have time, make some Creamy Mashed Potato to accompany them. Otherwise make sure to mop up every last drop with some good crusty bread.
Serves 2
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
25g (1oz) butter
2 onions, thinly sliced
300g (11oz) chicken livers
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp dry sherry
100ml (3½fl oz) Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat and, when foaming, add the onions. Fry, stirring occasionally, for 15–20 minutes, until the onions are completely soft and golden. Tip the onions onto a plate and set aside.
Season the chicken livers with salt and pepper. Melt the remaining butter in the pan over medium-high heat. When the butter starts to foam, add the chicken livers and cook for 2–4 minutes on each side, until browned on the outside but still a little pink in the middle.
Add the sherry and allow it to bubble for 30 seconds. Add the cooked onions and stock. Stir together, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 1–2 minutes, until the stock has slightly reduced. Serve immediately.
Mushroom soup is an easy family favourite, rich and velvety with a lovely texture because it isn’t puréed. From the mountains of Wicklow to the woodlands of Kerry, we have an abundance of great wild and farmed mushrooms in Ireland. I use large flat field mushrooms when I can because they have a better flavour than the smaller button mushrooms.
Vegetarian (if using vegetable stock)
Serves 6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
25g (1oz) butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
350g (12oz) large flat field mushrooms, quartered
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
600ml (1 pint) Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock
150ml (5fl oz) double or whipping cream
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 8–10 minutes, until softened and slightly golden.
Finely chop the mushrooms in the food processor or by hand and add the mushrooms to the saucepan along with the thyme. Place over medium-low heat, cover and cook for about 5 minutes or until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the stock and bring slowly to a boil; then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 25 minutes.
Pour in the cream and simmer gently for a few minutes, then stir in the chives and serve immediately.
A really useful stock, perfect for vegetarians or when you don’t want a meaty flavour in your dish.
Vegetarian
Makes about 2 litres (3½ pints)
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 leeks, trimmed and roughly chopped
3 celery stalks, trimmed and roughly chopped
3 carrots, roughly chopped
½ fennel bulb, roughly chopped
Bunch of parsley stems
1 small sprig of rosemary
1 sprig of thyme
Water
Combine the onions, leeks, celery, carrots, fennel, parsley, rosemary and thyme in a large saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover the ingredients by about 10cm (4in) and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for an hour, then strain the liquid and discard the vegetables.
Chicken stock is invaluable, forming the basis for so many stews, sauces and soups. Homemade chicken stock, with its intense, fresh flavour, is best of all. Indeed, making stock is a very good way of using up ingredients that might otherwise be thrown away – onion peel, carrot and celery trimmings and, of course, chicken bones. Get into the habit of making stock whenever you have a chicken carcass on hand – whether cooked or raw. If you’re not using the stock straight away, it will store in the fridge for 2–3 days, or you can pour it into several small containers to freeze.
Makes about 2 litres (3½ pints)
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
1 chicken carcass (either raw or cooked)
1 onion, unpeeled and halved, or 1 leek, split and halved
1–2 carrots, halved lengthways
1 celery stalk
1 small bay leaf
1 sprig of parsley
1 sprig of thyme
4 peppercorns
3 litres (5¼ pints) water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine the chicken carcass, onion, carrots, celery, bay leaf, parsley, thyme and peppercorns in a large saucepan. Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over medium heat, covered but with a wooden spoon between the lid and the pan to allow the steam to escape, for about 2 hours, until you have a well-flavoured stock.
Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a large bowl or jug, discarding the bits in the sieve. Allow to cool, skimming off any fat from the surface of the stock as it cools.
Ballycotton is our local fishing village, and nearly all the fish we eat and cook here at the Ballymaloe Cookery School comes from there. Ireland’s long coastline gives a glorious abundance of the very best fish, and chowder is a much-loved staple on pub, café and restaurant menus throughout the coast. The best of the local fish goes into this rich and creamy soup. I always make chowder using some smoked fish because I love the way that smokiness flavours the whole bowl. You can also add some whole mussels in their shells (be sure to discard any that remain closed after cooking).
Serve with Brown Soda Bread, Wholemeal Honey Bread or Brown Yeast Bread.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15–20 minutes
Extra virgin olive oil
100g (3½oz) bacon, cut into 1cm (½in) dice
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
175g (6oz) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm (½in) cubes
500ml (18fl oz) Chicken Stock
350ml (12fl oz) milk
Pinch of cayenne pepper
200g (7oz) fish fillets (mixture of salmon and a white fish, such as pollock, haddock or cod) cut into 2–3cm (¾–1in) chunks
100g (3½oz) smoked haddock or smoked salmon, cut into 2cm (¾in) pieces
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Pour a small drizzle of olive oil into a large saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, tip in the bacon. Fry for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the fat has rendered and the bacon is crispy and golden brown.
Add the onion, season with salt and pepper (bearing in mind that the bacon is quite salty) and cook for another 5 minutes. Then add the potatoes with the stock, milk and cayenne.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes, or until the cubes of potato are half cooked. Add the fish and gently simmer for another 3–4 minutes, until the fish is opaque and the potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste, stir in the chopped herbs and serve.
Molly Malone was a beautiful girl who sold cockles and mussels and died tragically of a fever while still young, or so the song goes. Molly may not have been a real girl, but since at least the 17th century, there have been fishmongers on the streets of Dublin who sell ‘Cockles and Mussels, alive, alive, oh!’
Cockles, with their distinctive flavour and lovely curved shell, are traditionally eaten in Ireland with Oatcakes. If you can only find mussels, this chowder will be just as good.
Serve either as a substantial starter or with chunks of crusty bread as a meal in its own right.
Serves 4–6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
2 tbsp sunflower oil
110g (4oz) smoked bacon, diced
25g (1oz) butter
110g (4oz) leek, trimmed and very finely diced
110g (4oz) carrot, very finely diced
275g (10oz) potato (about 1 medium), peeled and finely diced
1kg (2lb 2oz) mixed cockles and mussels
300ml (11fl oz) dry white wine
200ml (7fl oz) milk
200ml (7fl oz) single or double cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp roughly chopped fresh parsley
Heat the sunflower oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and sauté for about 1 minute, until crisp and golden. Add the butter to the pan and melt. Then add the leek, carrot and potato. Reduce the heat to low and sauté gently for 4–5 minutes, until soft but not browned.
Meanwhile, prepare the cockles and mussels. Scrub the shells clean and discard any that remain open when you tap them against a hard surface. Remove the beard – the little fibrous tuft – from each mussel. Bring the wine to a boil in a large saucepan and add the cockles and mussels. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 3–4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the shells have opened.
Remove from the heat, drain the shellfish in a colander, reserving the cooking juices, and discard any shells that remain closed. Return the shellfish to the empty pan to keep warm. Place a fine sieve over a measuring jug and strain the cooking liquid. You should have at least 600ml (1 pint); if not, add water to make up that quantity.
Add the pan juices and the milk to the bacon and vegetable mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 6–8 minutes, until the potato is tender. Add the cream and simmer for another 2–3 minutes, until the soup is reduced and thickened slightly. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, remove half of the cockles and mussels from their shells and add them with the remaining cockles and mussels still in their shells to the chowder. Stir in the parsley and serve at once.
This is a comforting, restorative broth – warming and nourishing in equal measure. It uses unsliced bacon, which is sadly becoming increasingly uncommon in many places outside of Ireland. It works so well in this dish, because the bacon is cut into cubes that have just the right amount of juicy meatiness. It uses unsmoked bacon, or ‘green’ bacon. If you can’t find unsmoked bacon, use pancetta.
I like to use Gubbeen bacon; their farm in West Cork has deliciously happy pigs, and they also make one of my favourite Irish cheeses.
Serves 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
250g (9oz) unsmoked, unsliced Gubbeen bacon (rind removed) or pancetta, cut into 1cm (½in) cubes
2 tbsp olive or sunflower oil
150g (5oz) potatoes, peeled and cut into 5mm (¼in) dice
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely grated
450g (1lb) tomatoes, peeled and diced, or 1 × 400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar
850ml (1½ pints) Chicken Stock
50g (2oz) finely shredded kale or savoy cabbage
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Bring a saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the bacon cubes and cook for 1 minute. Drain and dry on kitchen paper.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry for 3–5 minutes until crisp and golden; then add the potatoes, onion, celery and garlic. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomatoes and season with salt, pepper and sugar.
Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, stir in the kale, and simmer for a minute or so, until just tender. Taste for seasoning, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.
A soup made from the kind of staples that few Irish kitchens are ever without, with the potatoes forming the basis of a rustic and substantial meal in a bowl. The smoky flavour from the bacon gives this soup magnificent depth. Parsley pesto is an updated version of what many years ago would have been simply chopped parsley. It speaks to a modern Ireland, with its international influences.
This soup is great served with Brown Soda Bread.
Serves 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
1 tbsp sunflower or olive oil
4 rashers smoked bacon, diced
25g (1oz) butter
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 large leek, trimmed and diced
2 large potatoes (about 450g/1lb in total)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.2 litres (2 pints) Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock
FOR THE PARSLEY PESTO
15g (½oz) fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 tbsp pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat, add the bacon, and sauté for about 1 minute, or until crisp and golden. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
Reduce the heat a little and add the butter to the oil in the pan. When it has melted, add the onion, leek and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and cook gently for 8–10 minutes without browning. Pour in the stock and simmer gently for 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are completely cooked through.
Meanwhile, make the parsley pesto. Discard the stems from the parsley and put the leaves in a bowl with the garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan and olive oil. Using a hand-held blender, purée to a fairly smooth paste, adding a little more oil, if necessary, so that it is a thick but drizzling consistency. Alternatively, crush the parsley, garlic and pine nuts using a pestle and mortar and stir in the Parmesan and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
Purée the soup until smooth in a blender or using a hand-held blender. Return to the pan and stir in all but 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon pieces. Check the seasoning, adjusting if necessary, and heat for a minute more before serving.
Ladle the soup into warm bowls. Drizzle over the parsley pesto and scatter the remaining bacon pieces on top.
Collect the leek trimmings and parsley stems to add flavour when you are making stock.
