For me there are few things more gratifying than cooking a special dinner for my whole family. Often it’s a particular family member’s favourite, such as Isaac’s Hot Buttered Lobster, the Pot-roasted Duck Legs that my son Joshua loves so much, or a roast chicken that the whole family adores. Making fabulous meals should never be reserved just for serving guests. Your family is just as deserving, if not more deserving, of such treats!
These are great recipes but they’re never fussy. They’re big, warming, convivial dishes that are perfect for sharing. There are some real Irish classics in here, such as Boiled Bacon and Cabbage and Beef and Red Wine Hot Pot, a hearty supper beloved of everyone whose mother made it for them.
You’ll also find lots of fantastic fish recipes in this chapter. Being an island, Ireland offers a wonderful selection of fresh fish wherever you live in the country. I think the best way of serving such great fish is to not do too much with it and serve it quite simply, with perhaps a Herb Butter or Hollandaise Sauce.
I always have a jar of capers in my fridge – they’re a great shortcut to a good punchy flavour. Here, they cut through the rich oily fish. This dish can be made in just a few minutes, and I like to serve it simply with some boiled new potatoes. Instead of salmon, it would be just as good with fresh mackerel, an equally oily fish. The fish goes particularly well with Pea and Spring Onion Champ.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
50g (2oz) butter, diced
4 (125g/4½oz) salmon fillets (with the skin left on, if you wish)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice mixed with 6–8 tbsp water
4 tsp chopped fresh dill
Place a frying pan over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add a couple of knobs of butter, very quickly followed by the salmon, skin side down. Fry for 3–4 minutes, until golden brown underneath. Turn over, season with salt and pepper and fry for another couple of minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through. (The timing will depend on the thickness of the salmon fillets and heat of the pan.)
Add the capers, along with the remaining butter and lemon juice mixture and boil for 1 minute. Season to taste, adding more lemon juice or water, if necessary. Transfer the salmon onto warmed plates, stir the chopped dill into the sauce and pour over the fish to serve.
My son Joshua will often fish for mackerel off the pier in late summer when the mackerel are at their best. He and his friends will bring back a few delicious fish, which he loves to cook himself. It is said the sun should never set on a mackerel; certainly it is a fish that must be eaten as fresh as possible. This is a simple but absolutely divine way to serve one of my favourite fish. Serve with Creamy Mashed Potato and a green salad or Pea Purée if you desire.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
8 mackerel fillets, with the skins on
75g (3oz) plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
25g (1oz) butter, softened
Lemon wedges, to serve
FOR THE HERB BUTTER
100g (3½oz) butter, softened
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
To make the herb butter, cream the butter in a bowl and add the chopped herbs and the lemon juice. Roll into a sausage shape and wrap in greaseproof paper or cling film. Put into the freezer to chill quickly.
Place a frying pan or a griddle pan over high heat and wait for it to get very hot. When the pan is hot, dip the fillets in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess. Spread the flesh side (not the skin side) with a little soft butter and place butter side down on the hot pan. Cook for a couple of minutes, until crisp and golden, then turn over and cook the other side for another 2–3 minutes, turning down the heat if the pan is getting too hot.
Serve on hot plates with one or two slices of herb butter slowly melting on the fish, with a wedge of lemon on the side.
Trout in all their different colours have always been eaten in Ireland. There are lakes and rivers all over the country full of this delicious and delicately flavoured fish. Trout is available in fishmongers or, of course, you can catch it yourself!
By cooking fish in a parcel of baking parchment, all the flavours from the fish and this herb butter are sealed in. It also ensures the fish is kept perfectly moist. I love serving this dish to guests and watching each person open their own parcel and breathe in the gorgeous aromas from the herbs and fish.
Try serving with Creamy Mashed Potato and Minted Broad Beans or Pea Purée.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
40g (1½oz) butter, softened
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 trout fillets (or salmon or mullet), about 125g (4½oz) each
Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7.
For each serving, cut out a piece of parchment paper or foil measuring about 30cm (12in) square.
To make the herb butter, mix together the butter, parsley, thyme and dill in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Place a piece of fish in the centre of the paper and add a spoonful (a quarter) of the herb butter. Fold the square in half to enclose he filling and then fold in the edges to seal and form a parcel. The finished parcel should be semi-circular in shape, looking rather like a Cornish pasty. Repeat for the other pieces of fish and place on a baking tray.
Bake for 12–14 minutes, until the fish is just opaque all the way through. You’ll need to open one to check; this can be yours. Place the parcels on serving plates for people to open for themselves.
You could also make this dish with whole trout, though they will take longer to cook, about 25–30 minutes.
I think this is the best way of serving lobster – it’s simply about presenting that wonderfully sweet meat of the most impressive of shellfish. I adore lobster straight from the sea. This decadent dish is strictly for special occasions. It’s important that when you’re cooking the steamed lobster in the butter you allow the butter to get quite golden as that really intensifies the sweet flavour. Serve with nothing more than boiled new potatoes.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
2 (900g/2lb) live lobsters
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 carrot, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
600ml (1 pint) water
600ml (1 pint) dry white wine
2 sprigs of parsley
2 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
A few peppercorns
50g (2oz) butter
Juice of 1 lemon, plus wedges to garnish
A couple of hours before you are ready to cook, put the lobsters in a plastic bag in the freezer. When it is time to cook them, bring a large saucepan of salted water (3 tablespoons salt to every 2 litres/3½ pints water) to a boil.
Plunge the frozen lobsters directly into the boiling water and when they start to turn colour from dark to browny orange, in about 10 minutes, remove them from the pan and discard the water.
Put the carrot, onion, celery, water, wine, herbs and peppercorns into the same saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the lobsters and cover with the lid. Cook until they turn a very bright orange-red: for a 900g (2lb) lobster this will be about 20 minutes and for a 1.3kg (3lb) lobster this will be about 30 minutes. When they are cooked, take them out of the pan and let them cool. Strain the cooking liquid and use as fish stock (it will freeze).
Once the lobsters are cool enough to handle, turn the lobster over so the softer belly is facing upwards. With a large, sharp knife cut them in half lengthways from head to the tail as evenly as possible. Extract all the meat from the head and from the tail and claws. You will need to use either a wooden mallet or the flat edge of a chopping knife blade to crack open the claws. Chop the meat into 2cm (¾in) chunks.
Clean the lobster shells (keeping the head and tail intact, if possible, to serve the lobster in) and pop into a low oven along with your plates just to heat up.
Melt the butter in a frying pan over high heat. When it’s hot and foaming, add the lobster meat and toss for about a minute. Season with lemon juice and pepper. Using a slotted spoon, divide the lobster among the half shells on warmed plates then spoon the juices over the lobster meat. Serve immediately with wedges of lemon and see your guests melt in ecstasy!
Everyone in our family adores mussels, and this dish is a convivial social food, with a great big bowl of steaming mussels in the centre of the table and crusty bread to share. The novelty of removing each mussel from its shell can be very enticing for young and old alike. In this recipe you can use a mixture of your favourite fresh herbs or whatever you have on hand. Tarragon, chervil, dill and marjoram all work perfectly, in addition to the ones suggested here. There is no need to season this dish because the juices from the mussels will probably be salty enough. Serve with Brown Soda Bread or Ballymaloe Brown Yeast Bread.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
2.5kg (5½lb) mussels
150ml (5fl oz) double or whipping cream
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp chopped fresh fennel (the herb, not the bulb)
Scrub the mussels very well, discarding any that are open and don’t close when tapped against a hard surface. Remove the beard – the little fibrous tuft – from each mussel.
Pour the cream into a large saucepan and bring slowly to a boil. Stir in the herbs and add the mussels. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and continue to cook over medium heat for 5–8 minutes, until all the mussels are completely open. (Discard any that remain closed.)
Scoop the mussels out into one large or four individual serving bowls and ladle the creamy juices over. Place another bowl on the table for the empty shells, some finger bowls and lots of napkins.
I’m often asked what dish most brings me back to my childhood, and it is without a doubt roast chicken. In the winter we always stuff the bird. In the summer, though, I often forgo the stuffing for something a little lighter – just a few cloves of garlic and a lemon.
Of course, roast chicken is fantastic with a simple gravy, but why not experiment with a cream sauce, such as the Tarragon Cream Sauce – most definitely Isaac’s favourite!
Serve with Granny’s Roasted Herbed Potatoes, Sticky Cumin and Apricot Roast Carrots and Parsnips, Buttered Cabbage and Root Vegetable Mash.
Serves 4–6
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 1½–1¾ hours
Traditional Herb Stuffing (or one of the variations)
1 whole chicken (1.5–2.25kg/3⅓–5lb)
15g (½oz) butter, softened
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chicken Gravy or Tarragon Cream Sauce
First make the stuffing (if using). Allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Spoon the cooled stuffing into the chicken cavity and place the chicken in a roasting tin. Smear the butter over the skin and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 1½–1¾ hours (allowing about 20 minutes per 450g/1lb), basting occasionally, until cooked through. If the skin begins to look quite dark during cooking, cover the chicken with some foil or greaseproof paper.
To check whether the chicken is fully cooked, stick a skewer into the thigh with a spoon placed underneath to catch the juices; the juices should run clear. Also, the legs should feel quite loose on the bird. When cooked, transfer the chicken to a serving plate and leave to rest, covered with foil and in the oven at the lowest temperature, if possible, while you make the gravy or sauce using the juices of the cooked chicken.
To serve, spoon the stuffing out of the chicken into a serving bowl or onto a plate. Carve the chicken and serve with the stuffing and gravy or any other accompanying sauce.
Always buy as good a chicken as you can afford, remembering not only that this is going to be great on the day you cook it, but also that you can then use the leftovers in a soup, pie or pasta sauce, and even make a stock out of the carcass.
Gravy is, of course, the classic accompaniment to roast chicken. You can use the same method for making gravy for any roast meat.
Makes about 400ml (14fl oz)
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
600ml (1 pint) Chicken Stock
25g (1oz) butter
20g (¾oz) plain flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Once the chicken is cooked and removed from the roasting tin to rest and keep warm, place the tin over medium heat and deglaze with a little of the stock, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping any sticky bits from the bottom of the tin.
Drain off the fat using a separating jug or, if you don’t have one, pour the liquid into a bowl and add a handful of ice cubes. After a few minutes, the fat will float to the surface. Remove and discard the fat; pour the remaining liquid into a saucepan with the remaining chicken stock over medium heat.
To make a roux, melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, stirring, and allow it to cook for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
Bring the stock and tin juices to a boil, whisk in the roux a little at a time and continue to boil for 2–3 minutes to thicken very slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Just before serving the chicken, strain the gravy through a fine sieve into a gravy boat or jug.
This is particularly good with roast chicken made with the Smoked Bacon Stuffing. The recipe assumes you have just roasted a chicken.
Makes about 250ml (9fl oz)
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
600ml (1 pint) Chicken Stock
100ml (3½fl oz) double or whipping cream
2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
25g (1oz) butter (optional)
20g (¾oz) plain flour (optional)
Once the chicken is cooked and removed from the roasting tin to rest and keep warm, place the tin over medium heat and deglaze with a little of the stock, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping any sticky bits from the bottom of the tin.
Drain off the fat using a separating jug or, if you don’t have one, pour the tin juice into a bowl and add a handful of ice cubes. After a few minutes, the fat will float to the surface. Remove and discard the fat; pour the remaining tin juices into a saucepan with the remaining chicken stock.
Bring the stock and juices to a boil over medium heat and add the cream and tarragon. Simmer for 3–4 minutes, uncovered, stirring regularly, until reduced and thickened. If you’d like it even thicker you can use a roux. To make the roux, melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, stirring, and allow it to cook for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Whisk the roux into the tarragon sauce, a little at a time, over low heat.
It’s at the end of May that the first of the new season’s potatoes begin to appear. We adore spuds, and each year brings such excitement because there is just nothing quite like a freshly dug new potato, be it from a local farm or, even better, from your own garden.
This dish is my light and summery take on chicken casserole. Cooked in an open pot, the chicken skin is allowed to get golden and crisp, but there is still plenty of delicious sauce, which the new potatoes readily soak up. Serve with a green salad.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 35–40 minutes
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 chicken, cut into pieces, or 4 chicken thighs or breasts (with the skin left on)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
450g (1lb) new potatoes (unpeeled), larger ones halved
2 small leeks or 1 large leek, trimmed and cut into 3cm (1in) lengths
250ml (9fl oz) Chicken Stock
1 sprig of tarragon, plus 1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7.
Pour the olive oil into a large, wide flameproof casserole dish over high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and place, skin side down, in the hot oil. Cook for 4–5 minutes, until a deep golden brown. Turn over, so that the skin side is now on top. Add the potatoes and leeks, season with salt and pepper, and gently stir for another 2 minutes, being careful to keep the chicken skin side up. Pour in the stock and add the sprig of tarragon. Bring to a boil.
Transfer to the oven, uncovered, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the oven, stir in the chopped tarragon along with the lemon juice and mustard and serve immediately.
Duck is a bird rich with flavour and a divine coating of glorious fat. Cooking duck means taking advantage of that wonderful fat and a potato stuffing is perfect. The mashed potato and apple soaks up all those delicious juices, just as stuffing should!
A golden, crisp-skinned duck makes a magnificent centrepiece. Serve with Granny’s Roasted Herbed Potatoes, Sticky Cumin and Apricot Roast Carrots and Parsnips and Buttered Cabbage.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
1 whole duck (about 1.8kg/4lb)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE STUFFING
15g (½oz) butter
½ onion (about 125g/4½oz), chopped
125g (4½oz) peeled and chopped cooking apple
1 large floury potato (225g/8oz), unpeeled
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE GRAVY
300ml (11fl oz) Chicken Stock or duck stock
25g (1oz) butter
20g (¾oz) plain flour
First make the stuffing. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When the butter foams, add the onion and apple. Reduce the heat to low, cover and sweat for 7–10 minutes, until soft. Remove from the heat.
While the onions and apples are cooking, start cooking the potato. Put the potato in a large saucepan of cold water with a good pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, then pour all but about 4cm (1½in) of the water out of the pan and continue to cook the potato over very low heat. (Don’t be tempted to stick a knife into it because the skin will break, and the potato will just disintegrate and get soggy if you do.)
About 20 minutes later, when you think the potato might be cooked, test with a skewer; if the potato is soft, take it off the heat. Peel the potato while still hot and mash immediately; add to the apple and onion mixture. Stir in the orange zest and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Allow to get quite cool before stuffing your duck.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Season the cavity of the duck with salt and pepper and spoon in the stuffing. Place the duck on a rack in a roasting tin and pierce the skin all over with the point of a sharp knife (this will help release the fat during cooking). Season the skin well, particularly with salt, to help crisp it up during cooking.
Roast for about 1½ hours, allowing about 20 minutes per 450g/1lb, basting occasionally and draining any excess fat from the tin. When the duck is cooked, the legs should feel slightly loose and a metal skewer inserted into the thigh should be too hot to hold against the inside of your wrist. When cooked, transfer the duck to a serving plate and leave to rest, covered with foil, in the oven at the lowest temperature, if possible, while you make the gravy.
Drain any fat from the roasting tin using a separating jug or, if you don’t have one, pour the liquid from the tin into a bowl and add a handful of ice cubes. After a few minutes the fat will float to the surface. Remove and discard the fat (saving it, if you wish, for roast potatoes on another day), then pour the remaining cooking juices into a saucepan.
To make the gravy, first make a roux. Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, stirring, and allow it to cook for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Set aside. Place the roasting tin over medium heat and deglaze with a little of the cooking juices or stock, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping any sticky bits from the bottom of the tin. Pour this into the saucepan with the cooking juices, add the remaining stock and bring to a boil. Whisk in the roux, a little at a time, and continue to boil for 2–3 minutes to thicken to the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper if necessary. Just before serving, strain the gravy through a fine sieve into a warm gravy boat or jug.
Spoon the stuffing out of the duck into a serving bowl or onto a serving plate. Carve the duck breasts away from the carcass and cut each one in half. Remove the leg portions and divide them in half, too. Serve a breast and leg portion to each person, along with some stuffing and gravy.
This is the food I love to serve on a wintery weekend evening when friends are over. It’s a dish for an easy-going dinner party, to serve with plenty of red wine and lots of laughter.
There are large sweet turnips, but I prefer the small white ones because they’re more refined in flavour and are particularly at home with duck or goose.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1–1½ hours
1½ tsp extra virgin olive oil
4 duck legs, excess fat removed, but with the skin left on
4 onions, halved through the root, each half cut lengthways into 4 wedges
4 sprigs of rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 floury potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm (¾in) dice
6 small white turnips, peeled and cut into 1–2cm (½–¾in) dice
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
Heat the olive oil in a flameproof casserole dish over medium heat. Add the duck legs, skin side down, followed by the onions, rosemary and salt and pepper. Cook for 4–5 minutes, until the skin is a rich golden brown. Tip in the potatoes and turnips and cover with a lid.
Roast in the oven for 1–1¼ hours, by which time the onions should be golden and the root vegetables and duck cooked through and tender.
A fry-up is great when friends are staying over – simply multiply the ingredients given below by however many people you are feeding. Source the best local ingredients you can and follow up with a big walk. You can have your eggs boiled or poached, if you prefer.
Our family eats an Irish breakfast or some parts of it at least once a week, and not always in the morning. We’re lucky to have great producers of bacon and, of course, black and white pudding, which is a particular speciality of Cork County. Black pudding (blood sausage) may be more popular worldwide, but white pudding is very popular in Ireland and an important part of an Irish breakfast. White pudding is similar to black pudding, but it contains no blood – only pork, spices and usually oatmeal. I love this big cooked breakfast, but it isn’t something I’ll eat early in the morning before I go for a run!
Serves 1
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Vegetable, sunflower or olive oil, for frying
Butter, for frying and spreading on toast
1–2 medium-size pork sausages
1–2 rashers thick-cut, dry-cured, smoked or unsmoked, back or streaky bacon, rind removed
2–3 slices of black and/or white pudding
50g (2oz) button mushrooms, sliced, or 1 large flat mushroom, stem removed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ripe tomato, halved
Pinch of caster sugar (if roasting the tomato in the oven)
FOR THE EGGS
1–2 eggs
½ tbsp milk (for scrambled eggs)
15–20g (½–¾oz) butter (for scrambled eggs)
2 slices white or brown bread
Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the sausages and fry for 10–15 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Add the bacon and fry for 3–4 minutes on each side, until crisp and golden, dabbing off any milky liquid with kitchen paper. Add the black and/or white pudding slices to the pan and fry for 2–3 minutes on each side, until beginning to crisp; the white pudding (if using) should turn golden. Remove the sausages, bacon and pudding slices from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
Place in an ovenproof dish in a low oven to keep warm.
Meanwhile, add a dash of oil and knob of butter to another frying pan over medium heat. Add the button mushrooms and sauté for 3–4 minutes, until softened and turning golden. Season with salt and pepper, then remove from the pan and keep warm (adding to the dish with the sausages and bacon). If you are cooking a large flat mushroom, then add the oil and butter to the pan and fry the mushroom for 8–10 minutes, turning halfway through, until softened and browned.
Season the cut side of the tomato halves with salt and pepper and drizzle over 1 tablespoon of oil. Gently fry them, cut side down first, for 2–3 minutes, then turn over and fry for another 2–3 minutes, until just softened.
Alternatively, cook the large flat mushroom and/or the tomatoes in the oven. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive oil over or add a knob of butter to the mushroom and season with salt and pepper before roasting for 12–15 minutes until tender. Put a knob of butter on the cut side of each tomato half, add the sugar and season with a little salt and pepper before roasting for 12–15 minutes, until softened. If you are using the oven, begin roasting the mushroom and tomatoes a few minutes before frying the sausages and bacon. Once cooked, reduce the oven temperature to low for keeping everything warm as it is cooked.
To fry an egg, melt a knob of butter in a small, clean frying pan over low heat. Carefully crack the egg into the pan and allow to fry gently. For an over-easy egg, fry for 1–2 minutes, until it begins to set, then flip over and fry for another 1–2 minutes. If you prefer your egg sunny side up, then fry gently for 4–5 minutes, until the yolk has filmed over. Remove from the pan and serve immediately with the other cooked ingredients.
For scrambled eggs, crack the eggs into a bowl, add the milk, season with salt and pepper and beat together. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to a small saucepan over low heat. Immediately pour in the eggs and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring continuously (I find a wooden spatula best for this), until the butter has melted and the eggs are softly scrambled. Remove from the heat immediately so that the eggs don’t become overcooked. Serve with the other cooked ingredients.
While the egg is cooking, put the slices of bread in a toaster or toast under a preheated grill for a few minutes (and on both sides, if using the grill) until golden. Butter the toast and cut the slices in half.
To serve, arrange everything on a warm serving plate, with the hot buttered toast on the side and with some tomato ketchup or relish.
If your children regularly eat ketchup, then you might want them to try this delicious and much healthier homemade version. If you think they won’t take to it, ease them into it by mixing some into their usual brand and gradually adjusting their taste. This is definitely best made in the summer with lovely ripe red tomatoes. It keeps for many weeks in the fridge because of the vinegar and sugar. It’s possible to freeze the sauce – perhaps as ice cubes for speedy thawing.
Vegetarian
Makes about 200ml (7fl oz)
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
225g (8oz) onions, roughly chopped
650g (1½lb) roughly chopped tomatoes (about 6 small to medium tomatoes)
2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely grated
75ml (3fl oz) white wine vinegar
75g (3oz) caster or granulated sugar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Pinch of ground allspice
Pinch of ground cloves
½ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 8–10 minutes, until softened and a little golden. Add the tomatoes, garlic, white wine vinegar, sugar, mustard, allspice, cloves, salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until very soft.
Remove from the heat and purée in a food processor or using a hand-held blender. Pour through a sieve into a clean saucepan and simmer, uncovered and stirring regularly, for another 30 minutes, or until the mixture is thick.
Pour into sterilised jars and store in the fridge.
This is a traditional Irish dish in which the cabbage is boiled in the water used for cooking the bacon. Many people recall it with affection, while others remember it for the overcooked cabbage. Providing the cabbage is cooked for only 3–5 minutes, you won’t be disappointed. This dish is also delicious served with Creamy Mashed Potato, or boiled or baked potatoes and some hot mustard.
Serves 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1½ hours
900g (2lb) piece back bacon or cured and smoked pork loin (loin or collar of bacon)
1 small savoy cabbage, outer leaves removed
25g (1oz) butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE PARSLEY SAUCE
300ml (11fl oz) Basic White Sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
25g (1oz) finely chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the bacon in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring slowly to a boil. Drain, refill the pan with fresh water, and repeat. This is to get rid of the salt (which appears as white froth on top of the water), so it may need to be done again, depending how salty the bacon is. Taste the water to check for saltiness and keep checking and boiling again in fresh water until you are happy with the flavour.
Cover with fresh hot water and bring to a boil for the final time. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and simmer for about 40 minutes (allowing 20 minutes per 450g/1lb), occasionally skimming any sediment that rises to the surface. Once the bacon is cooked (a skewer inserted in the middle should come out easily), remove from the pan (reserving the cooking liquid) and let rest, covered with foil, a clean tea towel or upturned bowl.
In the meantime, prepare the parsley sauce. Make the white sauce following the instructions, then stir in the mustard and parsley. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Cover and keep warm in the pan.
Cut the cabbage into quarters, remove the core and finely shred across the grain. Bring the cooking liquid for the bacon to a fast boil. Add the cabbage and cook for about 3 minutes, until just tender (it’s easy to overcook). Drain well, squeezing out any excess water, and return to the saucepan. Add the butter to the cabbage, tossing to melt, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Remove and discard the rind from the bacon, if necessary, and slice the bacon into thick pieces. Serve the bacon with the buttered cabbage and parsley sauce.
This makes a sauce thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. It is thickened using a roux, which is made from flour and butter cooked together. If you would like a thicker sauce, use twice as much butter and flour when making your roux.
Vegetarian
Makes about 300ml (11fl oz)
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
300ml (11fl oz) whole milk
Few slices of carrot
Few slices of onion
1 sprig of parsley
1 sprig of thyme
3 peppercorns
15g (½oz) plain flour
15g (½oz) butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pour the milk into a small saucepan and add the carrot, onion, parsley, thyme and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 4–5 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for about 10 minutes.
While the milk infuses, make the roux. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low-medium heat and add the flour. Allow to cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Set aside.
Strain the milk through a sieve placed over a small saucepan and bring the milk to a boil. Whisk in the roux, a little at a time, until well blended and allow to simmer gently for 4–5 minutes, or until thickened to the desired consistency. Season to taste and use as a plain white sauce or add your choice of flavouring.
For a speedier version, melt the butter in a large saucepan on medium heat and add the flour, stirring for a few seconds. Take off the heat and gradually add the milk, stirring continuously until the milk is fully incorporated and the sauce is lump free. Return the pan to gentle heat and cook the sauce for 6–8 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth.
This is a dish often made at Ballymaloe. I adore the crispy coating around the bacon chops and the way the sweetness of the sauce combines perfectly with the saltiness of the bacon. Serve with some vegetables and boiled new potatoes or Creamy Mashed Potatoes. If you’re feeding children, leave the whiskey out of the sauce because the alcohol does not burn off. Substitute orange or pineapple juice.
Serves 4–6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1¼ hours
900g (2lb) piece back bacon, unsmoked
110g (3½oz) plain flour
1 egg
110g (3½oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
25g (1oz) butter
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
FOR THE WHISKEY SAUCE
225g (8oz) sugar
75ml (3fl oz) cold water
50ml (2fl oz) hot water
3–4 tbsp Irish whiskey
Put the bacon in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring slowly to a boil. Drain, refill the pan with fresh water and repeat. This is to get rid of the salt (which appears as white froth on top of the water), so it may need to be done again, depending how salty the bacon is. Taste the water to check for saltiness and keep checking and boiling again in fresh water until you are happy with the flavour.
Cover with fresh hot water and bring to a boil for the final time. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and simmer for about 40 minutes (allowing 20 minutes per 450g/1lb), occasionally skimming any sediment that rises to the surface. Once the bacon is cooked (a skewer inserted in the middle should come out easily), lift out of the water, drain well and allow to cool a little.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Put the sugar in a saucepan with the cold water and bring slowly to a boil over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Boil without stirring for about 10 minutes, until it turns a chestnut-brown colour, swirling the pan to caramelise evenly. Remove from the heat and immediately add the hot water. Stir to make a smooth sauce, then add the whiskey. Keep warm in the pan.
Sift the flour into a wide shallow bowl, beat the egg in a small bowl, put the breadcrumbs in a third dish and season all three with salt and pepper. Remove the bacon rind (if not already removed), and slice into chops 1–2cm (½–¾in) thick. Dip each chop first in the flour, then in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs to coat.
Combine the butter and oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When the butter starts to froth, fry the chops for 3–4 minutes on each side, until crisp and golden. Serve the crumbed bacon chops with the sweet whiskey sauce drizzled over.
My father-in-law Timmy created this recipe, and we eat it regularly. The ginger flavour is quite subtle, so feel free to increase the amount, if you wish. If you use loin chops, there is probably no need to remove any fat after cooking.
Serves 6–8
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
1.5kg (3lb 4oz) bone-in shoulder pork chops, cut about 1cm (½in) thick
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 baby onions, peeled, or 3–4 standard onions, cut into quarters lengthways through the root
3 carrots, thickly sliced, or 12 baby carrots, scrubbed and left whole
8cm (3in) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 litre (1¾ pints) Chicken Stock
1.3kg (3lb) potatoes (about 12 small), peeled, and halved if large
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3.
Cut the pork chops in half without removing the bones because they will greatly add to the flavour. Heat the olive oil in a flameproof casserole dish with a tight-fitting lid over high heat. When the oil is really hot, add the meat in batches, searing the chops for about 1 minute on each side, or until golden brown, seasoning with salt and pepper as it cooks. Remove from the dish and set aside.
Add the onions and carrots to the hot oil and sauté for 3–4 minutes, until soft; season with salt and pepper. Return the chops to the dish. Add the ginger, pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Put the potatoes on top of the chops, cover with a lid and bake for 1½–1¾ hours, until the meat is very tender and the sauce has thickened slightly.
Once cooked, strain the stew through a colander over a large bowl to catch the cooking liquid. Return the meat and vegetables to the dish with the lid on to keep warm and let the liquid stand for a minute or so to allow the fat to float to the top (adding some ice cubes will help speed up the cooling process). Remove the fat with a spoon and return the liquid to the dish. Warm through over low heat, stir in the coriander and serve.
You can replace the olive oil with 3 tablespoons of fat rendered from the pork. Heat any pork fat trimmings from the meat in a small saucepan until melted to a liquid.
If the potatoes are quite small, add them to the dish 20–30 minutes after the stew starts cooking to prevent them from breaking up.
To quickly peel the baby onions, place them in a bowl, cover with boiling water and allow to stand for a few minutes before draining. The skins should then peel off very easily.
I love that with this gorgeous dish you simply put the pork in the oven in the morning, then carry on with your day. By dinnertime you’ll have the most succulent and tender piece of meat. The shoulder is one of the cheaper cuts of pork and, when cooked correctly, it is definitely my favourite. It demands to be cooked slowly, allowing the fat to melt and moisten the meat and giving the flavours time to develop. When this pork is ready, it is so tender you don’t need to carve it into slices, and nor would you be able to. Just pull off succulent shreds of the meat and pieces of crispy crackling and serve with the roasted vegetables.
Serves 6–8
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 6 hours 20 minutes
3–4kg (6–8lb) bone-in pork shoulder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bulb garlic, broken up into cloves (unpeeled)
1 butternut squash (about 900g/2lb) with skin, deseeded and cut into 1–2cm (½–¾in) cubes
4 trimmed leeks (about 375g/13oz) in total), cut into 1cm (½in) thick slices
Small handful of sage leaves
Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7.
Using a sharp knife, score the rind of the pork in a crisscross pattern at 5mm (¼in) intervals, cutting through the fat but not into the meat itself (or ask your butcher to do this for you, if you prefer). Sprinkle over 1 tablespoon of salt, rubbing it into the lines scored in the fat, place the pork in a large roasting tin and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2 and continue to cook for another 5 hours.
Remove the pork from the oven and turn the temperature up to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7. Pour off the fat into a bowl, leaving any juices in the tin. Place the garlic, squash, leeks and sage leaves around the pork. Then pour over 3 tablespoons of the reserved fat, season with salt and pepper and toss the vegetables together in the tin. Return to the oven for 40–50 minutes, until the pork rind has turned into delicious crackling, and the vegetables are cooked through and golden. Serve from the tin or transfer to a large plate.
Pork belly is the perfect expression of pork, with just the right amount of wonderfully flavourful fat, which not only tastes fabulous but also keeps the meat incredibly moist. Belly needs to cook for quite a long time in order for (nearly) all the fat to come out and for the crackling to become deliciously crisp and crunchy. Make sure that the rind is still on when you buy it (it’s essential for the crackling!). Serve with Root Vegetable Mash and Buttered Cabbage.
Serves 4–6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 3¾–4¼ hours
About 1.5kg (3lb 4oz) pork belly, rind left on
300ml (11fl oz) Chicken Stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE CUMIN AND GARLIC RUB
2 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tsp salt
2–3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2.
For the rub, combine the cumin, garlic and salt and whiz everything together using a hand-held blender, or just finely chop everything by hand and mix together well in a bowl. Add enough olive oil to form a rough paste.
Score the rind on the pork belly, using a very sharp knife and making long cuts through the rind and into the fat (but not into the meat), from one side of the fat to the other at roughly 5mm (¼in) intervals.
Massage the paste into the scored lines in the rind and place the meat rind side up in a roasting tin. Roast in the oven for 3½–4 hours, until the meat is very tender (you should be able to cut the meat with a spoon). Turn up the heat to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7 and roast for another 10–15 minutes, until the rind is crisp and crackly.
Transfer the pork to a serving plate and allow to rest in the oven, with the heat turned off, or somewhere warm for at least 15 minutes.
While the pork is resting, make the gravy. Pour off any excess fat from the roasting tin, then place the tin over medium heat and deglaze by pouring in the stock, whisking continuously to dissolve the caramelised juices sticking to the bottom of the tin. Pour the juices into a separating jug or pour the liquid into a bowl and skim off the melted fat from the surface. It can help to add a few ice cubes; the fat will solidify and float to the surface after a few minutes, and you can then scoop it out and discard it.
Return the meat juices to a small saucepan, bring to a boil, season with salt and pepper if necessary, then pour into a jug to serve straight away or reheat when you are ready to serve.
Carve the pork into slices and serve with the gravy.
Every August for a few years running, I cooked for a wonderful American couple who owned a house in Ireland. On dull rainy days they would request this most comforting dish. It’s very convenient to make because most of the ingredients just go into the pot together and the only thing you have to think about after that is adding the potatoes.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 10–15 minutes
Cooking time: 3½ hours
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 lamb shanks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 red onions, cut lengthways through the root end into 6 wedges
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tomatoes, cut into 3cm (1in) chunks
1 tsp caster sugar
50g (2oz) pearl barley
500ml (18fl oz) Chicken Stock
About 1.3kg (3lb) floury potatoes, peeled and quartered
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2.
Pour the olive oil into a flameproof casserole dish over medium-high heat. Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add the shanks and cook for about 4 minutes on each side, or until they begin to brown. Add the onions, garlic, tomatoes, sugar, pearl barley and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and bake in the oven for 2½ hours.
Add the potatoes, cover again and return to the oven for another 50–60 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked and the lamb shanks meltingly tender.
A Sunday roast can sometimes take some time to put together and to coordinate all the side dishes. This recipe avoids that altogether because the lamb is cooked on a rack over the vegetables allowing them to soak up all the juices and flavour of the meat and saving you time cooking and clearing up! When you are buying the leg of lamb, ask your butcher to remove the aitchbone at the top of the leg and trim the knuckle from the end.
Serves 6–8
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1¾–2 hours
1 bone-in leg of lamb (3–4kg/6½–8¾lb)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
750g (1lb 10oz) floury potatoes, peeled and cut into 7mm (⅜in) slices
3 parsnips (about 450g/1lb in total), peeled and cut into 7mm (⅜in) slices
3 red onions, cut lengthways through the root end into 1cm (½in) wedges
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves or chopped rosemary leaves
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Redcurrant Jelly or Mint Sauce, to serve
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
If necessary, remove the papery skin from the lamb. Then, using a sharp knife, make long shallow scores in a crisscross pattern in the fat, spacing the lines 3cm (1in) apart, and season well with salt and pepper.
Combine the potatoes, parsnips, onions, thyme and olive oil in a large roasting tin and toss together, seasoning with salt and pepper. Spread everything out in the tin and place the lamb on a rack over the top (if you don’t have a rack, place the lamb in the roasting tin and surround it with the vegetables). Roast for 1½ hours, or until the lamb is cooked to your desire.
Remove the tin from the oven and increase the heat to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7. Transfer the lamb to a large plate or a board sitting in a tray, cover with foil and leave to rest somewhere warm.
Put the vegetables back in the oven and roast for another 20–30 minutes, or until golden on top.
About 10 minutes before the vegetables are ready, start carving the lamb. Then divide among plates, adding spoonfuls of the vegetables, and serve with redcurrant jelly or mint sauce.
Delicious with roast meat, especially lamb, this will keep for months in sterilised jars in the fridge. Use frozen redcurrants instead of fresh, if necessary.
Vegetarian
Makes 3 × 300ml (11fl oz) jars
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
500g (1lb 2oz) fresh or frozen (and defrosted) redcurrants, stems removed
500g (1lb 2oz) granulated or caster sugar
Combine the redcurrants and sugar in a large, heavy saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. Increase the heat and boil for 6 minutes, stirring every now and then to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Spoon off any froth that has come to the top.
Pour the mixture into a non-reactive sieve. Allow it to drip through without pushing it with a spoon (which will cause the jelly to become cloudy) and then place in clean, sterilised jars.
The classic accompaniment to roast lamb, mint sauce is best made on the day, up to a couple of hours before serving.
Vegetarian
Makes 75ml (3fl oz)
Preparation time: 10 minutes
3 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 heaped tbsp granulated or caster sugar
50ml (2fl oz) boiling water
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice or white wine vinegar
Combine the mint and sugar in a small bowl and pour over the boiling water. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then stir in the lemon juice. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.
This is just the sort of rich and warming dish that is so popular in Ireland. It must be all the cold weather and, of course, all the rain. We shouldn’t complain too much about the rain, because it’s what makes the grass so green and produces such delicious and full-flavoured beef. Here, stewing cuts of beef are cooked long and slow with a full-bodied red wine and covered by potatoes, making this dish a convenient one-pot supper. You can even prepare it in advance and keep it covered, in the fridge, for up to 24 hours before cooking.
Serves 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 2½ hours
3–4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
250g (9oz) button mushrooms, halved (or quartered if they are large)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 small onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1.5kg (3lb 4oz) stewing beef, cut into 6cm (2in) chunks
150ml (5fl oz) red wine
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
650g (1½lb) floury potatoes, peeled and cut into 5mm (¼in) slices
25g (1oz) butter, diced
Preheat the oven to 150°C/ 300°F/Gas Mark 2.
Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole dish over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and toss for 2–3 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove the mushrooms from the dish with a slotted spoon and set aside.
If there isn’t much oil left in the dish, add another tablespoon. Tip in the onions and garlic, stir over the heat, season with salt and pepper and cook for 4–5 minutes, until they start to turn golden at the edges. Add the meat and wine and 2 teaspoons of the thyme leaves. Bring to a boil and cover with a lid.
Bake in the oven for 1¼–1½ hours, until the meat is just tender. Take the dish out of the oven and turn up the heat to 230°C/450°F/Gas Mark 8. Stir in the mushrooms and red wine vinegar. Arrange the potato slices over the beef in the dish (it’s fine if there’s more than one layer). Scatter over the remaining thyme and some salt and pepper, then dot with the butter.
Return the casserole dish to the (now hot) oven and bake for another 30–40 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through and beginning to turn golden. Bring to the table and serve.
Spiced beef used to be eaten all over Ireland at Christmas and New Year. In Cork, however, we eat spiced beef all year round and it is sold daily at the city’s famous English Market. This spiced beef recipe has been passed down the Allen family and I think it’s absolutely divine. In fact the first time I had spiced beef was when I came from Dublin to do the Cookery Course at Ballymaloe.
Spiced beef is useful to have in the fridge; it lasts for up to 6 weeks and is delicious thinly sliced and served with a little pickle and chutney. This recipe makes enough spice for this amount of beef. But if you have a smaller piece of beef, then use half of the mixture and keep the rest in a jar for 3 months.
Serves 12–16
Preparation time: 20 minutes (plus 3–7 days to cure)
Cooking time: 2 to 3 hours
About 2kg (4lb 4oz) lean flank or silverside of beef
BALLYMALOE SPICE MIXTURE
100g (3½oz) Demerara or light brown sugar
125g (4½oz) salt
5g (¼oz) saltpetre (potassium nitrate)
25g (1oz) whole black peppercorns
25g (1oz) whole allspice (pimento or Jamaican pepper)
25g (1oz) whole juniper berries
Cucumber Pickles, to serve
Tomato Relish, to serve
Make the spice mixture by grinding all the ingredients (preferably in a spice grinder in a few batches) until fairly fine.
To prepare the beef, remove any bones and trim off any large pieces of fat (do keep some of the fat). Place the beef in an earthenware dish and rub the spice into every crevice of the beef. Leave in the fridge for 3–7 days, depending on the thickness of the meat. Turn it occasionally. (This is a dry spice, but after 1–2 days some liquid will come out of the meat.) The longer the meat is left in the spice, the longer it will last and the stronger the spiced flavour.
Jut before cooking the meat, roll and tie the meat neatly with cotton string into a compact shape, place in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and simmer for 2–3 hours (about 20 minutes per 450g/1lb) or until soft and cooked. When cooked you should be able to insert a skewer into the centre and the skewer will come out easily.
If you’re serving the beef warm, remove from the liquid, then place on a carving board, cut away the string and carve into slices to serve. If the beef is to be eaten cold, remove it from the liquid, place in a high-sided dish, such as a roasting tin or gratin dish, cover it with a chopping board and weigh it down with four or five cans of tomatoes or beans (or something of a similar weight) and leave for 12 hours. After 12 hours, remove the board and weights. It will now keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. Serve by cutting into very thin slices and serving with cucumber pickle and tomato relish.
Myrtle Allen started making this at Ballymaloe House more than 30 years ago. Not only is it good in burgers and all kinds of sandwiches, but it’s wonderful with cold sliced meats and smoked fish, and it transforms a humble hard-boiled egg and a chunk of Cheddar into a feast. It’s a pickle, so even though it will lose its vibrant green colour, it will keep for up to 3 months.
I like to use either a mandolin or a food processor to get very thin cucumber slices.
Vegetarian
Makes about 5 × 300ml (11fl oz) jars
Ready in 1 hour
900g (2lb) cucumbers, unpeeled and very thinly sliced
1 medium red or white onion, thinly sliced
350g (12oz) sugar
1 tbsp salt
225ml (8fl oz) cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
Mix the cucumber and onion in a large bowl. Add the sugar, salt and vinegar and mix well to combine. Make 1 hour ahead of when you want to use it, if possible.
Pheasant is a wonderful game bird. It’s only available during the winter months’ hunting season but it has such a rich, strong flavour that you wouldn’t want it year-round. The stuffing uses another autumnal flavour, wild mushrooms. If you can’t get wild mushrooms, then you could use button mushrooms, and the flavour will be almost as good.
Serve with Granny’s Roasted Herbed Potatoes, Buttered Cabbage, Root Vegetable Mash and plenty of gravy.
Serves 3–4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1½ hours
1 plump young pheasant, plucked and cleaned (or 1 chicken) (1–1.3kg/2–3lb)
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
40g (1½oz) butter
FOR THE STUFFING
40g (1½oz) butter
75g (3oz) bacon, cut into cubes (lardons) or dice about 1cm (½in) in size
½ medium onion, chopped
150g (5oz) wild mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, mashed or finely grated
1½ tsp chopped fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
100g (3½oz) fresh breadcrumbs
FOR THE GRAVY
300ml (11fl oz) Chicken Stock
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
First make the stuffing. Melt half of the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned. Add the onion and cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft. Next add the mushrooms, garlic and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to high and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have softened. Add the remaining butter and, when melted, stir in the breadcrumbs until they have soaked up the butter. Allow the stuffing to cool before stuffing the meat.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5.
Put the pheasant in a roasting tin, season the inside and outside with salt and pepper, then fill with the stuffing. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add a piece of muslin cloth to soak, then wrap the pheasant completely in the muslin.
Roast in the oven for 1–1¼ hours. Test for doneness by inserting a skewer into the thigh; the juices should run clear and the legs will feel loose. Transfer the pheasant to a carving board, remove the muslin cloth and allow to rest while you make the gravy.
Place the roasting tin over medium heat and add the chicken stock to deglaze the tin. Bring to a simmer, using a wooden spoon to dislodge and dissolve any caramelised sticky pieces from the bottom of the tin. Taste for seasoning, then pour into a serving jug or gravy boat.
Carve the pheasant into slices and serve with the stuffing and gravy.
