Heather's at the Gap of Dunloe

Whenever I hear of restaurant openings, my ears are set to high alert and I get excited - the prospect of good food does that to me.

One of these openings was Heather at Moriarty's in Gap of Dunloe. I have to admit, I don't venture out much into Kerry (a big mistake, I know) so I was intrigued to see what Heather is all about and thanks to their PR company, Fuzion, I received an invite to the opening (big thank you for that).

Denis Moriarty welcoming Rachel Allen

Heather is located on the road that leads to the Gap and with a great advantage, it is one of the first premises you will see when you drive up the road. The building itself smooths in nicely with the rugged surrounds of the Kerry countryside. Tim Austen of RTE's Super Garden (previous) has designed the gardens and considering that it has only been finished recently, you can already see how he took the local flora and incorporated it to create an interactive gardens that will invite bees, butterflies and other wildlife to the area.

Staying with growing, 2 large poly tunnels provide a wide array of salads, herbs and vegetables. Across the grounds 130 fruit bushes have been planted - it doesn't get fresher than that.

Rachel Allen opening Heather

Michael & Margaret Moriarty established the souvenir shop in 1964 and have quickly gained a reputation for high quality. Son Denis and his wife Ailish are running the business now and Denis told us in his opening speech how his father used to collect local heather, bound it into nice bunches and sold it to passing tourists. An entrepreneur after my liking - so the name of the restaurant is in honour of Michael who passed away. Mother Margaret is still involved in the business and you could see how proud she was of Denis who has visions for the future.

Restaurant manager Jennifer Dowling is working hard to transform this vision into reality and is very open when asked about ethos of the restaurant etc. The food is sourced within a 25km area if not grown on the premises. The Moriarties are working closely with local producers who were invited to meet future customers and talk about their products and I had the great pleasure of meeting the amazing Peter Ireson of Knocknatee Cheese. His cheddar and blue cheese were simply outstanding - high quality cheese that will be in my top 10 cheese list. Peter himself is a character who you simply have to like.

The restaurant will be open 7 days a week until 7pm but private parties can be booked. The menu highlights local produce and the ethos is, let the food and its quality speak for itself. Mains include Ring of Kerry Lamb Chops with Braised Lentils, Buttered Bay Carrots and Sage Jus, Glenbeigh Cockles and Mussels cooked in White Wine, Garlic and Chill. Brunch is served Saturday and Sundays from 11am. 

So make sure to stop at Heather's when you are in the area...... the Gap of Dunloe is always worth a visit, now there is an added bonus

Toad in the Hole without the Toad

This is a vegetarian version of Toad in the Hole and a great standby recipe if you have lots of people coming over or want to use up the garden produce from your kitchen garden. You can use almost any vegetables - the more colours you are using the more attractive the dish looks. You can do the same with apples as a dessert version, add a bit of cinnamon then. I like the batter to be soft but it is up to you how browned you like this. I served this dish at the last Kitchen Garden Workshop I was hosting @ The Cottage with Kitty Scully and it went down a treat - not a crumb was left over. Fresh salad with a light dressing is the perfect partner for these slices.

• Mixed vegetables, like peppers, onions, courgettes, mushrooms - sliced or chopped (big chunks)
• 1 egg
• 100g plain flour
• 180 - 200ml milk
• 1-2 tbsp Thyme, leaves
• 1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
• salt & pepper
• 5 tbsp Sunflower Oil

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Prepare the vegetables - slice the courgettes in 4mm slices, half the mushrooms if they are big otherwise keep them whole, remove the seeds from the peppers and cut into large strips, peel the onions and cut into large chunks. Place the vegetables into a roasting tin with the sunflower oil and toss the vegetables so that they are nicely coated with the oil. Roast for about 15 mins, turning once. In the meantime, combine the egg, flour and milk and whisk until smooth and has the consistency of thick cream. Add the herbs and stir through and season to taste. Remove the roasting tin from the oven -  make sure that the oil is really hot, pour over the batter and return immediately to the oven. Bake for about 30 - 40 mins until the batter has puffed up and is baked through. Sprinkle some fresh herbs over, cut into nice handy slices and enjoy. This is also handy for lunchboxes as it tastes also great at room temperature.

Mr T. called this Elkelicious :-) 

Broad Beans Paté - Delicious Summer on a Plate

Mr T planted some broad beans for me but they are only in flowering stage... while the educational garden in Kenmare (went to Kenmare for the Food Carnival)
has already full pods on their plants - jealousy cropped up big time. The gardener of the VEC garden (I forgot to ask for his name) is a friendly soul who was very willing to answer all my questions about how to get rid of pests and why my beetroot is so small at this stage. If you are in Kenmare, make sure to pay him a visit - you can even buy some of his vegetable which are all organically grown. I went home with a big bag full of broad beans.

Broad beans are now more and more on menus of restaurants and readily available (Tesco is selling frozen broad beans) and recipes are popping up all over the place. Denis Cotter of Cafe Paradiso was one of the first chefs to use this lovely bright green little fella a few years ago with their couscous cake and haloumi dish. Simply delicious. When podding broad beans, make the effort to remove the outer skin of the beans - slips off easily when you blanch them quickly in hot water and then pop them into cold water. Slightly squeeze the bean and the skin should slip off. You can of course remove the skin before blanching - just more labour intensive.

This dish is the ideal for a light lunch or an easy supper. The bright green colour stays if you don't boil the living daylight out of the delicate beans. I have used goats' cheese and basil here but you can use feta and parsley or any other combination you can think off. I just happened to have a full plant of basil and some leftover goats' cheese. This recipe will be enough for 6 'bruschettas'. Drizzle slices of bread with olive oil and toast under a grill on both sides. Add the paté and serve with some basil leaves.

Broad Bean Paté

Broad Bean Paté Bruschetta

• 200g Broad Beans, podded twice
• 100g goats cheese, crumbled
• handful torn basil leaves
• Olive Oil
• salt

Throw the podded beans into boiling water and cook until just tender - about 5-7 minutes (a few minutes longer if you haven't removed the skin around the beans - you can squeeze the skin off the beans after cooking). Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Leave to cool. 

In a food processor, combine the cheese with the beans and the torn basil and whizz once. Now add some olive oil and blend until you achieved the consistency you want (I like mine a bit lumpy), adding olive oil as you go along. 

Spoon mix into a bowl and season with salt and if you like some white pepper. 

Bon Apetite

Cheese Bread - Make it - Eat it - Love it

I think it is no secret anymore that I love bread - not the gooey stuff you buy in the supermarket but the real bread. We are lucky in Cork that we have some amazing breadmakers - Arbutus Bread in Cork City & The Firehouse Bakery on Heir Island. For years, these 2 amazing bakeries have spread the word of real bread and Patrick of Firehouse Bakery has even started the Real Bread Revolution. Declan Ryan of Arbutus Bread has brought his love for bread to Cork after studying the craft in France & US. There is nothing this man doesn't know about bread. So, let's join the bread movement and start to make our own bread. The bread here is so easy, it's almost embarrassing how good it tastes. You just bung everything together and pop it in the oven. No kneading - no proofing and your bread is ready in 40 mins. 

If you still don't want to make your own bread (and it would be a pity if you don't), you can buy Arbutus Bread in Bradley's in North Main Street and On The Pigs Back in the English Market. The Firehouse Bakery bread is available from the Island and parts of West Cork. They are running wonderful breadmaking classes throughout the year - give Patrick or Laura a call on  085 1561984

Happy Baking and welcome to the Real Bread Revolution.... 

Cheesy bread

• 200g whole meal flour
• 200g plain flour
• 1 tsp bread soda
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 25 g melted butter
• 300ml warm milk
• 150-175g cheddar, grated
• 4tbsp mix of pumpkin & sunflower seeds

Heat oven to 170C

Sift the flours, soda and cream of tartar into a large bowl. Add the salt & sugar. Mix well. Add the melted butter to the milk (milk has to be warmed otherwise the butter will solidify again) and pour into the flour mix. Using a wooden spoon, stir until well combined. Add most of the grated cheddar and most of the seeds and combine well.

Line a loaf tin with baking paper and pour the dough in, smoothing the top. Tap the tin on a flat surface to remove any hollows. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese and seeds on top and bake in the oven for 40 mins and until golden brown and baked through.

French Toast - S'il vous plaîs

It is not very often that I make French Toast at home because I only really like it with brioche and 'normal' bread just doesn't work for me for some reason. So, on Saturday I took my spanking new K-Mix out of the box and made the best brioche one can make at home. I followed a recipe of Firebread House Bakery (if you love bread and want to learn about it, this is the best place to learn it). I forgot that brioche is hard work (same reason I don't make puff pastry too often) but the result was worth it.

My friend Sofie stayed over on Saturday night and I promised her French Toast for breakfast - the recipe below is the easiest and I think tastiest. French toast is normally served with maple syrup and crispy bacon but I think cinnamon apples go just too nicely with it. The recipe below serves 4 people.

8 slices of Brioche
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla sugar (or normal caster sugar)
200ml cream (or a mix of cream & milk)
butter for frying

4 apples, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp cinnamon


For the apples, put apple slices, sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved, stirring from time to time, and the apples are starting to caramelise and have softened. Set aside and keep warm.

Whisk together the eggs, cream and sugar until well combined. Heat the butter in a frying pan. Dip each slice of brioche - both sides - in the egg mixture and add it to the pan. Fry on both sides until the bread turns a golden colour and the mixture has set.

Serve 2 slices of toast with the apples.

Bon Appetit

Homemade Baked Beans

Sundays is fry up time @ The Cottage and we are taking our time and enjoying the lazy morning. We have scrambled or poached eggs, bacon rashers, sausages, hash browns and beans. Mr T is always giving out about the sugar content of the beans and why do they call it tomato sauce if there isn't any flavour of tomatoes. That's one reason, we don't have baked beans that often.

So, I thought, there is a challenge for me to come up with something. Searching the Internet, there are many recipes out there but all very intense in labour (and who wants to have that on a Sunday morning). Anyhow, I decided to go by instinct and here is what I came up with (Mr T liked it especially because I only used a pinch of sugar). I used cannelloni beans but I think haricot beans are the better option if you can get them. A word of warning, if using dried beans, you will need to start the night before.

Baked Beans

Baked Beans

• 1 cup dried cannelloni or haricot beans
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or sliced
• olive oil
• fresh herbs (optional)
• tomato passata
• seasoning
• pinch of sugar

The night before, soak the beans in cold water and leave to soak overnight (if you soak the beans in the morning of the day before, you could do the cooking the evening before, cutting down the time on Sunday morning).

The next morning, rinse the beans and place in a pan of cold water (don't add salt). Bring to the boil and leave to simmer until the beans are almost done. Drain and set aside.

In a frying pan, saute the onions and garlic until translucent and starting to caramelise. Add the beans and the passata and simmer on a low heat until the tomato sauce starts to thickens. Add the herbs if using and a pinch of sugar. Season to taste and serve along your Sunday fry-up

Bon Appetit

The Humble Lunchbox - Mushroom Quiche

Taking lunch to work has a great advantage - first you save money, second you know what is actually in your food and last but not least - you can take your lunch outside on a sunny day like this and have a mini picnic. Quiches are a great standby as they can be eaten warm or cold. Paired with a leafy salad - perfect lunch is served. Another advantage is that measurements can be taken easy. Whatever you like in your quiche - use it. The only thing I don't like is an 'eggy' taste to my quiche. So I am using cream and 1 egg - which so far has always set my quiches - if unsure add another egg.

I have made mushroom quiche for today's lunch and it is looking gorgeous. Fresh herbs and a dollop of basil pesto make it light and summery. Cut into wedges, it can cover about 3 days of lunch - or simply bake individual portions in smaller tins.

You will need:

• Shortcrust pastry (shop bought or homemade - enough to cover the bottom and sides of your quiche pan
• butter and/or olive oil
• 250g mushrooms (more if your tin is a biggen one)
• 1 onion - chopped
• 2 garlic cloves - minced
• handful of parsley, chives & basil (all chopped small)
• 2 tsp Basil pesto (or more if you like the taste)
• Goats Cheese - crumbed
• Cream (enough to cover the mushroom mixture)



Individual Mushroom Quiches

• 1 egg (more if you have a big tin)

Heat the olive oil and/or butter (I love the oil-butter combo) and add the chopped onions and garlic and pan-fry until translucent. Add the chopped mushrooms and fry until slightly browned and the liquid has evaporated. Take off the heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Combine enough cream to cover the quiche with the chopped herbs and the pesto. Season with salt and pepper and add the egg. Whisk until the egg is combined with the cream.

On a slightly floured surface roll out the pastry and line your quiche tin. Spread the mushroom mixture across the base and crumble the goats cheese evenly over the mushrooms. Pour over the cream mixture and bake until the cream has set. Leave to cool before cutting into wedges and serve at room temperature with a side salad.

Bon Appetit

Turkish Feta Rolls

My love for food started in Turkey where I stayed 27 years ago with a friend and her family. Cooking and eating was a big part of their daily routine. Families and friends gathered around a big table and the cooking was an affair of love and labour in equal measures but you never cooked alone - there were always people around and cooking was just part of the chatting and gossipping...

One of the things we cooked almost daily were the feta rolls (ok, we made them into long loafs rather than rolls but I like the rolls better). They can be filled with almost any filling - feta and parsley being my favourite but you could use a lean mince and fry it with onions and garlic and herbs, or what ever your choice it. Feta and parsley is just a classic and why mess with a classic. A small tip - bake them over a low heat as the dough cooks slowly. Baking it on a high heat would mean that the inner part of the dough isn't cooked through. These rolls are great eaten warm but are also ok cold and are a perfect item for a party or BBQ. The size of the rolls is really up to you so you can make anything of 15 - 25 rolls from the dough.

You will need:

• 500g plain flour
• 125g butter
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/2 cup sunflower oil
• 1 egg
• 1/4tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 250g feta
• fresh parsley, chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the yogurt, oil, egg, baking powder and salt and knead the dough to a smooth dough (try not to overwork it)

Crumble the feta into a bowl and mix with the chopped parsley. Divide the dough into equal parts (how many depends on how big or small you want them to be) and press the dough into rounds. Spoon a teaspoon full of feta into each round and close the dough into a roll. Repeat with the rest.

Place the rolls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 20 - 30 mins until golden brown and cooked through.

Bon Appetit

Sunday Brunch - Baked Eggs with Creamed Leeks

Last Saturday I went to Liberty Grill for breakfast - next to Farmgate & Fenn's Quay my favourite place for breakfast. I normally get the scrambled eggs and rye bread but this time I thought I give the baked eggs a try. For some reason I thought that would be a great dish - I mean there are so many variations you can do but what I got was simply an egg in a dish and baked. A bit of pepper & chives sprinkled over it and served. I hate pepper and don't really understand the need to sprinkle every food with the flipping stuff and it didn't improve the egg anyway.

I ate it and forgot about it. So on Sunday morning when it was my turn to cook breakfast, I thought about what to do with baked eggs - looked out into the garden where my leeks were smiling at me and calling 'pick me, pick me'  and had an idea. Baked eggs on creamed leeks - yummy

Baked Eggs for Sunday Brunch

You will need for 2:

• 4 eggs
• 3 medium leeks
• butter 
• cream
• Dijon mustard
• Seasoning
• Chives

Preheat oven to 180C.
Clean and cut the leeks into thin slices (use the green parts as well as the dish will look nice with a bit of colour). Heat the butter in a frying pan and add the leeks. Pan-fry on a medium heat until cooked but not browned. Add enough cream to bind the leeks and stir in the mustard (this is really up to taste but you don't want the mustard to overpower the leeks).

Butter 4 ramekin dishes and spoon in the leek mixture. Make a little well in the middle and crack one egg into each ramekin (the well will help the egg yolk to centre). Pour a little bit of cream on top and place the ramekin dishes in a baking tray and fill halfway with boiling water. Place in the oven and bake until the egg white has set but the yolk is still runny (or a bit longer if you like a hard yolk).

Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve with freshly baked bread

Bon Appetit

Carrot Dip - Delicious

When I went to Cafe Paradiso to taste their new menu I was blown away by their carrot dip. So I went into cooking mode and tried a few versions and I think I came pretty close with the following recipe. I baked some yummy pide (Turkish Bread) and had a lovely Sunday evening treat. Passing the mixture through a sieve would make it smoother but I was a bit too lazy. The colour was very nice but not as vibrant as the one in Cafe Paradiso but the taste was just delicious.

You will need:

500g carrots (peeled, trimmed and cut into chunks)

Carrot Dip with Turkish Bread

1/4 cup water
2-3 garlic cloves (raw garlic is a bit sharp, roasting it will take it out)
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp coriander
2 tsp lemon juice (you might need more to adjust the flavour)
2 tbsp Olive oil (use the good one for this)

Steam the carrots until tender (reduce the heat when the water comes to the boil and steam on low/medium heat for 15 mins).

Whizz the carrots with the garlic, ginger, spices and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle in the olive oil and whizz again. Taste and adjust if needed.

Bon Appetit

The Ultimate Fingerfood - Onion & Goats Cheese Tartlet

Fingerfood is a brilliant way of entertaining at a party without being away from your guests. Most fingerfoods can be prepared well in advance and you can look all glam when serving them. One of my favourites - and the favourites of my friends are Onion & Goats Cheese Tartlets. You can serve them as starter with a normal tart size or serve them as fingerfood with small tarts. They are a hit either way - and so easy to make. 

I recommend using young, rindless goats cheese - you want the cheese to compliment the sweetness of the onions and not overpower them. Iago in the English Market sells a lovely Crottin which goes perfectly with the onions but choose any type you like as long as it is young and mild. Also, when making your shortcrust pastry, exchange some of the flour with ground hazelnut - it gives the pastry another dimension which also goes well with the cheese and the onions (Denis Cotter of Cafe Paradiso used to serve it this way)

You will need

• Shortcrust pastry (enough to fill 2 tins of 12 hole muffin tins or 4 of 12 mini muffin tins)
• 4 Red Onions (thinly sliced)
• 4 heaped tbsp of brown sugar (soft dark goes well)
• 4 tbsp red wine vinegar or Balsamic
• Goats Cheese (mild)

Make the pastry and chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins. Preheat the oven to medium heat (about 160-180C).

In the meantime make the onion mixture. Heat some olive oil over a low heat. Add the sliced onion and let them caramelising slowly. Don't rush this stage as you want the sweetness and not the burned effect. When the onions are translucent (with slow cooking them, they won't get colour), add the vinegar and the sugar, mix well and let it get all jammy (that might take a while), stirring now and then to avoid it sticking to the pan. 

Roll out the pastry and line the tin you have chosen. Blind bake for a few minutes (depending on the size of your tin - don't let it get too dark). Remove from the oven - at this stage you can leave the tarts cool and put into an airtight container and the onions into a sealed container and leave it for up to 2-3 days (don't assemble them if you don't use them within a few hours).

Divide the onion mixture between the tartlets and top with a small slice of the goats cheese - pop back into the oven (or under the grill for a few moments) and bake until the goats cheese has a slight browning.

Arrange nicely on platters and tell your guests that these are your specialty - they'll think you spend hours on them.

Bon Appetit

Sunday Brunch - Mini Scotch Eggs

A Sunday Brunch is normally a laid back affair so you don't want to sit around a table but walk around freely and chat away to everyone. The best way to ensure that you have plenty of free time is to prepare as much as possible ahead of time. 

Taken from Trissalicious

Scotch Eggs are a great item to add to your brunch. It can be prepared ahead, is a great fingerfood and tastes yummy if homemade. Fortnum & Mason in London claim to have invented the Scotch Egg in 1738 and they still sell it. Most supermarkets offer one version or another but nothing can be compared to a freshly made Scotch Egg.  For a little change, I used quail eggs and used minced chicken rather than sausage meat. 

You will need:

• 20 quail eggs (you can get a pack of 20 in the English Market)
• 600g skinned chicken breast (minced)
• 2 tbsp herbs (I only had parsley but chives go very well with it)
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• plain flour to toss the eggs in
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 100g dried breadcrumbs
• oil for deep-frying

Boil quail eggs until done (put the eggs in cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 mins). Leave to cool. In the meantime, put the chicken, herbs & mustard into a bowl and mix well.

Peel the eggs and toss in the flour. Using damp hands (the meat will stick to your hands otherwise), wrap enough chicken mixture around one egg to cover it completely (dividing the mixture into 20 beforehand makes it easier to get the right amount of meat). Brush each wrapped egg with the beaten egg (or dunk it) and roll in breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil to 180C (or until the oil sizzles when you add some breadcrumbs). Deep-fry the coated eggs until golden brown. Drain on kitchen towel to get rid of the excess fat and continue with the rest of the eggs.

You can serve these hot or at room temperature. When serving the eggs as a starter, serve 3 eggs per person on a plate with a mustard mayonnaise and a herb salad.

Bon Appetit

Sunday Brunch - Pork & Chicken Terrine

'Feeding is almost over'

A bread wheel

It was my birthday last week and since it is has been ages since I had all the girls together, I thought a Sunday Brunch was in order. I love lazy Sunday mornings with a glass of prosecco and a good breakfast. A brunch of course includes also a glass (or 2) of prosecco but involves a lot more work. 

Cheese & Cold Meat Board - all local produce

Help yourself makes sure you have time on your hands

I didn't want to spend the time with my friends tied to the cooker, so I prepared a lot in advance and over the week I will be posting some recipes. I made bread & bread rolls (you can still sign up for a breadmaking course - next one is coming up in April), a cheese & cold meat platter with homemade chutneys, pork & chicken terrine (which I forgot to place on the table), mini scotch eggs (went down a storm), onion & goats cheese tarts, homemade granola & yogurt, potato & feta patties, homemade chocolates & lemon pots. 

A brunch is a great idea if you don't want a late night - preparation is the key and most of the recipes can be made in advance. The Pork & Chicken Terrine can be made 2 days earlier (don't make it on the same day) and is easier than it looks. But you do get a wow reaction from your guests (I just forgot to serve it). It is also a great starter served with a leaf salad and chutney.

You will need:

• 220g bacon (this is to line the tin. I used streaky bacon)
• 360g chicken breast (skinned, boned)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (to drizzle)
• 220g lean pork mince
• 3-4 spring onions (chopped)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp salt
• oil

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Lining the tin with the bacon strips

Put the bacon on a board and stretch it using the back of a knife. Arrange the bacon strips along a 2 pound loaf tin, overlapping each other and hanging over the rim of the tin.

Cut half the chicken breast into strips and sprinkle with lemon juice. Put the rest of the chicken in a food processor and blitz it quickly. Add the pork mince and onions and process until smooth. Add the egg, parsley & salt and process again briefly. Spoon half the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. 

Arrange the chicken strips on top and spoon in the rest of the mixture, levelling the top. Give the tin a knock on the table to remove any air bubbles (air bubbles can result in breaking the terrine when turned out later). Cover the top with the overhanging bacon strips making sure that the strips are covering the meat completely.

Ready to get covered up and off into the oven

Filled almost to the rim

Take a piece of tin foil (aluminium foil) and brush it with some oil, cover the loaf tin (oiled side down) and place it into a roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to cover half of the loaf tin. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 45-50 mins.

Leave the terrine to cool in the tin. Place a weight on top (I use a brick) and leave to rest for a few hours (can be made up to 2 days in advance). Remove the foil and turn the terrine onto a plate. Serve as a starter with a side salad and chutney.

Looking good after turning

Perfect Texture - a little beauty

Bon Appetit