Nutrition key to sound health
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ballymaloecookeryschool
Every year in April the #Kale sprouts and produces flowers. The leaves get very tender and are delicious in salads, and the flowers can be used as a wonderful spring vegetable. Our favourite time of year for Kale.
Preheat the oven to 250deg C
Makes 1 loaf
450g (1lb, 31/2 cups) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
300-600ml (1/2 – 1 pint, 1 1/4 – 2 1/2 cups) sour milk or buttermilk
Sieve the dry ingredients. Make a well in the centre.
Pour in all the milk at once. Using 1 hand, with your fingers stiff and outstretched like a claw, stir in a full circular movement from the centre to the outside of the bowl in ever increasing circles. The dough should be softish, not too wet and sticky. When it all comes together, turn it out onto a well-floured work surface. Wash and dry your hands. Tidy it up and flip over gently. Pat the dough into a round, about 4cm deep.
Cut a deep cross on the loaf and prick in the four corners.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes then turn down to 200deg C for 30 minutes until cooked. If you are in doubt, tap the bottom of the bread, when it is cooked it will sound hollow. Cool on a wire rack.
Tip! Soda breads are best eaten on the day they are made, but are still good the next day.
Follow the recipe above adding: 1 dessert spoon of sugar, 100g sultanas, 1 egg.
Add the sugar and the sultanas with the flour and drop the egg in with the milk before missing. Spotted dog is also called railway cake in some parts of Ireland.
Follow the spotted dog recipe replacing the sultanas with 75g of roughly chopped best quality chocolate.
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ballymaloecookeryschool
One-Dish Roast Chicken Supper with Thyme and Rosemary
Another lip-smackingly delicious dish that family and friends love me to cook for them. A whole roasting tray of crispy chicken, bacon and potatoes, perfumed with rosemary and thyme leaves.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
500g streaky bacon lardons
2kg free-range, organic chicken thighs (drumsticks and wings can also be included)
2-3 tbsp thyme leaves
1-2 tbsp chopped rosemary
1.1kg (about 10 large) potatoes
250g onions, sliced
60-110ml hot chicken stock
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Green salad/Tomato fondue/Piperonata
You will need:
1 roasting tin
37 x 31cm or 2 small tins – 30 x 20cm
Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 230°C/Gas Mark 8.
2 Heat the olive oil in a roasting tin, add the bacon and toss over a high heat until it is beginning to colour. Remove to a plate with a perforated spoon.
3 Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper.
4 Put into a large bowl and scatter with most of the thyme leaves and chopped rosemary, reserving some for the potatoes. (I sometimes add a sprinkling of chilli flakes or smoked paprika – it gets a brilliant reaction).
5 Toss well.
6 Peel the potatoes and cut into 1cm thick chips. Dry and season well with salt, pepper and the reserved herbs. Add to the bowl with chicken.
7 Drizzle with the bacon fat and olive oil from the pan and toss once again.
8 Scatter the onions and bacon over the base of the roasting tin(s). Arrange the chicken and potatoes haphazardly on top, making sure that the potatoes are popping up. Drizzle with a little more olive oil.
9 Roast for 45 minutes–1 hour or until the chicken is cooked through (the juices should be running clear if pricked with a knife) and the chips are crispy at the edges. (Organic chicken pieces are larger, so cooking time can be up to 1¼ hours.)
10 Add the chicken stock at the end if the dish needs a little more juice.
11 Serve from the tin, family style, with a good green salad and vegetables of your choice, such as tomato fondue or piperonata if you wish.
See more online:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/food-columnists/arid-41796485.html
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVOcONUDNSl/?igsh=NGVjbDB1NTN5aWJj
and
This soup may be served either hot or cold, don’t hesitate to put in a good pinch of sugar, it brings up the flavour.
560g(1 1/4lb/3 cups) carrots, preferably organic, chopped
45g(1 1/2oz/scant 1/2 stick) butter
110g(4oz) onion, chopped
150g(5oz) potatoes, chopped
salt,freshly ground pepper and sugar
sprig of spearmint
1.2litres (2 pints/5 cups) homemade light chicken or vegetable stock
62ml(2 1/2fl oz/generous 1/4 cup) creamy milk, (optional)
3 teaspoons freshly chopped spearmint
Garnish
a little lightly whipped cream or crème fraiche
sprigs of spearmint
Melt the butter and when it foams add the chopped vegetables, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and sugar. Add a sprig of mint, cover with a butter paper (to retain the steam) and a tight fitting lid.Leave to sweat gently on a low heat for about 10 minutes approx.Remove the lid, add the boiling stock and cook until the vegetables are soft. Pour into the liquidiser, add 3 teaspoons of freshly chopped mint and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Adda little creamy milk if necessary.
Garnish with a swirl of lightly whipped cream or crème frâiche and a sprig of fresh mint.
Substitute lovage for mint in the above recipe.
Add finely chopped garlic chives instead of mint in the master recipe. Garnish with a swirl of lightly whipped cream or crème fraiche,garlic chive flowers and seeds. Society garlic flowers are also great.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVOcONUDNSl/?igsh=NGVjbDB1NTN5aWJj
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Foodaware 