Tag: Darina Allen

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Darina Allen’s Sea Spinach Soup

 

darina allen sea spinach soup

Sea Spinach Soup

Sea spinach is at its sweetest and most delicious at present…. I absolutely love it and really want you to know about it so if you live near a rocky strand, look out for it – the shiny green leaves are unmistakable. It is, in fact, the ancestor to most cultivated varieties of beet, from beetroot to spinach beet. It can be cooked exactly like garden spinach and used in the same way, for example, try serving it in Middle Eastern style with raisins and pine kernels and a touch of cinnamon. Not surprisingly, because sea spinach is washed by the tides, it is full of iodine, minerals and other trace elements and it has an addictive salty tang. Sea spinach is tougher and slightly stronger in flavour than garden spinach, so it takes a little longer to cook.

The trick with these green soups is not to add the greens until the last minute, otherwise they will overcook and the soup will lose its fresh taste and bright green colour.

50g (2oz/1/2 stick) butter

110g (4oz/1 cup) onion, chopped

150g (5oz/1 cup) potatoes, chopped

600ml (1 pint/2 1/2 cups) homemade chicken stock, vegetable stock or water

425-600ml (3/4-1 pint/2 – 2 1/2 cups) creamy milk (1/4 cream and 3/4 milk)

salt and freshly ground pepper

225-350g (8-12oz/3 cups) sea spinach, destalked and chopped

Freshly ground nutmeg

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Garnish

2 tablespoons (2 American tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) whipped cream (optional

Freshly chopped parsley

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. When it foams add the onions and potatoes and turn them until well coated. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and sweat on a gentle heat for 10 minutes. Add the boiling stock and milk, bring back to the boil and simmer until the potatoes and onions are fully cooked. Add the sea spinach and boil with the lid off for about 3-5 minutes, until the sea spinach is tender. Do not overcook or the soup will lose its fresh green colour.

Liquidise and taste and add some freshly grated nutmeg.  Serve in warm bowls garnished with a blob of whipped cream and some chopped parsley

Ballymaloe Cookery
@BallymaloeCS

 

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Rachel’s Quick Fruit Brulée

peach-brulee

Ingredients

(serves 4)
2 bananas, peeled and cut at an angle into 5mm (ªin) thick slices

4 nectarines or peaches, stones removed and flesh cut into wedges 5mm (ªin) thick

16 strawberries, hulled and quartered

100g (3ƒoz) caster sugar, plus an additional tablespoon of caster sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

4 tablespoons mascarpone or 
whipped cream

In a large bowl, toss the sliced 
bananas, the chopped nectarines or peaches, whichever you are using, 
and the quartered strawberries with 
one tablespoon of the caster sugar 
and the lemon juice. Divide between individual bowls, adding a few blobs of the mascarpone or whipped cream, whichever you’re using, to each one.

Next, make the caramel to go on top. Place the 100g (3ƒoz) caster sugar in a small to medium saucepan on a medium heat and stir. It will begin to look lumpy and sandy, but don’t worry – just keep stirring. Eventually, it will become viscous, turning from golden to a rich caramel colour. Altogether, this can take up to about 12 minutes.

Using a spoon, carefully drizzle all the caramel over the mascarpone or whipped cream, whichever you’re 
using, and over the fruit. Set aside for about five minutes, just to allow the caramel to cool and set hard, then serve.

Peach Recipes:

http://www.rachelallen.com/

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Ardsallagh Goat’s Cheese Soufflé by Darina Allen

Ingredients

  • 75g (3oz) butter, plus extra for greasing
  • 300ml (½ pint) double cream
  • 300ml (½ pint) milk
  • a few slices of carrot
  • 1 small onion, quartered
  • 4–5 black peppercorns
  • a sprig of thyme, a few flat-leaf parsley stalks and a little scrap of bay
  • 40g (1½oz) plain flour
  • 5 organic eggs, separated
  • 110g (4oz) goat’s cheese (we use Ardsallagh), crumbled
  • 75g (3oz) Gruyère cheese, finely grated
  • 50g (2oz) mature Coolea or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • good pinch of salt, cayenne, freshly ground black pepper
  • and nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

To serve

  • lots of thyme flowers, if available
  • green salad

Directions

We have several farmhouse goat’s-cheesemakers in Ireland.We use Ardsallagh goat’s cheese, St Tola from Inagh in Co.Clare is also heaven, as is Gortnamona from Cooleeneyfarm in Co. Tipperary and Corleggy from Co. Cavan.We bake this soufflé until golden and puffy in a shallow oval dish instead of the traditional soufflé bowl. It makes a perfect lunch or supper dish. Little individual bowls are also perfect as a starter. Reduce the cooking time accordingly.

Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/gas 8. Brush the bottom andsides of a 30cm (12in) shallow oval dish (not a soufflé dish) or six individual wide, rimmed soup bowls with melted butter.Put the cream and milk into a saucepan, add the carrot, onion,peppercorns and fresh herbs. Bring slowly to the boil, and then setaside to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain, discarding the flavourings(we rinse them off and throw them into the stockpot if there isone on the go).Melt the butter, add the flour and cook for a minute or two.Whisk in the strained cream and milk, bring to the boil and whisk

until the sauce thickens. Cool slightly. Add the egg yolks, goat’scheese, Gruyère and most of the Coolea or Parmesan (reservingsome for the topping). Season with salt, cayenne, freshly groundpepper and nutmeg. Taste and correct the seasoning.Whisk the egg whites stiffly and fold them gently into the mixtureto make a loose consistency. Spoon into the prepared dish, scatter thethyme leaves over the top and sprinkle with the reserved Coolea orParmesan.Bake in the preheated oven for 12–15 minutes (or 9–11 minutesfor the individual soufflés) or until the sides and top are nicely puffedup and golden – the centre should still be creamy. Garnish withthyme flowers. Serve immediately with a good green salad.

 

http://cookwithavonmore.ie/recipe/ardsallagh-goats-cheese-and-thyme-leaf-souffle/

    
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