#HealthTips 10 Health Benefits of Carrots
Chocolate Iced Mille-Feuilles from Neven Maguires Irish Food Trails
This dessert looks so impressive that it’s hard to believe that you’ve actually made it yourself with such little effort. It can be made up to 1 month in advance, leaving nothing for you to do on the day.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 x 100g (4oz) bar of plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
- 150g (5oz) white chocolate, broken into pieces
- 225ml (8fl oz) cream
- 1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthways and seeds scraped out
- 1 large egg white
- 2 tsp icing sugar
- good-quality cocoa powder, to dust
- fresh raspberries, to serve
To Cook
Use a little water to dampen a 450g (1lb) loaf tin (the more square shaped, the better), then line with a double layer of cling film. Line 2 large baking sheets with non-stick baking paper.
Melt the plain chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Spoon half the melted chocolate onto each sheet of baking paper and spread it out to the edges in a thin layer. Put in the fridge for about 30 minutes to set.
Melt the white chocolate and 5 tablespoons of the cream in a separate heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, give it a good stir and set aside to cool.
Whip the rest of the cream in a large bowl with the vanilla seeds until the cream is just holding its shape, then fold in the cooled melted white chocolate.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white and icing sugar until stiff peaks have formed, then fold into the white chocolate mixture.
Carefully peel the plain chocolate from the baking paper and break it up into pieces.
Place a couple spoonfuls of the whipped cream mixture into the prepared loaf tin and cover with a layer of the plain chocolate pieces. Repeat the layers until the loaf tin is filled up, finishing with a layer of whipped cream. Cover the top with cling film and freeze overnight (or up to 1 month). Any remaining pieces of plain chocolate can be put into a freezer-proof container and frozen separately to use for decoration.
About 1 hour before serving, transfer the loaf tin and reserved chocolate decoration to the fridge.
Serving Suggestions
To serve, carefully turn out onto a serving plate and peel away the cling film. Break up the reserved plain chocolate into small jagged pieces and use to decorate the top. Add a light dusting of cocoa powder and put straight on the table. Cut into slices and arrange on plates with some raspberries
Avonmore Tomato & Basil Soup
Quick, easy, warming – home warming and delicious
Ingredients
- 25g Avonmore butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- ¼ clove garlic finely chopped
- ½ tbsp tomato puree
- Pinch of sugar
- 900g/2lb fresh vine ripened tomatoes cut in quarters
- ½ organic chicken stock cube, dissolved in 100ml hot water
- 85ml Avonmore cooking cream
- ½ tsp freshly chopped basil
- Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Melt the butter in a large heavy saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and stir for 4 minutes over a medium heat without adding colour.
Stir in the tomato puree & the tomato quarters. Add the sugar & stock, cover with a lid, increase the heat and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and puree the soup with a stick blender or alternatively in a food processor until it is completely smooth. Pass the soup through a sieve.
Return the pureed soup to the saucepan, stir in the Avonmore cooking cream and reheat. Season the soup to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Ladle into warm serving bowls and sprinkle with the freshly chopped basil.
Rory O’Connell’s Summer spinach with garlic, chilli and lemon with thanks to Rachel Allen
Directions
Wash the destalked spinach in several changes of cold water, then allow it to drain in order to remove as much of the water as possible.
Place a wide, low-sided, heavy saucepan or frying pan on the heat and add the olive oil. Immediately add the peeled thinly sliced garlic, and cook gently until the olive oil gets hot and the garlic colours slightly. Add the crushed dried chilli or the chilli flakes, whichever you are using, and cook for a few seconds – the garlic should now be golden.
Increase the heat and add the drained spinach, being careful because it will hiss and spit a bit. Cook the spinach, turning it constantly, then season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Add the lemon juice and zest, and stir them in. Pull the pan off the heat and taste. Correct the seasoning and serve the spinach immediately in a hot dish. The spinach can also be removed from the pan when it is cooked, spread out flat to cool, and served later at room temperature.
Garlic Recipes:
Homemade strawberry cheesecake #kerrygold Sunday brunch
- kerrygoldusaHomemade strawberry #cheesecake spread on top of buttery brioche toast. The perfect way to change up your #breakfast routine or add a sweet treat to Sunday #brunch. #Kerrygold
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INGREDIENTS:
2 slices of brioche bread (1″+ thick)
3 tablespoons Kerrygold Salted Butter
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup whipped cream cheese
1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons powdered sugar (can substitute honey or coconut sugar)
1/4 teaspoon orange zest (or orange blossom water)
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
Coarse sugar, optional
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat a skillet over medium heat.
Butter each side of the bread, saving 1 tablespoon of the butter for the skillet. Sprinkle the bread with granulated sugar. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the hot skillet, and then add the bread to the skillet. Toast the bread on each side until golden brown, about 1 minute per side.
Meanwhile, slice the strawberries and toss them with 2 teaspoons of powdered sugar. Set aside.
In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, remaining 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and orange zest until fluffy.
Remove the toast from the skillet, and top each slice with the cheesecake filling, followed by the strawberries. I like to sprinkle coarse sugar on top before serving, but it’s optional. - switchbackkitchenYum!
- coastiekitchen@makinitmobetta
- hezzidThese look amazing
- skippingawayYum🍓
You don’t need to count calories, but you do need an awareness of alcohol @OrlaCWalsh
Traditional Irish Brown Soda Bread (1st post Jan 2015)
This is a delicious, easy and very healthy bread.
Ingredients
- 250g wholemeal flour
- 200g plain white flour
- 1 teasp. bread soda, sieved
- 1 teasp. salt
- 1 egg
- 350ml buttermilk, approx.
- 1 teasp. Honey
Optional Topping:
- 1 tablesp. sesame seeds or pinhead porridge oats
To Cook
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 200°C (400°F).
Mix the flour, bread soda and salt together in a bowl. Combine the egg with the buttermilk and honey then mix into the flour. Add a little more buttermilk if the mixture is dry – it should be a soft dough. Then pour the lot into a lightly oiled loaf tin. Sprinkle the sesame seeds or porridge oats over the top of the loaf if using.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. To know when it is cooked simply tap the bottom of the loaf – it will sound hollow when it is fully cooked. Remove from the tin and wrap in a clean tea towel while cooling. This will keep the crust soft.
Apricot and Almond Cake with Oranges & Caramel
Ingredients
- 225g butter
- 225g sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 75g ground almonds
- 100g plain flour
- 100g dried apricots, chopped in the food processor
- 3 Quality Assured large eggs, beaten
Oranges in caramel
- 4 large oranges, peeled and sliced
- 4 tablesp. sugar
- 125ml water
To Cook
Set oven 180°C (350°F) Gas Mark 4.
Line a shallow 23cm cake tin with baking parchment.
Beat the butter and sugar together, until light and fluffy, add the lemon juice and ground almonds. Fold in the flour, apricots and eggs. Transfer the mixture to the lined cake tin, smooth the top and bake for approx. 35 mins., until firm to the touch.
Oranges in Caramel
Place the oranges in a flat dish, heat the sugar in a heavy pan, allow the sugar to brown add the water and boil until you have a caramel sauce. Pour it over the oranges. Serve with the cake.
10 Health Benefits of Carrots
#HealthTips 10 Health Benefits of Carrots
Molly Malone’s cockle and mussel chowder @rachelallen1
Molly Malone was a beautiful girl who sold cockles and mussels and died tragically of a fever while still young, or so the song goes. Molly may not have been a real girl, but since at least the 17th century, there have been fishmongers on the streets of Dublin who sell ‘Cockles and Mussels, alive, alive, oh!’
Cockles, with their distinctive flavour and lovely curved shell, are traditionally eaten in Ireland with Oatcakes. If you can only find mussels, this chowder will be just as good.
Serve either as a substantial starter or with chunks of crusty bread as a meal in its own right.
Heat the sunflower oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and sauté for about 1 minute, until crisp and golden. Add the butter to the pan and melt. Then add the leek, carrot and potato. Reduce the heat to low and sauté gently for 4–5 minutes, until soft but not browned.
Meanwhile, prepare the cockles and mussels. Scrub the shells clean and discard any that remain open when you tap them against a hard surface. Remove the beard – the little fibrous tuft – from each mussel. Bring the wine to a boil in a large saucepan and add the cockles and mussels. Cover with a tight-fi tting lid and cook for 3–4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the shells have opened.
Remove from the heat, drain the shellfi sh in a colander, reserving the cooking juices, and discard any shells that remain closed. Return the shellfi sh to the empty pan to keep warm. Place a fine sieve over a measuring jug and strain the cooking liquid. You should have at least 600ml (1 pint); if not, add water to make up that quantity.
Add the pan juices and the milk to the bacon and vegetable mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 6–8 minutes, until the potato is tender. Add the cream and simmer for another 2–3 minutes, until the soup is reduced and thickened slightly. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, remove half of the cockles and mussels from their shells and add them with the remaining cockles and mussels still in their shells to the chowder. Stir in the parsley and serve at once.
http://www.rachelallen.com/post/molly-malones-cockle-and-mussel-chowder
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