begins his journey in Newcastle 🏰🍞 From climbing the 847-year-old Newcastle Castle for views over the Tyne’s iconic bridges, to meeting Michelin-star pioneer Terry Laybourne for classic pub bites at The Broad Chare.
He also explores the city’s Irish connections through football legend Jack Charlton, before finishing at Big River Bakery, learning to make the famous Geordie Stottie and Pease Pudding.
Makes about 6 servings (depending on hunger level and capacity for
sharing) Note: These scones are more muffin-like in texture; dough will be moist and wet, which ensures a tender texture.
Neven Maguire is shortlisted for the Bookselling Ireland Food and Drink Book of the Year in the An Post Irish Book Awards. You can vote at irishbookawards.ie.
Ingredients
Give this classic Italian dessert a twist with a delicate creamy vanilla flavour and a fresh strawberry topping. It’s the perfect dessert for a chilled summer gathering. If you want to make it less rich, simply replace 200ml of the cream with milk.
Serves 4
1 vanilla pod
3 sheets gelatine 600ml cream 100g caster sugar
300g large strawberries (preferably Pat Clarke’s)
½ lemon
2–3 tsp icing sugar, to taste
Method
To make the panna cotta, split the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds . Put the gelatine sheets into a bowl of cold water and leave them to soak for 5 minutes . Put the cream, caster sugar and vanilla seeds into a pan, and slowly bring up to the boil, whisking continuously . Take the pan off the heat . Take
the gelatine out of the water, gently squeeze out the excess water and add to the cream mixture, whisking continuously until it has dissolved . Strain the mixture through a sieve into a measuring jug .
Divide the mixture equally between 4 x 200ml dariole moulds or ramekins, place them on a baking tray and leave them to set in the fridge for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days .
Choose the 4 nicest strawberries for decoration, then cut them in half with the stems intact . Remove the stalks from the remainder, then add to a blender with a squeeze of lemon juice and icing sugar to taste – the amount will depend on how sweet the strawberries are . Blitz to a smooth purée, then pass through a sieve into a jug .
To serve, leave at room temperature for 15 minutes, then turn each panna cotta upside down on to a serving plate . If it won’t drop out, carefully dip the mould briefly into a bowl of warm water to loosen it . Serve with a drizzle of the strawberry compote and the sliced fresh strawberries .
Serve after … Panna cotta is a brilliant stand-by dessert because it’s quick and simple enough to make in the morning . I leave it to set in the fridge and serve after Fragrant Butterflied Lamb (p .69) with a large bowl of the best strawberries in Ireland . Pat Clarke has been delivering me strawberries for years, and their flavour is sensational.
Our students have been checking on the forced rhubarb, carefully grown in the dark to produce these tender, vibrant pink stems.
Forcing rhubarb encourages the plant to grow without photosynthesis, resulting in a sweeter flavour and delicate texture—perfect for everything from crumbles to compotes.
When she’s not exploring the jungles of Central America or following the great migrations across the plains of Africa, Liz Bonnin finds her true escape on Ireland West Coast in the rugged beauty of County Clare.
After Liz asks Anna to join her in the Burren is easy to see why!
Watch Anna and Liz as they explore the food and landscape that this corner of Ireland has to offer.
Anna Haugh’s Big Irish Food Tour BBC One Northern Ireland Tonight – Fri 18 Apr, 19:3021h
An action-packed first day of the January 12-Week Cookery Course. 🌅🍞
Our 66 students from 15 nationalities 🌍 started bright and early at 6am in the #BallymaloeBreadShed.
After the welcome breakfast, they got stuck into transplanting Little Gem salad plants 🥬, meeting the pigs 🐖, cows 🐄, and chickens 🐓, and touring the farm with Darina Allen. 🚜
After lunch with Rachel Allen🍴, they finished the day with Rory O’Connell, learning what they’ll be cooking tomorrow morning.👩🍳👨🍳Edited · 10h
Sift the flour into a bowl with the baking powder. Add the sugar and the oat bran and mix. Toss the cranberries into the icing sugar. Add to the bowl with orange zest and stir to mix.
Place the egg, milk and melted butter or sunflower oil into another bowl and beat lightly. Stir into the dry ingredients. Just do this casually – there is no need to over mix.
Line a muffin tin with baking cases. Spoon the mixture into the lined muffin tin.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200°C /400°F / Gas Mark 6 for around 15 minutes – or until risen and golden.
Serve warm or cold. Quick Tip Oat Bran is also great as a coating for fish before frying.
Foodaware 