Often called pot marigolds, calendulas are one of the hardest working flowers in the garden. Their bright orange and yellow petals attract pollinators, bring colour to borders, and are completely edible too.
The petals have a light peppery flavour and can be scattered through salads, baked into cakes, infused into oils or used to naturally colour rice, butter and broths.
🌱 Fun facts • Calendula, Calendula officinalis, has been grown for centuries in kitchen and medicinal gardens • The petals were once known as “poor man’s saffron” for the colour they bring to food • Calendulas will often self-seed happily around the garden each year
🧡 Nutrition notes • Rich in naturally occurring plant compounds called flavonoids • Traditionally used in balms, teas and infused oils • Loved by pollinators, especially bees and hoverflies 🐝
A flower that earns its place in both the garden and the kitchen.18h
Our naturally Grass-fed Cows graze on the green pastures grass of the island of Ireland. The beta carotene found in the lush grass gives our butter its golden yellow hues. The taste of our butter is very rich and creamy. An indulgent, comforting taste adding great depth of flavours to any application.
The secret of this salad success is all in the temperature of the mozzarella, says @eunicepower . Be sure to follow @RTEToday to stay up to date with all the latest from Maura and Dáithí.
To celebrate the final episode of Neven’s Irish Food Trails on RTÉ One tonight at 7:30 pm, we’re making Neven’s Mediterranean monkfish and potato stew with an almond crumb.
Ingredients
This is an excellent fail-safe recipe that I often find myself cooking at home. The almond crumb makes it into something just a bit more glamorous. Of course, you could use any fish you like and add some shellfish too if you feel like pushing the boat out.
Serves: 4
25g (1oz) blanched almonds
1 tsp sweet paprika
4 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, finely chopped
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and finely chopped
2 tsp fennel seeds
½–1 tsp dried chilli flakes
a good pinch of saffron strands soaked in a little hot water
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 x 400g (14oz) tins of whole plum tomatoes
300ml (½ pint) fish or chicken stock (preferably homemade)
450g (1lb) small new potatoes, scrubbed and halved or quartered if large
675g (1½lb) boneless monkfish, skinned with all tough membrane removed and cut into bite-sized pieces
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas mark 4).
To make the almond crumb, spread the almonds out on a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 5 minutes, until they are golden.
Allow to cool, then roughly chop until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs. Place in a bowl and mix with the paprika and 1 teaspoon of salt. Set aside until needed.
Put a large casserole with a lid over a high heat on the hob and add the olive oil. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onions and fennel.
Stir in the fennel seeds, chilli flakes, and saffron and sauté for 10 minutes, then stir in the garlic and sauté for another couple of minutes.
Add the tomatoes to the onion mixture, crushing them with a wooden spoon, then pour in the stock and add the potatoes.
Season to taste and simmer for 25–30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.
Add the monkfish to the potato stew and simmer for another 5 minutes, until the fish is just cooked through and looks opaque.
Divide among hot bowls and sprinkle over the almond crumb, then scatter over the parsley to serve.
Irish Yoghurt Clonakilty Cranberry and Orange Cake.
Ingredients
Cake
125g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
200g caster sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
½ orange zest and juice
1 tsp vanilla bean extract
250g plain flour
1 heaped tsp baking powder
2 tsp mixed spice
100g Irish Yoghurt Clonakilty Greek Style Yoghurt, plus extra to serve
150g fresh cranberries
Topping
150g fresh cranberries
½ orange, juice
60g caster sugar
150g icing sugar
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 23cm springform round tin with baking parchment. 2. Cream together the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. 3. In a jug, combine the beaten eggs, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla. 4. Add this mixture to the creamed butter in 3–4 additions, fully incorporating each before adding more. 5. Fold in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. 6. Fold in the Irish Yogurt Clonakilty Greek Style Yogurt until the batter is smooth. 7. Transfer ¼ of the batter to the tin. Scatter a handful of cranberries in a line over this layer. 8. Fold the remaining cranberries into the rest of the batter and spoon into the tin. 9. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. 10. Leave the cake in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Topping
1. Heat the cranberries, orange juice and caster sugar in a small pan for about 5 minutes until half the berries have popped and the rest are softened. 2. Strain through a fine sieve, reserving the softened fruit. 3. Mix 2–3 tablespoons of the strained liquid with the icing sugar to make a thick icing. 4. Stir the softened fruit into the remaining strained liquid. 5. Pour and spread the icing over the cooled cake and allow it to drip slightly down the sides. 6. Top with the softened fruit.
Serving suggestion: Serve with a spoonful of Irish Yogurt Clonakilty Greek Style Yogurt.
Chefs’ tips:
If the batter begins to curdle while adding the egg mixture, add a spoonful of the flour mixture — it stabilises the batter and keeps the cake light.
Scatter a little orange zest over the icing for a bright, fragrant finish.
For a decorative flourish, add a few candied rosemary stalks on top. To make these, dip fresh rosemary sprigs lightly in sugar syrup, then toss in caster sugar and allow to dry — they look frosted and pair beautifully with the cranberry flavour.