Flahavan’s Oaty Blueberry Muffins

flahavans blueberry muffins

Ingredients
100g (4oz) Flahavan’s Progress Oatlets (plus extra for topping)
50g (2oz) Flahavan’s Oat Bran
150g (6oz) self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
75g (3oz) brown sugar
100g (4oz) pitted dates, finely chopped (or any dried fruit you have)
1 beaten egg
250g (10oz) Natural yogurt
100g (4oz) melted butter
125g (5oz) Blueberries (or any fresh or frozen fruit you have)
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/ Gas mark 4).
2. Place the oats, oat bran, flour, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and dates into a large bowl and mix well.
3. Then add the egg, yogurt and cooled melted butter to the bowl, stir gently to combine and fold in the blueberries.
4. Grease a muffin tin or line it with muffin cases and divide the mixture between the cases.
5. Sprinkle oats on top of each muffin and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until risen and golden brown.
Serve warm or cold.

Neven Maguire’s Fish Curry @BordBia @macnean_house_restaurant

Ingredients

  • 4 x 175g hake fillets, pin boned, scaled and skin on
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • ¼ butternut squash, deseeded and cut into cubes
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
  • ½ red pepper, cored and cut into thin strip
  • s½ yellow pepper, cored and cut into thin strips
  • ½ green pepper, cored and cut into thin strips
  • ½ red chilli, seeds removed and thinly sliced
  • 2 tsp mild curry powder2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 1 x 400g tin coconut milk (Thai Gold brand, if possible)
  • 100ml vegetable or fish stock
  • 2 tbsp mango chutney
  • 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsedJuice of
  • 1 limeHandful of baby spinach leaves
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Steamed basmati I rice, to serve
  • 1 tbsp basil, chopped
  • 1 tbsp coriander, chopped

Method

 

Preheat a large heavy based saucepan with the rapeseed oil over a medium heat

Add the butternut squash, onion, garlic, and ginger to the pan and stir to combine. Add in the sliced peppers, sliced chilli followed by the spices. Mix well to coat the vegetables in the spices, scraping the base of the pan.

Add in the chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, stock, mango chutney, chickpeas and lime juice. Stir to combine, cover with a lid and bring to the boil.

Once the curry has come to the boil, carefully place the hake portions on top and cover with the lid. Reduce the head to a low to medium and slowly poach the hake for 15 minutes, until cooked through.

Add in the spinach and nestle between the fish to wilt.

Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and finish with chopped basil and coriander.

Gratin of haddock with Imokilly cheddar and mustard by Rachel Allen #Ballymaloe

fish-gratin_0

 

Auntie Maureen’s Plum Pudding by Neven Maguire @macneanhouse Co.Cavan 😋🇮🇪

Makes 2x 1.2 litre (2 pint) puddings

Nothing beats the flavour of homemade Christmas pudding, but it’s important to get good-quality fruit and it’s best made at least 1 month in advance.

I love plum pudding, hot or cold, with lashings of cream, but the spiked almond custard is even more special. I always look forward to it. A big thank you to Auntie Maureen for this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 50g (2oz) plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 225g (8oz) sultanas
  • 175g (6oz) butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
  • 175g (6oz) fresh white breadcrumbs
  • 175g (6oz) light brown sugar
  • 175g (6oz) raisins
  • 50g (2oz) currants
  • 50g (2oz) candied mixed peel
  • 50g (2oz) blanched almonds, hopped
  • 1/2 eating apple, peeled, cored and diced
  • 1/2 small carrot, grated finely grated rind and juice of
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 300ml (1/2 pint) stout
  • fresh redcurrant sprigs, to decorate (optional)
  • icing sugar, to decorate (optional)
  • spiked almond custard, to serve

Method

  1. Sift together the flour, mixed spice, cloves and nutmeg. Add the sultanas, melted butter, breadcrumbs, sugar, raisins, currants, mixed peel, almonds, apple, carrot and the lemon rind and juice and mix until well combined. Gradually add the beaten eggs, stirring constantly, followed by the stout. Mix everything together thoroughly and cover with a clean tea towel, then leave in a cool place overnight.
  2. Use the fruit mixture to fill 2 x 1.2 litre (2 pint) greased pudding bowls. Cover with a double thickness of greaseproof paper and tin foil, then tie tightly under the rim with string. Store in a cool, dry place overnight.
  3. To cook, preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F/gas mark 2).
  4. Stand each pudding basin in a large cake tin three-quarters full of boiling water, then cook in the oven for 6–8 hours (or you can steam them for 6 hours in the usual way). Cool and re-cover with clean greaseproof paper. Again, store in a cool, dry place.
  5. On Christmas Day, re-cover with greaseproof paper and foil. Steam for 2–3 hours, until completely cooked through and tender. Decorate with the redcurrant sprigs and a light dusting of icing sugar, if liked.
  6. To serve, cut the plum pudding into slices and arrange on serving plates. Have a separate jug of the spiked almond custard so that everyone can help themselves.

Darina Allen and Rory O’Connell’s Christmas Mincemeat recipe passed down in Myrtle Allen’s family for generations #Ballymaloe

Here are three delicious options, the first is the classic Mincemeat recipe passed down in Myrtle Allen’s family for several generations. Of course, it contains suet so it’s moist and juicy and best eaten hot. The second, Emer Fitzgerald’s Mincemeat is vegetarian, it doesn’t include suet or butter and is also gluten free. The third, Brandy Mincemeat, does not include suet either, but does have butter.

Ingredients

  • 2 cooking apples, e.g. Bramley Seedling
  • 2 organic lemons
  • 450g (1lb) beef suet (see P.00)
  • pinch of salt
  • 110g (4oz) candied citrus peel (preferably homemade)
  • 2 tablespoons Seville orange marmalade
  • 225g (8oz) currants
  • 450g (1lb) sultanas
  • 900g (2lbs) Barbados sugar (moist, soft, dark-brown)
  • 62ml (2 1/2fl oz) Irish whiskey

Method

Makes 3.2 kilos approx. Makes 8-9 pots.

  1. Core and bake the whole apples in a moderate oven, 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4, for 30 minutes approx. Allow to cool. When they are soft, remove the skin and pips and mash the flesh into pulp.
  2. Grate the rind from the lemons on the finest part of a stainless steel grater and squeeze out the juice and stir into the pulp. Add the other ingredients one by one, and as they are added, mix everything thoroughly.
  3. Put into sterilized jars, cover and leave to mature for 2 weeks before using. This mincemeat will keep for a year in a cool, airy place.

A Simply Delicious Christmas with Darina Allen and Rory O’Connell is on RTÉ Player now. Recipe taken from ‘A Simply Delicious Christmas’ published by Gill Books.