Tag: Neven Maguire

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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

 

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Neven Maguire’s Pan-fried Hake with Lemon and Herb Butter Sauce

pan-fried-hake-with-lemon-and-herb-butter-sauce2

 Of course this recipe is great with just parsley but experiment with a combination of soft fragrant herbs sauce as parsley, chives, tarragon or chervil depending on what’s available.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4 x 175g hake fillets, skin on and boned
  • 1 tablesp. olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 50g butter
  • ½ lemon, pips removed
  • 1 tablesp. chopped mixed herbs (parsley, chives and tarragon)

To Cook

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and add the seasoned hake fillets, skin side down. Cook for a couple of minutes until the skin is just beginning to crisp, then add little knobs of butter to the pan around each hake fillet and cook for another couple of minutes until the skin is crisp.

Turn the hake fillets over and cook for another 3-4 minutes until cooked through. This will depend on the thickness of the fillets. Transfer to warmed plates while you make the sauce.

Add the rest of the butter to the frying pan and allow it to gently melt over a moderate heat. When it has melted, add a squeeze of lemon juice and the herbs, swirling to combine. Season to taste. Spoon this sauce over the hake fillets and serve with steamed broccoli and some sautéed new potatoes.

Serving Suggestions

Steamed broccoli and sauté new potatoes

Tips

Above all be careful not to overcook the fish.  To check, gently prod the thickest part of the fish with a small knife.  If it is cooked, the flesh will look opaque and the flakes will separate easily.  If it isn’t done yet, it will still have the translucent look for raw fish.

Other fish you could use: Whiting, haddock or trout fillets

Nutritional Analysis per Serving

Protein: 39g 

Carbohydrates: 52g 

Fat: 26g 

Iron: 2.4mg 

Energy: 644kcal 

 http://www.bordbia.ie/consumer/recipes/fish/pages/panfriedhake.aspx
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Best Brown Bread recipe.By Neven Maguire Celebrity Chef

 

By Neven Maguire Celebrity Chef

Everyone claims to have a great family recipe for wheaten bread. I’ve experimented with a lot of recipes over the years and this is deinitely the best I’ve tasted to date. It has a lovely sweet flavour but is still very much a savoury bread

Ingredients

  • 500 g (1lb 2oz) coarse wholemeal flour
  • 125 g (4 1/2oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 tsp bread soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 600 ml (1 pint) buttermilk, plus a little extra if necessary
  • 1 tblsp light brown sugar
  • 1 tblsp melted butter, plus extra butter for greasing and serving
  • 1 tblsp golden syrup
  • 1 tblsp porridge oats

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/gas mark 6) and grease 2 x 900ml (1 1/2 pint) loaf tins.
  • Sift the flours, bread soda and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk, brown sugar, melted butter and golden syrup. Using a large spoon, mix gently and quickly until you have achieved a nice dropping consistency. Add a little bit more buttermilk if necessary, until the mixture binds together without being sloppy.
  • Divide the mixture equally between the prepared loaf tins and sprinkle over the porridge oats. Bake for 1 hour, until cooked through and each one has a slightly cracked crusty top, checking halfway through that the loaves aren’t browning too much. If they are, reduce the temperature or move the loaves down in the oven.
  • To check that the loaves are properly cooked, tip each one out of the tin and tap the base. It should sound hollow. If it doesn’t, return it to the oven for another 5 minutes. Tip out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
  • To serve, place the brown wheaten bread on a breadboard and cut into slices at the table. Hand around with a separate pot of butter for spreading.

Notes

Neven says: Cook it ahead! The beauty of this bread is that it takes so little time to prepare, but you could have everything weighed out and ready to go beforehand, though it’s hardly necessary. However, it can be frozen very successfully.

This recipe and many more are available in Neven Maguire’s The MacNean Restaurant Cookbook, published by Gill & MacMillan Books and available to buy here.

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Neven’s Rustic Pear and Hazelnut Tarts

These tarts are absolutely perfect for a relaxed Sunday lunch. They can be made in the morning and left covered with cling film in the fridge. Pop them into the oven before sitting down to the main course and they will be in about half an hour.

Serves 4

Cooking time:

Preparation time:

Ingredients

  • 5 firm ripe pears
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 heaped tbsp light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 50g skinned hazelnuts, roughly chopped
  • 1 egg, beaten, to glaze
  • Icing sugar, to dust
  • Crème fraîche, to serve
  • Honey, to serve

For the Pastry

  • 225g (8oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • pinch of fine salt
  • 150g (5oz) butter, chilled and diced
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten

To Cook

To make the pastry, place the flour in a large bowl with the salt and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, then bring the pastry together with the egg (it may also need 1 tablespoon of cold water if it’s a little dry). Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes (or overnight is fine).

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas mark 4). Line 2 large baking sheets with non-stick baking paper.

Peel, core and slice the pears and put them in a bowl. Toss them in the lemon juice, then toss with the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.

On a lightly floured board, cut the pastry into 4 even-sized pieces. Roll each piece of pastry out to a rough circle about 15cm (6in) in diameter and no more than 5mm (¼in) thick. Carefully transfer to the lined baking sheets. Arrange the pears in the middle of each one and scatter the hazelnuts on top, leaving a 2.5cm (1in) border. Using the sides of the baking paper to help lift the pastry, fold the sides up and over the pears. Brush with the beaten egg and bake for 30–40 minutes, until the tarts are cooked through and golden.

Serving Suggestions

Dust with icing sugar and arrange on plates. Add dollops of crème fraîche and a drizzle of honey to each one to serve.