Smoked Mackerel, Beetroot & Apple Salad

I have mentioned before the influence my grandmother had on me and my love of good food and cooking. She truly was an amazing cook and people really enjoyed coming to her house for dinner, because they knew that they would be treated to the very best of home cooked food. She was quite an adventurous cook and loved using exotic spices and what would have been considered unusual ingredients in the Ireland of her day. There was no pretension in her cookery, but everything was always so well presented and looked inviting and delicious to eat.

There were times, however, when I was a little dubious about the idea of some of the things that she proposed to make and present for us to eat. One occasion that particularly stands out in my memory was the time that she decided to make homemade smoked mackerel pâté which she wanted to serve on thinly sliced brown soda bread, to guests she would be entertaining one evening. The thought of a fishy flavoured paste really did not excite me. When everything was plated up in preparation for the imminent visitors, she urged me to try a little sliver of the pâté smeared bread. I tentatively took the tiniest of nibbles and couldn’t believe the salty, almost sweet flavour of the pâté; it was delicious. In that moment began my life-long epicurean love affair with mackerel, in all its forms.

 

Mackerel is an oily fish and as such, lends itself perfectly to being smoked. Unlike many other fish, it stands up well to spicy and robust flavours; I especially like serving it with a gooseberry or rhubarb compote as the tartness of these cut through the rich oiliness of the mackerel.

 

But here, I am presenting my recipe for a salad which uses smoked mackerel. I regularly make this salad, sometimes with slight variations when I want a quick, nutritious but satisfying meal. The subtle earthiness of the beetroot complements the oily mackerel perfectly, whilst the apple creates adds a welcome freshness on the palate.

 

Ingredients:

250g smoked mackerel, skin and bones removed

6-8 cooked beetroot (I either roast my own of buy the vacuum packed ones)

1 small bunch spring onions cut into diagonal slices

1 apple, cored and sliced into thin wedges

100g cooked puy lentils

4-5 boiled baby new potatoes, sliced (optional)

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

100ml sour cream

2tblsp creamed horseradish

 

Method:

Salad:

1. Gently toss all the salad ingredients together in a large salad bowl.

Dressing:

2. Using a small whisk mix all the dressing ingredients together and just before serving, drizzle over the salad.

3. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Serves 4.     

Glazed Orange Semolina Cake with Roasted Rhubarb

The rhubarb has taken off with a vengeance in my garden and seems to be growing at a ferocious speed in front of my eyes. Not that I’m complaining because I absolutely love the taste of rhubarb and quite happily find excuses to use it in my cookery as often as I can.

 

It can be hard to gauge how sweet or tart the rhubarb is likely to be, as it varies depending on the time its harvested during its season, Whilst I prefer it when it is not overly sweetened, it definitely does require the addition of sugar, honey or the like.

 

At its simplest, I like to cut it into chunks into a shallow roasting tin, sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of sugar on top and bake it gently in the oven for about of twenty minutes until it begins to soften and release its juices. The juices create the most beautiful syrup when they mingle with the sugar. I don’t usually add any extra fluid but my mother swears by adding the juice of half an orange. The advantage of cooking the rhubarb simply, like this, is that it retains a lot of its shape, which I find more appetising.

 

Rhubarb and custard is one of those clichéd food combinations – but there is good reason for this; they taste wonderful together! I mostly eat my roasted rhubarb with homemade custard. I like it warm, I like it chilled… I like it anyway that it’s given to me. They taste just perfect together.

 

I’ll be the first to admit that it can be easy to fall into a culinary rut, where you end up making the same things over and over again and where you are not inclined to experiment too much. I really enjoy cooking and baking and readily experiment, but I also have phases where I cook the same things over and over again.

 

I was keen to create a dessert cake with which my roasted rhubarb could be served. I wanted something that would go well with the rhubarb and would highlight its unique taste. I initially toyed with the idea of making a light ginger cake using fresh ginger, but then I decided that an orange cake would be delicious. I could almost imagine how the cake and the roasted rhubarb would taste together.

Semolina is often used in Middle Eastern cookery when making cakes, so I decided to take my lead from this and adapted one of my basic sponge cake recipes to include it.

 

I cannot describe to you how delighted I was with this cake. It was absolutely heavenly. The orange brought out the best in the accompanying roasted rhubarb, and vice versa. Because I am prone to excess in all things, not just in cookery and eating, I also served the cake and roasted rhubarb with a dollop of softly whipped cream. Everything about this combination was amazing. It was so tasty served as a dessert, but it was also fabulous as a cake in its own right.

 

Ingredients:

Orange Cake:
150g butter, softened

175g caster sugar

Grated zest of 1 orange

3tblsp freshly squeezed orange juice

2 large eggs

100g natural Greek yogurt

125g semolina

125g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

Glaze:

Juice of 1 large orange

150g granulated sugar

1tsp of orange flower water or Cointreau

To finish:

A little icing sugar
 
Roasted Rhubarb:
350-400g rhubarb, washed and cut into 3cm long chunks
3-4tblsp caster sugar

Method:

Orange Cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Line a 20cm round cake tin with removable base with non-stick baking parchment and set aside.
2. Place the butter, caster sugar and orange zest in a large mixing bowl and using a hand-held mixer cream together until light and fluffy.

3. Gradually add the orange juice and the eggs and mix together until well incorporated. Next, add the yogurt and mix in thoroughly.

4. Sift the semolina, flour and baking powder together. Fold into the creamed mixture making sure not to overwork the batter. Spoon the batter into the lined cake tin, smoothing it out with a palette knife. Bake in the preheated oven for an hour or until the cake is well-risen, golden brown in colour and a thin skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Check the cake after 30 minutes to ensure that it is not browning too quickly and if it is, cover the tin with a little aluminium foil. When the cake is ready, remove from the oven. Allow to cool in the cake tin for ten minutes. Using a very thin skewer prick the cake all over and then remove the cake from the tin to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Meanwhile make the glaze which need to be poured onto the cake and let soak in whilst the cake is still warm.

Glaze:

5. Put the orange juice and sugar into a small saucepan and place over a moderate heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat slightly and bring to the boil. Let the mixture bubble for about thirty seconds and then remove from the heat. Add the orange flower water and mix through.

6. Spoon the glaze evenly over the cake – it will soak in and allow the cake to cool completely.

7. Serve dusted with icing sugar and cut into wedges with a little roasted rhubarb as an accompaniment.

Roasted Rhubarb:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Place the rhubarb, chunks in a single layer in a shallow roasting tin and sprinkle over the sugar. Cover the dish with aluminium foil and cook in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, removing the foil for the final 5-10 minutes.
2. Remove from the oven. The roasted rhubarb can be served immediately, allowed to cool to room temperature or chilled.

Serves 8-10.

     

Strawberry Tart

My earlier recipe post for Portuguese Custard Tarts used puff-pastry, which I declared an essential kitchen ingredient; well, in my opinion, it is - in my kitchen at any rate! It can be used in a myriad of ways; in both sweet and savoury dishes, but really comes into its own when used in desserts, elevating even the simplest creation into something special and often spectacular looking.

To illustrate this point, I am now posting a recipe for a simple strawberry tart which I often make when strawberries are in season and plentiful in my garden. I’m a bit embarrassed to even call this a recipe because all that’s involved is rolling out the pastry, slicing some strawberries and sprinkling them with a little sugar before baking in a preheated oven. However, what you are rewarded with is so much more than the sum of its parts.

Cooked simply like this, the strawberries retain their essentially strawberry qualities, without becoming jam-like – my approach when making this tart, was based on the idea that if I wanted something with a jammy consistency, I would have used strawberry jam.

Strawberries and cream is a marriage made in heaven, but rather than serve this with pouring cream or lightly whipped cream, I like the luxurious taste of clotted cream so that’s what I use here. Again, I recommend using Glenilen Farm Clotted Cream…which is seriously yummy. I have used clotted cream before but as a constituent ingredient in some of the cakes and shortbread that I sometimes bake (see my posts on Lemon Clotted Cream Cake and Clotted Cream Shortbread) but here it is used as a simple but delicious accompaniment to this down-to-earth strawberry tart!

Ingredients:

350g puff-pastry
500g strawberries, hulled and each cut into 3 or 4 slices
1tblsp caster sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Line a large rectangular baking tray with baking parchment and set aside.
2. Roll out the puff pastry into a rectangle (approximately 30cms x 20cms and ½ cm thick) and place on the parchment lined baking tray. Prick the pastry all over with a fork.
3. Place the sliced strawberries on top of the pastry, slightly overlapping and leaving a 3cm border all around. Sprinkle the caster sugar, evenly over the strawberries and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is well risen and golden brown and the strawberries have started to release their juices.
  

Serves 6.

 

Duck Confit with Braised Red Cabbage

I can remember the first time that I tasted duck confit which was as a starter in a restaurant in Athlone, in the Irish Midlands called Le Chateau where I was having a meal with some friends. I thought it was so delicious and loved the way the duck meat fell tenderly from the bone. I still vividly remember the taste of it! Every time that I subsequently visited that restaurant I invariably ordered the duck confit starter and it never disappointed.

From what I can recall the duck was served with a warm onion marmalade and puréed potatoes and it was admittedly, an incredibly substantial and hearty way to start a meal - not that I ever complained; I just loved eating it.

 

I remember so much of what we all chatted about that night and the fun we had, but my memories are all centred on eating the duck confit. This may sound peculiar to some people, but I can remember special occasions by what I ate; some of these events go back years, but I remember people and special times in my life by reference to what I ate and whether I enjoyed the meals or not.

 

Duck confit is a very French dish and one that I have been lucky to eat a number of times in France. It was originally conceived as a way of preserving the meat as the fat in which the duck is cooked and then stored in, extends its keeping qualities. I don’t know why, but I have always has the perception that it would be a very difficult and tedious dish to prepare, but I can promise you, it’s not. I was surprised how simple it was. You need to “cure” the meat overnight before you cook it, but other than allowing for that time, there is nothing difficult or complex about it. Once the duck legs have been confited in the duck fat, you can either crisp them up immediately or store them as I have described in the instructions below.

 

I like to serve one duck leg per person on some braised red cabbage as a starter or light meal. I serve a lightly dressed green salad as the freshness of the leaves imparts some relief on the palate as a contrast to the richness of the duck and braised cabbage.

Ingredients:

Duck Confit:
6 duck legs
Cure:

50g sea salt

25g Demerara sugar

1 tsp black peppercorns

4-5 sprigs of thyme

To finish:

300g duck fat

4-5 sprigs of thyme

1 head of garlic separated into cloves

Braised Red Cabbage:
500g red cabbage, stalks removed and cut into thin strips (about ½cm wide)

250g onions, finely sliced

2 cooking apples, peeled cored and finely chopped

50g light brown sugar

25g butter

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground cloves

Pinch of grated nutmeg

50ml red wine vinegar

Juice of 1 orange

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

Duck Confit:

1. Put the duck legs, flesh side uppermost in a dish large enough for them to sit comfortably and snugly side-by-side.

2. Mix all the ingredients for the cure together and sprinkle over the exposed duck flesh, rubbing it in a little to ensure that it penetrates the meat. Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

The following day:

3. Preheat the oven to 140C/Fan Oven 120C/Gas Mark 1. Remove the duck legs from the cure and rinse well under cold running water and then pat dry with kitchen roll.

4. Place the washed and dried duck legs skin side uppermost in an oven-proof baking dish. Again the dish should be large enough for the legs to sit snugly side-by-side. Tuck the garlic cloves (there’s no need to peel them) and the sprigs of thyme around the duck legs.

5. Heat the duck fat until it has melted and is a parable consistency. Pour over the legs. Cover the dish tightly with aluminium foil and cook in the preheated oven for 3 hours.

6. Remove from oven and allow to cool to a little. Put the duck legs into a clean container and strain the remaining duck fat through a fine sieve over the legs. Allow to cool. Cover with a secure lid and store in the fridge for up to three weeks.

When you want to serve the duck legs:

7. Heat the oven to 220C/Fan Oven 200C/Gas Mark 7. Scrape any excess fat from around each duck leg and place on a small baking tray to crisp up and turn a rich golden brown. This should take about 20 minutes.

Serve each leg on a bed of braised red cabbage.
 

Braised Red Cabbage:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Mix all the ingredients together and place into an oven proof casserole dish with tight fitting lid. Place the lid on the casserole and cook in the preheated oven for 2 ½ hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so. If it looks like it is drying out too much you can add a splash of water.
 
Serves 6.

Portuguese Custard Tarts

I have talked before about how time consuming, but ultimately rewarding it is from a taste point of view, to make your own puff-pastry. I am the first to hold up my hand and say that I regularly forgo the “pleasures” of making my own and use a quality, commercially-produced all-butter version if I need some in a hurry for a specific recipe. At this stage I have posted a number of recipes that use puff-pastry and it would be fair to say that it is one of those basic products that you do use time and time again.

Puff-pastry is a key ingredient in these little tarts. I don’t profess that this is an absolutely authentic version of Portuguese Custard Tarts, but it is my take on them and I don’t think that I have done too badly…They taste delicious.

I love the simplicity of custard, which is essentially made up of eggs, milk/cream, sugar and vanilla. How can something containing so few ingredients be transformed into something that can be so tasty? I love custard in all its various forms; baked custards including crème brûlée and crème caramel; pouring custards like crème anglaise, and other variations such as crème patisserie.

I particularly like custard tarts and have always had a particular fondness of what I refer to as “plain custard tart”; that is a shortcrust pastry shell which is encased a slowly baked custard. I prefer a large tart which is then cut into slices prior to serving over individual tartlets, because the custard to pastry ratio is more balanced and the focus is very much on the custard itself. With this variation on the custard tart theme, I believe that it is of critical importance that the custard is not over-sweet. I like a hint of vanilla, but for me it is mandatory that this tart also include a liberal sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg. It is the minimal and almost austere nature of a plain custard tart that appeals to me so much, which is why I find it quite surprising that I also really love the following recipe for Portuguese Custard Tarts!

The custard in these tarts is quite sweet and is more of a crème patisserie than a baked custard. By virtue of the fact that puff pastry is used, the custard/pastry ratio is more equal, but here, I like it! These tarts are as much about the pastry as they are about the custard, which is why it is vital that a puff-pastry made with butter is used.      

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks

100g caster sugar

2tblsp cornflour

250ml cream

150ml milk

1 vanilla pod, spilt in half and seeds scraped out

350g puff-pastry

Method:

1. Put the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour into a bowl and whisk together.

2. Separately, place the cream, milk, vanilla pod and its seeds in a medium sized saucepan. Place over a moderate heat, and bring just up to boiling point. Take off the heat and carefully remove the vanilla pod. Pour the heated milk and cream in a steady stream onto the egg and cornflour mixture, whisking continuously. Once the milk and cream is all incorporated, pour this mixture back into a clean saucepan and place over a moderate heat. Stir continuously until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl and directly cover the surface with cling film to prevent a skin forming. Set aside and allow cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 190C/Fan Oven 170C/Gas Mark 5. Lightly grease a 12 hole muffin tin.

4. Roll out the pastry thinly into an oblong (approximately 30cm x 20cm) until it is about ½cm thick. Next roll up the pastry tightly, swiss-roll style, from the short end and then cut into 12 rounds, about 1cm thick.

5. Lay each pastry round on a lightly floured work-surface and use a rolling pin to roll out until each is about 10cms in diameter. Press the pastry rounds into the muffin tin and spoon the cooled custard evenly into the pastry cases.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry and custard are a golden colour and well-puffed up.

7. Remove from the oven and allow cook for 5 minutes before transferring the individual tarts to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Makes 12.