Pork Fillet with Butternut Squash Purée, Brussels Sprouts, Chestnuts & Quince and another #AAFoodies event at the Maryborough Hotel & Spa

I recently had a wonderful evening and overnight stay in the Maryborough Hotel & Spa located in Douglas, County Cork. The Maryborough was awarded Hotel of the Year for 2014 in the AA Hospitality Awards which were held last October.

In addition to the annual Hospitality Awards, the AA through their team of Secret Inspectors assess and award those hotels judged to be providing the finest food in Ireland with a system of Rosettes, ranging on a scale of 1-5 Rosettes. Hotels who wish to take part can renew/sign-up to the scheme and, when they do so, are automatically assessed, with Rosettes being awarded to those that reach the required standards.

This scheme is a well-respected and popular way for the public, AA members and its guidebook readers to get information on the best places to eat in Ireland. Unlike other assessment systems, the AA focuses solely on the quality and excellence of the food served and not on the overall dining experience. Inspections happen throughout the year with any Rosettes that are bestowed being awarded in the period soon after the actual assessments have taken place.
 
Following on from their success in the Awards, the Maryborough teamed up with the AA to host an #AAFoodies event. I was lucky enough to be invited along and can tell you that I had the most fabulous time; meeting with other bloggers, food producers  and enthusiasts, chatting about the food and wine we were sampling and just… well… having a fun-filled evening! If you want to be in with a chance to attend future events (and believe me, if you love food, you WILL want to) all you have to do is sign up here to become an #AAFoodie.
 
On arrival, we were welcomed by the hotel’s owners Dan and Jo O’Sullivan, General Manager Justin McCarthy and Head Chef Brendan Brosnan who presented us with samples of the Hotel’s new menu ideas for the winter months. Our opinions were welcomed and we were encouraged to give feedback about the dishes we were eating. It was fascinating talking to Brendan about the food he had prepared and about where he got his inspiration from. We got to sample 12 dishes in total – 4 starters, 4 mains and 4 desserts and YES; I did manage to eat them all! It was hard not to as they were presented beautifully and looked so inviting. Brendan’s desire to be innovative is never at the expense of the quality of the ingredients he uses and his commitment to using locally sourced, Irish produce is commendable.

I found the whole evening very inspirational, and came away from it brimming full of new flavour combinations and recipe ideas that I wanted to try out. I honestly believe that whilst you can get inspiration from television cookery programmes, from articles in magazines and from recipes in cookery books, the very best way to get new ideas is by actually eating out, trying different foods and experiencing what some of the talented and hard-working chefs here in Ireland have to offer. I am an enthusiastic amateur cook and love all things to do with food, cooking and eating and I really admire and respect all those who work so hard in the food and hospitality industry in Ireland.
 
I would like to thank the owners and staff in the Maryborough Hotel & Spa for treating me to such a great evening and I can recommend it, without a hint of bias, as a great place to visit and dine in. The Maryborough’s recent success in the AA Hospitality Awards is very well deserved and I can’t wait to revisit… I may even bring my hubby and three children next time!
 
I would also like to thank the AA’s Vicky Sargeant and the Secret Inspector we met - whom I won’t name in the interests of preserving their anonymity - for inviting me along. I was completely captivated chatting to the Secret Inspector and hearing about how inspections are carried out and the things that they look for when carrying out their assessments. It sounds like hard work but great fun and as far as I’m concerned, THE dream job!
 
This was our menu:

Starters:

• Pan-Fried Scallop, Cumin Roasted Pork Belly, Cauliflower Purée
• Seared Pigeon, Golden Beetroot, Orange Velouté
• Salmon Mi-Cuit, Whiskey & Soya Lacquer, Herb Crème Fraîche 
• Potato Espuma, Crispy Potato Skins & House Pancetta

Mains:

• Seared Venison Loin, Braised Haunch, Swede Purée, Cassis Jus
• Pork Fillet, Apricot & Chestnut Stuffing, Butternut Squash, Sage Crisp
• Roasted Monkfish, Parma Ham, Mussel Infusion
• Chargrilled Vegetables, Cumin Yoghurt, Halloumi

Desserts:

• Earl Grey Tea Crème Brulee, Cinnamon Crisps & Floral Tea
• Mulled Wine & Pear Trifle
• Gingerbread & Lemon Curd Cup, Hazelnut Meringue Cap
• Chocolate Taster Plate

Whilst all the dishes were very tasty, I particularly enjoyed the Potato Espuma starter, the Pork Fillet main and - although quite sweet - the Pear Trifle dessert. The latter just screamed ‘Christmas’ at me!!!

In many ways the dish that surprised me the most was the Chargrilled Vegetables and Halloumi. Rather than searing the Halloumi, It was coated in a light tempura batter and briefly deep-fried. I had never eaten halloumi cooked this way and really enjoyed it. Although tempura batter is most often associated with Japanese cooking, here it was included in a dish which drew its flavours primarily from the Middle East… and, in its simplicity, it worked! I especially liked the cumin spiced yoghurt and can see a variation of this being included in my cooking in the not-too-distant future.

 

Anyway, the recipe that I give here was inspired by the food that I ate at the #AAFoodies event. All too often pork fillet (AKA pork tenderloin) can be very disappointing to eat as it tends to dry out quickly and become tough and tasteless. In the right hands, it is succulent and flavoursome. This is a very simple dish, where all the accompaniments can be prepared in advance and kept warm whilst you pan-fry the fillet. The brussels sprouts coupled with the chestnuts with their nutty sweetness, complement the pork wonderfully whilst the slight acidity of the quince cuts through the overall richness of the dish. I had forgotten how wonderful pork fillet could be as all you seem to see on menus these days are dishes such as pulled pork or slow-roasted pork belly made using cuts of meat that require long slow cooking.

Ingredients:

Quince purée:
75g caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
200ml water
2 quince, peeled, cores removed and quartered
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Butternut squash purée:
1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
100g butter
50ml water
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Brussels sprouts:
25g butter
2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
150g brussels sprouts, peeled and finely shredded
50g cooked chestnuts, chopped
1tsp of finely chopped fresh sage
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Pork fillet:
25g butter
A splash of vegetable oil
1 pork fillet, cut into 4 even portions
50ml madeira
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Quince purée:
1. Place the sugar, lemon juice and water in a medium sized saucepan and bring to simmering point over a moderate heat and wait until the sugar dissolves. Add the quartered quince pieces and allow to simmer, uncovered for approximately 20 minutes until the quince is tender.

2. Place the poached quince along with a little of the poaching liquid (about 25-50ml) in a liquidiser and blend to a smooth purée. Pour into a small saucepan and keep warm until ready to plate the finished dish. Taste and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Butternut squash purée:

3. Place the butternut squash, butter and water in a medium sized saucepan and bring up to simmering point over a moderate heat. Cover the saucepan and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes until the squash is tender.

4. Place the contents of the saucepan (the squash and any liquid) into a liquidiser and blend to a smooth purée. Pour into a small saucepan, taste and season well. Keep warm until ready to plate up.

Brussels sprouts:

5. Melt the butter in a small frying pan over a moderate heat and add the chopped shallots. Allow to cook until the shallots have softened, but not coloured. Add the shredded brussels sprouts and chestnuts and season generously. Sauté until the brussels sprouts are just beginning to wilt a little. Add the chopped sage and set aside in a warm place until ready to plate up.

Pork fillet:

6. Preheat oven to 200C/Fan oven 180C/Gas Mark 6.

7. Heat the butter and oil in an oven-proof frying pan over a high heat and sear the pieces of pork on all sides until nicely brown (about 2 minutes each side). Add the madeira and cook over a high heat for 1 minute, basting the pork as the madeira reduces a little.

8. Place the frying pan containing the pork in the preheated oven and allow the meat to roast for 8-10 minutes until just cooked through. (Squeeze it with your fingers - it should still have a little give).

9. Remove from oven. Leave to rest in a warm place for 5 minutes.

To serve:

10.Place some butternut squash purée on each plate and top with a generous spoonful of the sautéed brussels sprouts. Slice each portion of pork into 4 or 5 pieces and arrange on top of the brussels sprouts. Using a disposable piping bag, pipe little blobs of the quince purée onto each plate. (If liked, you can serve a few quickly blanched brussels sprouts leaves on each plate – just half the sprouts and using your fingers peel away individual leaves. Plunge into boiling water for 20-30 seconds and immediately drain before the leaves wilt. Season well and arrange on the plates).

Serves 4.

 

Buttermilk Custard Tart with Blackberries and a meal in the Pig's Ear restaurant

I recently had a fabulous meal in a restaurant that I am just itching to visit again soon because I enjoyed the food tremendously and also because there are so many things on the menu that I really want to try when I return.

The Pig's Ear, located on Nassau Street, Dublin was bustling on the Tuesday evening that I recently visited and given that this is generally one of the quietest nights on Dublin’s social scene, I took this as a positive sign and evidence that the food must be as good as it is reputed to be.

I love eating out… I love trying different foods and eating things that even as an enthusiastic amateur, you would never think of cooking for yourself at home. Certainly, in the aftermath of my MasterChef Ireland trials and tribulations, I am now a more confident cook with a renewed enthusiasm for the food I cook and eat. I learnt a lot during my time on the programme and find that I now seek inspiration not only from books and magazines but also increasingly from eating out – and surely this is what food is all about, the actual eating and the enjoyment of the dining experience? I’m not advocating greed or gluttony, but rather an appreciation of good food and quality produce cooked with love and a desire to please.

Good food and fine dining is not only about using the most expensive cuts of meat and luxurious ingredients; it’s also about making humble, inexpensive ingredients really shine. In the right hands this can look as if it has been achieved so effortlessly, despite the fact that so much time, care and attention has doubtlessly gone into sourcing, preparing and cooking the food! Certainly, dining in the Pig’s Ear, you really get the sense that a great deal of thought has gone into developing the menu and that a whole lotta love has gone into the finished dishes.

The menu in the Pig’s Ear has something for everyone. There is a distinct focus on using seasonal Irish ingredients and the dishes contain quite a few quirky elements, designed to delight diners and push boundaries without being alarming or too avant garde. This is a restaurant that provides delicious, well-cooked food that looks beautiful on the plate and at a reasonable price. There is nothing pretentious about the food on offer here – it just tastes darn good!

For our meal we had...

 

Starters:

• Gold River Farm Beets, St. Tola Goats Cheese, Pickled Onions, Apple Molasses, Fried Sourdough
• Tartare of Kettyle Irish Veal, Tarragon, Beef Dripping Fried Bread & Leek Ash

Both the starters were lovely and looked beautiful on the plate. Whilst the beetroot and goats cheese combo seems a little clichéd these days, it tasted great and I loved the little blobs of apple molasses. The pickled onions added a piquant note and really brought the dish to life.

 

Some people may be a little squeamish about eating raw meat, but if you visit the Pig’s Ear, I urge to put any prejudices aside and order the veal tartare. This is a dish which succeeds or fails on the quality of the meat used and it did not disappoint. It takes a certain amount of confidence and belief in what you are doing to serve a dish like this. I loved it. The veal was hand-chopped and beautifully seasoned. Tiny nuggets of gherkin brought everything alive and made the meat taste even sweeter. Small crumbs of bread fried in dripping intermingled with the meat and added textural contrast but I would have preferred thin slices of toasted bread served on the side. I am a little suspicious of dusts of any description and I’m not sure the leek dust added anything to the dish. But that’s a personal opinion and overall the dish was a triumph.

 

Mains:

• John Stone’s Irish Beef Cheek cooked in Stout, Marrow Bone, Smoked Garlic Mash, Roast Onion
• Wild Irish Game’s Venison, Organic Beetroot, Cavolo Nero, Butter Roast Potato, Pickled Blackberries

The beef cheek cooked in stout was a melt-in-the-mouth dish and had a real comfort-food factor to it; but don’t think that this was something rustic looking, just heaped on the plate. As with all the food we ate, it was beautifully presented. The long slow cooking had worked wonders with what is a humble cut of meat and elevated this dish into something that was so much more than the sum of its parts. The background smokiness provided by the garlic mash worked perfectly with richness of the unctuous stout sauce – I licked my plate clean.

 

I also loved the venison. Here loin had been used which had been beautifully cooked. This was such a well-balanced dish with sweet beetroot, iron-rich cavolo nero and fruity but tart pickled blackberries. I would have added or taken away nothing.

 

We ate the mains with a side order of Duck Fat Roast Potatoes and really what more can be said. Everything tastes good when cooked in duck fat!!!

 

Desserts:

• Cuinneog Farm Buttermilk Custard, Cherry Sorbet, Winter Berries
• Home Made Brown Bread Ice-Cream, Spiced Prunes, Yellowman

Now… anyone who knows me knows that I am a dessert kinda gal and I wasn’t disappointed with what we ordered here. I have always had a penchant for brown bread ice-cream as it reminds me of grandmother who loved it. In many ways this was a simple dessert; ice-cream, fruit with textural contrast provided by the yellowman, which is honeycomb by another name. This was a perfectly lovely dessert which anyone would be happy with… but with the other dessert – the buttermilk custard – I was ‘ooohing’ and ‘aaahhhing’ with absolute pleasure.

 

I love buttermilk and often use it in my baking when making bread and cakes. I also make a panna cotta using it, but this custard was richer than any panna cotta and coupled with the intensely flavoured cherry sorbet, it was heavenly! I also loved the slightly bitter caramel edge of the honeycomb crumbs sprinkled on top of the sorbet. Buttermilk has a slightly tangy flavour, which tastes lighter in the mouth than a full cream custard would and made this dessert the perfect end to what was a very enjoyable meal.

 

Inspired by my visit to the Pig’s Ear and the lingering pleasurable memories of the buttermilk custard, I decided to do some experimenting. I love eating out in different restaurants and picking up ideas that I can bring back to my home cooking. This is my Buttermilk Custard Tart inspired by my visit to the Pig’s Ear. I am really pleased with how it turned out and am rather proud of the results.
 

Ingredients:

Pastry:

200g plain flour

50g icing sugar

85g butter, cubed

1 egg yolk

1-2tblsp cold water

Custard:

175g caster sugar

15g plain flour

2 eggs + 2 egg yolks

400ml buttermilk (I used Cuinneog Farm)

50g melted and cooled a little

Blackberry compote:

75g caster sugar

25ml water

150g blackberries

 

Method:

Pastry:
1. Sieve the flour and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and add the butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolk and water. Using a fork, mix everything until it comes together and forms a dough. Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly and shape into a ball. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4.

4. Roll out the pastry until it is about 3mm thick and use to line a 22-23cm round tart tin, about 4cms deep with a removable base. Line this with non-stick baking parchment  and fill with baking beans. Blind bake for 10 minutes and then take out of the oven and remove the baking beans and parchment. Return the pastry to the oven and bake for a further 5-7 minutes until it is a light golden brown colour. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Custard:

5. Place the caster sugar, flour, eggs and yolks in a large mixing bowl and using a hand held electric mixer, on a low speed, beat together until well mixed. Slowly add the buttermilk and melted making sure that they are well incorporated.

6. Pour the custard into the cooled tart case and bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes until the custard has puffed up slightly, is cooked through, but still has a slight wobble in the centre. Check the tart after 30 minutes cooking and if it appears to be browning too quickly, reduce the heat slightly. Remove from the oven when cooked and set aside to cool to room temperature before serving.

Blackberry compote:

7. Place the sugar, water and half the blackberries in a small saucepan and bring up to the boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes until the blackberries have softened and the released juices have become syrupy. Add the remaining blackberries and cook for a further minute.

To serve:

8. Serve the tart, in thin wedges, at room temperature and spoon over some of the blackberry compote.

 

Serves 10-12.

 

     
 

Cranberry & Orange Cake

Is it too early to be thinking about Christmas baking and cooking? Well, the thing about this cake is that although it borrows from the flavours of Christmas, it is a great cake in its own right and is something delicious to make when fresh cranberries are in season; it doesn’t have to be confined to Christmas alone.

Cranberries can be somewhat sharp, so do need a little sweetening… but if you use too much sugar you risk drowning out their distinctive taste. I have paired cranberries with orange in this cake and really feel that the orange lends a natural fruity sweetness that balances out any sharpness perfectly.

 

The cake has a close crumb and is unusual in that cream cheese is used along with butter to add richness to the cake. Despite this, the cake is not heavy and although close textured has a lovely velvety feel in the mouth when eaten. The cream cheese adds a very subtle tangy note but this is barely discernible and in my opinion adds a depth of flavour and a certain complexity to the finished cake. The other great thing about using the cream cheese is that it adds substance to the cake batter, which prevents the cranberries from sinking as the cake cooks.

For those who don’t like rich fruit cakes, this is a lighter, although still indulgent, cake that is perfect for the festive season. I chose to bake the cake in a 28cm ring tin, but if you don’t have one, you could always bake the cake in a 23-25cm round cake tin. However, if you have a ring tin, do use it, because I think that it just makes the finished cake just look so Christmassy, especially when also decorated with the glacé icing and frosted cranberries. Unlike a traditional rich fruit cake which ideally should be made several weeks in advance of consuming to give the cake a chance to ‘mature’, this cake is made no more than a couple of days before eating. Of course, if you are anything like me, I’ll make a traditional Christmas cake AND also this one!

I sometimes make another version of this cake substituting lemon and blueberries for the orange and cranberries respectively. This is also a fab cake and one that has proved extremely popular with my nearest and dearest (and various others!!!).

 

Ingredients:

185g butter, softened
185g cream cheese
330g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
3 large eggs, lightly beaten

165g self-raising flour

115g plain flour

125g fresh cranberries

Frosted cranberries:

25g cranberries

1 egg white, lightly beaten

Caster sugar for sprinkling

Icing:

175g icing sugar

Juice of ½ orange
 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark. Using some butter, grease a 28cm ring/savarin tin and then dust with a little flour, shaking out any excess.
2. Place the butter, cream cheese in a large bowl and using a hand held electric mixer, beat together until light and fluffy. Add the grated orange zest and mix through. Gradually add the eggs beating well after each addition until they too are fully incorporated.
3. Sift the plain and self-raising flours together and fold into the cream cheese mixture making sure that there are no pockets of flour remaining. Finally add the cranberries and mix through so that they are well distributed.
4. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared tin and level the surface with a spatula or back of a metal spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes until well risen and firm to the touch or when a thin metal skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Frosted cranberries:

6. Using a pastry brush, light coat the surface of each cranberry with a little egg white before tossing in some caster sugar. Set aside on a clean plate and allow the sugary surface of the cranberries dry out a little.

Icing:

7. Mix the icing sugar and enough freshly squeezed orange juice together to create an icing with a ‘coating’ consistency. Spoon over the top of the cake and allow to flow naturally down the sides of the cake.

8. Decorate the top of the cake with the frosted cranberries, by placing them on the glacé icing before it hardens.
 

Serves 10-12.
 

Curried Parsnip Soup with Smoked Haddock

I love the sweet earthiness of parsnips and truly feel that they are a much underused vegetable. When I was younger, my grandmother would sometimes serve them peeled and simply boiled as a vegetable accompaniment to her fabulous roast chicken. At Christmas, she would roast them, drizzled with a little honey in some hot oil and serve them alongside the turkey, roast potatoes and Brussels sprouts… but in reality we didn’t have them too often. I love them, but to be honest they were always a divisive vegetable, with half of the family (ironically, all the women) loving them whilst the other half (all the men) hated them.  For me, to this day, Christmas dinner is not Christmas dinner without roasted parsnips. My children aren’t keen on them, but I still make a large serving-bowl full of them, in the hopes that I will be able to convince them that parsnips are a wondrous and totally delicious vegetable!

Of course there are so many other ways that parsnips can be used other than just boiling or roasting them… Then can be thinly sliced and deep fried to make parsnip crisps, puréed and because they have an inherent intense, natural sweetness, they can even be used in more innovative ways to make cakes, ice-creams and other desserts! Here I have used them a little more simply to make a beautiful creamy curried soup which I have topped with some flakes of smoked haddock. The sweetness of the parsnips is tempered by the spicy warmth of the curry and the smokiness of the fish to create a beautifully balanced and very moreish soup – it was yum!

This was quite a substantial and filling soup, given the addition of the smoked haddock, but on a cold, wintry day it makes a delicious lunch. You could also serve it in smaller portions as a tasty starter at Christmas… It’s hugely adaptable. The great thing about it is that even people who aren’t fans of parsnips seem to love this soup… my three fussy eaters at home all loved it and I think that I achieved something worthwhile in creating a soup that they liked a lot despite the fact that it contained a vegetable that they had previously claimed to dislike!

Ingredients:

25g butter
1 medium sized onion, peeled and chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1tsp medium curry powder

800g parsnips, peeled and chopped into 2cm chunks

1 medium potato, peeled and chopped

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped

1 litre of vegetable stock

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

100ml cream

To finish:

250g smoked haddock

Enough milk to just cover the smoked haddock

2 bay leaves

Method:

1. Heat the butter in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion, celery and garlic over a moderate heat for approximately 5 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the curry powder and stir through, coating the onions, celery and garlic and cook for a further minute.

2. Add the parsnips, potatoes and apple and stir again. Cover the saucepan and allow the vegetables to sweat and soften a little without colouring. Add the stock, increase the heat and bring up to the boil. Reduce the heat, until everything is just simmering. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover the saucepan and cook for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
3. Spoon the contents of the saucepan into a liquidiser or blender (doing it in batches if necessary) and purée until smooth. Pour into a clean saucepan and keep warm over a gentle heat until ready to serve.
To finish:
4. Place the smoked haddock in a small saucepan and pour in enough milk so that the fish is just covered. Add the bay leaves and place saucepan over a moderate heat and bring up to the boil. Allow to cook for approximately 5 minutes and then remove from the milk. Remove the skin from the smoked haddock and break into small flakes.
5. Add the cream to the soup and stir through. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve the soup in bowls with the flaked fish on top.
 

Serves 6.