Pineapple Tarte Tatin

If you want a dessert that is quick to make and is sure to impress, you really cannot go wrong with a tarte tatin. A classic tarte tatin is made using apples but is easily adapted to include other fruit. Essentially the fruit is cooked in caramel and then baked with a puff pastry topping which then becomes the base when you turn it out to serve. Tarte tatins are sweet and sticky and you can almost feel your arteries hardening with every mouthful but they taste heavenly and are one of those desserts which seem universally popular.

 

This version is full of the tropical flavours of pineapple and dark rum and is absolutely delicious. You do need to use a fresh pineapple to make it as tinned fruit is too flaccid and disintegrates when you initially cook it in the caramel before finishing off in the oven. Luckily fresh pineapples are relatively cheap at the moment, so it is quite an economical dish to make.

 

As I always mention… you can, of course, have a go and making your own puff pastry but there are plenty of good brands available to buy so unless you are a baking purist, I suggest using one of these. Do try to get an all-butter version though, because the taste and texture is far superior.

 

You can make individual tarte tatins, using one ‘ring’ of pineapple per serving, but I prefer making one large one which I then divide into portions before serving.

 

This is a dessert that should be served immediately; ideally with a large scoop of ice-cream (e.g. vanilla or coconut) which then begins to melt seductively when it feels the heat from the tarte. I love the contrast of the cool and creamy ice-cream against the hot and sticky tarte.

 

Finally, I made my caramel with a generous glug of dark rum, but you can replace this with some orange juice if you prefer.
 

Ingredients:

60g butter
220g caster sugar

60ml dark rum

1 vanilla pod, split in half and seeds scraped out

1 medium sized pineapple, sliced evenly into 6 rings (remove the woody core)

375g all-butter puff pastry
 

Method:

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

2. Heat the butter in a large non-stick, oven-proof frying pan with the sugar and rum. Add the vanilla seeds and pod and allow the mixture to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Add the pineapple rings to the pan so that they are all in a single layer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Turn the pineapple halfway through this time so that both sides of each slice are evenly caramelised. Remove from the heat and set aside briefly, placing it on a baking tray while you prepare the pastry.

3. Roll the pastry out to a thickness of about 4-5mm. Using a sharp knife, cut a circle out of the pastry which is about 2cms wider than the circumference of your frying pan.

4. Place the pastry on top of the pineapple and caramel in the frying pan making sure that it covers everything. Tuck the pastry in around the inner edges of the frying pan and cut a small slit in the middle of the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven.

5. CAREFULLY invert the tarte tatin onto a large serving plate and serve immediately, divided into portions with a scoop of ice-cream.

Serves 4-6.

 

Restaurant Review: An Port Mór, Westport, County Mayo

For me, food is very much about fostering a sense of community and taking the time to sit down and eat with friends and family. As such, I seldom choose to dine alone and rarely do so, much preferring the air of conviviality which comes from eating good food in relaxed circumstances with those closest to you. Also, I find that if I am reviewing a restaurant, the task is made much easier when others are dining with me, if only because I have the opportunity to sample a greater number of dishes from the menu and can deliver a more comprehensive and balanced appraisal of the food that is on offer. Sometimes I will even visit a restaurant more than once in order to confirm initial impressions formed.

Despite all of this, I was passing through Westport recently and on a whim decided to ring An Port Mór, a restaurant that I have long wanted to try, to see whether they might have a table free for me.  Luckily they were able to squeeze me in and so it was that I found myself dining alone, contrary to my normal inclinations.

Westport is a busy town and a popular destination for those visiting the West of Ireland. It’s not difficult to see why as it is beautifully maintained and always appears so full of life. There is something about Westport that seems to satisfy a romantic sense that we collectively have of what an Irish town should look and feel like and I think that it is this that draws visitors from home and abroad in their droves. It is also unsurprising that Westport is gaining quite a reputation on the dining-out front and that it is developing a vibrant restaurant scene.

Tapenade

An Port Mór is located down a little laneway leading off Bridge Street and was easy to find. I arrived in time for the early bird menu which offered loads of choice as did the à la carte menu. However, on the evening I visited there was also a very tempting ‘specials’ board and it was from this that I ended up selecting both my starter and main course.

I firmly believe that you can tell a lot about a restaurant by the bread it serves and in An Port Mór it did not disappoint. I loved the subtlety of the white bread which was lightly speckled with sultanas and gently flavoured with curry spices. By way of contrast the brown treacle bread was full of deep rich flavours but was equally delicious. Worthy of specific mention was the very moreish Green Olive Tapenade which along with lovely fruity olives also included sun-dried tomatoes and salty anchovies. It was amazing how something so seemingly inconsequential – a mere accompaniment to the bread - could be packed with such well-balanced flavours. I loved it.

Lobster Salad

For my starter I decided to go all out and chose the Lobster Salad, Avocado & Pomegranate. I should admit that I’m usually ambivalent towards pomegranate. I love the flavour of the fruit but find the egg-shell-like crunch of the seeds a little disconcerting. The stunningly beautiful plate of food that arrived convinced me that I had made the right choice. This was a dish where the lobster was the star but there were many taste ‘surprises’ on the plate that accentuated and complemented its sweet flavour and succulent texture. Along with a quenelle of avocado purée were little cubes of earthy sweet beetroot, a piquant celeriac remoulade and a perfectly cooked quail’s egg. Despite the number of elements this was not a disjointed or complicated dish; everything was brought together coherently with an apple and vanilla sauce and a well-judged salad dressing that possessed the right amount of acidity to balance the other flavours. And yes… the pomegranate seeds… well they just worked, creating textural contrast and little bursts of flavour which added to the opulence of the dish.

Halibut

My main course of Grilled Halibut came simply presented on some wilted pak choi with a lightly spiced aubergine purée, some asparagus spears and an elegant celeriac dauphinoise. If the lobster dish that had preceded it had possessed a certain glamour this, by way of contrast, was a pared-back dish that celebrated the wonderful halibut in all its glory without any unnecessary distractions. It is rare to find fish so wonderfully and thoughtfully cooked. The halibut came served with separate bowls of baby new potatoes and a selection of steamed vegetable but given the generous portion of fish that I had been presented with, I struggled to finish them. This truly was a memorable dish.

For dessert I faced a real dilemma and found it hard to select just one. Being a lover of all things lemon I wanted to try the Baked Lemon Tart but I was also tempted by the Buttermilk Panna Cotta which my waiter claimed would amaze me. In the end I decided that there was no point in stressing myself trying to choose just one so ordered both dishes.



Buttermilk Panna Cotta

The Baked Lemon Tart was absolutely lovely and certainly ranks amongst the best that I have eaten but the Buttermilk Panna Cotta was absolutely stunning. It initially arrived looking like many a panna cotta before it, presented upturned onto the serving plate and bathed in a generous drizzle of honey. Just after it was presented to me, my waiter quickly returned to the table brandishing a large pepper mill, politely insisting that the panna cotta was best enjoyed with some freshly ground black pepper. I was a little unsure whether this flavour pairing would work but I was intrigued to try it. Words cannot describe this dish, for it was truly sublime. The spicy heat of the freshly ground pepper made the fragrant honey taste all the sweeter. Balanced against the barely sweetened panna cotta and the lactic tanginess of the buttermilk which had been used to make it, this was a dish that was simple but so perfect and a complete revelation.  A small plate of Petits Fours consisting of Nougat and Turkish Delight finished off my meal perfectly.

Lemon Tart

As I was dining alone, I decided to go for a glass of a lovely young Sangiovese to drink with my meal. The light and fruity flavours of the wine with its underlying hint of spice on the palate did not overwhelm my seafood choices and added to my enjoyment of the food.

For what you get, the food in An Port Mór is reasonably priced with most starters on the à la carte menu around the €10 mark, mains priced between €22-€28 and desserts at around €7. What I particularly liked about the food was its lack of pretension. This is honest food, sensitively prepared and cooked. Everything is beautifully presented and also happens to taste wonderful. It takes confidence, a belief in what you are doing and, somewhat ironically, a lot of skill to present food simply.

All too often, in an attempt to show off their abilities or their ‘vision’ chefs present food that is at best, over-complicated and at worst, contrived. One gets the sense that in An Port Mór under Head Chef Frankie Mallon, this would never happen. Frankie is one a new breed of chefs who are breaking down the formality of fine dining without sacrificing the quality of the dining experience itself and this is to be applauded.

Some might say that there is a pre-dominance of seafood on offer but this reflects the restaurant’s location near the coast and Frankie Mallon’s natural talent for cooking seafood. Be assured, there is plenty of choice on the menu with more than enough dishes to satisfy meat-lovers and vegetarians alike! I thoroughly enjoyed my meal in An Port Mór and even though I ate alone, I never once felt self-conscious or conspicuous in my self-imposed dining isolation. The restaurant has an intimate, almost cosy atmosphere which was enhanced by the friendly staff who explained the menu enthusiastically and were keen to ensure I enjoyed my meal.
 

An Port Mór
1 Brewery Place

Bridge Street

Westport

County Mayo

Telephone: 09826730

This review first appeared in TheTaste.ie

 

Review: Afternoon Tea at Ashford Castle, Cong, County Mayo

There are times when life can be hectic trying to keep on top of the many commitments and responsibilities that we all have. Every-so-often I think that it is important to pause, take time to relax and do something that is enjoyable and also a little self-indulgent. In my opinion, there is no better way of doing this than by taking afternoon tea.

Whilst there are many places which offer afternoon tea, I had heard great reports of the traditional afternoon tea served in Ashford Castle in Cong, County Mayo and I was eager to try it.

Ashford Castle, now a luxury 5 star hotel owned by the Red Carnation Hotel Group, was founded by the Anglo-Norman de Burgo family in 1228 and later, during the 19^th and 20^th centuries was home to the Guinness family until it was purchased by Noel Huggard in 1939 and turned into a world-class hotel.
 

As you drive past the grand entrance, through the estate grounds and over the bridge to the Castle, the beauty of the landscape and the magnificence of the historic castle buildings literally take your breath away. It is not difficult to see why the director John Huston chose Cong as the location for his famous film The Quiet Man which starred John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara and why so many of the actors chose to stay in Ashford Castle during filming. The Castle and its grounds are absolutely spectacular and when you arrive you know that you are somewhere different; somewhere special.

Afternoon tea is primarily served in the elegant surroundings of the Connaught Room where, during the 1860s, Lord and Lady Ardilaun would often sit down to discuss matters related to the running of the Estate and to plan future work. Together they would drink tea and dine on sandwiches and cake. This custom has been revived and Lord & Lady Ardilaun’s Traditional Afternoon Tea is available daily in Ashford Castle between 1.30pm and 4.00pm.
 

Shortly after arriving I was shown into the Connaught Room and guided to my table beside a window overlooking the castle’s beautiful gardens and the scenic shores of Lake Corrib.

If you wish you can have a glass of Champagne with your afternoon tea and I decided that I would treat myself while I examined the menu in greater detail.

The afternoon tea menu is enticing offering an impressive selection of teas. Familiar choices including an Irish Breakfast blend and Earl Grey appear alongside Smoked China, Irish Afternoon Gold and the provocatively entitled Light & Late tea. Also available are a selection of Oolong, various Green Teas and Infusions. In the end I chose a lovely Irish Whiskey-Cream Assam, which, with its malty tones and whiskey aroma added to my sense of well-being.

You can decide to have your beverage of choice at any stage during the meal and refills aplenty are available. I requested my tea immediately and let it draw while I sipped my champagne and surveyed the wonderful selection of sandwiches which had just arrived on a tiered cake-stand along with two plates of the most fabulous bite-sized cakes and pastries.

All too often, I find that the quality of the sandwiches lets many an otherwise wonderful afternoon tea experience down. I understand that due to the demands and pressures of busy restaurant and hotel kitchens it is inevitable that sandwiches have to be made in advance but this means that they are often served over-chilled having been removed from the refrigerator only shortly before serving. This tends to dull the flavours, dry out the bread and leave you feeling disappointed after eating them.

If I rave about the sandwiches served in Ashford Castle, it is because I cannot remember ever having eaten any that were as good, as part of an afternoon tea. They satisfied on every level, from the freshness of the bread to the inventiveness of the fillings and their attractive appearance. Old favourites sat beside quirky new offerings and whilst all the sandwiches were noteworthy I particularly liked the Connemara Smoked Organic Salmon with Cream Cheese. The cream cheese was enhanced by the unusual addition of some lime jam which tasted delicious against the richness of the smoked salmon and the thinly sliced wholemeal bread. A Roast Chicken, Mayonnaise and Almond sandwich was packed with generous chunks of succulent chicken meat bound in mayonnaise between slices of cloud-soft white bread. These were presented as roundels with their edges encrusted with toasted flaked almonds. I absolutely loved them. Other sandwiches included Egg & Broccoli Cress and Cucumber with Crème Fraîche & Rock Chives and were equally delicious.

In Executive Head Pastry Chef Paula Stakelum, Ashford Castle has an absolute gem. She is responsible for and oversees the creation of all the fantastic treats that make up the afternoon tea. Her brilliance is particularly on show with the cakes and pastries that are served. It is difficult to do them justice with mere words as each had qualities that made me sigh with pleasure. I thought the Apple Bakewell & Connemara Whiskey Custard was superb and loved the smoked almond it was topped with. The Vanilla Cheesecake with Coffee Meringue Lollipop was one of the lightest and creamiest cheesecakes that I have ever eaten while the Dark Chocolate Torte with Chocolate Crémeux was sinfully good. I could go on and on but suffice to say everything was outstanding.

Edible flowers, picked from the Estate gardens decorate the exclusively designed and very pretty antique Wedgwood plates on which the food is presented and they also adorn many of the cakes and pastries, giving everything a fresh and almost homely feeling!

Like everything else, the warm scones that were served were a pleasure to eat. Plain, Fruit and Cheese Scones were accompanied by small bowls of Clotted Cream, Strawberry Jam and zingy Lemon Curd. I was encouraged by my very attentive and friendly waiter to try the Cheese Scones together with the Lemon Curd and can confirm that this seemingly peculiar pairing really worked with both complementing the other perfectly!

At €34 per person (or €49 with Champagne option) Lord & Lady Ardilaun’s Traditional Afternoon Tea may initially seem a little pricey, but I can honestly say that for the pleasure I derived from the whole experience and the exceptional quality of food on offer, it was worth every penny. An Afternoon Tea for Junior Guests is also available.

This is not your ordinary afternoon tea and Ashford Castle is no ordinary place. For a few hours on a showery Saturday afternoon I had the chance to relax, spoil myself and sample some absolutely delightful food, presented with love and care in an exquisite location. I felt as if my very soul had been pampered and I can’t wait to revisit.

Ashford Castle

Castle View

Cong

County Mayo

Telephone: (094) 954 6003

Website: www.ashfordcastle.com

This review first appeared in TheTaste.ie

 

Greengage Clafoutis

Greengages possess a complexity of flavour that makes them one of my all-time favourite fruits.  They are cultivars of the plum family and despite what their name infers are not always green – although most of the ones that are available to buy range in colour from pale amber through to quite a dark green, sometimes with pink tones mottling their flesh.

I absolutely love them!

Perfectly ripe greengages are lovely to eat fresh and possess an ambrosial sweetness which makes it impossible to eat just one! Smaller than plums, with a sweet and juicy flesh, they can be a little hard to come by unless you are lucky enough to know someone who has a greengage tree. When they are for sale in the grocery store, I tend to buy them by the dozen and end up overdosing on them for a couple of weeks. Not that I am complaining because I really don’t think that I could ever tire of them.

 

I love using them to make a Greengage Clafoutis, which all things considered must be one of the simplest and quickest desserts to make. A clafoutis is essentially a sweet batter pudding into which fruit, most usually Kirsch-soaked cherries are set and then baked. As it cooks, the batter puffs up to enrobe the fruit, which softens in the heat of the oven. From start to finish a clafoutis can be made in about 45 minutes which is a further tick in its favour!

 

If you can’t get your hands on greengages, you can of course make this using ordinary plums or even damsons, but for me, nothing beats using greengages! In fact I prefer them to the more commonly used cherries.

 

A dollop of lightly whipped fresh cream and this is a dessert that can’t be beaten.
 

Ingredients:

350g greengages
80g caster sugar, plus a couple of extra tablespoons to dust the dish
2 large eggs

½tsp vanilla extract

90g plain flour

30g butter, melted

150ml milk
 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Grease a 20cm round shallow, oven-proof dish with some butter and sprinkle over a couple of tablespoons of the caster sugar and place on a baking tray and set aside.

2. Halve and stone the greengages and place cut-side up in the baking dish, in a single layer.

3. Beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract together in a large jug, using a balloon whisk. Then whisk in the flour until it is completely incorporated and then add the melted butter. Finally add in the milk and beat gently to create a batter.

4. Pour the batter over the greengages and place in the preheated oven for approximately 35 minutes until the batter has puffed up and is a rich golden brown colour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving, dusted with a little icing-sugar if desired and some freshly whipped cream.

Serves 4.

 

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies with Malt Ice-Cream & Coffee Liqueur Syrup

I know I have mentioned this before, but my three children are obsessed with chocolate and cannot understand why everything I bake does not include it in some form. The truth is, although I like chocolate, I can also take it or leave it and it doesn’t set my heart aflutter in the same way that it does others’.

 

Having said that, I do love a good brownie and by this I mean one that is fudgy in texture with a deep chocolate taste. I find it amazing how so many foods that claim to be chocolate don’t actually taste of it. In this regard, when making brownies, it is important to balance the sweetness of the sugar with the chocolate that is used and this often means using a good quality chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa solids. Also, whether one likes it or not, brownies contain a lot of sugar but it is the ratio of the sugar to the other ingredients which gives them their characteristic crisp exterior which gives way to a moist and fudgy centre.

 

Some brownie recipes advocate the use of cocoa powder only and others the use of melted chocolate. Whilst cocoa powder undoubtedly gives the brownies an intensely chocolate flavour, I find that they tend to be more ‘cakey’ than fudgy, which is not what I am after. Using melted chocolate alone creates a brownie which can lack depth of flavour, so I hedge my bets and use both.

 

I am really pleased with this recipe because I think that I have finally succeeded in baking brownies that satisfy my exacting requirements. I used a slightly larger tin than normal which resulted in 24 generous sized brownies measuring approximately 6cm x 6cm each.

 

I have not included nuts in this recipe as my children prefer that they be omitted and also because brownie purists insist that they should not be used, but feel free to add some, roughly chopped is you like. To be honest, I rather like the nutty crunch of pecans and often would include them despite the disapproving howls of annoyance that escape from my children.

 

You will see in the accompanying photos that I have topped the brownie in them with a scoop of malt ice-cream and a coffee liqueur syrup. I have included the recipe for the syrup here, but feel that the malt ice-cream deserves its own post which I hope to publish soon (trust me… it’s really good).
 

Ingredients:

Brownies:
265g chocolate

230g butter

430g caster sugar

150g plain flour

20g cocoa powder

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

Coffee liqueur syrup:

100ml coffee flavoured liqueur

25g caster sugar
 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/Fan Oven 150C/Gas mark 3. Line a 36cm x24cm x 5cm baking tray/tin with non-stick baking parchment and set aside.

2. Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of lightly simmering water making sure that you do not let the base of the bowl touch the bubbling water. Stir the chocolate mixture occasionally.

3. Remove the bowl once the chocolate and butter have melted and add the sugar, stirring well until fully incorporated. Sieve the flour and cocoa powder together and stir into the chocolate mixture making sure that no ‘pockets’ of the dry ingredients remain. Lastly add the eggs and stir these in so that they too, are well incorporated.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, levelling the surface with a spatula or the back of a metal spoon and bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until the brownies are flaky on top but still a little squidgy in the centre.

5. Leave to cool completely before cutting in to 24 squares. These are lovely served re-warmed slightly with a dollop of ice-cream and a drizzle of the following syrup.

Coffee liqueur syrup:

6. Place all the ingredients into a small saucepan and bring up to simmering point. Allow to bubble uncovered until the liquid has reduced by half. Allow to cool slightly before drizzling over ice-cream.

Makes 24.