The Idle Wall, Westport, County Mayo

Nostalgia is a powerful thing. They say that as you get older you tend to revisit the past more often and that you are able to remember things that happened years ago with sparkling clarity. I have certainly found this to be true and whilst I struggle to recall things that I did a couple of days ago, my recollection of events from the past is as clear as day. For me, many of these memories are seen through the prism of the foods and the meals that I have eaten. Whilst some memories centre around typical family celebrations others involve events specific to my own life. I fell in love with someone for the first time over a Beef Carpaccio dish and subsequently had my heart broken over Moules Marinière. I can barely remember the individual concerned or why I was so smitten in the first place but I remember what we ate and how I felt. Food has the ability to do this;- a point which was reinforced by my recent meal at The Idle Wall.


The Idle Wall

After achieving great success as Head Chef at the Winding Stair and then as Executive Chef at the British Embassy in Dublin, Chef/Proprietor Aine Maguire - a native of nearby Newport - was keen to return to her home county and set up her own restaurant. This dream was finally realised last year when she opened The Idle Wall in Westport. With its focus on locally produced, seasonal food the restaurant proved instantly popular, both with locals and also with visitors to the town and it was recently announced as Best Newcomer (Connaught) at the 2016 Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) Awards.
Named after a local landmark where, in the past, dockers would sit and wait for casual work at the busy harbour, The Idle Wall is located beside the entrance gates to Westport House looking out onto the town’s picturesque waterfront. From the moment you first step into the restaurant you get a real sense that nostalgia and food memories have played a huge part in Aine’s food. The menu is peppered with her interpretation of dishes from her childhood and is immediately appealing.

Although it had been a beautiful day, the evening on which we visited had turned distinctly chilly so we were glad to be seated beside an open fire in the simply decorated and unpretentious dining room. Paintings by local artists hang on the walls and these along with patterned china placed in a random fashion on shelves add to the overall homely feel of the room which we found charming.

Shortly after we had made our menu choices, Aine appeared carrying a large basket of bread from which she served us thick slices of a Brown and a White Soda Bread. She explained that the latter had been made using buttermilk that she had smoked over turf. I was intrigued and curious to see what the bread tasted like. The audible moans of pleasure started with my first bite and by the time I had finished the slice, I was whimpering like an idiot. I LOVED it. Anyone who burns turf will know that it has its own distinctive and almost sweet aroma which permeates everything. My grandmother used to have a turf-burning range oven and I can remember how, after visits to her house, the smoky perfume lingered on in our hair and clothing. Eating Aine Maguire’s delicious soda bread was like being forcefully thrust back to those times and I found the experience strangely moving. The breads were served with two butters, a plain and a turf-smoked version.
My guest for the evening decided on the Deep Fried Crispy Duck Egg, Pickled Red Onion, Chorizo & Reek View Farm Salad (€8.50) to start. The egg had been expertly cooked with a moreishly crispy exterior and a wonderfully runny yolk that oozed seductively onto the lettuce leaves mingling with the very tasty and nicely balanced salad dressing. Thin slices of fried chorizo added some spicy heat which was welcome against the rich creaminess of the duck egg. Memory started playing its tricks once again and I was reminded of the egg and lettuce salads I had in my youth.

My starter of Smoked Mackerel, Horseradish Cream & Salad (€8.50) also came presented with the same salad but it managed to feel like a very different dish where the soft and beautifully smoked mackerel was the star of the show. The fish which had been smoked on Achill Island was one of the best that I have eaten and quite different to the leathery versions that sadly, are too often available in our supermarkets. A large spoonful of a well-judged horseradish cream completed the dish.

Pork Chop

Both main courses had a real comfort-food feel to them.  My guest’s Andarl Farm Rare Breed Pork Chop with Cabbage & Ham Hock (€22) consisted of a lightly brined but sizeable pork chop which was pan-fried and then served on some insanely good and very buttery cabbage. The perfectly cooked pork which was supplied by Andarl Farm in Brickens, County Mayo was tender yet meaty and full of flavour. It was served with a light cider and fennel gravy and some good old-fashioned applesauce. My Roast Caramore Lackan Cod Mornay (€24.50) was a simple dish in its conception but one which showcased the quality of the ingredients that had been used. The sauce which was made with Irish cheddar cheese, English mustard and cream was rich and full of assertive flavours that married well with the meaty cod. I licked the plate clean.
Both mains were served with a selection of roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables but we also decided to order a side of Homemade Chips and Béarnaise Aioli (€3). The chips, with their crisp exteriors and lovely fluffy centres were heavenly and we greedily gobbled them down. We regretted not ordering more.

Cod Mornay

To accompany our meal we decided on a bottle of a 2013 Italian Costadoro Rosso (€28) which with its light but supple dark fruits and well-rounded finish was easy to drink and a good compromise given our quite different main course choices.
Even though our appetites were well sated, we found the dessert menu impossible to resist so we decided to order one apiece and share them equally between us. First up was Cuinneog Buttermilk Panna Cotta, Green Apple in Sauternes, Honeycomb & Bee Pollen (€6.20). The panna cotta was served in a small bowl with a spoonful of the apple compote on top. The compote had been made using Sauternes - an almost honey sweet dessert wine - which was perfectly paired with the grassy bee pollen and the crispy honeycomb. This delicate dessert was nicely balanced as the panna cotta itself had not been overly sweetened.



Pavlova Blobs

Our other dessert choice - Pavlova Blobs with Rhubarb Compote & Cream (€6.20) consisted of a single meringue that was crunchy on the outside with a gloriously chewy interior. It was topped with some stewed rhubarb and was a no-nonsense dessert. We loved it and the memories it summoned up of family Sunday dinners.
Service throughout our meal was friendly and attentive and in keeping with the generally ambience in the restaurant.  I loved the food that I ate during my meal and I found that the whole experience resonated on a number of levels, stirring emotions and memories from deep within me. The restaurant scene in Ireland seems to be going through a renaissance at the moment and with chefs like Aine Maguire it is not hard to see why.

Put simply… The food in The Idle Wall is food that you will want to eat.

The Idle Wall
The Quay
Westport
County Mayo

Telephone: 09850692
Website: www.theidlewall.ie



Buttermilk Panna Cotta



Restaurant Review: The Boat House, Bangor, County Down

Appearances can be deceptive and at first glance, the small stone building perched on the edge of a packed car park in the bustling seaside town of Bangor in County Down looks like the least likely place to find the first restaurant in Northern Ireland to be named in The Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurants List for the UK. This honour was bestowed on The Boat House last November and came hot-on-the-heels of an award of 3 AA Rosettes - making it one of only 4 restaurants in Northern Ireland to achieve this standard.

The Boat House

As we approached the building we quickly realised that we were in the right place and that this diminutive structure, which was originally built in the 1840s, was indeed the home of The Boat House, a restaurant owned by Dutch brothers Joery and Jasper Castel with the former also taking on the role as Head Chef.

Once inside we passed through a shoebox sized reception/bar area with a tiny kitchen located to one side before being shown downstairs to our table in the comparatively spacious dining room. Decorated in neutral tones with monochromatic table settings, the room retains many of its original features including the heavy iron rings where the boats were once moored.

The Boat House has an impressive gin list so we decided to forego wine and kick off our lunch by sampling some. My choice -Jinzu (£7) was an unusual combination of British Gin and Japanese Junmai Sake. I loved the initial burst of fresh juniper which gave way to zesty yuzu citrus flavours and subtle floral hints of cherry blossom. It made a wonderful G&T. By way of contrast, my companion’s Bathtub Gin (£5.50) was infused with a range of botanicals including coriander, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom and was full of bold flavours. It made a very different but nonetheless enjoyable G&T.

 

Bread Roll

Aside from a standard à la carte menu, The Boat House offers a 5-course lunch tasting menu (£40) which we decided to go for. The dishes weren’t listed but we were feeling in adventurous form and more than happy to go-with-the-flow and see what delights Joery Castel had in store for us.

 

After grazing on brioche-like Home-Baked Bread Rolls served with butter drenched in virgin olive oil, we tucked into our first course of Copeland Island Crab, Kohlrabi, Apple, Nasturtium, Russian Kale, Chives and Buttermilk Pearls. This was a beautifully presented dish which possessed a lightness that made it an ideal opener to a 5-course meal. Everything on the plate served a purpose and worked to accentuate the wonderful quality and sweet flavour of the crab meat. Crisp apple appeared in thin slices alongside compressed discs of slightly peppery kohlrabi whilst everything was brought together in a cohesive fashion by the buttermilk which appeared in the form of a dressing and as ‘pearls’. This was a dish which had been executed with sensitivity and an appreciation of the ingredients used.

 

White Asparagus Soup

Known as spargel in Germany where it is hugely popular, white asparagus is not something that you often see on Irish menus as we tend to favour the green un-blanched version. Here it was used to make a delicately flavoured White Asparagus Soup where the slightly herbaceous and gentle nutty flavour of the asparagus still managed to come through. I liked the simple, no frills presentation and smiled at the almost menacing looking shark-fin shaped piece of charred asparagus emerging from the centre of the soup. The soup had a loose consistency but retained enough creaminess to make it feel indulgent.
 

Next up was Loin of Irish Lamb, Black Garlic Espuma, Almond Couscous & Asparagus. I am not normally a huge fan of couscous. I don’t dislike it but most versions I have tried have tended towards the bland and have been unexciting or else loaded with too many other ingredients that overwhelm the palate. In Joery Castel’s hands this was not the case. With a restrained touch, he managed to create one of the best couscous dishes that I have eaten. Well-seasoned and herby with textural contrast provided by toasted flaked almonds, it was topped with a nice selection of salad leaves and a shard of crispy chicken skin. It was the ideal accompaniment to the succulent lamb. I also loved the umami-rich flavour of the very on-trend black garlic presented as an espuma which floated cloud-like on top of the lamb. This was a measured and well-thought out dish.
 



Loin of Lamb

Duck with Beetroot, Plum & Smoked Potato Mousseline was another corker of a dish which made sense on the plate. The duck had been cooked sous-vide in a water bath before being finished off in the pan and was as tender as you can get. Beetroot is a classic pairing with duck but it is a combination that can feel a little tired. Here it appeared in three guises - roasted, as a powder and as a gel. The dish was completed by an almost sticky plum purée and a deeply flavoured jus. It was outstanding.

Our meal finished with a sumptuous dessert of White Chocolate Ganache, Poached Rhubarb, Grenadine & Rhubarb Gel, Lavender Foam, Granola where all the elements spilled out onto the slate on which it was presented in a seemingly random fashion. In reality, of course, they had been placed with precision and a sense of purpose. Rhubarb with its inherent sourness works well against the sweetness of white chocolate and I savoured every mouthful of this delicious dessert.

 



Duck, Beetroot, Plum

In many ways the food in The Boat House appears simple but this belies the technique involved in creating each dish. It is obvious that a lot of thought and planning has gone into the food and whilst each dish is considered, it never feels bound by the shackles of fine dining. Flavours and textures dance together in perfect harmony and along with service delivered in an unpretentious and friendly manner they serve to create a memorable dining experience.

 

The Boat House

1a Seacliff Road

Bangor BT20 5HA

Northern Ireland



Telephone: 00 44 289 146 9253

Website: www.theboathouseni.co.uk

This review first appeared in TheTaste.ie
 

Jinzu Gin

 

Book Review: Sea Gastronomy by Michael O'Meara

From the moment you first delve into Sea Gastronomy - Fish & Shellfish of the North Atlantic you know that you are dealing with a book that has been a labour-of-love for author and well-known Galway Chef Michael O’Meara. Produced in conjunction with Connemara-based publishers Artisan House this encyclopaedic book details the wonderful variety of seafood available around our shores.

In his introduction to the book, food writer Ernie Whalley laments the fact that as an island nation surrounded by some of the world’s best fishing grounds we often appear to be indifferent to the bounty available from our seas. It is hard to argue with Ernie’s analysis because for many of us, the prospect of preparing and cooking fish at home is something that is terrifying and as a result we tend to avoid it.



Sea Gastronomy Cover

As Chef/Proprietor of Oscars a popular Galway restaurant that specialises in cooking seafood, Michael O’Meara is a man who understands and loves his subject. In this book, which is packed full of recipes, he seeks to demystify seafood cookery and tempt us into our kitchens.

 

From an early age Michael knew that he wanted to be a chef and picked up his love of seafood from time spent with his father, a Waterford City man, who loved to go out working on the small fishing and lobster boats operating out of Dunmore East and Ballymacaw. Family holidays to France cemented his love of seafood which he carried with him when he trained as a chef and subsequently worked in the then Michelin-starred restaurant at Dromoland Castle and as private chef to Ryanair founder Tony Ryan. He eventually opened Oscars in 2000 and it has thrived ever since becoming a mainstay on the Galway dining scene.



Fish Cake prep

Running to 440 pages, the book describes the different fish cuts and how to source seafood in clear, concise terms. There are also a huge number of recipes which are laid out in a similarly straightforward fashion. Whilst some of the recipes use unusual ingredients, many also use seafood that is familiar and reasonably easy to acquire. Michael points out that fish and shellfish are wild foods and many are seasonal, so they are not always available but there are plenty of recipes to choose from in the book to cover each month of the year. The book also showcases Michael’s love for food photography and many of the beautiful images contained in it were produced by him.



Oat-Crusted Fish Cakes

I decided to get stuck in and try out some of the recipes starting with the Oatmeal-Coated Fish Cakes which seemed very doable. In his instructions Michael suggests using a variety of fish so I included equal amounts of fresh salmon, cod and hake. Normally, when I make fish cakes I tend to use cooked fish but here the raw fish was chopped into small pieces before being added to an equal amount of cooked and cooled, crushed potatoes. Bound together with a small amount of self-raising flour, some beaten egg and flavoured with herbs and dillisk,  the fish cakes were then formed into 8 equal sized balls which were flattened and pressed into some jumbo oat flakes before being pan-fried in a mixture of oil and butter until golden and cooked all the way through. The resulting fish cakes were moist, extremely tasty and a great hit with my family. I particularly liked the oatmeal coating which took on an almost nutty flavour when pan-fried. This was an incredibly easy recipe which even the most inexperienced cook could attempt.

 



Scallops

My next dish was another seemingly simple recipe for King Scallops with Buttered Leeks and Chorizo. I was unable to get my hands on fresh king scallops but used some queen scallops instead which are smaller than the former and often considered to have sweeter meat. Involving minimal preparation consisting of chopping some leeks and slicing chorizo, this dish took approximately ten minutes to make and was delicious combination of textures and flavours.

Emboldened by my success with the fish cakes and scallops, I then decided to make the Grilled Mackerel with Russian Kale, Roast Cherry Tomatoes and Salsa Rossa. Mackerel are plentiful in our seas and as a result are often inexpensive to buy. For me, they are a hugely underrated fish with a rich oily taste that is second-to-none. I bought two whole fish at an embarrassingly low price and set about filleting them myself. This was easy to do and in no-time-at-all I had four fillets prepared and ready to be cooked. Salsa rossa is a punchy sauce which contains peppers, tomatoes, garlic, anchovies and herbs which, in the recipe given was made using a pestle and mortar, but I decided to employ my mini food-processor which worked a treat. After blanching the kale I then pan-fried the mackerel and tomatoes and assembled the dish. This was another triumph; cheap to prepare and beautiful to look at.

 

Mackerel

To finish my recipe road-test, I made the Pan-Roasted Cod with Pancetta, Tomatoes and Fried Polenta Cakes. I began by making the polenta cakes and after some vigorous stirring and time spent cooling in the fridge, they were ready to be stamped out with a cookie cutter and pan-fried. I also pan-fried the cod and made the pancetta and tomato based sauce. With obvious Italian influences, this was a dish where all the ingredients highlighted the wonderful sweet taste and flaky texture of the cod. Whilst this recipe took longer than the others to complete, it was still easy to follow.



Pan-Roasted Cod

I was really impressed by Michael O’Meara’s book and I am delighted that I now have a reliable ‘go-to’ seafood book in my cookbook collection. Seafood Gastronomy has been nominated for a Gourmand World Cookbook Award for 2016 in the prestigious Cookbook of the Year category which will be announced at the end of this month. He is up against some stiff international competition but after having read through it and cooked many of the recipes from the book, I have my fingers crossed that he will bring the award home to Galway.

This article first appeared in TheTaste.ie

 

Sea Gastronomy - Fish & Shellfish of the North Atlantic

Hardback, 440 pages

Published by Artisan House

Price: €30

 

Salsa Rossa

Restaurant Review: The Candied Walnut, Portarlington, County Laois

I would be lost without the sat-nav on my smartphone. It has successfully guided me to and helped me find the locations of many of the restaurants that I have reviewed around Ireland for The Taste. However on my recent trip to Portarlington I came close to hurling my phone out the car window in a fit of rage as the automated female voice became increasingly insistent that I turn left into a narrow pedestrian walkway after which I would ‘arrive at my destination’!

Celeriac Soup

The aim of my visit to the County Laois town was to dine in The Candied Walnut a popular local restaurant that had been recommended to me. Unconvinced that it was located down the laneway, I decided to park my car and take a little wander on foot… and guess what? There it was - tucked behind a modern apartment block. Relieved to have found it, I was still at a loss to understand how I was expected to drive down to it!

I had arranged to meet my friend Tim, a food blogger for dinner and was delighted to see that he had just arrived and was waiting for me outside the restaurant. It was busy on the Wednesday evening that we visited but this due to the fact that the main ground-floor dining room had been booked for a large group attending a medical conference. We were greeted warmly and led up to our table in the small and cosy upstairs dining room.

Spicy Chicken Wings

During the week a set dinner menu is offered but an à la carte menu is available at weekends. The Candied Walnut is also renowned for its Sunday Lunch offering. Priced at an unbelievable €21 per person for 2 courses or €25 per person for 3 courses, the set menu includes a nice range of dishes and we had no difficulty deciding what to order.

 

First up was a surprise pre-starter of Celeriac Soup which came presented in an espresso cup. Chopped chives were strewn on the surface of the soup and added a gentle onion flavour to the well-made, nicely creamy soup and we both enjoyed it.

 

Pork Belly

My starter of Hot & Spicy Chicken Wings, Celery Batons, Blue Cheese Dip looked like fairly standard fare at first but after taking a few bites I realised how good they were. The hot & spicy coating was as advertised but also possessed a complexity of flavour that you don’t often find. I loved how an initial sweetness gave way to spicy heat that complemented rather than engulfed the subtle flavour of the succulent chicken meat. I happily gnawed away at the wings, picking as much meat off them as I could. The accompanying blue cheese dip was extremely tasty but I would have preferred a slightly rougher texture with some small nuggets of cheese still visible.

 

Tim’s Slow-Cooked Pork Belly, 60° Egg yolk, Clonakilty Black Pudding was a beautifully presented and skillfully cooked dish. Generous cubes of soft slow-cooked pork belly were presented alongside spicy full-flavoured black pudding and a buttery-soft potato fondant. Unlike many other black puddings which are made using pork, Clonakilty uses beef along with oatmeal, beef blood and spices that results in a rich, textured pudding which was perfect with the pork. The sauce created by the egg yolk when pierced and a silky smooth celeriac purée accented the rich meatiness of this excellent dish.

 

Pan-Fried Cod

My main course of Pan-Fried Cod, Pea Purée, Fondant Potato, Beurre Blanc was another nicely presented and well-seasoned dish, comprising a large piece of well-cooked cod served on a bed of peppery wilted spinach and a pea purée. Whilst the purée could have been a touch smoother it was full of the wonderful sweet flavour of the peas and worked well with meaty cod and the fabulous beurre blanc.

 

Tim’s Wild Mushroom, Truffle Oil & Pine Nut Risotto, Rocket Leaves, Aged Parmesan Cheese, Panko Egg was a substantial but attractive looking dish with amazing depth of flavour. I’m not usually a huge fan of truffle oil as it can dominate. Here it had been applied with restraint and successfully managed to accentuate the flavour of the wild mushrooms without taking over. The dish was finished with some crispy parmesan wafers that added textural contrast and a deep-fried breadcrumbed egg which sat imperiously on top of the risotto, releasing its saucy centre when pierced with a knife. Whilst we enjoyed the wonderful flavours of the risotto, we both felt that it could have had a slightly looser texture.

 

Mushroom Risotto

Poached pears can be tricky to get right but my dessert of Poached Pear, Red Wine Syrup, Hazelnut Ice-Cream was an absolute joy to eat. Two perfectly poached pear halves sat side-by side on the plate and looked absolutely beautiful with a pale pink colour from the red wine syrup they had been poached in. Simply topped with small scoops of a well-flavoured hazelnut ice-cream with some candied walnuts on the side, this dish was a perfect example of how less is often more. I loved it.

 

Tim’s Banana Cheesecake, Ginger Biscuit was presented as a layered dessert in a small Kilner jar. A ginger biscuit crumb base sat under a cheesecake cream and some salted caramel. Finally the cheesecake was topped with some freshly sliced bananas with some crunchy candied walnuts on the side. This was a dessert with broad appeal which aimed to please and this it succeeded in doing.

 

Poached Pears

Service throughout the meal was outstanding and delivered enthusiastically. We both had a real sense that staff deeply cared that we enjoyed the whole experience and we did. The Candied Walnut under Chef/Proprietor Barry Hayden is producing some extremely tasty food and for the price we paid represents astonishing value for money. We both left with full bellies and a feeling that all was right with the world.

 

The Candied Walnut

Kilnacourt House

Bracklone Street

Portarlington

County Laois

 

Telephone: 0578636360

Website: www.thecandiedwalnut.ie

This article first appeared in TheTaste.ie

Banana Cheesecake