Tarragon and mustard chicken with potatoes, thyme and celery stuffing

From Delicious Magazine
Serves 4

Ingredients

100g butter, softened
1 tbsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon, plus 3 whole sprigs
1.6-2kg British free-range chicken
8-12 baby turnips
For the potato stuffing
30g butter
2 medium onions, finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
500g roasting potatoes such as king edward, diced
1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
130g fine breadcrumbs, made from stale bread

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/ gas 6. Put the 100g softened butter in a bowl, then stir in the mustard and chopped tarragon. Season with salt and pepper, then mix well. Rub three quarters of the tarragon and mustard butter all over the chicken and under the skin over the breast meat (loosen the skin by pushing your fingers under by the neck cavity).

Melt the remaining tarragon and mustard butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Put the baby turnips in a bowl and pour the melted butter on top. Toss to coat.

To make the potato stuffing, melt the 30g butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the onions, celery and garlic, then cover and fry for 2 minutes. Remove the lid and stir in the potatoes, thyme and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper, then cook for 5 minutes, stirring often so it doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before stuffing the chicken.

Stuff the chicken cavity with the potato stuffing (see tip) until two thirds full. This will allow hot air to circulate inside the cavity so the chicken will cook properly. Put the remaining stuffing in an ovenproof dish and bake alongside the chicken.

Put the buttered turnips in a roasting tin with the sprigs of tarragon and sit the chicken on top. Roast for 1 hour 20 minutes, basting regularly with the buttery juices, or until cooked (a digital probe thermometer pushed into the thickest part of the meat should read 65°C). Take the dish of stuffing out after an hour and keep warm.

When the chicken is cooked, transfer to a lipped board and cover with foil. Rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with the baby turnips, stuffing and seasonal veg.

Guinness and beef stew

From Guinness Storehouse
Serves 4

Ingredients

200ml of GUINNESS® Foreign Extra Stout
400g stewing diced beef
1 medium onion – diced
1 large carrot – diced
1 large celery – diced
1 large parsnip – diced
1 Litre of thick beef stock
Sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary
Champ potato (creamed mash potato and spring onion)

Stir fry the beef, add the vegetables and cook till tender, then pour the GUINNESS®
and reduce by half. Add the beef stock and herbs and simmer very slowly for between an hour and an hour and a half. Serve with the champ potato and honey roast carrot and parsnip.

Baked trout with herb stuffing and cream sauce

From Irish Cooking by Clare Connery
Serves 4

Ingredients

75g / 3 oz butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp finely chopped chives
3 tsp finely chopped dill
50g / 2 oz fine white breadcrumbs
finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp lemon juice
pinch of nutmeg
250ml / 8 fl oz rainbow or brown trout, cleaned and gutted
150ml / 1/4 pint dry white wine
salt and pepper
To serve:
boiled potatoes
green vegetables or salad

Melt 50g / 2 oz of the butter in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook until soft but not browned. Remove from the heat. Mix the herbs together and add half to the pan, together with the breadcrumbs, lemon rind, juice and nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well and moisten with 1-2 tbsp of the cream. Divide the stuffing between the fish.

Grease a large ovenproof baking dish with half the remaining butter. Lay the stuffed trout head to tail in the dish, dot with the remaining butter and pour over the wine. Bake in a preheated oven, 240C (475F), Gas Mark 9, for 20 minutes until slightly firm to the touch.

Potato soup with bacon and chives

From Irish Cooking by Clare Connery
Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients

50g butter
1 large onion, roughly chopped
750g potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
750ml chicken stock
750m mil
50ml single cream
6 rashers of streaky bacon, chopped and fried until crisp
salt and pepper
1 tbsp snipped chives, to garnish

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and fry the onion until soft, without colouring. Add the potatoes, stock and milk, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 40 -45 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the potatoes from sticking.

Puree the soup in a liquidizer or food processor until smooth. Return to the saucepan, taste and adjust the seasoning and stir in the cream and bacon. Bring to the boil and serve in individual soup bowls, garnished with snipped chives.

Hake, broccoli and cheddar cheese bake

From the Irish Food Board website
Serves 4

Ingredients
700g hake, skinned, boned and cut into 4cm chunks
200g broccoli, cut into small florets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
300ml light cream
200ml fish or vegetable stock
1 tablesp. Dijon style mustard
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves
150g grated cheddar cheese
1 tablesp. capers

Topping
25g butter
50g stale white breadcrumbs
2 tablesp. chopped parsley

Place the broccoli florets in a saucepan of salted boiling water. Bring back to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for one to two minutes until the broccoli is just tender. Remove from the heat immediately and drain well. Transfer to an ovenproof baking dish (approximately 24cm x 24cm). Set aside while you prepare the sauce.

Add the cream, stock, mustard, garlic and bay leaves to the saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the hake and simmer very gently for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and gently stir in most of the grated cheddar cheese, keeping aside 2 tablespoons for the topping. Add in capers and season with salt and pepper. Then spoon this mixture over the broccoli. Combine gently.

In a separate pan melt the butter then add in the breadcrumbs, reserved cheese and chopped parsley. Mix together then sprinkle over the top of the hake and broccoli mixture. Brown under a hot grill and serve with steamed potatoes and a tomato salad.

Cod and prawn bake in a cheese sauce

From Irish Cooking by Clare Connery
Serves 4

Ingredients
450ml / ¾ pint milk
¼ onion
6 peppercorns
Blade of mace
1 bay leaf
A few parsley stalks
50g / 2oz butter
450g / 1 lb cod fillets, skinned
50g / 2oz button mushrooms, sliced
125g / 4oz cooked peeled prawns
30g / 1 ½ oz plain flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
125g / 4oz grated Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

Put the milk into a saucepan with the onion, peppercorns, mace, bay leaf and parsley stalks. Bring to the boil, and then remove from the heat and leave to infuse while preparing the remaining ingredients.

Melt the butter in another saucepan and use a little to brush the inside of a 1.6 litre / 2 ¾ pint ovenproof pie dish. Cut the cod into finger size strips, place in the pie dish and scatter the mushrooms and prawns on top.

Strain the milk through a sieve, then discard the contents of the sieve. Add the flour to the remaining butter in the saucepan, stirring to blend. Gradually stir in the strained milk to make a smooth sauce.

Bring to the boil, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper and lemon juice and add two thirds of the grated cheese. Stir until melted.

Pour the sauce over the fish, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, place on a baking sheet and cook in a preheated oven 180C, Gas 4 for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown.

I love the taste of the white sauce! To the extent I made too much, and that’s why it looks a lot more than it actually is. I am saving up the cheese sauce so that I can have pasta with it.

Creamy salmon kedgeree

From Irish Cooking – Clare Connery
Ingredients
Serves 4

50 g Butter
1 large onion (finely chopped)
175 g long grain rice (cooked until just tender)
500 g cooked salmon (boned and flaked)
3 hard-boiled eggs (roughly chopped)
2 tblsp parsley (finely chopped)
150 ml Cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp chives (finely chopped to garnish)

Melt half the butter in a large pan, add the onion and fry until it is soft.

Stir in the cooked rice, and season well with salt and pepper.

Add the salmon, eggs, parsley and cream, folding them carefully into the rice to prevent the fish and eggs from breaking up too much.

Pile the kedgeree into an ovenproof dish.

Grease a sheet of foil with the remaining butter and use to cover the dish.

Heat thoroughly in a preheated oven, 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) for 15 minutes.

When hot, serve sprinkled with the chives.

Was in Dublin for a wedding, and I continued my habit from buying cookbooks from the countries I have been to. Bought this irish cookbook to test out its recipes, and started with this kedgeree dish. Very very creamy and filling, and quite tasty too.

Irish coddled pork with cider

From BBC More One-pot Recipes
Serves 2
Ingredients

small knob butter
2 pork loin chops
4 rashers smoked bacon , cut into pieces
2 potatoes , cut into chunks
1 carrot , cut into large chunks
1⁄2 small swede , cut into chunks
1⁄2 large cabbage , cut into smaller pieces
1 bay leaf
100ml Irish cider
100g chicken stock

Heat the butter in a casserole dish until sizzling, then fry the pork for 2-3 mins on each side until browned. Remove from the pan.

Tip the bacon, carrot, potatoes and swede into the pan, then gently fry until slightly coloured. Stir in the cabbage, sit the chops back on top, add the bay leaf, then pour over the cider and stock. Cover the pan, then leave everything to gently simmer for 20 mins until the pork is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

Serve at the table spooned straight from the dish.

At the end of the day, I still think soft cabbage with bacon and soup is the best comfort food you can get for winter.