It’s mother’s day and I’m lying in bed with the flu, bah humbug! Things must be pretty bad if I’m lying here in bed missing my usual Sunday lunch at the “MIL’S”. The princess and her daddy have taken themselves off there so after a good dose of panadol and lempsip I’m starting to come round, tea and toast is as gourmet as it’s going to get today. Achooo, excuse me:) I was looking through my photos and realised I hadn’t posted the recipe for my favourite lasagna ever! I’ve mentioned this lasagna a few times on this blog over the years, 3 years now to be precise, how time flies! Every Italian mamma in the south of Italy will have a recipe for this dish, it is usually made for a festive occasion which involves the whole family like Christmas and Easter. There is nothing quick about this recipe, it takes time and effort but the end result is worth it…

I’m going to give you the recipe from the Silver Spoon as it’s a while since I made it and can’t remember measurements etc.

what you need:

fresh lasagana sheets, dried are fine too if you can’t get your hands on any.

5 tbsp olive oil

1 onion finely chopped

1 carrot finely chopped

1 celery stick finely chopped

1 garlic clove finely chopped

1 lt passata

5 eggs

300g minced beef

80g parmesan

40g butter

150g mozzarella cheese

sea salt and black pepper

what to do:

pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a pan, add the onion, garlic, celery and carrot and cook over a low heat for about 10 mins until softened but not coloured.

add the passata, season with salt and pepper and leave to simmer over a very low heat for about 45 mins.

boil 4 of the eggs for 12 mins, refresh in cold water, shell and slice.

mix together the mince beef, half the parmesan and remaining egg in a bowl and season with salt. Shape the mixture into small balls.

heat 25g of the butter and remaining oil in a pan, add the meatballs and cook until browned all over, then add them to the tomato sauce.

cook your pasta sheets in salted boiling water for a few minutes, drain and place on a tea towel.

grease a large ovenproof dish with butter, arrange a layer of lasagna sheets on the base and cover with the tomato sauce with meatballs, then the mozzarella, parmesan and a few slices of the hard-boiled eggs.

repeat the layers until all the ingredients are used, ending with a layer of tomato sauce.

dot the top with the remaining butter and bake for about 45 mins-1hour.

ciaoxx

Ok, it’s Facebook Cookalong week round 2! A very famous but simple pasta dish on the menu this time, do not be put off by the vodka, this is one of the nicest pastas there is. I love the flavour in this dish, it’s rich, creamy and completely indulgent, forget about the hips and just go for it!

what you need:

350g penne

200ml double cream

2 slices cooked ham chopped

1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

4 tbsp vodka and a few for yourself depending how bad your day has been:)

3 tbsp tomato puree

30g butter

salt and pepper

what to do:

bring a pot of water to the boil, add lots of salt and your pasta and cook until al dente…

chop your parsley and ham…

melt your butter….

add your tomato puree…

add your ham, parsley and season…

mix together and cook over a low heat for about 5 mins…

add your cream…

add your vodka, simmer over a low heat for about 5 mins until the alcohol has burned off and the sauce has thickened…

drain your pasta and add to the sauce…

mix together…

serve….

eat….

lick plates clean to avoid wash-up….

ciaoxx

A one tray recipe for you today, my favourite!!! I LOVE rib of beef, it’s such a lovely cut and very easy to cook. I often cook this dish when friends are coming around as it’s easy to prepare and always goes down well. I took my photos at night so they’re not the best but you get the idea:)

what you need:

rib of beef – mine was 1.7kg so that I would have some leftover for sambos…..

english mustard

8 shallots

baby potatoes peeled

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

sea salt and black pepper

olive oil

what to do:

heat your oven to 230 degrees.

cook your potatoes in plenty of salted water until par-cooked.

place your beef in a roasting tin and rub your beef all over with mustard and season.

cook for 10 mins

reduce the heat to 180 degrees and add your shallots and potatoes, drizzle with a little olive oil and cook for 15 minutes per 500g of meat for rare meat. I cooked mine for nearly an hour.

remove the meat from the roasting tray, cover with foil and leave to rest for about 10 mins, turn off your oven and leave your potatoes in there to keep warm.

put the shallots in a frying pan and add sugar and balsamic and cook for a couple of mins until caramelised.

if you want to make a gravy use the juice from your roasting tray and add a tbsp of flour, some red wine and beef stock and simmer for a couple of mins, then drain. I prefer it without gravy….

serve and enjoy the admiration:)

I was recently contacted by Ana Maria from all about italian food to do an interview about how I became an Italian foodie. I’ve copied and pasted the interview for your reading pleasure. You can also read the interview here

1)      Lorraine, when did you decide to leave your high-flying career to join your husband’s family restaurant? What was it like in the beginning? Did you soon feel comfortable and at home with them?

I have a degree in business and marketing so as a result I went straight into that line of work. I was working for a frozen food company that specialised in setting up deli’s and hot counters in petrol stations and supermarkets, basically teaching staff how to cook sausage rolls and wedges and although I loved my job, my passion for food was a bit wasted on frozen junk food. My partner Bruno had opened a pizzeria adjacent to his parents restaurant and it was doing really well, pizza hut and dominos hadn’t arrived in Ireland yet. We saw a big gap in the market for a take-away, deli style italian shop focusing on fresh home-made italian food. An opportunity came up in the area where we live so we decided between his cooking experience and my marketing and business experience we should take the plunge and we did.
 
I had a great passion for food but wasn’t great at cooking so while everything was being put into place for our new venture I went into the main restaurant with my mother in law for a couple of months for “bootcamp”. It was so tough at the begining as I had left my big high flying career driving around in my company car everyday being the boss to being “thrown” into the kitchen and not even knowing how to cook pasta al dente. Italians don’t have much patience for ignorance when it comes to the basics of Italian food so there was a few tears as I’m a bit of a perfectionist and want to be able to do everything but I got there in the end.
2)      Was it easy to work with food (it’s different from cooking at home for your own family)?

Because of my job I had a very good knowledge of all the science “stuff” that goes with running a food business, Haccp, turnover, margins, staff,  waste etc. For me my biggest challenge was to be able to cook like an Italian! Once I got the basics right and began to understand the food and realised it’s not just about writing down the methods and ingredients, but about understanding what it’s all about I found it just came very naturally. I started to buy a lot of Italian cookbooks and to try a new recipe every week, I always preferred the books with photos just so I knew I was doing it right. I had the biggest critic at home anyway in Bruno who would always tell me where I went wrong or the majority of the time how good it was.
3)      You have a child – how much Italian culture is incorporated in your home life? Do you also speak Italian at home? 

I have a 100% italian child called Alessia, I often wonder does she have any Irish in her at all, she looks Italian and acts like an Italian, she has the temperment:). Everything in our home life centres around the Italian culture, because the whole family live here and there are 3 Italian food businesses, our lives are consumed by it. Nonna and Nonno just live down the road and we see them on a regular basis, the whole family go to their house every Sunday for lunch where we enjoy Nonna’s home-made pasta ad of course Christmas day for the feast. She often drops food into us during the week too if she has made parmigiana or cannelloni.
 
Alessia doesn’t speak Italian at home as Bruno was born here and although he speaks it fluently his first language is English so that’s what he’s more comfortable with so he doesn’t really speak to her in Italian. I do have a few Italian nursery rhyme cd’s which I have played in the car since she was born so she knows all the italian songs like Giro Tondo etc and she has very good pronunciation. We also have the Italian TV channels at home so she does hear it and her grandparents speak to her in Italian a lot too. She has visited Italy quite a few times since she was born so I hope she picks it up quite easily as she grows up.
4)      What made you decide to open a Deli? I can imagine how difficult it must be to find good, Italian products; as an Italian food-lover, you know how important the ingredients, (good ones!) are.
There is a serious lack of good home-made food establishments in Ireland, this was the main reason we decided to do it as most places just buy in the ingredients whereas we make as much as we can from scratch. It is also very difficult to find good pizza here as most people tend to go for the chains like Dominos and Pizza Hut so we hoped to fill that gap in the market. It hasn’t been too difficult to source products, when my in-laws opened their restaurant 30 years ago they could only buy olive oil in a chemist so times have changed since then. We have 4 different Italian suppliers and buy the best from each of them, our focus is always on quality so we buy the best we can. The main problem here is fresh produce, we don’t have the weather so we don’t have good vegetables. I’m always amazed at the veg markets when I’m in Italy and I’m always so jealous of the food they have on their doorstep. We use a lot of pesto and have to make it about 4 times a week using 1kg at a time, it comes from Israel, I’ve tasted basil from Zio Bruno’s garden in Genova and there is no comparison but that’s just the way it is and we have to do the best we can with what we have.
5)      How is Italian food accepted in Limerick? How do your customers buy food? Do they buy it as they would any other kind of food? Do they come with a clear idea of what they want, or do they approach you for assistance?
It’s ok, there wouldn’t be a proper understanding of Italian food here, I would never have understood it myself had I not met Bruno as food was not an important part of our lives growing up, it was just fuel.We try to stay as authentic as we can, to be honest when we opened first we were a bit naive and thought we would be able to sell authentic Italian food no problem but we learned fast after throwing out lots of leftover rice balls, cannelloni etc so we tweaked our menu to suit the Irish tastes because at the end of the day we are in Ireland, we are a business and we have to make money. I have noticed a change over the last couple of years and people are more open to trying new things thanks to Ryanair and cheap flights, a lot more are visiting Italy on a regular basis so are becoming  more aware of what real Italian food is and we find that people are more interested in “proper” Italian food now.
6)      You are an Italian food expert, living outside Italy, which allows you a wide vision of this reality, maybe less evident for an insider.  How would you summarize the success of Italian food around the world? Do you believe that it is because it encompasses only simple dishes, or because it has flavors that really please different cultures?
I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, my chocolate amaretto cake flopped yesterday:) There is so much to learn about Italian food and the regionality of cooking is a huge area to learn more about. I often feel like I know so little even though any Italian friends I have cooked for have always been impressed by my cooking so I have a little knowledge I suppose. I do notice a big difference between me and Bruno, because he was brought up on Italian food, he has a far better understanding of Italian food which I will never have and he has a much better palatte than me even though I probably cook better than him at home, don’t tell him that;). I notice with Italians they tend to cook their regional dishes and the dishes they grew up with and stick with these whereas I’m always looking for something new to try so I would be more adventurous. They’re very stubborn when it comes to their way of cooking too, it’s their way or no way:)
 
 Unfortunately in Ireland I would say Chinese food is probably more popular than Italian food which is a shame. For me the success of Italian food is the passion that surrounds it. I think it’s the focus on the quality of ingredients whether you’re making something very elaborate and gourmet or just a simple tomato sauce. I love the fact that you can take the simplest of ingredients and produce the most fantastic dish – alio, olio e pepperocino, This dish still amazes me everytime I have it or a simple pizza margherita.I started the blog to try and pass on everything I have learned about Italian food, if I can do it, anyone can. I have also started a Facebook cookalong where I give people the shopping list, letting them know where to buy the best ingredients in our area and I give the recipe in step by step photos just to get people cooking Italian food and see how simple it is. It’s going really well and next up is penne all vodka.
7)      To adopt another culture is not an easy task, particularly an Italian one that is so richly traditional, that it’s sometimes difficult to maintain one’s own native customs. How do you combine Italian and Irish traditions and customs, especially regarding food?
I have no Irish traditions or customs left, they have been beaten out of me:) To be honest with the business and the blog, my life just centres around Italian food. I only cook Italian food, I only have Italian cookery books, my favourite beer is Peroni, we only buy Italian wine, I don’t drink cappuccino after 11, I only have espresso after dinner. We never miss Sunday lunch, and we only go to Italy on holidays so I am a true Italophile:)
8)      When you cook for friends, do you prepare Italian food? What do you usually cook?

Yes, I try to keep it quite simple and something to suit all tastes. I normally do a pasta dish and then maybe a roast chicken with roast potatoes with rosemary and peas with pancetta. This always seems to go down well and suits everyone.
9)      What do you believe is a “must do, see and taste” in Italy? What would you suggest to an Irish person who travels to Italy?
My main advice would be to try everything. Not every restaurant is going to have Carbonara, find out what the local speciality is and try it. Personally I would love to do a gastronomic tour of Italy learning about the specialities of different regions, there is much to learn, even when it comes to something like risotto rice there are so many different types and standards that I know nothing of. Someday when I retire I might travel the length and breadth of Italy and just “learn”……
10)   An obvious but nevertheless important question; among all the inviting recipes you have on your blog, do you have a favorite?
To be honest I love everything, there is not one dish I don’t like but if I had to choose a favourite it would be a toss up between spaghetti alio olio e peperoncino or linguine alle vongole:)

ciaoxx

We were out in the Kilalloe Sunday market a couple of weeks back and got our hands on some lovely fresh mussels. I picked up some scallops too and mixed fish which I plan to use for fish pie, I’ve put them in the freezer and they will probably be there until next year though knowing me, but I will try. The guy on the stall is very good and knows his stuff, he had huge octupus there but I wouldn’t have a clue what to do with it so I passed but they looked fab.

Most restaurants in Ireland seem to serve mussels with cream and although I do like it this way I often find that it lacks flavour. We brought an Italian chef out to eat a couple of times when he was here last year and he was shocked that we squeeze lemon juice over mussels in a cream sauce, supposedly it’s a big NO, NO!! The same guy never cooks garlic and onion together either which is another mortal sin according to Italian chefs, I don’t think he slept for a month after seeing cream in carbonara and pineapple on pizza:)

what you need:

mussels – I have no measurements as he didn’t weigh them but if we say roughly 900g.

2 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove crushed

150ml white wine

6 tbsp tomato sauce – we use our own tomato sauce from La Cucina but you could just use some passata or regular chopped tomatoes.

1 tbsp flat leaf parsley

1 small onion chopped

what to do:

heat your oil in a pan, add your onion and garlic(and chopped tomatoes if using) and cook until soft but not coloured.

add the wine and cook until it has evaporated, add your tomato sauce.

add the mussels and cover with a lid, simmer in the sauce for about 5 mins until the shells have opened. Add your parsley and discard any unopened shells.

serve with some lemon wedges, a sprinkle of flat leaf parlsey and some crusty bread.

ciaoxx

I LOVE steak but I prefer it  just plain and simple with little or no sauce so that I can taste the flavour of the meat. I know in Ireland most people would choose a pepper or mushroom cream sauce which I have very good recipes for both but in my opinion creamy sauces overpower the flavour of the meat but that’s just my personal taste. This recipe is as simple as they come and to be honest it’s not even a recipe but next time you’re having steak it might be a nice alternative so I’ll give it you anway. I served it with a rocket salad with parmesan shavings with a simple dressing of sea salt, a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil – perfecto!!!

what you need:

2 rib eye steaks

olive oil

sea salt and black pepper

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp honey

what to do

rub your steaks with a little olive oil

heat a grill pan, add your steaks and fry for about 2- 3 mins on both sides(for rare steak)

add your balsamic vinegar and leave to reduce by half

add your honey and cook for about a minute

remove, season and rest for a couple of minutes

serve with a simple rocket and parmesan salad

ciaoxx

I set up a facebook account for La Cucina last May and have a found it an excellent marketing tool for the business. I enjoy it to be honest as it is so interactive and it enables us to communicate with our customers and enables them to get to know us a bit better. I decided to do a “facebook cookalong” last week and had a really good reaction to it. I basically give the shopping list on a Friday, the recipe and step by step photos on the Tues and then everyone cooks it that week. They take a photo of their finished dish and tag it back to my page, it’s just a bit of fun and if anything it gets people cooking from scratch or something new that they’ve never cooked before. I’m keeping it as simple as possible to involve everyone, first up was this pasta dish. I love this recipe, it really is so simple but still bursting with flavour, anyone who cooked it loved it so it seems to have been a success.

what you need:

1 280g tin chopped tomatoes

1/2 small onion

1 red chilli chopped or tsp chilli flakes

3 tbsp olive oil

160g pancetta cubes

300g spaghetti

sea salt

grated parmesan or pecorino

what to do:

bring a pot of water to the boil, heat your oil in a frying pan, add your onions and cook until soft but not coloured, add your pancetta and cook until golden:

add your chilli

add your tomatoes, season, mix and cook over a low heat for 15 mins

add salt and your pasta to your boiling water, cook until al dente

once cooked, drain your pasta and add to your sauce

mix together

serve

eat

mop up sauce

leave empty plates feeling full and satisfied:)

ciaoxx

I love minestrone, it’s a great way of using up whatever veg you have leftover. I normally throw everything in, you can add soup pasta too if you like to bulk it up and it becomes a meal in itself. Just wish I could convince the princess, she won’t touch it! What have I reared?:)

what you need:

1  onion chopped

2 carrots chopped

2 celery sticks chopped

2 courgettes chopped

1 litre chicken/veg stock (stock cubes here as always)

150g soup pasta(we have it in La Cucina) or spaghetti or fettucine broken up.

30g butter

3 tbsp olive oil

sea salt and black pepper

grated parmesan cheese

what to do:

heat your oil and butter in a pot and add your onions and cook over a low heat for about 10 mins until soft but not coloured. Add your carrots, celery and courgette, season and cook for another 10 mins. Add your stock, season and cook for about 15 -20 mins until the veg is tender

addyour pasta and cook until al dente and then serve with some grated parmesan on top.

buon appetito…

One of the main problems I have when deciding what to cook for dinner is choosing between meat or chicken and meat consisting of beef or lamb. It is next to impossible to get any veal or rabbit in my area and the selection of fish in my local Supermarket consists of salmon or cod and monkfish the odd time. I know I can’t really blame them as the demand is obviously not there and if I got myself organised I could probably source it from one of the suppliers to the shop but organised doesn’t really exist in my vocabulary so it’s always a last minute decision.  I did branch out last week though and cooked duck breasts with limoncello sauce compliments of Gino D’Acampo and they were delicious so I’m going to try and cook a bit more game.

Because of my lack of menu planning and selection of produce I do tend to cook chicken quite regularly. I always tend to stick to the usual white wine, lemon, herb recipes but I saw this in the Silver Spoon and thought it would be a nice change. It’s perfect for the winter as it’s a very, rich and comforting dish and most importantly easy to make.

what you need:

chicken thighs and legs( about 6 for 2 people)

30g butter

100g pancetta diced

6 baby onions(shallots) peeled

1 garlic clove peeled

100g mushrooms sliced

1 thyme sprig leaves picked

1 tbsp plain flour

250ml red wine

sea salt and black pepper

chicken stock(optional)

what to do:

melt the butter in a pan, add the pancetta, onions, garlic, mushrooms and thyme and cook over a low heat for about 10 mins.

Sprinkle with the flour, mix and remove the garlic clove.

Add the chicken, cover and cook for about 10 mins.

Pour in the wine, season with salt and pepper.

Cover and simmer over a low heat  for about 30 mins until tender and cooked through. Add a little water or stock if sauce is too thick during cooking.

buon appetito…

I love this recipe,  the “MIL” sent us out some arancini from the restaurant last night and I had a couple of bags of spinach which I had picked up in Lidl yesterday for spinach soup but decided on this instead. It’s really good on bruschetta too or with some crusty bread, you decide!

what you need:

1 red onion diced

1 garlic clove chopped

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

3 tbsp olive oil

baby spinach washed( I used 2 bags of spinach but never checked the weight, “blonde”)

1 400g tin cannellini beans

1 400g tin chickpeas

250ml chicken/veg stock

sea salt and black pepper

what to do:

heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the onions and garlic over a low heat for about 10 mins until soft but not coloured.

add your chilli and cook for 1 min.

add your beans and some  stock, season and leave to simmer for about 10 mins.

in a dry pot cook your spinach until wilted. Squeeze out excess water.

add your spinach to your beans, season,  mix together and serve.

buon appetito….

Hello *waves*, remember me? I used to write a food blog about Italian food. I used to post about twice a week but I have been very bad the last few months but I’m sticking to my new year’s resolution and I’m going to make a bigger effort this year I swear. I come begging for your forgiveness with this sausage and bean stew recipe which I know won’t make up for all the lost time and recipes I haven’t given you but it’s a step in the right direction and with time and lots of fabulous new recipes you might learn to forgive me, pretty please:)

Anyway back to business, we’ve a lot of catching up to do! This recipe is very easy, try and get your hands on Italian sausages if you can, if not I’m sure regular sausages might work fine too. We have pre-packed Italian sausages in La Cucina in our retail fridge, I also have fresh ones in the freezer which are even nicer so just ask for them if you prefer.

what you need:

1 onion finely chopped

2 carrots chopped

2 celery sticks chopped

4 Italian sausages, skin removed and cut into chunks

1 tbsp plain flour

1 tin peeled chopped tomatoes(de cecco if you can)

300g pancetta cubes

200ml beef stock

400g tin cannellini beans drained

1 bay leaf

1 sprig of rosemary leaves picked

salt and pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

1 glass of red wine for the stew and 1 glass for you…

what to do

heat the olive oil in a casserole pot and fry the onions until soft but not coloured.

add your carrots and celery, rosemary and bay leaf and cook for about 10 mins over a medium heat.

add the pancetta and sausage and cook for 5 mins stirring with a wooden spoon.

mix in the flour and cook for a few minutes, keep stirring.

add in the wine and cook for about 5 mins until the alcohol evaporates.

add the tomatoes, stock and cannellini beans, season and bring to the boil.

Cover the pot and cook for about 30-40 minsover a low heat  until the sausages are cooked and the sauce has thickened.

serve with some nice crusty bread:)

buon appetito…

p.s. there was an interesting article done on us and how we use social media to promote our business, have a read here if you’re interested.

We have actual snow in Ireland, this is a very rare occurance so naturally we’re all a little over excited. Here’s a few pics from today:

ciaoxx

p.s. italian sausage and bean stew up next…

lobster salad with home-made mayo….

parma ham and melon…

tortelloni in brodo…

pasta al forno….

rack of lamb

roast potatoes…

the MIL….

we were on dessert duty, we made 2 – limoncello and plum tart and panforte…

it was a fabulous day, I’m still stuffed:)

p.s. we had the turkey sandwiches that evening….

it was the princess’ job to put up the star….

and the decorations, even though now she has put all the brothers and sisters with their mammy so I have 6 of the same decoration on 1 branch:)

happy christmasxxx

A MESSAGE FOR LA CUCINA FROM SANTA   here

In case you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, we closed the shop for a week and did a little rennovation. It has turned even better than we expected and are really happy with it. We’ve had a great reaction from all of our customers and have been really busy since we re-opened which is a big relief as now is not the best time to be spending any money but hey someone has to:) Here’s a few pics

the new menu…

our new Italian chairs, very swish…

the interior, we can now seat 20 which is a very BIG deal…

open kitchen which the staff love (not)…

new stuff….

ciabatta….

coffee from Naples…

pizza menu…

20″ pizza…

the pasta chef himself…

and we now do wine. god help us all:)

ciaoxx

It was my nephew’s christening recently, it was actually his first birthday too so we had a double celebration. I was godmother, a very good choice I think, he’ll be well fed anyway. I’m doing absolutely no cooking this week as we are renovating La Cucina so I thought I’d share a few pics with you.

my sister did the chair covers….

there were lots of goodies…

there were lots of cupcakes and hyper children…

the cake was adorable…..

the princess and her cousin had a ball….

I think someone enjoyed their party….

ciaoxx

Bruno made this risotto from the Silver Spoon a while back, there are very few ingredients so I was a bit sceptical as to whether it would be tasty enough. It was nice but not bursting with flavour, I think the key to this risotto is definitely a good home-made stock bursting with flavour, a stock cube just doesn’t cut it as there is no parmesan to add extra taste at the end as it’s a fish dish so if you’re making this recipe get chopping those carrots:)

First up, the most important thing whenever making a risotto is:

pour yourself a glass, now we’re ready this is what you need:

1.5 lt veg stock

40g butter

350g risotto rice

350ml prosecco

80g smoked salmon

what to do:

bring the stock to the boil.

melt half the butter, stir in the rice and cook, stirring until the grains are coated in butter:

pour in the wine and cook until evaporated, add a ladleful of stock and cook, stirring until it has been absorbed.

Continue adding the stock a ladleful at a time and stirring until each addition has been absorbed. This will take 18-20 mins. The princess was very interested in what was going on:

cream the remaining butter in a bowl and beat in the half the chopped salmon. About 2 minutes before the rice has finished cooking , stir in the butter mixture and the other half of the salmon:

and serve with another glass of prosecco:)

buon appetito..

The princess is a peppa pig addict so her Zia Wilma(aunt) and the “MIL” made this fabulous Italian cake for her birthday with vanilla and chocolate cream. It was delicious but it was big enough for her whole creche so we had lots of birthday cake for breakfast last week. Did the princess eat it, of course not, she just picked at the icing but the adults were happy and that’s what’s really important isn’t it;)

ciaoxx

Not really a recipe today, this is one of our most popular bruschetta in La Cucina so I thought I’d share it with you. It’s perfect for an antipasti or light lunch and very simple to put together.

what you need:

bruschetta bread or ciabatta

parma ham

buffalo mozzarella

rocket

pesto(optional)

olive oil

what to do:

toast your bread on both sides.

top with pesto and cheese and melt under the grill

serve with parma ham and rocket on top and drizzle with a little olive oil.

ciaoxx

It was the princess’ birthday on Monday so on Sunday we headed out to Killaloe to visit the farmer’s market and feed the ducks which she loves. The market is small but it has some nice stalls and we picked up some lovely organic spinach and large field mushrooms. We popped into Andrew in Ponte Vecchio for a quick macchiato too, his little Italian shop was buzzing with Sunday morning revellers sipping coffee and reading the papers. The place is tiny but he stocks a great range of Italian products and wines and has a lovely selection of home-made cakes so if you’re out that way pop in.

I love this recipe, we always eat quite late at night with one of us working in the shop everyday so we just want something light and fulfilling that’s not going to take hours to digest especially at 10pm at night and this fits the bill perfectly.

what you need:

4 large field mushrooms

1 bag of spinach, forget the weight, sowwy as the princess would say!

100g pancetta cubes

1 garlic clove

30g dried or fresh breadcrumbs(fine without too)

50g grated parmesan cheese

4 tbsp olive oil

sea salt and black pepper

what to do:

pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees.

wash and rinse your spinach and cook in a dry pan for 2-3 mins until wilted. Drain and squeeze out as much liquid as possible and finely chop.

cut the stalks out of the mushrooms and finely chop.

heat your oil and add your onions and garlic and cook over a low heat for about 10 mins until soft but not coloured.

add your pancetta and mushroom stalks and cook for 5 minutes.

add your spinach, breadcrumbs and 1/2 your parmesan to the pan, season and toss together.

arrange your mushrooms rounded side down on a baking tray, season and divide your stuffing between the mushrooms. Top with parmesan cheese.

cook for 15 mins until crisp and golden.

buon appetito…

a very cheesy pic of me and Bru having an espresso:)

ciaoxx

It’s wet, it’s cold, it’s winter and I’ve got my cooking mojo back – YAY!! I’ve been a bit lazy in the cooking front for the last while. This little blog is going nearly 3 years now and it is hard to cook something new every week, for the last while I’ve just been cooking my old reliables and didn’t even look through a cook book but I spent the last few days sorting out all my cooking magazines, I signed up for a yearly subscription for Taste Italia magazine as my local Easons doesn’t stock it anymore and took out the Silver Spoon again today and cooked Lasagna Napoletana. I’ve never cooked this before, the MIL always cooks it on Christmas day and it would usually be cooked for a special occasion  in any Italian household  in the South of Italy and is always cooked by the “mamma” or the “nonna” so I’m feeling pretty proud. There’s a bit of work involved in it but I’ll post it anyway during the week.

I often make this minestrone but it’s always wintertime so I can never take any photos because it’s too dark so I made the effort to keep some and take a pic the next day. My sister and her hubby stayed with us for a week recently and I had a big pot of this bubbling away on the cooker one night when they were heading out without their bambino for dinner for the first time in ages. They nearly cancelled their reservation upon tasting this, I had to drag the 2 of them away from the pot and convince them to leave. Minestrone is one of those underestimated dishes but is so tasty when executed properly. I blitz it for the princess as she won’t eat veg as you know and she wolfs it down everytime so it’s a great recipe for kids too. I make a big pot so it does us for dinner and lunch the next day.

what you need:

2 carrots finely chopped

2 celery finely chopped

1 onion finely chopped

1 400g tin borlotti beans(drained)

1 400g tin cannellini beans(drained)

1.5 – 2 litres veg stock (at home I always use Kallo cubes)

1 400g tin chopped tomatoes

100g pancetta cubes

8 tbsp olive oil

tbsp flat leaf parsley

sea salt and black pepper

parmesan cheese

what to do:

heat your oil and cook your carrots, celery and onions until soft but not coloured for about 10 – 15 mins over a low heat.

add your pancetta and cook for about 5-10 mins until cooked.

add your stock and tomatoes , bring to the boil, season and then leave to simmer for about 15-20mins.

add your beans and leave to simmer for another 15 mins or until your veg is soft. Add a little extra stock or water if the soup gets too thick.

add your parsley and extra seasoning if required.

serve with lots of grated parmesan on top.

buon appetito….

The princess is 3 this Monday, I can’t believe it. I started this blog when I was on maternity leave when she was a couple of months old to save me from the loneliness I felt being at home on my own with a new baby. I found it quite hard as I was so used to going to work everyday meeting lots of people and basically talking all day long about food so this little blog became my outlet  to do that from home. I’ve found it more difficult to keep it updated now as she doesn’t sleep during the day anymore and that used to be me and my blog time.

Despite my best efforts to feed her the best food possible since she was born, never using a jar, no chocolate until she was about 14 months etc she is a complete nightmare when it comes to eating. She has no appetite which will probably be great when she’s 15 and wants to be a supermodel and she refuses point blank to eat a vegetable in it’s natural form, the only way I can get veg into her is through soup and pasta. She is a chocoholic and is constantly looking for her next fix, she loves chips and ketchup and her new thing is a “cuppa tea” and biscuits, this is obviously from her Irish grandparents. Her Italian grandparents introduced her to a drop of espresso with 7up and a spoon of sugar in an espresso cup. (aghhhhhhh). She’s very healthy though and rarely sick so I don’t worry about it too much and never force her to eat.

I often make this rice dish for the 2 of us if Bru is working but I have to tell her the peas are from the garden, if she thinks they’re from the freezer she won’t eat them. What have I created??? She’ s as cute as a button(like her mother)……

what you need for 1 adult and 1 toddler:

250g carnaroli rice

1/2 onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove finely chopped

2 handful of peas( don’t know the measurements)

20g butter

2tbsp olive oil

1/2 stock cube

2 slices of Italian cooked ham chopped.

what to do:

bring a pot of water to the boil, add salt, rice and your stock cube and cook for about 15-18 mins until tender. Add your peas half way.

heat your oil and butter in a pan, add your onion and garlic and cook for about 10-15 mins until softened but not coloured. Add your ham and cook for 1 minute.

drain your rice and reserve some of the cooking water.

add your rice, peas and parmesan to your pan and toss for a couple of mins. Add some of the water if dry.

serve with lots of parmesan on top.

buon appetito!!

p.s. her new thing is asking when she’s getting a brother or sister so no pressure there then;)

It’s a busy time in the italian foodie house at the moment as we’re doing a mini renovation in La Cucina, we have to close for a couple of days in November for the building works so there’s lots of organising and stress at the moment but hopefully it will be worth it. I’m really looking forward to it as we will have a much better seating area rather than  a take-away with a few uncomfortable stools and become more like a mini restaurant, we’re still restricted by space but we hope to make better use of what we have. We plan to get a wine license and do a lot more of the food that you see here on the blog so exciting times ahead.

I’m sticking with my southern Italian theme with today’s pasta recipe. I love this dish, I prefer to use young broccoli but find it quite hard to get my hands on any so regular broccoli is fine too.

what you need for 2:

 - 2 italian sausages with skin removed.

 - 200g broccoli stems trimmed

 - 350g dried orecchiette

 - 1 garlic clove peeled

 - 1 chilli finely chopped or dried chilli flakes

 - 1/2 small red onion finely chopped.

 - 25g grated pecorino cheese or parmesan is fine too.

 - 3 tbsp olive oil

 - sea salt and black pepper

what to do:

 - cook your broccoli in a pot of salted boiling water for about 2 mins and drain.

 - heat your olive oil in a pan and cook your garlic until coloured, remove and leave your oil cool for a couple of mins.

 - add your onions and cook for 5-10 mins over a low heat until softened, add your chilli and cook for about 2 mins.

 - bring a pot of water to the boil while your onions are cooking, add lots of salt and your pasta and cook until al dente.

- add your sausage to your pan and cook for 10 mins until coloured.

 - add your cooked broccoli, season and toss over the heat until the broccoli is hot.

 - add the broccoli and sausage mixture to your pasta and serve with lots of pecorino cheese.

 buon appetito…..

the Italian table….

the world famous tropean red onions….

local calabrian sausage….

home-grown garlic….

stuzzicini…..

italian pastries…..

antipasto….

seafood risotto….

carbonara the proper way….

spaghetti with clams….

tartufo….

caprese salad…..

dining al fresco at the apartment….

the family dining al fresco and no the baby isn’t drinking a glass of vino;)

the princess ate lots of pastina….

ciaoxx

the main street in Tropea…..

one of the many back streets….

not very Italian at all…..;)

there’s lots of lovely restaurants down the back streets…

I loved the colours everywhere….

I ‘m on a diet forever after all I ate:)

the princess loved her little Italian adventure…

ciaoxx

I’m just back from a couple of weeks in Tropea in Calabria and all I can say is WOW!! It’s such a beautiful part of Italy, I have never been that far south and I completely fell in love with the place. My dad retired last year and decided to buy a little pad in the sun and they are now the proud owners of a lovely one bed apartment in Zambrone which is about 10 mins drive from Tropea. They are a 5 min drive to the beach and this is the view above from their terrace. There is a major problem though, my family is probably going to fall apart over this apartment as we are all going to want to stay there a LOT and there is 4 daughters, there will be trouble ahead…….

Here’s a few more pics of the landscape, foodie photos to follow I promise:)

“my” local beach (note the my, let the battle commence……)

I’ve never seen a sea as blue…

I love the colours in this one….

the beach at Tropea…

everywhere we went it just got more beautiful….

the princess loved it too:)

ciaoxx

ciaoxx

 Do you always cook too many potatoes? I do but then I cook too much of everything, especially pasta, I always add a little more just in case. I even bought a spaghetti measure thingy and I still don’t believe it or trust it, what does a piece of wood with 3 holes know? a lot more than me obviously because I still get it wrong. The one thing I don’t mind being heavy handed with is boiled potatoes because it means I get to make big dirty sautéed potatoes with lots of fried onions and pancetta, perfect for the hips:) (mine aren’t looking too good after Cyprus, why is it when food is “free” you go crazy?)

I don’t know if this is the “technical” way to sauté potatoes but it works for me.  

what you need for 2:

4 cooked potatoes in skins, peeled and sliced

1 onion sliced

1 garlic clove peeled

100g pancetta cubes(optional)

olive oil

20g butter(optional)

what to do:

fill the base of a deep pan with about 6 tbsp of olive oil, heat and add your garlic clove.

cook your garlic until brown and remove. Leave your oil to cool down for a couple of mins.

add your onion and cook until soft and coloured.  Add your pancetta half way if you’re using it.

add your potatoes, season and cook for about 10 mins until golden. Make sure you toss regularly so that they don’t stick.

serve and throw away the scales;)

ciaoxx

p.s. new potatoes are great for this recipe even though I think they might be out of season now. Head over to Bord Bia’s best in season site for great info on what to eat now…..

we went to Paphos….

we stayed at the Aliathon holiday village, view from the balcony…

we did the “all inclusive” (don’t ask, not by choice) and ended up eating this every day for lunch! Needless to say a huge bowl of pasta was had on disembarking  the plane:)

normal service to resume shortly…

ciaoxx

This has to be my favourite bruschetta, it’s simple, traditional and classic. It’s a great way to use up extra tomatoes but as usual I have to preach about quality of ingredients. The key to this is simplicity so the flavours you use are key, get your hands on some sweet tomatoes which can be a bit of a problem in Ireland, I find the “piccolo” tomatoes from Superquinn very good and the San Marzano in Dunnes are also excellent. A good quality olive oil is always important and I got my hands on some Maldron sea salt recently which is as good as they say. Bruschetta bread is not an easy thing to find so a good ciabatta loaf will be a perfect substitute.

what you need:

250g cherry tomatoes

1 garlic clove

extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and black pepper

about 6 basil leaves

bruschetta bread or ciabatta

what to do:

chop your tomatoes, season, add your basil and drizzle with olive oil.

heat a grill pan and toast your bread on both sides until nicely toasted.

rub one side of your bread with your garlic clove.

spoon your tomato mixture on top and sprinkle a couple of torn basil leaves , drizzle a little olive oil and serve.

buon appetito!!

I’m not giving you an actual recipe today but a dinner idea instead. I got really nice lamb burgers from my butcher yesterday and made these fantastic lamb burgers with caramelized onions and rocket with home-made wedges on the side. I’m taking the lazy route and giving you recipe links similar to the way I make them for each, if you have a good butcher just buy your burgers there but if you really want to make them, this recipe looks good

 - lamb burgers

 - balsamic caramelized onions  (I do mine the same except I add a little butter and salt and pepper)

 - home-made wedges (I did mine plain with just olive oil, sea salt and black pepper)

ciaoxx

The “MIL” is on her annual holiday in Italy for a few weeks so we have to cook our own Sunday lunch, bah humbug!! I love going to her house every Sunday as we have a day off from cooking which is such a treat when you are in the kitchen all week cooking for the masses. We went out to eat a couple of Sundays but gave up after a few very poor meals, why is it so hard to eat well for Sunday lunch?? so we’re back to cooking for ourselves, reluctantly I might add. Last Sunday I picked up some lovely tuna  steaks and new potatoes so we had tuna steaks with garlic, oregano with a balsamic reduction served  with some sauteed potatoes with onions  on the side and it was absolutley delicious, much better than Sunday pub grub! I usually use flat leaf parsley but I found a James Martin recipe which used oregano so I decided to give it a go, I’ll give you his measurements as I don’t measure mine.

what you need:

2 tuna steaks

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

150ml extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp oregano/flat leaf parsley chopped

2 garlic cloves thinly sliced

sea salt and black pepper

what to do:

make a marinade with the majority of your olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic, oregano, garlic, sea salt and black pepper.

pour over your tuna and leave to marinade for about 2-4 hours in the fridge covered with tinfoil.

heat a griddle pan and cook your tuna until medium rare.

to make the balsamic reduction, pour the remaining vinegar into a small saucepan and heat over a low heat until it has reduced by half and is quite syrupy.

serve the tuna with the reduction poured over the top.

buon appetito….

I don’t know if  I can even call this a recipe as it is so simple, it’s one of those “one pot” meals when you are too lazy (which is generally me) to make too much effort on the cooking side. I really like it though as you can taste each individual ingredient as there is no sauce, it might sound like it’s dry but if you use good quality chicken, I used free range/organic it should have enough moisture and you will have yourself a tasty little dish. You can add stock, white wine, lemon etc if you have to have a sauce as I know some of you probably do, but I’m sticking with this way. I think we tend to rely too much on sauces in Ireland and never actually taste the main ingredient as it’s covered with lots of other flavours so try this for a change and you might be pleasantly surprised:) 

I’m not giving you measurements as I haven’t a clue, I just fire it all into a tray but here’s what you need:

chicken legs and thighs

thyme

garlic cloves peeled

potatoes

sea salt and black pepper

olive oil

what to do:

pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees

peel your potatoes, cut into chunks and par-boil in salted water.

with a sharp knife, make incisions in your chicken pieces and stuff with garlic and thyme, put some under the skin too.

season with salt and pepper

put your chicken and potatoes into a roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil.

cook for about 45 mins until golden and serve.

We recently attended the wedding of one of our best friends in Bath, it was held at the fabulous Orchardleigh House . We had never been to Bath before and had heard loads about it so we decided to stay a couple of extra days to take in the sights and most importantly visit Jamie Oliver’s new venture Jamie’s Italian. To be honest I was probably more excited about going here than the wedding (sorry James) but as you all know food is always top of my agenda. We ended up visiting Jamie’s place not once but twice. We went there the night we arrived and again the day after the wedding. The place itself is in a fabulous new development in the centre of the town and doesn’t take any reservations.

You have to queue outside first, on both times we queued for about 30 mins, when you eventually get in they give you a buzzer and you have to sit at the bar and wait to be called for your table. The first time this took about 30 mins but it took about 50 mins on the second visit so you wouldn’t want to be in a hurry. The amazing thing was that everybody took it their stride, there was noone complaining and everybody was just happy to be there. I think it also helps that the bar serve some great Italian cocktails like Bellini, good Italian beers and wine and of course some great “stuzzucini”. The olives were amazing, served on ice with a really good olive tapenade and bread, we also had the almonds with fennel and chilli which were devine and made my prosecco flow a little too freely;)

They’ve been very clever in placing their fresh pasta making beside the bar as it took everyones attention from the wait for their table.

I didn’t take my camera the first night so I just have photos of our second visit.  I really liked the menu, it’s simple and very reasonable with the focus on good quality Italian ingredients.

We started with the bruschetta with a selection of tapenades:

mushrooms and scamorza cheese:

cherry tomato and mozzarella salad,I know 3 starters but we were on holidays, you would too….

All three starters were delicious, the bruschetta bread was excellent as were the tapenades, I loved the ricotta one, it was so creamy and flavoured really well. My main issue when eating out is seasoning and everything was perfectly seasoned here, no salt or pepper required just like in Italy, they would nearly hit you over the head with the salt cellar if you ask for it.  On our first visit we tried the antipasti which is served on top of 2 tins of Italian tomatoes (great idea), the fried squid and parmesan chunks with balsamic, very simple dishes but executed perfectly. The quality of cheese, Italian meats, olive oil, balsamic etc were excellent and it was such a pleasure to eat in such a good Italian outside of Italy.

We had pasta on both visits and if I have to find fault with Jamie’s it is with the different level of quality with the pasta on the two occasions. It was much better the first night, it was obviously a different chef but there was a notable difference. On the first night I had pasta with asparagus, cherry tomatoes and ricotta and Bru had a tomato and Italian sausage, both were as good as the MIL would make and that’s some achievement;) On the second visit the dishes weren’t seasoned as well and the sauce was a lot wetter, more like soup, on the first night the sauce coated the pasta perfectly and it was as good as you would eat in Italy. On the second visit we had

linguine with prawns and tomato..

bucatini carbonara with courgettes…

We had the panacotta for dessert the first night which was excellent and a simple sorbet on the second visit which was really good.

We finished off with a couple of good espresso and limoncello.

I really liked Jamie’s, it’s casual dining focusing on quality Italian ingredients. The place is buzzing and has a great atmosphere, it’s a very well oiled machine with excellent service, it seats 250 people and there is a constant queue waiting and the place just runs so smoothly. It’s a perfectly packaged Italian restaurant,  it’s modern, authentic, affordable and every neighbourhood should have a restaurant like this, I wish we did. As he says himself:

“Jamie’s Italian starts with what Italians are most proud of – fantastic, rustic dishes, using recipes that have been tried, tested and loved! As well as serving exceptional food, we aim to create a “neighbourhood” venue, inspired by the “Italian table” where people relax, share, and enjoy each other’s company. Anyone is welcome and everyone will feel comfortable. It’s affordable and accessible – no bookings, just come along when it suits you.”

I couldn’t agree more…..

Our lovely Italian deli assistant Sejla brought back some fresh orecchiette a few weeks back when she visited her home in Puglia. I made this pasta for all the staff and they loved it,  you can use dried orecchiette if you can’t get your hands on the fresh variety. I shouldn’t have let Sejla out of the country as she has now decided to return home for good and although I have contemplated kidnapping, I have accepted she is leaving and will be very sorry to see her go:( On the upside it just means I will have to visit Puglia as I have never been and would love to see this area of Italy so it’s not all bad.

what you need for 4:

olive oil

1 small onion finely chopped

chilli flakes

500g orecchiette

1 garlic clove finely chopped

250g tub ricotta cheese

grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

400g can of chopped tomatoes

sea salt and black pepper

rocket

what to do:

bring a pot of water to the boil, add salt and pasta and cook until al dente.

fill the base of a pan with olive oil, about 3-4 tbsp.

add the onion and garlic and cook until softened but not coloured.

add a pinch of chilli and your can of chopped tomatoes.

simmer for about 15 mins.

drain your pasta, add to your sauce.

add your ricotta, pecorino and rocket and mix well together.

serve with rocket and pecorino on top.

buon appetito!!

from this…..

to this….

they didn’t get far…

the princess loved them…

and there was no way she was sharing….

ciaoxx

p.s I’ve been away for a few days in Bath so a review of Jamies Italian is next…

If I’m having caprese as a salad or an antipasti I have it this way but I love serving the above caprese salad with a piece of fish or meat on the bbq. It’s very simple, all you need is some good quality cherry tomatoes, baby mozzarella balls, basil and oregano, mix all the ingredients together, season with salt and pepper and dress with a good quality olive oil and your done. Easy peasy!!

ciaoxx

you lookin at me????

stuffed squid….

I wish I could take the credit for these babies but these are the MIL’s and we just finished them off on the bbq.

ahh the memories of our summer…

absolutely delicious….

I don’t think there is anyone out there that hasn’t heard of Ballymaloe, it is most famously know for it’s cookery school and it’s two leading ladies Darina and Rachel. I have to say I’m not a huge fan of Rachel but do admire Darina for all the work she had done for Slow Food in Ireland and for her focus on locally produced food. We originally planned to stay the weekend there but quickly changed our minds on seeing the prices, I was a bit suprised to be honest as it is not a 5 star hotel but a country house  so we decided to stay at the neighbouring 5 star Castlemartyr Hotel instead for nearly half the price. We decided to visit Ballymaloe for lunch instead as dinner is €70 p.p and we had the princess with us so lunch at €40 p.p seemed like a better idea.

We were booked for 1pm and were late of course, mainly due to a lack of signage. I know they are well known and everything but I don’t think they need to keep their location a secret. We arrived at the Cookery School first which is actually in a separate location, it seems to have a really nice buzz there with very enthusiastic and energetic staff, ironically it was pizza day and I think you can eat there for lunch too but I just got directions for the main house.

At this stage it was about 1.20pm and last orders were at 1.30. Lunch only runs from 1 – 1.30pm, I want their job! We were met by a pleasant lady at the desk and shown to our table. The room itself is traditional with blue and white check tablecloths with very pretty flowers from the garden I presume. I wasn’t too fond of the dark blue walls and would think that on a wet winter day it would be a bit dark and gloomy but luckily the sun was streaming in our window seat. The menu was short containing 4 starters and 4 main courses, nothing fancy, just simple home-cooked food. They also have a menu with light bites but to my surprise they had no children’s menu. I had told the princess who has a chip addiction on the way that “there would be no chips at Ballymaloe”presuming for once she might eat something decent at a restaurant instead of the usual sausages or chicken nuggets with chips! On asking the waitress about a children’s menu and being told there was none but they could do sausages and chips(the dreaded words) the princess turned to me and politely informed me “see mammy, I told you they had chips in Ballymaloe”, she’s 3 in November…..

to start:

mussels in their shells with a breadcrumb topping. I really like this dish anyway and is quite common in Italian cooking,  the mussels were good quality and the breadcrumbs were nicely flavoured so we were off to a good start.

haddock goujons served with tarter sauce. Bru had this and enjoyed it, the breadcrumbs were really light and had a good flavour. The accompanying home-made tarter sauce was really good and probably the best I’ve tasted.

for mains:

The choice for mains was limited to chicken, cod, bacon and a vegetarian dish. Bru went for the free-range chicken which I presume comes from the chicken coup out the back. The chicken itself was lovely, moist and really tasty but the cream sauce was bland and tasteless.  With such high quality chicken a simple sauce that didn’t compete or overpower the chicken would have been better.

I chose the cod with lovage pesto. I was a bit put off by the pesto when reading the menu as  I personally only like pesto with pasta and  I’ve never had lovage but I didn’t want bacon so I went with this. This dish just didn’t work for me,  it was very bland with very little flavour, I actually left the majority of it. The simple side order of veg was really good, the baby carrots were bursting with flavour and were so sweet.

The funny thing about the main courses was that the princess’s sausages were the nicest dish on the table. They were probably the nicest sausages I’ve ever tasted and they were served with freshly cut chips so I had a little nibble.

We were beginning to lose faith at this stage until we saw the arrival of the dessert trolley, so 80’s but such a wonderful concept. There is just something about a trolley full of desserts being placed in front of you, it’s rather exciting and the best part being you can have a little bit of everything so we did. This was their saving grace, we oooed and ahhhhed the whole way through. The warm lemon pudding was to die for, the meringues with strawberries were delicious, the strawberries were so sweet, the little gooseberry tart was Divine , bitter and sweet at the same time and the chocolate ice-cream was one of the nicest home-made ice-creams we’ve had in Ireland, we haven’t tried Murhpy’s yet.

We finished off with a couple of good coffees.

So what did I think of the overall experience? I think the main problem with a place like Ballymaloe is the expectation, which will always be difficult to live up to. I think the price plays a major part too, at €40 per person you are expecting something very special and exciting and although it was good home cooked food using local good quality ingredients it just didn’t blow me away but maybe they are not trying to!  My main gripe throughout the meal was the service, the staff were pleasant but far from friendly. There was absolutely no personality in the room, nobody asked us did we enjoy our meal, my unfinished cod wasn’t even questioned, there seemed an attitude of not really caring as most people were probably just like us visiting on a one off and probably won’t return. It was basically hi, here’s your table, here’s your bill, thanks and goodbye! I think most people go for the “Ballymaloe experience” but to me there was very little atmosphere in the restaurant or personal interaction which is a shame as it’s such a lovely place.

I’m glad I visited Ballymaloe and to be honest there should be country house restaurants like these with it’s own chicken coup, vegetables etc all over the country but like everything else in Ireland this is impossible with all the red tape and expense we have. My main problem is the fact that as a country we have  become so far removed from natural eating and at the end of the day Ballymaloe is providing simple home-cooked food using good ingredients which is the way it should be. In Italy there is a concept called ” Agriturismo” where a family can open a restaurant adjacent to their house where they produce everything themselves on their land including the meat and wine. They are provided with government grants to help with the establishment and running of the business, they are very cheap, about €20 p.p including wine and you eat what you are given but it is the most fantastic eating experience. In Ireland it seems the only food business that can survive and thrive is the franchise model as there is absolutely no support whatsoever for food businesses and I’m hoping if one thing comes out of this recession is the return to simple food using produce from our local environment and we might see a few more Ballymaloe type places that we can afford to eat at on a regular basis. I can dream I suppose……

garyvoe beach!

ciaoxx

p.s. I’ve abandoned the blog a bit for facebook recently but the novelty will wear off I’m sure but if you’re not a friend just click here and add us http://www.facebook.com/lacucina

We spent the weekend in Cork staying at the castlemartyr hotel which is absolutely stunning. We got to have lunch in the famous Ballymaloe house, I will do a full review later in the week but here’s a few pictures to give you a little sneak preview:)

the house…..

the grounds…

the garden….

view from the restaurant…

the shop…

bru and the princess checking out the chicken coup…

food to follow:)

ciaoxxxx

I have spoken about my love for puff pastry tarts before, I always have a pack in the freezer for when I’m feeling lazy and not up to cooking anything too complicated. This tart was really good, I normally do my asparagus tarts with mozzarella but I saw a recipe with mascarpone when flicking though one of Olive’s recipe booklets and it worked really well. The mascarpone gives it a really creamy consistency and works so well with the asparagus and parmesan. Mascarpone is a pretty bland cheese so I used a lot of parmesan and seasoning to flavour it, I added a drizzle of balsamic and we had a little piece of heaven;)

I don’t have exact measurements.

what you need:

asparagus(I used 4 per tart)

mascarpone cheese (250g tub I think)

puff pastry rounds

grated parmesan (lots of)

sea salt and black pepper

balsamic vinegar

what to do:

heat the oven to 200 degrees

cook the asparagus for about 5 mins until just tender.

mix the mascarpone with lots of grated parmesan to taste and season with salt and pepper.

spread the cheese over the puff pastry leaving a border.

place the asparagus on top and sprinkle with more parmesan.

drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over the tart.

bake for about 20-25 mins until pastry is golden and serve.

the excitement….

There is nothing nicer than an Italian antipasti on a hot summer’s day. It’s simple, can be prepared in advanced and is a great lunch to have with friends. I always make the vegetable antipasti the night before so all the flavours blend together over night. It is hard to source good quality veg in Ireland but I think Lidl are definitley the best for veg at the moment and I always buy my aubergines and courgettes there, they have a good selection of Italian meats and mozzarella too. Superquinn stock everything you need also and have the Rovagnati range of meats which are still my favourite pre-packed meats. We have a really good buffalo mozzarella for anyone living in Limerick from the south of Italy and is definitely the best I have tasted in Ireland.

The whole point of antipasti is the quality of ingredients so try and get your hands on the best you can, this includes using good sea salt and olive oil. Finding good tomatoes is always the biggest issue in Ireland, Superquinn do very good Italian cherry tomatoes but it’s very hard to find a sweet beef tomato, I got these large plum tomatoes in Lidl and although they weren’t fantastic they were the best I could find.

First up is Caprese, probably the simplest and tasiest salad you can make. Just slice some mozzarella, tomato, season with sea salt, pepper and a little dried oregano. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with plenty of basil.

serve a platter of parma ham, mortadella and salami….

Marinated courgettes! cut your courgette into slices and cook on a heated grill pan or bbq. Leave to cool. In a bowl mix some olive oil, white wine vinegar, thinly sliced garlic, flat leaf parsley, sea salt, black pepper and olive oil. Layer your courgettes, season and pour some of your dressing over each layer. Leave to marinate over night.

Marinated aubergines! Slice your aubergines into disks, sprinkle with salt and leave in a colander for about 30 mins to release the bitter juices. Heat a grill pan or bbq and cook in batches. Layer your aubergines, season, drizzle each layer with olive oil, add sliced garlic and basil leaves. Leave to marinate over night.

serve with some grilled Italian bread drizzled with olive oil……

I’ve mentioned before about how much I love pasta dishes without an actual sauce, I think it’s because you can actually taste the individual ingredients. This is one of those dishes and it is definitley one of my top 5 pasta favourites. I picked up some nice mixed mushrooms in Dunnes the other day and we had this for lunch, it’s a great dish for the summer as it is quick, tasty and light. All you need is a nice glass of vino bianco and you’re all set.

what you need:

500g mixed mushrooms sliced.

25g dried porcini (soaked in hot water for about 30 mins)

1 small onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove

5 tbsp white wine

2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

500g tagliatelle or fettucine

40g parmesan cheese

3 tbsp olive oil

what to do:

bring a pot of water to the boil, add salt and your pasta and cook until al dente.

heat the olive oil in a pan and cook your garlic clove until coloured and remove.

add your onions and cook over a low heat until soft but not coloured.

drain your porcini, squeeze out excess water and chop finely.

add your sliced mushrooms and porcini, season, cover and cook over a low heat for about 10-15 mins. Add some of the your pasta water if your mushrooms dry out.

turn up the heat and add your wine and cook for a couple of mins until evaporated.

drain your pasta, reserving some of the cooking water.

mix your pasta with your mushrooms, some cooking water and your parsley.

serve with lots of parmesan cheese on top.