I’m still here but as you may have noticed I have entered the addictive and crazy world of facebook. I have been a bit slow embracing the whole social networking thing, I took a big leap with twitter and after much nagging and encouragement from a lot of people including Sejla my right hand lady in La Cucina and Nick my social networking consultant as I like to call him I took the leap of faith. I put La Cucina on last Tuesday and I’m just bowled over by the response from it. I will never pay for another advertisement in a newspaper again. Facebook as a medium to interact with customers is a must for every small business, it gives a personal face to the business which you can’t get with any other form of advertising etc and I think customers like to be able to engage with you. It also helps that certain members of the Munster team are being very naughty in regards to commenting on each others photos, and they’ve been so good regarding having their photos taken, I keep missing Paul O’Connell though – damn…

Anyway don’t worry I’ve still been cooking and tried out this recipe from the Silver Spoon last week and it was absolutely delicious. I had a jar of salted capers from Sicily in the press for over a year and after confirming on twitter that they were safe to use, thanks Ernie and Olive magazine they worked beautifully in this dish. It was very simple to make but the only fault I can find is that cod is a very soft fish and I question how fresh mine was from Superquinn as it broke up quite badly becoming a bit “mushy”. I also used a stewing pot when I probably should have used a large pan but I know for the next time:)

what you need:

4 courgettes thinly sliced

plain flour for dusting

6 tbsp olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 celery stick chopped

200ml passata

1 tbsp capers, drained, rinsed and chopped

100g green olives, stoned and chopped

600g cod fillets coarsely chopped

tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

salt and pepper

what to do:

lightly dust the courgettes with flour, shaking off the excess, heat half the oil in a frying pan, add the courgette slices and cook until they are golden brown and strain on kitchen paper.

heat the remaining oil in a pan, add the onion and celery and cook over a low heat stirring occasionally until soft but not coloured and then add your olives:

add your capers and passata:

mix together, simmer for about 10 mins and then add your cod, cook for a few more minutes:

add your parsley and courgettes:

season well and simmer over a low heat for about 30 mins and serve:

buon appetito!

p.s. if you’re on facebook, come be our friend:) Just mention the blog.

I’ve been very bad for eating fish recently, I don’t know why as I love it but I think I only love it when the sun is shining outside and I’m sitting on the Amalfi coast, I don’t want much do I?  The weather here lends itself to lots of stews, roast meats, soups, anything warm and comforting really. To be honest we don’t have much access to fresh fish here either unless you can get into Rene Cusacks in the city centre so I’m dependant on Superquinn which basically stocks salmon, cod and monk-fish anytime I’m there. I don’t know if it’s due to the recession but lately anytime I’m in there the fish stands have been reduced to 1 and there is very little in stock. I felt like something different last week, I had enough poultry and meat over Christmas so I decided it was time for some fish but it was freezing out so I wanted something hearty and warm. I normally do fish very simply with lemon and herbs but I find that quite summery so I decided on a fish stew but the only fish they had in Superquinn was monk-fish, salmon or sea-bass. I’ve never cooked monkfish so I picked up 2 lovely tails and made a fabulous stew, it was so tasty and full of flavour and it’s going to be on my menu for the future.

what you need:

2 monk-fish tails(sorry I don’t remember the weight)

1 carrot

1 celery stick

1 onion

1 clove garlic

200g cherry tomatoes

selection of herbs – SQ do a a fish herb mix which I used along with some basil. You could use sage, oregano etc.

125ml white wine

350ml veg stock

olive oil

sea salt and black pepper

1 kg potatoes cut into chunks. I cook my potatoes seperately and then add them at the end, I’m sure you can do it all together but sometimes me and potatoes don’t get on:)

what to do:

chop your onions and garlic, heat some olive oil in a casserole dish or pot and cook your onions and garlic until soft but not coloured:

chop your carrot and celery into very small pieces:

add your celery, carrot and herbs to your onions and cook over a low heat for about 10 mins until softened:

chop your tomatoes and cut up your monkfish into large chunks:

add your monkfish to the pot and season:

 cook the fish for about 5-7 mins turning frequently:

add the tomatoes, wine, basil, lemon and stock and season again:

put the lid on your pot and leave to simmer over a low heat for about 15 mins until the fish is cooked:

add your potatoes:

serve and enjoy the praise:

buon appetito!