Chef Jeeny Malteese – multicultural demo
AFRICAN JOLLOF RICE + CHICKEN + DODO (FRIED PLANTAIN) – Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
6 cans tomatoes
3 large mild onions
4 reb bell peppers
3 scotch bonnet peppers
½ carton of soft chicken laps (thighs) (approx 6-8 pieces)
1.5 bags of long grain rice (1kg bag)
½ bag of knorr chicken cubes (African type)
1 small jar of curry powder
1 small jar of thyme
1 small jar of black pepper powder
1 small jar of white pepper powder
2 litres of vegetable oil
4 ripe plantains (African shop)
Method - JOLLOF RICE
First blend the red bell peppers, tomatoes, scotch bonnet pepper and onion to a smooth paste and set aside.
Pour a little cooking oil into a large pot, place on the hob on medium heat, add half sliced onion into it and let it fry till fragrant.
Add the blended pepper, tomatoes paste, blended onion, knorr chicken cubes, curry powder, teaspoons of thyme powder, bay leaves, cover and let it fry till oil begins to float to the top. This should take 5 minutes.
Now add the washed rice….
Cover and let it cook till the rice softens. Do stir every now and then with a WOODEN spoon; this prevents clumps and doesn’t break the rice up. Add water as you go, be careful not to add too much. Jollof rice needs steam to cook and not water, this is what gives it the much loved smokey flavour.
..switch off the heat and leave to steam with the residual heat for another minute or two and the Jollof Rice is ready.
Method - GRILLED CHICKEN
1. Preheat convection oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Rub chicken laps on both sides with salt and seasoning (blended pepper, tomatoes paste, blended onion, knorr chicken cubes, curry powder, teaspoons of white pepper powder, teaspoons of black pepper powder, teaspoons of thyme powder) . Place chicken in a broiler pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. ...
4. Remove chicken from pan and cook in oil and pepper for 20 minutes.
Method - FRIED PLANTAIN
Preheat oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium high heat. Peel the plantains and cut in diagonal slices, Fry the pieces until golden brown and tender.
Chef Noel McMeel, Lough Erne Resort
Chiang Mai Beef Salad
I love this salad. So simple and tastes amazing
Serves 4
Ingredients
Serves 4
Ingredients
250g Sirloin Beef (medium rare roasted or grilled, thinly sliced
3 Tsp Fish Sauce
3 Tsp Lime Juice
1 each Green & red Chillies (finely chopped)
½ Tsp Pickled Ginger
½ Tsp Honey
½ Tsp Castor Sugar
3 Shallots (thinly sliced)
2 Cucumber (cut in ½ lengthways and thinly sliced)
1 Tomato (cut in ½ remove the seeds and thinly slice lengthways)
½ Celery (roughly chopped)
2 Spring Onions (thinly sliced)
Small handful of coriander leaves
Method
Put the fish sauce, lime juice, chilies, palm sugar and sugar into a bowl and mix together. Add the beef and stir well so that the beef is well covered in the sauce.
Add the shallots and mix together. Then add the cucumber and the tomato and mix again. Finally add the Chinese celery, spring onions and coriander leaves.
Mix together and serve immediately.
Rhubarb Cranachan
Cranachan is a traditional Scottish Irish dessert, this adaptation is perfect for spring, using garden rhubarb for a Rhubarb Cranachan
There are a few things to keep in mind when making this dessert. Anytime you use Rhubarb, there is no way to know, without tasting, the exact amount of sugar needed. So start with the amount given in the recipe but add more sugar, if necessary.
This beautiful Dessert to make and it's full of flavour. You can use any soft fruit really, but rhubarb is in season and goes rather well with a Local Irish Whiskey.
Serves 2-3 persons
Ingredients
300g rhubarb, trimmed, washed and chopped into rough 1cm chunks
100g caster sugar
For the fool
2-3tbsp single malt whisky
60g medium oatmeal, lightly toasted
3tbsp clear honey
400ml double cream
Method
1. To make the compote, put the rhubarb and sugar in a heavy-based saucepan and cook on a low heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring every so often until the rhubarb is tender. Remove from the heat and leave to cool, then refrigerate for an hour.
2. To serve, whip the cream not too stiffly, then add the whiskey and honey and continue mixing until it thickens again. Then taste and add a little more of the Drambuie if you wish.
3. Carefully fold half of the compote and two-thirds of the oats into the cream mixture and spoon into individual glasses or a serving dish and chill for at least an hour. Serve with the rest of the compote and oats on top of the fool.
Chef Brian McDermott
Mussels with Dry Cure Bacon
Mussels can be got outside the gym.
They are a great sharing middle of the table food experience, I’ve convinced non-seafood eating friends to try mussels this way and they are blown away by the flavour. I remember a group of 12-14 year olds I was teaching who clearly stated they did not eat Mussels yet when cooked at the side of the pier in Greencastle they devoured the lot
Serves 4-6
2kg Mussels
4 rashers dry cured bacon
1 small onion diced
3 cloves garlic crushed
50ml White Wine
1 Bay Leaf
150ml Cream
Pinch black pepper
Crusty Bread for dipping
Method:
Grill the bacon rashers until crispy and set aside. When cooled cut bacon into strips.
Wash the mussels in cold water and remove any open mussels.
In a large pot, place the mussels, garlic, bay leaf, onion & white wine. Cover with a lid. Place on the stove for 6 minutes. Shake the pot a couple of time throughout the cooking. The mussels should have all opened.
Add the cream, pepper and chopped parsley and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the strips of bacon.
Place in the middle of the table in the pot they were cooked in.
Serve with crusty bread to soak up the scrumptious sauce.
Summer Salad of Pork, Potatoes & Greens
Pork for me is one of the tastiest and most affordable meats available. This simple quick and tasty recipe is ideal for summer evenings
Serves 4
1 Pork Fillet
3 Sprigs of Thyme
Lemon Zest & Juice
60g Rapeseed Oil
8 Mint Leaves
Black Pepper
12 Baby Potatoes
Handful of Breen beans
100g Summer Peas
Handful of Spinach
1 Red Apple
Handful of Rocket Leaves
Method:
Trim and cut Pork fillet into 8 pieces and place ach piece between two sheets of greaseproof paper and baton out using wooden spoon until pork is thin as a 2-euro coin.
Using pestle and mortar grind lemon zest, thyme, mint leaves, pepper and oil. Spread half the dressing on top of flattened pork fillet and leave aside.
While Potatoes are cooking on a hot griddle pan cook the pork for 3 minutes on each side then leave aside to rest
Boil water and cook potatoes with skins on for approx 10 minutes or until just soft. In same pot cook the green beans and peas for 2 minutes. Drain water off and add warm potatoes and greens to a pan. Cut potatoes in halves. Add in chopped apples and spinach and warm all together. Add remaining dressing and toss greens and potatoes together with the rocket leaves
Serve the warm salad with the pork pieces and a drizzle of the juices from the pan.
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Triple Decker Summer Berry Cake
A great centre piece for any get together this summer. I've made this with Clarkes Irish Fruit grown here in Meath
Serves: 1 cake of 12 Portions
For the Sponge:
8 Quality Assured Eggs
275g Castor Sugar
275g Self-raising Flour
120g Butter Melted
Drop of Vanilla
To Decorate
400g Clarkes Strawberries
250g Clarkes Raspberries
250g Clarkes Blackberries
750g Cream
8 Mint Leaves
50g Icing Sugar to Dust
200g Clarkes Strawberry Jam
Method:
Pre-heat the oven 180° C. Prepare a 10’ Round cake tin by greasing with butter and lining with greaseproof paper.
To make the sponge place the eggs and sugar in an electric mixer. Whisk to create a light batter. Remove the mixer and sieve the flour and gently fold in the flour. Add the melted cold butter and vanilla essence, gently together. When combined add to the tin and bake for 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow cooling in the tin for 12 minutes then removing from the tin.
Whip the cream to a stiff consistency. Place some in a piping bag to use for decorating. Cut the sponge in 3 horizontally. Spread a layeor of jam on the first disc of sponge and a layer of whipped cream and follow this twice more for all three layer.
Spread a further layer of cream on top of last layer of sponge. Arrange fruits on top and pipe some cream swirls in between the fruit. Decorate with leaves and sprinkle with sieved icing sugar.