Monthly Archive for May, 2009

Clotted Cream

Published
by
Toasted Special
on May 17, 2009
in Miscellaneous and Sweet Stuff
. 3 Comments

M&S Clotted Cream

Fans of ‘afternoon tea’ will be pleased to hear that clotted cream is available to buy in Marks & Spencer. Good old Marks. This 150g packet cost €2.50. I’ve kept an eye out for clotted cream for years but none of the ‘Irish’ supermarkets stocked it. Get baking those scones!

Link: London Michelin Stars

Published
by
Toasted Special
on May 14, 2009
in Links and Restaurants
. 0 Comments

Found this post on Urban Path, listing the Michelin-starred restaurants in London for 2009. Some points of interest:

  • there is only one “3-star” restaurant in London, none other than “Restaurant Gordon Ramsay”. He’s more of a ’sleb and TV presenter these days but evidently he can still impress the judges.
  • there are only eight “2-star” establishments, which include some familiar names: Ducasse, Wareing, Roux and Robuchon.
  • there are thirty four  “1-star” restaurants including our very own Richard Corrigan. He’s listed here as being at Lindsay House, but he has since moved to plusher digs under a new name: “Corrigan’s Mayfair”. I also noticed he’s been included in the “British” section, not sure what he would think of that.

Irish Stew

Published
by
Toasted Special
on May 12, 2009
in Kitchen, Slow Cooking and Weekend Cooking
. 0 Comments

I roasted a shoulder of lamb recently and got it together to make an excellent stock from the bones, which I then put in the freezer for later use. Lamb stock has quite a strong flavour and is not as “all-purpose” as chicken or beef stock; it is generally used only in lamb dishes. The stock is well worth the effort and you can use it as a base for a delicious Irish stew.

Irish stew is the perfect example of how good quality ingredients can taste amazing when cooked very simply. Lamb, vegetables and a good stock can produce a magical flavour. Some purists might baulk at the idea of putting carrots and thyme in an Irish stew but they give a great flavour. Give it a try.

Irish Stew

Ingredients

  • 8 small lamb chops ( I used loin chops, you could use neck or gigot)
  • 6 medium sized potatoes, halved
  • 3 sticks celery, quartered
  • 3 large carrots, quartered
  • 750 ml lamb or chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp pearl barley
  • 1 tsp thyme leaves, finely chopped
  • salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Trim the excess fat from the chops. You can leave the chops whole, but I like to cut each chop into large pieces.
  2. Place all of the ingredients in a large cast-iron casserole or pot, then top up with water to just cover the meat and veggies. Season with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
  3. Cover the casserole, bring to a gentle simmer and leave for 1.5 - 2 hours. Check the seasoning and add some chopped fresh parsley.

Serves 4.

Irish Stew

Leftovers

If treated right, leftovers can be more impressive than the original meal. To the leftovers of this stew I added 500ml of hot vegetable stock and whizzed with a stick blender. I added some frozen peas, broad beans and some chopped flat-leaf parsley. The results were absolutely wicked.


Tagliatelle with Crème Fraîche, Lemon & Rocket

Published
by
Toasted Special
on May 8, 2009
in Entertaining, Kitchen and Mid-Week Meals
. 7 Comments

Tagliatelle with Creme Fraiche, Lemon & Rocket

I saw this recipe on Italian Foodies and it looked so super (and different) that I was determined to try it. I suffer from red sauce-itis, where out of habit I expect pasta to be coated with tomato or garlic, or a combination of both. So this was something entirely different for me. It tasted delicious - very light and fresh. I did take the liberty of adding a handful of toasted pine; Lors, I hope you approve of this deviation!

Check out the recipe yourself, the photos are as impressive as the dish tastes.