Roast root vegetable soup with Harissa

Promised to post this a while back and have only just managed to get time!
Oh the joys of being self employed!!!!

This soup is a firm favourite at the cookery school and is also nice and healthy.

It will last around 3 days in your fridge and also freezes well.

Happy cooking!

Roast root vegetable soup

Serves 4-6

 

1.4 litres Vegetable Stock or water      
 3 Large Carrots, peeled and chopped
1 Large red Onion, chopped                         
 2 large parsnips, peeled, and chopped
2  Cloves Garlic, crushed                    
 ¼ Turnip, peeled and cut into small chunks
3   tbsp Olive Oil                                  
1/2 tbsp coriander seed
1/2 tbsp Cumin Seeds             
1 tsp of dried mixed herbs
Salt and Pepper, to taste                      
 Crème friache mixed with a little Harissa for garnish                                   

1. Pre-heat oven to 180c
2. Place all of the vegetables into a bowl and add the oil, cumin, coriander, dried herbs, salt and pepper.
3. Toss well to coat the vegetables
4. Place in a roasting tray and roast uncovered for 30 minutes.
5. Place the vegetables into a large saucepan and add the vegetable stock or water
6. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are fully cooked.
7. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
8. Blend the soup until smooth.
9. Return to the saucepan, season to taste and heat. Add a little extra stock or water if the soup is to thick.
10. Top with the Harissa creme friache and serve.

The perfect Valentines meal

Ok guys, so you are looking to gain brownie points and save a fortune by cooking this Valentines day.

Below is recipes from my regular cooking slot on Radio Kerry.

One thing I would say is when it comes to oysters, you need to be sure that your partner likes them. If it is your the first time you have cooked for them and you serve them oysters, they may not like them. This means they could have the opposite effect on what you planned!!!

Enjoy the recipes everybody!

Happy cooking!!

I think that Valentines dining should be about sharing, so some of my recipes are all about dipping, sharing, and nibbling on tasty foods.

 Preparation is the key to cooking a stress free meal, so remember fail to prepare and prepare to fail.

Remember less stress and more seduction!!!

To start……

 

With so many great farmers market around now, there is a great selection of foods that can be used as Tapas and finger type food.

Don’t forget to include a few aphrodisiac items such as avocado, prawns or oysters!!!

 

I love to do a selection of Tapas and anti pasta style foods listed below. Serve them on a large bread board in the middle of the table and share.

 Parma ham
Salami and cured meats
Smoked salmon
Mini prawn cocktails served in shot glasses (see recipe below)
Oysters
Olives
Tapenade
Pesto
Bread sticks
Crusty bread
Roasted peppers
Pate
Guacamole with nacho chips

 

Mini prawn cocktails

 

 Makes 2 x 2 ounce shot glasses

 3 tbsp finely chopped baby gem or Cos lettuce
60g cooked shrimps (frozen shrimps are fine)
3 tbsp mayonnaise
½ tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp lemon juice
A small dash of Tabasco sauce
2 tsp finely chopped apple

1. Mix together the mayonnaise, ketchup, lemon juice, and mayonnaise.
2. Season with a little salt and pepper.
3. Place the lettuce in the shot glasses, and top with the apple.
4. Top with the shrimps and then the sauce.
5. Serve with brown soda bread.

 Beef stroganoff

You can make the beef stroganoff a day in advance and then reheat on the evening.

Serve with rice or noodles.

Serves 4

1 tbsp olive or sunflower oil                           1 large onion, sliced
500g striploin or sirloin steak                          2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp paprika, plus extra for sprinkling          250g button mushrooms, sliced
150ml beef or chicken stock                           2 tbsp white wine vinegar
200ml ml cream                                               2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
25g butter

1. Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan.
2. Cook the sliced onion for 5 minutes until softened. Meanwhile cut the beef into thin strips. Season the flour with salt, pepper and paprika, then toss in the beef to coat lightly, shaking off any excess.
3. Add the beef to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until starting to brown.
4. Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Pour in the stock and vinegar, bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the cream, mustard  and parsley and cook gently for 2-4 minute.

6. Spoon the stroganoff on to a bed of rice or noodles and sprinkle with a little extra paprika.

Classic Champagne Cocktail

1 sugar lump                            Dash angostura bitters
½ measure brandy                   Champagne

1. Place a sugar lump into each Champagne flute. Add angostura bitters.
2. Add brandy and top with champagne.

 

 

Chocolate and honeycomb dipped strawberries

Serve these with you tea or coffee at the end of the meal or leave a bowl beside the bed with a champagne cocktail!!!

Makes 8 strawberriesServe these with coffee at the end of the meal. Or leave a bowl of them beside the bed with a glass of champagne or a champagne cocktail.

 

 

8 strawberries                                      20g of good quality dark, milk or white chocolate

½ a Crunchie bar

1. Melt the chocolate in a heat proof bowl sitting over a pan of simmering water. Do not over heat
2. Once melted remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly
3. Wash the strawberries and dry well.
4. Put the Crunchie bar in a freezer bag or wrap in a tea towel. Smash with a rolling pin to coarlsey crush.
5. Add the Crunchie bar to the chocolate and stir through.
6. Dip the strawberries in the chocolate so that ¾ of them is coated.
7. Lay the strawberries on a sheet of baking parchment paper and place in the fridge for the chocolate to set.

 Chocolate and strawberry fondue

Fondue is the classic sharing dish and this sweet version is guaranteed to hit the spot.

You don’t need a fondue pot to serve this, just have the chocolate in a bowl.

Try adding a little Baileys to the melted chocolate for an added kick!

400g dark chocolate (remember the higher the cocoa % the darker it is)
85g unsalted butter
260ml double cream
250ml milk
1 bag of marshmallows
1 punnet of Strawberries cut in half

1. Put the chocolate, butter, cream and milk into a saucepan, then heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the sauce is smooth.

2. Thread marshmallows and strawberries onto skewers, and dip into the chocolate.

 

 

Don’t forget to join our facebook page,  www.facebook.com/justcookingkerry for videos of easy to prepare recipes.

Thai fish cakes (Or Thod Mun Pla as they say in Thai!)

I had my first atttempt at food photography yesterday and decided to use Thai fish cakes as the dish to shoot.

I posted them on facebook to see what people thought of them and got some great feed back.
Not only did people like the photos, but it also got a few mouths watering!
So I have decided to share the recipe with you lucky readers!!

You can spice these up as much as you like by adding more chilli or some Thai red chilli paste.
The cucmber pickle will last for about a week in your fridge.

Happy cooking!

Thai Fish cakes (Thod Mun Pla)

These little fish cakes make a great starter, main course or pre dinner nibble.

Serve with sweet chilli sauce

Serves 4 as a starter

400g white fish fillets
1-2 red chillies, de-seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
1 garlic clove, chopped
2-3 tablespoons chopped corriander
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 stalk of lemon grass, white part only, finley chopped
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp coconut milk
1 egg beaten
Ground nut or sunflower oil for frying 

For the Thai cucumber salad

1 cucumber peeled, halved lengthways and de-seeded
35g caster sugar
50ml rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1  chilli,deseeded and finely diced
1/4 of a red onion. finely chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh corriander
40g unsalted peanuts, chopped
1/2 tbsp fish sauce

 

1. First make the cucumber pickle. Place the sugar and vinegar into a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Allow to boil and let the sugar dissolve. Once the sugar has dissolved remove from the heat and allow to cool fully.
2. Once cooled add the corriander, red onion, fish sauce and chilli. Slice the cucumber into thin slices and toss through the vinegar mix, Add the peanuts and set aside.
3. Cut the fish into small pieces. Place the pepper, chillies, coriander, spring onions, garlic, lemongrass, cocnut milk, soy sauce and fish sauce into a food processor and blend to a paste.
4. Add the fish pieces and egg to the paste and blend well.
5. Shape the mix into small cakes and place on a tray lined with baking parchment.
6. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
7. When ready to cook half -fill a heavy-based frying pan with the oil and heat over a medium to high heat.
8.  Carefully place the fish cakes into the hot oil. Fry until crisp and brown, turning once during cooking. Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper. You may have to do this in batches.
9. Serve with the cucumber pickle and sweet chilli dipping sauce.

Good mood food!

I was chatting to a nutritional therapist friend of mine today and we got on to the subject of good mood food and healthy eating.

Now we all know that comfort food makes us feel good, but the comfort food we consume and love is quite often unhealthy! We might feel great after indulging on a sticky toffee pudding but is it really doing us any good?

I recently asked fans of our facebook page what was there favourite comfort food or good mood food was, and the old reliables showed up. Sticky toffee pudding, chocolate eclairs etc….. But having said that they weren’t all sweet cream laden desserts. Macaroni cheese even came in a couple of times, which i have to say when made correctly is lovely. I have actually done a video of macaroni cheese and will post it on here soon.

For me Risotto is a great comfort food and not too unhealthy if you limit the amount of butter and parmesan you use!

So “good mood food” doesn’t have to be unhealthy!

Now with the new year here, like myself, many people have vowed to eat healthier so it got me thinking about healthy comfort and good mood food.

We are hearing more and more that we are what we eat, and there is no doubt that food can effect how we feel mentally.

 So on that my next few blogs are going to dedicated to this with some recipes and information on certain foods and how they effect are mental and physical health.

Happy cooking!

A night at our “Chef’s table”

One evevning that is very popular at Just cooking is our chef’s table evevnings!

A seven course tasting menu with the recipes to take away.

It is an evevning that allows me to show off when it comes to cooking, and takes me back to my restaurant and hotel days!

Recently we had a group (Thanks Sean and Michelle) celebrating a birthday here and they set up a camera to take a picture every 5 seconds.

Sean then edited it and speeded it up and this is what you end up with it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GpXQABEudk

Hope it gives you an insight into what goes on at Just cooking’s Chef’s table!

And it isn’t that rushed on an evevning with us.

Happy cooking!

Do you ever complain when you eat out?

As a chef, one of the questions I get asked frequently is “Do you ever complain when in a restaurant?”

Because I am a chef, people seem to think that I am hard to please when it comes to food, and that when eating out I am very critical. This to be honest is a long way from the truth!

I have my favourite restaurants, some fine dining & others for when you fancy a quick bite on a Sunday.

And then there is restaurants that I have been to one time, had a bad meal and wouldn’t step a foot in again.

I like food that is cooked with care and delivers what it says on the menu! Surley not too much to ask?

But the one thing I really like when I eat out is consisitancy. If I go out on a Saturday night and there is 100 people eating or a Monday night and there is 4 people eating, I expect the same standard of food.

Now I know this can be a tough task, but from working in some of the world’s top hotels and restaurants, I also know that it can be done.

I have worked on cruise ships where chefs are producing food for 2,300 people, 24 hours a day, in some very rough Atlantic seas and it has been consistent. So why is it so hard for a small 60 cover retaurant?

I was in a restaurant a few years ago and ordered a medium rare steak. It was a Thursday night and there was around 16 people in the restaurant. The chef was sitting at the bar, in his uniform with his buddies, leaving the kitchen in the hands of his team.

Now my steak came (at a price of €28.00) and was so well done it looked like a peice of charcoal (and tasted the same)!

I complained and the steak was taken back to the kitchen, whilst the chef still sat at the bar, unaware of what had happened.

Another steak was cooked and came back still over cooked! At this stage I was so hungry I eat it!

What really p****d me of was the fact that the kitchen had no consistancy whilst the chef wasn’t in the kitchen, and as a head chef he should ensure that the same standard of food goes out even if he isn’t in the kitchen! It is what he is paid to do! Train the staff & manage the kitchen!

Now I don’t want to rant too much about this, but a head chef is paid a good wage to ensure the food goes out to a consistant standard always!

My favourite local restaurant for a special night out, is Chapter 40 in Killarney. I eat there on a regular basis (fantastic value early bird menu) and everytime the food is 100%.

I could name my least favourite eating places but that wouldn’t be fair!

The type of restaurants I don’t go back to, do one thing consistantly, and that is serve up pretty poor food everytime I have been there.

So do I complain, only when i feel it is justified, which thankfully isn’t that often!

Oh and I do hate bad sevice also! But that is for another blog!!

Happy cooking!

Braised red cabbage

 

Before we get on to the tasty stuff, congratulations to Maura Macdonald who won our competition.We look forward to seeing Maura and 7 of her friends, when they have their night at the just cooking chef’s table.

So now onto the recipe. This has to be one of my favourite Winter dishes.

Great with roast Turkey, duck, goose or game and it is also good served cold with cold meats or pate.

If you want to add a little extra twist to it, throw in some grated apple and sultanas once the cabbge is half cooked!

Hard to beleive that Christmas is nearly here again, but at least we get a chance to stuff oursleves with fine food and wine!

Happy cooking!

Braised red cabbage

½  head of red cabbage            400ml fresh orange juice

25g  brown sugar                     ½  cinnamon stick

 100ml red wine                       3 tbsp balsamic vinegar               

Salt and pepper                       2 tablespoons of red currant jelly

 

 1. Cut the red cabbage into 1/4s through the stalk.

 2. Remove the first layer of tough outer leaves and then with a small knife remove the core from each ¼.

 3.  Finely shred the cabbage as finely as possible.

 4.  Place the cabbage in a large saucepan and add the orange juice, brown sugar,   balsamic vinegar and wine.

 5. Cover with a disc of grease proof paper and bring to the boil.

 6. Reduce to a slow simmer and cook for 50mins – 1 hour or until the cabbage is soft and has absorbed all the liquid.

7. Stir in the red currant jelly whilst the cabbage is hot, season with salt and pepper and serve.

 

It is competition time!

We are celebrating our birthday at Just cooking, and have decided to give away a great prize.

Unlike so many competitons, we are not going to be asking that you become a fan of our facebook page,  to be in with a chance of winning.We are just giving this away to help and banish your Winter blues!

The prize is a night at the Just cooking Chef’s table for you and 7 of your friends in January.

Your evevning wil start with Champagne and then you will enjoy a seven course tasting menu of 5 star food! It is like having your personal chef for the night!

To be in with a chance to win you have to let us know why you deserve a night at our Chef’s table. You can post it here on our blog, or our facebook page and what we judge as the best reason will be the winner!

So try and think original guys, maybe food related reasons, maybe recipes, videos or pictures etc……

The competition closes on the 9th Novemember. 

Good luck to you all

Oh and if you want to subscribe to our blog please feel free to.!

Happy cooking!!!!

Chocolate chip cookies

This time of year, I always make a batch of cookie dough for the freezer. They are ideal to have for when unexpected guests turn up over Christmas!

So here is a video of how to make these tasty little treats!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0AhtRoATa4

Happy cooking¬

Brussle sprouts. Do you love or hate them?

I spotted the first brussel sprouts the other day and got me asking the question, do you love them or hate them?

And whatever your answer, one thing for sure is no Christmas lunch should be without them!

The first hotel I ever worked in (at the tender age of 16) used to use sacks and sacks of them on  Christmas party nights. I would be in the kitchen till 1 in the morning preparing them and all the commis chef’s would often take a bag each on their 2 hour afternoon break and prep them in the canteen whilst watching telly!

So really I should hate them, but I am actually quite fond of them.

The biggest mistake people make with brussel sprouts is that they over cook them. This causes the sprouts to become brown, soft and tasteless.

Once the sprouts are cooked, toss them in a pan with some butter and toasted chestnuts or sesame seeds, season with salt and pepper and finish with plenty of chopped flat parsley.

You could also add some crispy bacon lardons or pancetta to them.

A dollop of crème friache mixed with toasted almonds also finishes the tasty little sprouts superbly.

 

Brussel sprout puree is rather good with rabit. Cook the sprouts until soft and then liquidize until smooth with a little butter, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Place the puree in a bowl sitting over a bowl of ice. This will cool the puree quickly, ensuring that it stays green.

 Preparing and cooking the sprouts

 Prepare the sprouts by removing the tough stalk and then a few of the outer leaves.

Make a cross in the base using a sharp knife. Cut about a ¼ of the ways through the sprout.

Give the sprouts a good wash before cooking.

To cook the sprouts, place them in a large pan of rapidly boiling water with a good pinch of salt.

Boil rapidly until just cooked (approx 4 minutes).

Ensure your water is boiling before you add the sprouts.

 Buying sprouts

The smaller the sprout, the less bitter it will be.

They should be firm, un-bruised and not frost bitten.

Store them in the fridge until you are ready to use them.

 Brussel sprouts with bacon and almond crème friache.

 Serves 4

1 kg brussel sprouts                                        6 rashers of streaky bacon, cut into thin strips

25 g butter                                                          4 tbsp flaked almonds, toasted

10 tbsp crème friache                                    salt and pepper 

1. In a small bowl, mix together the crème friache and toasted almonds.
2. Cook the as described above.
3. Whilst the sprouts are cooking, heat a frying pan over a high heat and fry the bacon until crispy.
4. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on kitchen paper. Wipe out the frying pan and return to a medium heat.
5. Drain the sprouts really well in a colander.
6.  Add the butter to the pan and melt.
7. Add the sprouts and bacon to the pan.
8. Toss well and season with salt and pepper.
9. Serve in a bowl and top with the almond crème friache.