Pasta, halloumi and other recipes to try if you’re sick of Christmas turkey

I love that so many who have never cooked before have discovered the joy of cooking and experimenting in the kitchen during the lockdowns enforced on us during the Covid 19 pandemic.

Several of the ‘born again’ cooks I’ve spoken to are messianic about the therapeutic value of the experience and how amazed they are to find themselves actually feeling excited about getting into the kitchen and the delight they get from the reaction of their family to each new home-made dish. This experience has definitely heightened awareness of the importance of passing on each newly-learned skill to the next generation.

We surely need all these little highlights to enhance the quality of our lives at any time but even more so during these tumultuous and, for many, heart-breaking times.

So I thought I’d share five titles of new cookbooks to use up those Christmas book tokens and gift vouchers. Alternatively order the title that appeals to you online but I urge you to buy directly from your local book shops or from Kenny’s in Galway (kennys.ie) who have a huge list of titles and are super-efficient and are in many cases cheaper than the well-known international companies — and plus your order will support an Irish firm.

Home Cookery Year

from Claire Thompson, published by Quadrille is definitely worth having in your repertoire. You may even want to buy two copies: one to keep and another to gift. I found it incredibly difficult to choose just a couple of recipes. It’s divided into individual seasonal chapters, focusing on

• Midweek dishes on a budget,
• From the Larder.
• Salads as light lunches or
• Side dishes,
• Treat yourself,
• Leisurely Weekend cooking and Celebration feasts

You may not have heard of Claire before but, she writes regularly for The Telegraph, BBC Good Food and Olive Magazines and does quite a bit of media work. Follow her on Instagram @5oclockapron for a daily snapshot of the food she cooks at home. In the Winter chapter alone I picked out about 15 recipes that I would love to cook. I chose Buttermilk Fried Cauliflower with Jalapeno & Lime dressing and Croque Monsieur Bread & Butter Pudding to share because I thought they could add to your repertoire of delicious ways to use up Christmas leftovers. See next week’s column for more ideas….

As Irish Examiner Weekend readers will know, delicious home cooking has always been the most important focus for me and interestingly this year many of the books published have focussed on comforting dishes to nourish and feed our precious family and friends.

Clodagh’s Weeknight Kitchen

What a force of nature Clodagh McKenna has become, and always was, ever since I’ve known her, when she was a student here at Ballymaloe Cookery School in 2000. She then went on to then work alongside Myrtle Allen in Ballymaloe House kitchens, sold paté at the Farmers Markets in Midleton every Saturday, presented several TV series, wrote eight bestselling cookbooks, while running several restaurant. All the while oozing energy and passion for food. Wow. More recently, her daily instagram live has almost 100K followers — plus can this girl dance! and she keeps hens.

For me, one of the most meaningful books of the year is A Taste of Home. 100% of the proceeds from the sales of this really beautiful book go to support the work of The Passage, a British charity which for more than 40 years has helped thousands of homeless people off the streets for good — many of them Irish. During 2020 their work was made even more challenging due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The original book concept was created by Kyle Cathie, my long time friend and publisher of many years, now retired. It’s packed with gorgeous recipes donated and mindfully chosen by cooks and chefs from all over the world. So many interesting ideas to try.

Always Home

Another of my favourite books of the year, an endearing and enchantingly written memoir by Fanny Singer about growing up as the daughter of the renowned chef and founder of Chez Panise, Alice Waters. A story of food, family and the need for beauty in all aspects of life — what could be more appealing during these uncertain times. A charmed childhood for sure, beautifully written and peppered with recipes for many of her beloved childhood foods, published by Orion Publishing. The recipes in Always Home are written in prose interwoven with stories so I haven’t included them in this article.

The Happy Health Plan

Just in — yet another cracker from the two handsome chaps from Greystones, David and Stephen Flynn. Simple and tasty plant-based food to nourish your body inside and out.

Buttermilk Fried Cauliflower with Jalapeno & Lime dressing

(From Home Cookery Year by Claire Thompson and published by Quadrille)

• 1 cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
• 400ml (14fl oz) buttermilk (or use natural yoghurt)
• 1 small clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1-2 jalapeno chillies, roughly chopped
• 1 lime (or 2 if your limes aren’t especially juicy), halved
• 1 small bunch of coriander (cilantro), leaves picked and roughly chopped
• ½ – 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
• ½ tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 100g (3 ½ oz) self-raising flour
• 50g (1 ¾ oz) cornflour (cornstarch)

• Bring a large pan of well-salted water to a boil. Add the cauliflower florets and boil for 2 minutes, until just tender, then drain well and allow to cool a little.
• In the meantime, blend half the buttermilk with the garlic, chilli, salt to taste, juice from half the lime and all the coriander to make a smooth dressing and put to one side.
• Mix the remaining buttermilk with the chilli powder, cumin and a ½ teaspoon of salt, then mix the drained cauliflowers florets into the buttermilk mixture until fully coated.
• In a separate bowl, mix the flour and cornflour (cornstarch) together with a big pinch of salt.
• Coat the cauliflower in the flour mixture and place on a baking tray so that the pieces aren’t touching each other. Pour at least 3cm (1 ¼”) of oil into a wide, deep frying pan and heat to 180°C/350°F. The oil is ready for frying when you drop in a piece of cauliflower and it sizzles and floats to the surface immediately.
• Working in batches of about 6 – 8 pieces at a time, fry the cauliflower florets for a few minutes, or until golden on all sides. Remove each batch with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on paper towels while you fry the remainder. Season well with salt.
• Serve the fried cauliflower immediately along with the dressing and with the remaining half of the lime cut into wedges for squeezing over.

Spiced Chicken & Chickpea Curry

(From Clodagh’s Midweek Kitchen by Clodagh McKenna and published by Kyle Books)

serves 6

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 bone-in chicken legs (thigh and drumstick), skin on
• 2 large onions, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1½ tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 400g (14oz) can chickpeas,
• drained and rinsed
• 470ml (17fl oz) chicken
• stock
• 150g (5½oz) baby spinach
• sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

To Serve

• 60g (2¼oz) Greek yogurt
• 60g (2¼oz) flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• brown rice (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/gas mark 3.
• Place an ovenproof casserole dish or a large saucepan over a medium heat and warm for 30 seconds. Pour in the olive oil. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown the chicken pieces for about five minutes until they are golden brown on all sides. Then transfer to a plate.
• Add the onions to the casserole, adding more olive oil if necessary. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes until the onions are soft and golden brown.
• Stir in the garlic, ginger and spices, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant. Add the chickpeas and the chicken stock. Return the chicken pieces and their juices to the casserole. Bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to the oven to cook for 45–55 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
• Remove the casserole from the oven and place over a low heat, then stir in the spinach which should only take a minute to wilt. Transfer the curry to a large, deep platter, serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt, some flat-leaf parsley and rice, if you wish.

Harvest Salad with Kale, Apple, Beetroot & Grilled Halloumi

(From Clodagh’s Midweek Kitchen by Clodagh McKenna and published by Kyle Books)

serves 2

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and
• cut into chunks
• 1½ tablespoons olive oil
• 50g (1¾oz) kale, chopped
• 100g (3½oz) halloumi, sliced
• 1 apple, quartered, cored and grated
• 1 beetroot, cooked, peeled and grated
• 160g (5¾oz) cooked wild rice
• 50g (1¾oz) whole almonds,
• toasted and chopped
• sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons balsamic
• vinegar
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin
• olive oil
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
• Put the sweet potato chunks in a roasting tin, toss with ½ tablespoon of the
• olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes.
• While the potato chunks are roasting, steam the kale for 2 minutes, then drain and roughly chop. Set aside.
• Place a griddle or frying pan over a medium heat, add the remaining
• tablespoon of the olive oil and fry the halloumi for 2 minutes on each side.
• Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
• Place the apple, beetroot, roast sweet potato chunks, kale and rice in a large serving bowl. Toss with the dressing, season with salt and pepper, top with the grilled halloumi and scatter over the almonds to serve.

Claudia Roden’s Pasta with Minced Lamb and Yoghurt Sauce

(From A Taste of Home compiled by Kyle Cathie)

Serves 4

• This interpretation of manti, a Turkish meat-stuffed pasta (like large tortellini) with a yoghurt sauce, is a deconstruction of one of the most sophisticated and refined of Middle Eastern dishes that was developed in the palaces of Ottoman Sultans in Constantinople — now Istanbul.
• In a large frying pan, fry the onion in the oil over a medium-low heat, stirring often for about 15 minutes, until very soft and lightly coloured.
• Add the minced lamb, keep crushing it with a fork and turning it over until it changes colour.
• Add salt and pepper, the cinnamon and allspice and the pomegranate molasses, and cook for 5 minutes more. Then add about 150ml water and cook for 5 minutes, until much of the liquid is absorbed and the meat is very soft.
• At the same time cook the pappardelle in salted boiling water until al dente, drain and pour into a serving dish.
• Stir the parsley into the minced meat and mix with the pasta. Beat the yoghurt with the garlic and a little salt and pour over the dish.
• Mix the chilli pepper with the melted butter and drizzle this over the top.

Veggie Pot Noodle with Miso

(From The Happy Healthy Plan by David & Stephen Flynn, Published by Penguin Books)

Serves 1

• 10g carrot
• 2 spring onions
• ¼ fresh red chilli
• 50g wholemeal noodles or brown rice noodles
• ½ teaspoon miso
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
• 25g frozen peas
• 25g baby spinach
• Zest and juice of ½ a lime
• 1 teaspoon tamari / soy sauce

To Serve

• Toasted sesame seeds
• Pickled ginger

• Finely grate the carrot and slice the spring onions. Finely dice the red chilli (include the seeds if you like it spicy, or leave them out if you prefer it milder). Peel and grate the fresh ginger. Put the noodles into a large jar, along with the veg stock, miso and the rest of the ingredients.
• When you are ready to eat, fill and boil the kettle. Once boiled, pour boiling water into the jar until everything is covered and leave it to sit for 15 minutes.
• Serve with toasted sesame seeds and pickled ginger.

Linda Tubby’s Fudgy Chocolate Cake

(From A Taste of Home compiled by Kyle Cathie)

• 150g 75% plain dark chocolate
• 85g salted butter
• 100g ground almonds
• 3 large eggs
• 85g golden caster sugar
• Large pinch of cream of tartar
• Icing sugar or cocoa to dust (optional)

This flourless chocolate cake uses whisked egg whites to create a meringue and provide volume and to give a light texture. You will need a 20cm springform tin, greased and fully lined with baking parchment.

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4.
• Break the chocolate into a medium-sized bowl. Cut the butter into chunks and add to the bowl. Sit the bowl over a small pan of just-simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Melt the chocolate and butter together for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir to melt completely. Mix in the almonds and set aside.
• Separate the eggs into two large bowls and had half the sugar to the yolks. Add the cream of tartar to the whites and whisk until soft peaks form. Gradually add the rest of the sugar, whisking between each addition to create a stiff meringue.
• Without washing the beaters whisk the yolks and sugar together until creamy and the whisk leaves a trail. Fold in the chocolate almond mixture and mix well to combine. Gently fold in the meringue and keep folding until the mixture is even in colour.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared springform tin and bake for 25 – 30 min until risen. It will still be quite soft in the middle but it firms up as it cools. When cold, if wished, dust with icing sugar or cocoa to serve.

Hot Tips

Chocolate

The Chocolate Shop in the English Market has a fantastic selection of chocolate bars as well as some sublime chocolates — You wouldn’t be surprise to find this selection in London, Paris or Manhatten. Look out for Menakao, Lorge from Kenmare, Amedei from Tuscany, Wilkies Organic bean to bar from Midleton, Marou from Vietnam, Friis Holm from Denmark. Vegans may want to seek out Solkiki. And there’s lots more — it’s like an Aladdin’s Cave of chocolate.

chocolate.ie

New Season Extra Virgin Olive Oil has just arrived

Glistening bottles of freshly-pressed Capezzana from Tuscany have just arrived at the Ballymaloe Cookery School Farm Shop plus Mani and Lia from Greece, Morgenster from South Africa, Ravida Castelines, Frescobaldi, Laudemio, and Colonna all from Italy. And Sindyanna of Galilee, a Jewish/Arab collaboration run by inspirational women. A fantastic present for a friend who knows the magic of drizzling a superb cold-pressed olive oil over a simple dish but may not want to treat themselves. Open 9.30am-5.30pm Monday – Saturday, just outside the village of Shanagarry. Call 021 4646785 for more info.