Bacon, Courgette and Cashel Blue Soup

Of all the saints’ days, St Patrick’s Day is the one that people tend to enjoy the most. Perhaps it’s all that lovely Guinness. But Ireland offers so much more than just the black velvet including wonderful meats, unusual cheeses, first-class seafood and mountains of potatoes.
Here is a selection of dishes which mix both contemporary and traditional ideas – and use the finest ingredients. They are quick and easy to prepare, allowing you more time to enjoy a glass of the black stuff or even a whiskey.

Beef in Guinness Stew
Serves four

1kg (2lbs) shoulder beef, cut into thin slices
2 tblsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 leeks, 2 carrots, 2 celery sticks, chopped
2 cloves garlic
250ml (½pt) well reduced beef stock
125ml (¼pt) Irish Stout
Salt and black pepper
50g (2oz) butter
75g (3oz) streaky bacon, diced
100g (4oz) wild mushrooms, if available, sliced
50g (2oz) small onions, peeled
25g (1oz) flour

Brown the meat and vegetables
Heat the oil in a large pan, brown the meat well. Remove to a pot.

Sauté the vegetables
Sauté the leeks, carrots and celery. Add to the meat plus the garlic.

Add stock and simmer
Pour in the stock and Irish Stout, season. Simmer gently for approx one and a half hours. Remove the meat from the pot.

Strain liquid
Strain the liquid. Discard the vegetables. Place the meat back in a clean pot, plus the liquid.

Sauté the bacon
Sauté the bacon, mushrooms and onions in the butter. Add to the pot. Reheat the lot.

Stir flour into sauce
Blend the flour with remaining butter. Stir it into the sauce, stirring well. Taste for seasoning. Serve in a deep dish with buttery mash – food for the gods!

Bacon, Courgette and Cashel Blue Soup
Serves four to six

A little olive oil
5-6 streaky rashers, chopped
1 onion or 2-3 shallots chopped
1-2 large courgettes, sliced
2-3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 litre (2pts) stock, homemade if possible
75g (3oz) Cashel Blue cheese, or Chetwynd Irish Blue, crumbled
125ml (¼pt) cream
Black pepper
2-3 tblsp parsley, finely chopped

Sauté the bacon
Sauté the bacon for a few minutes in a little oil. Remove a few pieces of bacon for final garnish. Add the onion, courgette (reserve some slices for final garnish), and potatoes. Cover the pan and allow to cook until the vegetables are soft.

Stir in the stock
Stir in the stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Process the soup
Process the soup. Return to the saucepan. Stir in the cheese and cream and just heat gently. Add the reserved bacon pieces and courgette slices for final garnish. Finish with lots of black pepper and parsley.

Two Amagh Apples with a Cooley Mountain Whiskey Sauce

1 red apple (John o’Gold)
1 green apple (Bramley)
15g (½oz) butter
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
15g (½oz) sugar
1 teasp honey

For the sauce
3 egg yolks
40g (1½oz) caster sugar
3 tblsp Irish whiskey
Poach the red apple
First poach the red apple: Put whole into a pan of simmering water and poach gently for six minutes; remove and leave until cool enough to handle.

Prepare whiskey sauce
Place the egg yolks, caster sugar and whiskey in a bowl set over a pan of hot water and whisk until pale and fluffy. (Take care not to overheat or the sauce will curdle). When it is thick and creamy, remove from the heat and keep warm until required.

To complete cooking the apples
Slice off and reserve the top of the red apple, then carefully scoop out and chop the flesh; remove the core and discard. Peel, quarter and core the green apple and cut into slices like orange segments. Melt the butter in a heated pan and sauté the apple segments in it briefly with the cinnamon, cloves, sugar and honey. Remove apple as it is cooked, discard the spices and reduce remaining liquid if necessary. (Alternatively, if there is not enough juice, work in a little cold butter and cream over low heat to make a sauce).

Serve the dish
Arrange the chopped red apple flesh in the bottom of its hollowed-out skin and arrange the segments neatly on top. Using a small Parisienne cutter, remove small balls from the reserved top of the red apple and arrange around the edge of the plate. Place the apple in the centre of a warm serving plate, pour the sauce from the pan around the edge. Finally, spoon over the reserved whiskey sauce, replace the top of the red apple to decorate, and serve.

Traditional Irish Breakfast
A special treat – serves four

3-4 streaky rashers, chopped
4-6 eggs
2 tblsp cream (optional)
Black pepper
25g (1oz) hard cheese eg: Regato, grated
1 tblsp basil or chives, chopped

Dry-fry the bacon
Cook the bacon in a non-stick dry pan until crispy. Meanwhile whisk the eggs in a bowl with the cream and a little black pepper. Add this to the crispy bacon and continue to scramble over a gentle heat. Just before it sets add the cheese and basil/chives and mix.