Taste of the Week. Ardsallagh Goat's Cheese - Phantom Pyramid

Taste of the Week.

Ardsallagh Goat's Cheese - Phantom Pyramid

The Ardsallagh Goats Cheese Phantom Pyramid, inspired by the French 'Pyramide de Pouligny', is made with Pasteurised Milk in East Cork.  It is a most delicious semi-soft cheese with an irresistible creamy texture inside and lightly ash-ed on the outside which develops a white bloomy rind. It is our Taste of the Week, bought from On The Pigs Back via Neighbourfood.

It is very versatile indeed, so you won't have to confine yourself to the usual beetroot combinations but don't neglect them either as the two are a classic combination and available in many restaurants. You could, for a change, try an Oven Roasted Beetroot Salad with Candied Walnuts, and Rocket leaves with this cheese.

It can be the main piece of many a salad and you'll see it served with thinly sliced pears. We tried it with those very pleasing Medjool dates (chopped) and it worked a treat, especially with Marques De Poley Oloroso Montilla-Moriles (O'Briens Wine).

Here's another simple one: the cheese, tomatoes thinly sliced, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle this, or indeed similar salads, with the Big Red Kitchen's Spiced Plum & Port Jam (I got mine from Roughty Fruity in English Market but it is widely available).

And another: the cheese, chopped Medjools, some sliced grapes, and add as much as you like of the Ballymaloe Cranberry and Mór Wild Berry Gin Sauce. Delicious, especially so with a glass of Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2021 (at O'Briens Wine).

Taste of the Week. O'Flynn's Mexican Chorizo Sausages

Taste of the Week

O'Flynn's Mexican Chorizo Sausages

Pure pork, pure Cork. That's O'Flynn's Mexican style fresh chorizo sausage, our Taste of the Week, made with chorizo, red wine and mixed herbs.This sausage has a minimum of 90% pork and is gluten free and is ideal for many recipe ideas. 

We added ours to a much used hearty Spanish Rice recipe and it worked a treat. The long-grain rice is cooked with vegetables (onion, pepper, frozen peas),  chopped canned tomatoes, chicken stock too. Turmeric gives it a warming colour these dull mid-winter days. The rice and chunks of the sausages are all cooked in the one pan.

It is not the only spicy sausage that O'Flynn's sell. An adjacent basket contained their Habanero & Green Chilli version. And if you are buying gourmet sandwiches from them, you may add a spicy sauce such as Tabasco or Sriracha.

More info on the widely available O'Flynn's Gourmet Sausages here.

On The Pig's Back. 'Cork Fayre with French Flair'

On The Pig's Back.'Cork Fayre with French Flair' 

Founded in 1992 by Isabelle Sheridan, On The Pig’s Back has a major presence in the Cork and indeed wider food scene, coupling the best of local produce with an undoubted French Flair - Isabelle is French - as is their motto.

No better way to put it to the test than visit the restaurant in Douglas for brunch or lunch. The menu illustrates the motto very well indeed with local produce from Ardsallagh Goats and Jack McCarthy Butchers often highlighted. It is an expansive menu and I for one could happily eat there everyday for a few weeks without repeating a dish.

When I sat down the other day, having had my covid certificate scanned and telephone number recorded, I had quite a bit of reading to do on the long menu. Found it hard enough to make up my mind but, in the end, went for the Croque Madam (no “e” in the Madam, must be a Cork spelling!). You’ll know there is also a Croque Monsieur but without the egg.

So I had Croque Madam on Arbutus Toasted Brioche, with On The Pigs Back Free-Range Glazed Ham, Emmental Cheese and Mornay topped with a Fried Free-Range Egg. Cost, including a small bowl of a superbly-dressed salad, was €12.90, Monsieur (less well endowed) comes in at a euro less. Money well spent I thought; there are pubs in the area who charge much the same for a lack-lustre roast of the day.

It was l’amour at first bite, the delicious ham, the yielding brioche, that super velvety mornay plus the crowning egg and then that mixed salad on the side adding its own texture and the occasional tarty bite of a thin slice of olive. Mornay is an offshoot of the well known Béchamel (widely regarded as one of the five major French sauces, a mother sauce from which others spring) and is distinguished by its cheese element. You get a lot in this dish for your €12.90!

Madame CL also had a choice to make and her pick is a variation on what has become a local classic over the years, beetroot and goats cheese. Full menu title: Oven Roasted Beetroot Salad with Candied Walnuts, Rocket leaves and Crumbled Ardsallagh Goats Cheese.

The description is a bit understated as this was another well executed and lovely dish, again for €12.90. Two different coloured beetroots featured, there was also a beetroot purée an a few beetroot crisps (probably from Joe’s Farm). Never a problem with that excellent Ardsallagh and those walnuts provided the sweetest bite.

The café and deli in Douglas produces a range of delicious food, supporting local food producers, and is also a busy spot for Artisan food shopping, lunch, food tastings and special events, as diverse as art exhibitions, concerts, plays, food festivals & much, much more. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates.

They are of course still going strong in the English Market, Isabelle’s original venture. There is no cafe here but you will find Farmhouse Cheeses, Charcuterie, Fresh Breads, Irish Artisan Food, and French Gourmet Food Specialities and more, including some of their own produce such as award-winning Pâté and Terrines.

Add in wines and their very large cheese business and you’ll see that this operation (retail and wholesale) has hugely expanded from that single stall back in the 90s. Check it out here at the website.

The Oliver Plunkett’s A Specials Kind Of Place

The Oliver Plunkett’s A Specials Kind Of Place

Be sure and keep an eye on the specials when you dine at the Oliver Plunkett, on the Cork street of the same name. And, yes, for this month, you will be dining on that street! There is quite a bit of shelter here and that came in handy as the evening we visited wasn't at all sunny. Yet we two for sure and most of the punters nearby seemed to thoroughly enjoying themselves and even a light mist later on did little to dampen spirits!

The Oliver Plunkett chef Fred Desormeaux is well-known for his fish dishes and when I saw tuna on the specials list, I knew I was on to a good thing. And so it proved. The Pan Fried Fresh Tuna & Prawns on warm baby potatoes and chorizo salad, with a Cherry sun blush tomato pesto was absolutely amazing, perhaps the best tuna I’ve ever tasted. Don’t think you’ll see this or its likes in many restaurant, not to mention bar, menus.

Tuna & Prawns

I ordered it medium, though Fred himself prefers it rare. It was flavoursome and juicy and so easy to slice. The salad was a highlight on its own, the prawns fresh and delicious. What a combination of flavour and texture. Go for it if you see it listed.

The Oliver Plunkett kitchen supports local and its fish comes from Pat O’Connell in the English Market who gets most of his from the boats that work out of Castletownbere. I had also started with the produce of the sea: Fresh Crab Roll (Fresh Crab, Lemon Mayonnaise, Pickled Cucumber, Salad Leaves, Roast Garlic Aioli). Another perfect combination, right down to the beautiful Brioche buns on which it was served!

Crab

CL was in the sea as well as we started, her choice the Panko Crumbed Atlantic Prawns with Mango & Sweet Chilli, Lime Coriander Mayo & Side Salad. Very happy with that though she had also eyed the special of Grilled Dublin Bay Prawns in Lemon and Garlic butter, with toasted Rosemary & Sea Salt Focaccia. 

And as we moved onto the mains, her final choice was between the recommended special of Roast Stuffed Chicken Supreme Black Pudding wrapped in streaky bacon, creamy mash served with Chicken jus and the regular Lamb Shawarma (Slow Cooked Spiced Shredded Lamb Shoulder in Buttermilk, on a Flat Bread with Hummus, Pickled Onion, Spicy Wedges, Mango & Sweet Chili Yoghurt). She picked the lamb and enjoyed the mix of flavours, again top quality and quite a substantial dish.

Prawns

Dessert? Always the question and always a hesitation! So why not share our Raspberry Creme Brûlée? Why not indeed? And again we hit the jackpot. Studded with juicy fruit, this was perhaps the very best dish of its kind we’ve ever tasted. So that (along with the Tuna) makes two of the best ever on one menu. Not bad going at all.

By the way, watch out too for the breakfast here. Chef Desormeaux bases his selection on the renowned produce supplied by McCarthy Butchers in Kanturk. There’s also the possibly of a Sunday brunch being offered in the near future. Watch this space!

Lamb

The Oliver Plunkett  

Oliver Plunkett Street

Cork

Taste of the Week. Spiced Apple & Carrot Chutney by On The Pig's Back

Taste of the Week

Spiced Apple & Carrot Chutney

by On The Pig's Back

The quality of the produce available from On The Pig's Back - Cheese, Meat, Deli, Pantry, Wine - is consistently good. Always worth a gamble, though in truth, it is never a risk. This is underlined with their Spiced Apple and Carrot Chutney, our current Taste of the Week.

We got it in one of our Neighbourfood orders and soon found it does what it says on the tin, and so much more.  Over a couple of lunches we paired it with local cheeses and it enhanced them each time. Shouldn't be surprised really as everything that we've tasted from their kitchen, has always been premier class. So there you are, another one for your shopping list.

On The Pig's Back

Unit 26, St Patrick's Mill Douglas, Cork, T12 E952

Tel: 021 4617832

Andd, of course, you'll also find them in the English Market.

Taste of the Week. Hederman's Smoked Haddock Chowder

 Taste of the Week

 Hederman's Smoked Haddock Chowder

with Garam Masala & Black pepper

The stallholders of English Market in Cork are well-known for their ability to chat and Frank Hederman (the ace of fish-smokers) is one of them. So no surprise that his chowder has quite the title: Hederman's Smoked Haddock Chowder with Garam Masala & Black pepper. It is also our Taste of the Week.

The Hederman kitchen has long known that curry spices work really well with smoked haddock (in dishes such as Kedigree) and so the Garam Masala and Black pepper were added. And the combination worked superbly. The chowder is packed full of texture and flavour and a treat on a cold day. Totally delicious.

It comes in a 400gr pot and the contents make a main dish for one or two (large) cups for two. Well worth checking out. You may get it at The English Market or, as I did, via Neighbourfood.

Frank Hederman
Belvelly Smokehouse

Belvelly

Cobh

Co. Cork
 

Taste of the Week. Cajun Salmon from K O'Connell Fish

 Taste of the Week.

Cajun Salmon from K O'Connell Fish

O'Connell's Cajun Salmon with our Cajun Salad

Isn't it great that so many Irish butchers and fishmongers are more and more giving extra choice just like the French traiteurs. Our latest such purchase was a couple of hefty salmon fillets from O'Connell's Fish Stall in the market, both looking well in their coat of Cajun sauce. And, just to reassure you in case you don't like things too spicy, the O'Connell sauce is mild (but tasty!).

We added a bit of oomph to it ourselves, thanks to the Official Blog Chef remembering a Cajun Salad recipe from an old Reader's Digest Cookbook. Peppers, red onions and celery were involved. We didn't have everything on the list. No Tabasco, for instance. But that was very satisfactorily replaced with a dash of the excellent Dr Trouble Sauce from Zimbabwe. And the result was an warming dish in the middle of winter and our Taste of the Week.

K O'Connell Fish Merchants

English Market, Cork.

Email Address: Freshfish@eircom.net

Contact number: 021 427 6380

Facebook: K O’Connell Fish Merchants

Instagram: K O’Connell Fish Merchants

Twitter: @Pattheenglishmarket

Festival Food & Drink Favourites #4. Barre Infernale Pistache

 Festival Food & Drink Favourites #4. Barre Infernale Pistache

Just before Christmas I bought a small bag of goodies, including a lovely bar of the local Wilkie's chocolate, from the Chocolate Shop in the English Market. It was Click and Collect and as I was browsing their list online I spotted this creation by François Pralus. A bit expensive, I thought to myself.  Than again I said, go for it, this is Christmas. Minutes later, I sent off the order. And, hardly an hour later, got a message saying it was ready. Called in the following morning and picked it up. Great service.

I took my time getting to the big one, enjoying the other bars and also some lovely hot chocolate, the powder mix, called Cacao Show, also produced by M. Pralus. Then it was time to try the most expensive bar of chocolate that I had even bought. When I looked closely at it I saw that it weights some 160g, more than double most of the other bars available and so the €14.95 didn't seem that extravagant after all. Funny how you can justify these things!

They say: A dark chocolate praline bar with roasted almonds. Deliciously divine thick chocolate encasing a delectable dark praline studded with crisp fresh nuts. in a class of its own! Ingredients Praline (roasted hazelnuts, almonds, sugar, 75% chocolate, vanilla), pure cocoa butter, GMO-free soy lecithin.

It is a large slab of deliciousness, no squares delineated, just the Pralus name embossed. As I cut it with a sharp knife, a little crumb of chocolate fell to the table. Picked it up and put it you know where and instantly realised that I was on to a winner, courtesy of Madagascar and the marvellous French chocolatier. And more deliciousness enclosed in the dark outside, a delightful paté of pistachio nuts. 

Everything they say above is true! Do try it. I'll be ordering again. Pralus also produce other similar bars, including one nougat. Indeed, they have some 15 products list in the Chocolate Shop, including my hot chocolate mix.

Festival Food & Drink Favourites #3 Bodegas Robles Vermouth VRMT

Festival Food & Drink Favourites #2 8-Degrees "Devil’s Ladder: Belgian Tripel

Festival Food & Drink Favourites #1FabFestive Feast from Glass Curtain

English Market
Cork
Ireland

021-4254448
info@chocolate.ie

Taste of the Week. Roughty Foodie: Barnabrow Christmas Cake

Taste of the Week. 

Roughty Foodie: Barnabrow Christmas Cake

 

Last week, I posted a pointer towards an superb Christmas Pudding - details here. And we can complete the double now with a hearty recommendation as to sourcing your Christmas cake. Pity I hadn't tasted the cake earlier and I could have combined the two.

Still, glad to say the cake is our Taste of the Week. Packed full of fruit and other essentials (including the same beer and whiskey as the pud), it is delicious, fruity and nutty, not too heavy, yet take it easy (make it linger!).  And if there's just one or two in the house, then they have a convenient size for you. The cake, and the pudding (which comes in 3 sizes), will bring a smile to your face, a nostalgic smile in the case of those of us of a certain age.

And there is a nice nostalgia story too on the Barnabrow label. Tales from the kitchens (Irish and Sri Lankan) when the cakes of our childhood was being prepared and everyone getting a stir of the mix. Will we have almond icing or just sugar icing or glazed fruit finishes?

No need to worry about all that.. Just pop into Roughty Fruity and bag yourself a handy double (they know all about bookie's lingo in there) before the horse has bolted.

Taste of the Week. Roughty Foodie: Barnabrow Christmas Pudding

Taste of the Week

Roughty Foodie: Barnabrow Christmas Pudding

Photo via Barnabrow

The Barnabrow Christmas Pudding from Roughty Foodie in the market is a stunning Taste of the Week. Taste of the Season really but I have to start early to let you know where the good things are.

The recipe may be old, over a hundred years in the family at Barnabrow, but this East Cork twist, while traditional, is more suited to the 21st century, dark not black, and definitely not like the old heavy sticky ones.

It is packed full of flavour and some great texture too. Lots of fruit, bound with butter, laced with spices, sprinkled with fairy dust (what, hold on there!), local honey and carrot from their walled garden and further “reinforced” with Jameson and Guinness.

It’s a good thing for sure and available in various sizes. Of course, Margo Ann has all the trimmings at Roughty Foodie including a terrific Brandy Butter from Crossogue Preserves. 

A small stall but just packed - fully stocked as she is looking forward to a very busy Christmas. So packed, you could spend half a day poking around and still not get to the end of it. Perhaps you’d be better off ordering one of her Taste of Cork Food Boxes and have it delivered!

The Roughty Foodie  

English Market

Cork

Tel: 087 6352415

Taste of the Week. O'Mahony's Pork Burger with Sobrasada.

Sobrasada

Taste of the Week. 

O'Mahony's Pork Burger with Sobrasada.

Thanks to O'Mahony Butchers in the English Market (Grand Parade end) and to Neighbourfood, we've got another delicious Taste of the Week. The secret here is surely the Sobrasada. What is Sobrasada? You might well ask. 

Didn't know much about until I was completing my order for Neighbourfood and saw it in the description for this product and found out it is a mildly cured chorizo which works really well with sweet pork. I've often taken Eoin O'Mahony's word for strange terms before and he's never let me down!

So I continued with the order and more or less forgot about it until the Wednesday delivery. And we were amazed with the class and quality of the burgers which also contain fresh parsley, apple and Kalamata olives.

Superb pork too of course. With fries added, also a salad (mostly from the garden) and lashings of the superb Smoked Ketchup from Tipperary's Three Men in a Trailer, we were on a winner. Thank you Mr O'Mahony!

 

Pic from Neighbourfood listing

Taste of the Week. O'Mahony's Italian Sausages with Spanish Rice

Taste of the Week

O'Mahony's Italian Sausages with Spanish Rice

I don't know how many times we've found our Taste of the Week in our Neighbourfood delivery box. The latest is Italian Sausages from the O'Mahony Butcher stall in the English Market. Indeed, you're always on a winner when you purchase at this particular outlet.

What would we do with the sausages? And then I remembered a recipe we used put to good use a few years back. The Blog Chef found it in an instant: Spanish Rice with Chorizo and Sage. We substituted the Italian Sausage for the Chorizo and ended up with a very enjoyable bowlful indeed, our fleeting Taste of the Week.

You also need tomatoes, garlic, red pepper, turmeric (which adds a warm glow) and frozen peas and sage. The trick with the sage is to add a bunch of it (well shredded) towards the end; Dry Sage it, just like a brewer Dry Hops his beer!

It's a relatively easy dish, all cooked in one pan. If anyone wants the recipe, DM me.

Taste of the Week. Hederman's Smoked Mackerel

Taste of the Week

Hederman's Smoked Mackerel

Frittata with Hederman's Smoked Mackerel

You get some excellent examples of the Spanish Frittata in the local Cork restaurants. But sometimes, it can be a bit on the bland side.

Whole Smoked Mackerel by Hederman, also delicious

If you're cooking one at home, here's one surefire way to pump up the flavour factor. Use a couple or three of the delicious Smoked Mackerel fillets from Frank Hederman, available in his stall at the English Market and in various farmers markets (eg Midleton).

Hedderman mackerel fillets

The official Blog Chef recently did one and the smoked mackerel (one fillet was plain, one chilli and one chive) worked a treat. We got our latest lot via Neighbourfood (six is the minimum order here but, don't worry, you'll get through them quickly). A superb Taste of the Week.

Check out NeighbourFood and check out Mr Hederman!

New Kids on the Block. #51 Cornmarket Street. We took a knock. We go again.

New Kids on the Block. #51 Cornmarket Street.

We took a knock. We go again.

David Devereaux and Anne Zagar, the young couple behind #51, are delighted to be back up and running at their new restaurant in Cornmarket Street. The enthusiastic pair and equally enthusiastic small staff had something of a false dawn back in March when Covid19 forced a sudden closure just a couple of weeks into their opening run.

Still, that youthful enthusiasm, backed by the solid experience they have acquired in various kitchens as they learned the ropes, is undimmed after their “second coming” as I found when we visited for lunch last week. We enjoyed it and said so. “Do come by again when we’ve expanded a bit,” I was told as I left! Can’t beat the youth!

While both are chefs, David has the Head Chef title here and “is the brain force behind our kitchen and the driving passion behind our ethos”. From the nearby north side, he began his studies in Cork which led to a scholarship in Johnston & Wales (RI, USA), an apprenticeship under Michael Fleming and a further stage in London’s Mayfair. David has been cooking around Cork for several successful years while always searching for somewhere to call his own and has found it in the Coal Quay, in what was previously The Parlour. 

Fish fingers like never before!

Now at #51, he has a clear vision, using many local suppliers to create a dining experience that is “funky, fresh and professionally thought out. His cooking style is modern Irish with a special focus on seafood while also being a dab hand at a Lemon Tart every once in a while.” 

Those local producers include O’Mahony Butchers, Ballycotton Seafood, Pana Bread, Kilbrack Farm, Annabella Farm, English Market, McCarthy’s Kanturk, O’Brien’s Free Range Eggs. And even more local is the nearby rooftop farm, now with the addition of their own hens!

They do everything in-house including curing their own fish. We got a sample of their rainbow trout as we left and it is superb. Do look out for that House Cured Rainbow Trout (more sustainable than salmon). You’ll see it in their Eggs Royale with Eggs and Hollandaise.

Herbs at hand

Anne herself has quite a distinguished CV as well. She trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School and studied French Patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu London. She was head chef at The Pavilion Garden Centre, owner-operator at Something Sweet, head chef and kitchen manager at Rachel's, and manager/coordinator at Hotel Isaacs Cork. 

She’s well able to take a turn in the kitchen but last week she was out front, keeping an eye on and serving their customers both inside their little terrace and also at the tables now allowed on the wide pavement of the Coal Quay itself. 

And she’s even got the mayoral nod of approval for her baking, particularly her scones which come in quite a few flavours: Blueberry and lime, white chocolate and cranberry, Cinnamon, pecan and toasted oats, and the traditional sultana.

You’ll get a terrific breakfast here but we were in for a spot of lunch, which they start serving about the 12.30pm mark when the menu goes up on the window. No menus handed out at present due to you know what!

Scones galore

The list may be short but is tempting, even includes a few of the egg dishes from the breakfast. We seriously considered the organic Farm Salad (tomato, local feta, potato, mint , cucumber and leaves). Another attraction was the Brisket, Pickled Onion and Celeriac Remoulade and also the Pork Belly with apple and red cabbage.

CL hit the jackpot when she picked the Beetroot, local goat cheese, pesto, pickled onion and organic leaf in a Ciabatta bun. Neatly presented, this is a superb dish, packed with local goodness and that bread is soft and tasty, the dish well priced too. Highly Recommended.

Eggs Royale, with that trout!

And I very much enjoyed another dish that comes into the Highly Recommended category: the crispy trio of fish fingers, superb cod as it turns out, comes with a delicious citrus salsa, and a well-judged amount of sweet curry in a beautiful soft bap. I had sticky fingers and a happy belly by the time I finished this easy-eating beauty, just the job for lunch in the summer-time.

David

Hopefully, David and Anne will be serving many similar platefuls before the summer departs. You’ll enjoy the happy youthful approach at this city centre venue and you know where your food comes from. It’s just a few yards from Patrick Street, so do look out for #51!

51 Cornmarket Street

Cork

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/51cornmarket/

Tel: 083 010 2321

Open Wed to Sun inclusive.

Taste of the Week. Crossogue’s English Market Apricot Jam

Taste of the Week

Crossogue’s English Market Apricot Jam

“Creativity runs in the family.” That’s what you read on the Crossogue website. But I think there’s a fair bit of magic there too in that Tipperary kitchen.

Take their English Market Apricot Jam, for instance. You look at the ingredients and they are more or less the same as any other pot: sugar, apricots (41%), natural pectin, and citric acid. So how does this product turn out so spectacularly, so deliciously different from the norm. 

Spreading goodness, they say on top of the jar. Sprinkling magic, methinks. In the event, the result is superb and is our Taste of the Week. For a little more magic, try it on one (or two!) of those amazing Jerusalem Bagels by Cork’s Bread & Roses.

This English Market Apricot Jam is available from Roughty Foodie in the market, along with quite a few more offerings from the Molloy family in Crossogue.

Crossogue Preserves 

Ballycahill

Thurles

Co. Tipperary

Taste of the Week. Coolea Irish Farmhouse Cheese

Taste of the Week

Coolea Irish Farmhouse Cheese

In 1979, Helena Willems, longing for the cheese she'd known at home in Holland as she couldn't find anything like it here at their new home in Ireland, took out a little pot and began experimenting in the kitchen.

Encouraged, she took it a bit further and now Coolea cheese is a big name and much of the output is sold at the famous Neal's Yard in London while in Ireland Sheridan’s are the major customer.

The cheese was to be called Milleens after the local townland but that was knocked on the head as the Steeles, further west on the Beara peninsula and living in a townland of the same name, had just started making a cheese called Milleens. And so the Coolea brand was born.

It is firm and smooth, a pressed uncooked Gouda style cheese. Early on the flavours are caramel, nutty and floral but they become more robust as time goes on, sweeter if anything and still carrying traces of its delicate youth. A gorgeous cheese and well worth watching out for. Very suitable for cooking and indeed is ideal for melting

I am enjoying a wedge of Coolea at the moment. This is matured, is sweeter than in its young mild and creamy phase, and it is Taste of the Week. Was part of my order to Margo Ann in the English Market's Roughty Foodie and delivered to the door with a lot of other great Irish produce.