Taste of the Week. The Rocket Man's Smoky Corn and Yellow Lentil Dahl

Taste of the Week.

The Rocket Man's Smoky Corn and Yellow Lentil Dahl 

The Rocket Man is one of the most popular food suppliers in Cork city for the past few years. With the current restrictions, I nowadays most regularly come across his food in NeighbourFood, the small producers platform that he founded.

And it was there that I found our current Taste of the Week, a heartwarming Smoky Corn And Yellow Lentil Dahl. Heartwarming even if it is delivered frozen (with a shelf life of five days). It is described as 
"Ready to Eat Indian Inspired Yellow Lentil Dahl with Grilled Corn. Comes with Toasted Coconut, Yoghurt and Fresh Herbs. Vegan without the yoghurt topping."

You get a big tub (480g) for less than six euro and it's a terrific lunch for two. Big hearty flavours with a satisfying crunchy (softish!) texture. And you also get a few toppings with your Taste of the Week. Well worth a try!

Taste of the Week Goatsbridge Trout Goujons

Taste of the Week

Goatsbridge Trout Goujons

Have you tried the Breaded Trout Goujons from Goatsbridge in Kilkenny? They are our current Taste of the Week and well worth a try.

These hand-cut fillets of fresh Rainbow trout come in a crispy and golden gluten free breadcrumb and batter with lemon pepper seasoning and ready to cook.

Plenty of info on the pack and you can also check their website for more info. Serving suggestions are with a green salad or with potatoes and veg. We went the salad route with the aid of a homemade dip and enjoyed the superb flavour from start to finish.

They say: At Goatsbridge farm, trout is our passion. Our knowledge and experience in trout farming has been passed down through three generations. The daily catch comes from the crystal clear water of the Little Arrigle River in County Kilkenny Ireland, giving our trout a unique and Great Taste award winning taste and texture. 

Goatsbridge Trout Farm

Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny.

Taste of the Week. Nash 19 Seasonal Soup

Taste of the Week

Nash 19 Seasonal Soup

Just because you can't get to a favourite restaurant doesn't mean you have go without. Quite often, Neighbourfood provides a bridge and that's what happened with this current Taste of the Week, a delicious seasonal soup from Nash 19. Ingredients in this warm and warming beauty are pumpkin, root vegetable and coconut, and it was made with their own veg stock.

Be sure and check out Neighbourfood, or if you in town pop in and check out this and other good things from Nash 19 in Princes Street, Cork

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. Goatsbridge Smoked Rainbow Trout (infused with Drumshanbo Gunpowder Gin)

Taste of the Week

Goatsbridge Smoked Rainbow Trout (infused with Drumshanbo Gunpowder Gin)

Okay, so our Taste of the Week is a mouthful. But what a delicious mouthful with two Irish producers combining to produce this superb result.

The ebullient unstoppable Meg Kirwan of Goatsbridge: "We have teamed up with Gunpowder Irish Gin to create this delicious pairing of premium Irish products. The exotic botanical flavours of Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin compliment the earthy flavours of the trout perfectly."

Loads more info plus a recipe on the Goatsbridge site. And while you're on, why not take a look at the hamper offer and buy one like I did. It's quite the selection box: fillets of fresh fish, packs of barbequed trout, this gin infused smoked trout, fishcakes, goujons, plus a couple of tubs of paté. And delivery is free. Well worth it!

Goatsbridge Trout Farm

Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny

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. Heaney Saison and Apricots

Taste of the Week

Heaney “Way Over Yonder” Saison and Apricots!

The Heaney “Way Over Yonder” Saison is a hazy beer from the County Derry farmhouse brewery. It pours a gold colour, with a fluffy head that hangs around for a bit. Fruity and slightly spicy in the aromas. Fruity too on the palate, apricots are suggested.

Apricots put me thinking. And then I realise I have a box of them in the cupboard, a box of unsulphured apricots from West Cork Olives via my Neighbourfood order. 

You hear a lot about sulphur in wine but it is commonly used also in fruits and other food items as well. The sulphured apricots are an attractive yellow while the unsulphured are a less attractive dark colour but I think they taste better.

Anyhow, I got a few to taste with the beer (sourced from Bradley's) and the pairing was absolutely perfect, a delicious Taste of the Week.

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!

Taste of the Week. Salted Caramelitas by Sonas

Taste of the Week
Salted Caramelitas by Sonas 

I never know for sure what I'll find when I start shopping online at Neighbourfood. But always pretty sure that I'll have at least one taste of the week to write about.

These delicious Caramelitas, produced by Sonad Trading, have been catching the attention recently and are definitely Taste of the Week.

They sell them well on the Neighbourfood order sheet: We love the juxtaposition of salty and sweet ... and these little love bombs of deliciousness have a great balance - loads of salted caramel (made with Gloun Cross Dairy cream and Irish Atlantic Sea salt), dark chocolate, buttery organic oats, tones of vanilla ... Incredibly intense but deeply satisfying ... like an old familiar love song. 10-12 little bites in a box. They’re intense but very addictive! Do not contain nuts but made in a kitchen where nuts are used. 


Local and lovely. Couldn't have put it better myself. Go on. Treat yourself. I find them superb with the mid-morning coffee.

Blackrock based Sonas Trading is a unique mix of Irish and Malaysian. Pia Zain came from Malaysia, and was trained at Ballymaloe. She instantly fell in love with quality of food and ingredients in Ireland, and stayed! More info on Pia and her many delights here.

Taste of the Week. Turkish Delight

Taste of the Week. 
Hadji Bey's Turkish Delight

Hadji Bey's Turkish Delight has, for well over a 100 years now, been a local favourite and this is not its first outing as Taste of the Week. It is widely available in outlets throughout Cork city and I bought my latest box in the Roughty Foodie in the English Market.

That market was already well-established when a young Armenian, Harutun Batmazian, began selling his Turkish Delight at the 1902 Exhibition in Fitzgeralds Park. Next came a shop in the city and his reputation grew.

For much of the 20th century, that Hadji Bey shop in McCurtain Street was a favourite destination for many Cork children. And their parents! Decades later, there was much consternation in the 1970s when the family eventually ceased production but nowadays, thankfully, the delicacy is being made in Newbridge, Co. Kildare.

The brand, along with that of well-loved toffee-maker Cleeves, in now under the wing of Hazelbrook Confectionery.

Hadji Bey Confectionery

Newbridge

Co. Kildare

W12 AD85

Taste of the Week. Skelligs Truffles

Taste of the Week

Skelligs Truffles

Handmade on the spectacular Atlantic Way, this box of Skelligs Chocolate, the Chocolatiers Selection of Assorted Truffles is just irresistible!

It is stamped “Contains Alcohol” and that makes it even more tempting. And you’ll get that in the Irish Whiskey Créme and also in the superb Strawberry and Champagne. No alcohol in the Hazelnut Praline or the Vanilla Ganache but not a crumb of chocolate escaped.

First up was a long-time favourite of mine, the Citrus Delight. Here they somehow manage to transform a simple white chocolate into a thing of beauty, absolutely delicious. #lemonchoco

Still, if I had to pick a winner, it would be the Strawberry and Champagne, our Taste of the Week. Hard to top that, except perhaps to order the large Easter Egg version. Which I did earlier in the year!

Skelligs Chocolate 

St Finian’s Bay

Ballinskelligs

Co. Kerry

A Bank Holiday Taste of the Week Special from Baltimore. Stunning "Combination" between Sally Barnes and Ahmet Dede

Taste of the Week
A Bank Holiday Special from Baltimore
A Stunning "Combination" between Sally Barnes and Ahmet Dede

A couple of weeks back, after a lovely lunch in Baltimore's Custom House where renowned chef Ahmet Dede now works, we stopped at their deli and bought a few things. Two dips ended up in our bag. One was the house pepper and garlic, the other was Sally Barnes' Smoked Fish.

"All you need now for a lovely meal is sourdough." We noted the instructions and a few days later put the three together in the sunny back-garden. And the day after as well...

An amazing Taste of the Week, quite a special one.

If you're anywhere near Baltimore, be sure and call to the deli in the Customs House, just a few yards from the village centre, and buy for yourself. You won't be sorry!

Taste of the Week. Harissa Chicken Fillet

Taste of the Week

Harissa Chicken Fillet

No problem finding a taste of the week when the order from Neighbourfood arrives. The only trouble is picking one for The Taste of the Week.

This week the nod goes to On the Pig’s Back for their Harissa Chicken Fillet. Many of you will know that Harissa is a hot sauce or paste used in North African cuisine, made from chilli peppers, paprika, and olive oil.

The chicken is top quality and the version of the sauce in which it was cooked was fairly hot. We enjoyed it for lunch with a salad (leaves and radish from the garden) and some left-over potato. The salad helped cool the sauce and we there and then decided to order our new Taste of the Week again. And again!

On The Pig’s Back 

Must say that On The Pig's Back is one of the stars of my NeighbourFood box.We've told you recently about their stunning quiches and they have an endless selection of top cheese (Hegarty's and Durrus now in the fridge). A day or two after the chicken (above), we enjoyed their superb Fish Pie Grattan. You might well query: what's the big deal about a fish pie? This is something special. The main ingredients (smoked haddock, cod, and salmon) are more or less the usual. They add in carrot, leek, celery, fennel, garlic, potato, white wine, cream, herbs, breadcrumbs, cheese, olive oil, butter and cornflour. Throw in their experience and attention to detail and you a beauty on your hands, on your plate, as good as many a restaurant meal! It comes frozen and will keep for three months or so. No waiting around here!

Taste of the Week Ballyhoura’s Freeze Dried Berry Mix

Taste of the Week

Ballyhoura Mushrooms Freeze Dried Berry Mix

No wonder chefs love Lucy and Mark of Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms. The pair are always coming with up something new and it is invariably delicious. Just like our Taste of the Week!

Oops, think I overdid it! They are delicious.

I’ve just tried out this new product: a large jar of Freeze Dried Berry Mix, including red currants, blackcurrants, strawberry pieces, raspberries and blueberries. This mix of delicious berries has been freeze dried for maximum flavour and nutrient retention. And they’re not kidding. Just bite into one of those little blackcurrants and be prepared to be hit by a very pleasurable fruit bomb! Amazing stuff.

Uses recommended are: granola, yogurt, porridge, desserts, to decorate cakes or incorporate in baking, and snacking. I’ve used them with granola and with ice-cream. Over to you chefs and cooks! Oh, by the way, if you don’t fancy the mix, you may also buy single-fruit jars. All available via Neighbourfood where I came across them.

Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms Ltd

V35 Y096

Ireland

ballyhouramushrooms@gmail.com 

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.

Taste of the Week. Three Men in a Trailer Smoked Ketchup

Taste of the Week

Three Men in a Trailer Smoked Ketchup

I like a bit of burger with my Smoked Ketchup!

Our new Taste of the Week is Three Men in a Trailer's Irish Smoked Ketchup.

As you may expect, it is made in Ireland from all natural ingredients with some extra ‘smokey’ flavour – fantastic for barbeques. This wonderfully delicious Ketchup is totally wheat and gluten free and is suitable for both coeliacs and vegetarians.

Love the way artisan food producers draw from one another as is the case here. The natural cider vinegar used, which gives this unique product an instantly recognisable taste, is produced by the Apple Farm, outside Cahir, Co. Tipperary.

I got mine in Bradley’s, North Main Street, Cork. It is widely available though so do check their website for details of stockists. Didn't get to try it at the BBQ yet but it its terrific with burgers, even with fries. Tried their original some time back and that also was Taste of the Week. They also have a spicy one in the range, also at Bradley’s.

So who are these three men?  In their own words: ‘Three men in a Trailer’ is an idea for a mobile high quality food outlet generated by 3 guys passionate about food, particularly food from Tipperary.’

Three Men in a Trailer

Gortussa

Dundrum, Co. Tipperary

email info@3men.ie

Taste of the Week. Skeaghanore Smoked Chicken Crown

Taste of the Week
Skeaghanore Smoked Chicken Crown

Regular readers here will know I'm a big fan of tSkeaghanore duck, especially the Duck Leg Confit and the Duck Breast.

But they also do chicken in Skeaghanore and I've given their Smoked Chicken Crown a couple of runs recently and there'll be more for this stunning Taste of the Week.

Another superb flavourful product from the Hickeys whose farm is close to Ballydehob.

You can find their offerings in quite a few places now - check the website below - but I got my latest batch (chicken and duck) - from Bradley's in North Main Street, Cork.

Skeaghanore West Cork Farm
Skeaghanore East
Ballydehob
Co. Cork
Tel:  (028) 37428

Taste of the Week. Ballymaloe Elderflower Cordial

Taste of the Week

Elderflower Cordial

If you’re taking advantage of your county, the new travel limit for the phase of Covid19, you’re going to see a lot of elderflower blossom as you make your way from Youghal to Allihies.

Anyway, if you pick some of these white flowers you can make yourself some Elderflower cordial. But, if you don’t feel like making the long trip (could be a seven hour haul or thereabouts if you take the coastal route!), don’t worry as the folks at Ballymaloe Cookery School have done all the hard work for you, probably starting with a local forage.

You can get a bottle of their delicious cordial on Neighbourfood. I reckon it is one of the very best around and is Taste of the Week here. Check it out for yourself - well worth it.

How about using it to make this delicoous spritzer. Two parts of your favourite sparkling wine, one part of the cordial, and two parts ot sparkling water. A big part of sun would be a bonus!

Ballymaloe Cookery School 

Taste of the Week. Hederman's Hot Smoked Chilli Salmon

Taste of the Week.
Hederman's Hot Smoked Chilli Salmon

Dinner...

Great to see Frank Hederman listed among the local producers now available on Neighbourfood, a marvellous service which has been a godsend to both customers and producers, especially over the last few months, and their delivery service has been a bonus for the likes of myself in the cocoon.

So the minute, I saw the famous smoked salmon on offer, we ordered his Hot Smoked Chilli Salmon fillet. Just by coincidence, as we prepared the dinner, Frank engaged us in a Twitter conversation and suggested using it in a salad with new potatoes. 

Never one to turn down a tip from the horse's mouth, we went along with that and enjoyed a marvellous Taste of the Week, with enough left over for a breakfast that made the taste buds sit up and take notice a little earlier than usual.

Check out NeighbourFood and check out Mr Hederman!

and enough left over for breakfast!