Keohane’s of Bantry. Their catch to your plate.

Keohane’s of Bantry
Their catch to your plate

Hake with oregano and garlic

When I was growing up in the fifties and sixties, Catholics abstained from meat on Fridays. Fish was the preferred alternative. Preferred is hardly the right word as the bony little white fish dished up religiously was regarded, not as food, but as a danger, a nuisance (all those bones) and a penance. Fish, wrongly, got a bad name in this island, a bad name from which it is now almost totally recovered.

Indeed, over much of the past week, the week after Seafest in Ringaskiddy, we’ve had fish just about everyday. And on some of those days, the fish has been supplied by Keohane’s of Bantry. It is a family business and dad Michael (The Cod Father) has been fishing the Atlantic waters for thirty years.

Son Michael runs the family fishmongers while daughter Anne Marie runs the Fish Kitchen Restaurant in Bantry, a highly recommended place to call, great fish dishes and lots of local craft beer. Check it out here

Keohane's process the fish at their Kinsale Road facility. I know we should all try to eat fresh fish from the market or the fishmonger but we are not always near them. You’ll find it hard to get fish in many rural areas and even in the cities large areas, Mayfield for instance, have no fishmonger. Then if you are working, you may not have time to go nor time to prepare.

Keohane’s can come to your rescue here. Their Microwavable fish comes in a vacuum pack (some for one person, some for two), usually with a garnish of herbs; take the container, pop it into the microwave and, in a few minutes, you have a tasty dish (with no strange additives in it ) in front of you.

I tried three of their offerings. First up was the Cod Fillet with Ginger, Chilli and Lime. Lovely inviting aromas as it came to the table and it tasted great as well. Next, not the same day, came Hake Fillet with Garlic and Herbs, another winner. Finally, there were Two Cod Fillets with a Green Pesto Sauce, another excellent dish. My favourite was the first one while the official blog cook plumped for the third.

Above: Quick lunch via the microwave -
Cod fillet with Ginger, Chilli and Lime.
From the pack below!

But all three were top notch and, don't worry, these three are just the tip of the iceberg. Keohane’s have quite a range, not just the microwavable, which also includes a tempting Mediterranean Seasoned Mackerel Fillets with cracked Black-pepper Butter. Virtually every fish you can think of is included in the Fresh Fillet range and then they have a seasonal range which currently includes Hot and Spicy Prawn Skewers!

So quite a bit of fishing to be done there. Their facility is on the Kinsale Road and the products are available in the on-site shop and also in Tesco.

Irish Fish - Two Ways. Hederman and Goatsbridge

Irish Fish - Two Ways

Hederman and Goatsbridge

Enjoyed an Irish fish dinner at the weekend, starting with smoked mackerel from Hederman’s and then a main course of fresh trout from Goatsbridge in Kilkenny.

If you want to buy Irish, you have to keep your eyes open and read the labels. That, surprisingly enough, applies to fish as well, not that too many of them will have labels!

Take Sea-bass as an example, a species that is protected here.  According to the fishmonger.ie website, we import wild Sea-bass from France and farmed version from Greece and Turkey. In all, in 2012, we imported (according to BIM figures) some €203 million worth of fish, a staggering 75,000 tonnes (mainly from Norway).

No problem buying Irish fish at your local market stalls but be careful in the supermarket, especially at the fresh fish counter. The Goatsbridge trout is not always sold under that name but the tag on the counter does say Irish farmed trout.

Cobh’s Frank Hederman is renowned for smoking fish. Not just mackerel but also salmon and do watch out as well for his mussels. If using mackerel in your main course, go for the whole fish but as a starter, the fillets (which come plain or coated with chives or chili) are fine. We used the chive one and bought it at the English Market. By the way, the salad and the baby beets both came from Derek’s Green Field Farm stall at the Mahon Point Farmers Market.

Over then to the local Dunne’s Stores for the trout and that was eventually served with seasonal vegetables and new potatoes. The potatoes and carrots were also bought at Mahon, from the Burns farm stall. And if you do call to Sandra and Joe, be sure and get some of their fabulous Vegetable Crisps.

The vegetables, for the trout, were done using Edward Hayden's Prepare-Ahead Vegetable method, detailed in his book Food to Love (pub. 2011). Basically, the veg are cooked separately, then cooled off, and kept in the fridge; take them out close to dinner-time and cook them all together, not forgetting to blanch and refresh! Got that book in the library the other day and it is proving very handy indeed.

Speaking of local, the raspberries for the delicious soufflé came from the back wall. Thankfully, the considerate blackbirds left just enough for us! Very satisfactory meal overall, especially suited to this time of year. Both the trout and mackerel are top notch products and I'd urge you to try them. Each is highly recommended.

Find out all about Frank Hederman and his smokehouse here.

All the details on Kilkenny's Goatsbridge Trout available here.

Both have online shopping.

Fish & Wine on the Double. Recipes from the Lettercollum Cookbook

Fish & Wine on the Double

Recipes from the Lettercollum Cookbook

Grilled Cod

Dipped into the fish section of the newly published Lettercollum Cookbook  twice over the weekend and came up with two beauties! And matched them with two lovely white wines from Supervalu.

Enjoyed the Moncrieff Show from the Midleton Distillery on Friday afternoon; no shortage of whiskey and tasty canapes, even wine. Still, ever mindful of the next meal, our first call on the way out was to the Ballycotton Seafood shop on main street and here we bought some scallops and cod.

The scallops, an impulse purchase,  were done this time, not with bacon, but with black pudding. The black pudding was really good but a bit on the strong side for the shell fish and I think the Truly Irish bacon is a better match! 

The cod was deliberately bought for the Lettercollum Recipe: Grilled Cod with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Basil. It is the kind of dish we've made lots of times on holidays (easy to get the basic ingredients). Indeed, Karen Austin’s book says “this recipe is great in summer and very quick to make”. But the result, with the super fresh cod, was also excellent on the last Friday of November.

The wine:

Portico da Ria Albarino 2013, Rias Baixas (Spain), 12.5%, €10.00 SuperValu.

With its light gold colour and fresh aromas, you get to like this one immediately. Fresh and fruity, it is quite intense on the palate, lively and lovely, and with an ample finish. It is the perfect match for simple fish dishes, including this one and the one below. Very Highly Recommended. Lovely label too! Rias Baixas is an area in North West Spain, around the Atlantic city of Vigo. Albarino is its dominant grape, also the easiest to pronounce!

Suquet de Peix. Tasty in any language!

Fish Two

We were soon back in Midleton, this time for the Saturday Farmers Market and joined the queue at O’Driscoll’s Fish stall, again shopping for a Lettercollum recipe, this time the Suquet de Peix, better known around here as Catalan Fish Stew!

We got a bag of fish bones from O’Driscoll’s to make the fish stock and also Monkfish (you may also use Hake) and mussels, the other main ingredients. Onions, red peppers, garlic, waxy potatoes and tomatoes, even a drop of brandy, also feature in this very tasty dish.

Karen says they first came across it in Cadaques on the Costa Brava, the town where Salvador Dali lived for most of his adult life. “Essentially, it’s a one pot dinner but a great dish for entertaining as the basic stew can be made and then left aside until the guests arrive when you can reheat the stew and pop the fish in. It is served with a parsley and almond picada - a sauce similar to a pesto”.

It turned out very well, thanks to the chef de cuisine here.

The wine

Macon Lugny Les Coteaux des Anges 2013 (Burgundy), 13.0%, €10.00 Supervalu.

This is an excellent Chardonnay from the home of the variety. There is even a village called Chardonnay, not too far from Lugny. Like Rias Baixas, most production here, in the Mâconnais part of Burgundy, is on a small scale. Again, the match was a good one and the wine is highly recommended, especially at the discounted Christmas price.

Colour is a light honey, really bright, and the white fruit aromas hint at peaches, nectarines, apples, a little citrus too. No shortage of inviting flavour on the palate, concentrated fruit, crisp but with a good weight and a long finish.

The Book

The Lettercollum Cookbook, by Karen Austin, is widely available in bookshops nationwide (including Waterstones and Bradley's) and in the UK . Great too that it is printed in Ireland by KPS Colour Print. It is published by Onstream in Cork and available online here.

Rising Tide’s Special for Fish

Rising Tide’s Special for Fish

Bream

The Rising Tide’s menu caters for most tastes but, if your taste is for fish, your luck is in at this picturesquely situated Glounthaune venue. You can have your steak, your corn fed chicken, your pasta but do check out the blackboard as the chefs here take a great pride in their specials and more than likely, these will be fish and appropriately so, considering the harbourside location of Sandra Murphy’s bar cum restaurant, a long established favourite for both locals and visitors.

We, both of us with a big grá for fish, were in luck when we called in midweek as the board featured two tempting fish specials, one for each of us! Not that there was any shortage of fish on the general menu. We could have had fish and chips two ways,  and there was also hake, cod and a fish pie, not to mention the regular mussels and oysters dishes.

I went for the Pan-fried King scallops with char-grilled aubergine and fresh salsa. Don't think I’ve ever had the scallop-aubergine combination before but it was a fantastic tasty mix, an appealing pairing by the Rising Tide chefs and so well presented.

Scallops, aubergine

I don't think I really needed anything else with it but there was no shortage on the sides with, between the two of us, salad, vegetables, and french fries all available. CL’s main dish was another well executed gem: Grilled sea-bream fillets set on a basil and goats cheese risotto. The risotto was lovely on its own and also a superb match with the well cooked fish. Big compliments to Head Chef Craig Guiney.

Quite an enticing list of starters here too, including Chowder, Crab, Goat’s Cheese, and Prawns, all sourced locally, as are the ingredients for the main dishes.  

After enjoying the breads and dips, I tucked into my opening dish. This was a delicate delicious starter: Lemongrass and Honey Chicken, cooked in a parma ham cream sauce in a savoury tartlet. CL got a bit more than she bargained for with two big discs of Jack McCarthy Wild Boar Black Pudding. Served with cider apple and seasonal leaves, this was a flavoursome reminder as to why McCarthy’s black pudding is regarded as the best in the country.

Black pudding and, top: Chicken starter (right) and dessert (Lemon & Figs)

By the time the main courses were polished off, a debate started on the desserts and the final agreement was to share the Lemon and Fig Posset and this, so velvety and so smooth, proved to be another little beauty from the Rising Tide kitchen.

Being a full bar, there is a great variety of drinks here. I enjoyed my pint of Rebel Red from the Franciscan Well while CL was very happy with a glass of Santa Sofia Pinot Grigio, billed, rather truthfully,  as “much richer and full bodied than your average Pinot Grigio”.

The Rising Tide

• Glounthaune Village,
• Cork

  Phone	(021) 435 3233
  Email	sandra@therisingtide.ie
  Website	http://www.therisingtide.ie

Superb Seafood Evening. French Flare at Fleming’s

Superb Seafood Evening

French Flare at Fleming’s

It was fish all the way at Fleming’s last weekend with chef/patron Michael Fleming displaying his renowned skills and, in the process, treating us to everything from the humble periwinkle to the noble salmon. Needless to say, all were cooked to perfection and the presentation was immaculate. Besides, I know I’ve said this before about this long established venue, the sauces are excellent here, illustrated once again with the smoked salmon dish.

A lively prosecco was our welcome drink and soon we were at our table, reading over the menu for the Seafood Evening, the anticipation growing as we awaited the first course.

And we weren't let down as the Seafood Platter on Ice arrived. The top of the two tiers was packed with seaweed and ice. Periwinkles were scattered around and there too were oysters, crab claws, and prawn cocktails. Great to look at it, even better to eat, especially with the beautiful dips provided. And that wasn't the end of the two part starter as next up was a bowl of perfectly fresh Moules a la crème. All dispatched with a glass of Trimbach’s Riesling trocken. Oh my, what a delicious opening.

And then came the Saumon Fumé: Oak Smoked Salmon glazed in a pink peppercorn sauce with white wine and tarragon. Roll out the superlatives here. Maybe I’ll just settle for great. And that sauce! The whole combination was brilliant, a kind of dish I haven't come across anywhere else. Delightful.

 And now for the main event: Brochette de fruits de Mer. No less than four fish in this one: Seafood brochette with risotto - a brochette of monkfish, sea bass, salmon, a beignet of hake, all served with risotto and grilled butternut squash. The three fish on the stick were superb, I really loved the seabass, but the hake was out of this world, fish perfection. What a dish and we had a lovely Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc to go with it.

No real fish with the two part dessert though the deeply gorgeous Dark Chocolate and Berry Tiramisu was decorated with a biscuity “Goldie Fish”. The other part, White chocolate and Cardamom mousse, was also heavenly, though on a lighter note. A perfect combination to finish a lovely evening on. Not alone is the food superb here; so too is the service, friendly and efficient, and you leave promising yourself to come back soon.

Fleming’s Silver Grange House is a historic Georgian house and restaurant, built by one of the prominent merchant princes of Cork, a local wine importer. Read all about it here.

Cornstore's Summer of Fish

Cornstore's Summer of Fish

With a stunning display by Chef John O’Connell, the Cornstore put the focus very firmly on their new fish menu last Tuesday. And make no mistake about it, they take their fish seriously here and it comprises close to fifty per cent of the menu at one of Cork's most popular restaurants, also well known for its aged steaks. Chef O'Connell and his team demonstrated in the most delightful way why the fish this summer at the Cornstore will be irresistible.

Mags O’Connor, who heads up the Cornstore’s Sales and Marketing, was delighted with their latest award. Both the restaurants, in Cork and Limerick have been given the Just Ask Award for May to add to the recent award for their Kids Menu. Tuesday though was all about the fish and it was hard to take the eye off the fantastic display. But it was there to be eaten and soon, with The Loungeman entertaining, we were enjoying ourselves, the display demolished in a very short time!

We had oysters and mussels, crab and crevettes, cod brandad, gravad lax, smoked salmon, anchovies on a red onion tart, and of course some of the whole salmon that was the centrepiece of the display. What a range of textures and flavours, even drinks as we also sampled a Dirty Martini that had some oyster in the bottom of the glass!

Chef O'Connell

Great produce, terrific cooking and mouth-watering presentation and you'll get more of all three in the months ahead. Mussels, oysters, scallops, Tiger Prawn and smoked salmon, will all feature on the list of starters. If I were to pick one now, I’d go for the Pan Seared Scallops with cod brandad, courgette and almond butter.

Crab, Crevette and lobster all feature in the selection of salads while Cod (with champ), Roast Salmon (with linguini) and a luxurious Fish and Chips (the fish is lobster) tops the bill in the mains section.   

But what I am really looking forward to are the Seafood Platters to share, ranging in price from €11.95 pps to €37.95pps. The latter is called the The Grand Market Platter and consists of Rock Oysters, crevettes, pickled dressed crab, cob bandad, salmon rillettes, marinated fillet of smoked salmon, steamed natural mussels and grilled ½ lobster. Wow!

* At the Cornstore, fish is not just for the adults. It also features strongly on their award winning Kids Menu.

** If you, not the kids!, are looking for a wine to go with the fish, may I recommended their Estivalia Sauvignon Blanc (Chile). Really enjoyed a couple of glasses (€6.50) of that on Tuesday evening.

Mr Hederman smokes fish. The Touch of a Master

Frank Hederman. Master of Balance.

Mr Hederman smokes fish, which is a little like saying Steinway makes pianos. (Johnny Apple, New York Times).

There is a fine balance to smoking fish, according to Frank Hederman who has been doing it in Belvelly, Cobh, for over thirty years now. The balance between the original fish flavour, the salt (for the cure) and the smoke is achieved with some delicate handling and determined by the experienced touch of the smoker. Time, timing and touch.

The touch and timing improve with time. I remember a member of the 60s pop band, the Searchers, telling a guitarist friend of mine maybe 15 years back that they were now much better musicians than they had been when they were in the charts. I suggested to Frank that he was now a better smoker than he was 30 years ago.

He laughed and agreed and amid an aside or two, one about the above mentioned Mr Apple,  told me he was self-taught and even now learns something new everyday.  

This is a busy smokehouse. “There is something going on here in this smokehouse every day of the week”, he said. And no wonder, as they have customers at home and abroad to take care of. Frank is “the smoker of choice for some of the world’s finest chefs and has also smoked salmon for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”.

Wild fish, and Frank is looking forward to getting some wild salmon soon, have to be handled with even more delicacy than normal. Any fisherman supplying Frank will need to know and love his fish and not just the money he can make from it. Early in his career, Frank saw a fisherman roughly lobbing salmon up from the boat, well below the level of the pier, on to the rough ground. The fish don't go down well and the act didn't go down well with Frank who never bought from him again.

The original smoker. Use the boot (right) for an idea of scale.

Frank’s timber smokehouse, the oldest traditional smokehouse in Ireland, is where the sides of salmon are hung on tenterhooks and bathed in natural smoke “for as long as they need”. The smoke comes from beech “which has fewer tannins than other woods, giving the salmon a distinctive delicate character”.

Frank likes to see his salmon handled well, both before it comes to him and after it leaves him. “We recommend that you allow it to come to room temperature before you eat it. Slice finely by cutting straight down to the skin with a very sharp knife.” And whatever you do, do not use lemon. “No lemon!”.

Frank is well entitled to lay down the law here. His experience is immense, yet there is no complacency and even now nothing is left to chance. He is always on the alert. A change in the outside atmosphere can upset the delicate balance sought inside. Will it rain soon? Does that smoke smell too strong?

He recalls how he started, by rebuilding an old shed, not quite according to the textbook, not all parallels were parallel. And here it all started, in a small smoker made of brick, the fish laid in a Pyrex dish. He used barrels from Midleton Distillery (50 pence a barrel) for chips and fed them in by hand “for hours on end”. The timber was soaked in alcohol and every now and then there was an explosion and the Pyrex dish came flying out the opening until a simple slat was attached.

Cheese and tomatoes in the smoker.

It was rough and ready. “I was daft and mad”, he laughs. But he went on to build Ireland's first modular fish plant and the rest is history.

Hederman's also smoke silver eel, mackerel, haddock and mussels and in the kitchen “simple recipes are transformed with the finest smoked fish, and other local specialities, including Ballycotton Irish queens, smoked Glenstal country butter, stoneground pinhead oatmeal from Macroom, and Ballintubber Farm vegetables. We make everything by hand, within reason, and use only natural preservatives such as lemon juice.”

Thanks to Frank and Caroline, you may enjoy Smoked Salmon Crush & Smoked Mackerel Crush; Smoked Salmon and Mackerel Pate; Poached Salmon & Crab salad with Marie Rose; Mrs. Hederman Smoked Fish Cakes; Smoked Tomato Tapenade; and much more. Check it out here .

These products are only available in local markets. Hederman’s have three stalls, in Midleton, Cobh (run by Frank’s amazing 83 year old Dad) and of course in the English Market (where their space is soon to be revamped).

Smoked Mackerel on a Hederman stall in Midleton.
Frank says Mackerel is the most under-rated fish.

Electric Fish Bar Celebrates

Electric Fish Bar Celebrates

Congratulations to Electric on the South Mall who celebrated the first birthday of their upstairs Fish Bar with quite a party last Wednesday night. Great too to meet and have a chat with Denis O’Mullane and Ernest Cantillon, the men behind the Electric enterprise. Neither seems to know where the past 12 months vanished to, but then they've been working hard!

Cork’s foodies were out in force to help celebrate the event and restaurant manager Triona Hennessy was on hand to ensure it all went well. She needn't have worried, as the happy guests were treated to some of the most popular dishes from the past year including Scallop & Cod Burgers, Thai Monkfish and Fresh Oysters.

Must say that the Burger, with its fabulous flavours plus the gorgeous texture of that Brioche bun (made on the premises), is a winner for sure and I enjoyed every tasty bit of that one. CL meanwhile was tucking into the Pan Fried Hake with Chickpea, Tomato and Spinach Ragout and Crispy Chorizo, another cracking dish.

We enjoyed the sunny view over the Lee as we started with a medley of Oysters, Seared Tuna and Salmon Gravadlax. Delicious and so too was Fiona Turner’s Tinpot Hut Pinot Gris that accompanied us for the evening. Nice touch too at the end with a dessert plate that surprised and included a Fruit Sushi, Pineapple Melty Bits and meltingly gorgeous truffles. Yes, indeed, Electric know how to celebrate!

Speaking about the success of the Fish Bar's first year, Ernest said: "The FishBar at Electric is extremely popular. We pride ourselves on being innovative and providing the highest quality fish dishes to our customers. We are lucky in Cork that we have access to such a plentiful supply of locally sourced fresh seafood, so we like to make the most of it. To celebrate our first birthday we wanted to treat our guests to some of our favourite and most popular dishes over the past year and judging by the empty plates it went down well.”

In the last 12 months, this Mediterranean inspired FishBar has gone from strength to strength, creating a fresh buzz in Cork City, and open each week from Wednesday to Saturday (5.00pm till late). No need to book - reservations are not taken - just walk in and enjoy.