Thyme & brandy Chicken liver pate

There is no slaving over a hot cooker with this delicious Chicken liver paté that take less than 15 mins to cook, leaving you plenty of chill out time with friends.Whether served as a starter or as canapés, nothing beats the traditional Chicken liver paté served with crusty bread, Melba toasts and assorted pickles.

Thyme and Brandy Chicken liver pate

• 55o grms of Chicken livers, trimmed ,cleaned and soaked in milk
• 120 grms of unsalted butter
• 2 tsp of olive oil
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 tsp of fresh thyme 
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 50 ml of brandy / sherry/ Madeira
• 150 ml of cream
• sea salt & blk pepper
• pinch of chilli flakes
• bay leaf & juniper berries to garnish
• clarified butter to finish

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the some of the butter and the oil. Next add the shallots, garlic, chilli flakes and thyme. Cook until soft and aromatic.
Drain the chicken livers and add to the pan. Cook for a further couple of mins. Pour in the brandy and continue to cook until evaporated.
Blitz the mixture with the cream and the remaining butter until smooth. Season to taste and blitz again.
Push the mixture through a sieve and spoon into ramekins. Allow to cool slightly and coat with a thin layer of clarified butter. Garnish with a couple of juniper berries/ pink peppercorns and a small bay leaf . Refrigerate until firm.
Serve with crusty bread and pickles as a starter or turn into small quenelles over toasted bread for canapes.

Tagged:robert jacob- chicken liver pate- starter- canapes


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Carpaccio of Beetroot with soft goat's cheese and walnuts

I don't know about you but I just love beetroot and cannot resist when I see the heirloom variety at the market.I love their sweetness,the jewel colours and they look very stylish on a plate. With a minimum effort, you are sure to impress any guests and they will taste good too.
Beetroot is well known for boosting stamina and make muscles work harder as it contains a variety of goodness among others potassium, magnesium, iron, folic acid and vitamins A, B6, and C.
What's more, just 3 small beetroots equal one of your recommended five portions of fruit & veg a day. Steamed, boiled or baked , they can be eaten cold, diced or sliced into a salad; mixed with horseradish or pickled as a condiment, shredded raw into a salad,cooked with butter and dill or boiled into a rich borscht.
The leafy green portion of the plant is also edible and steamed, it has a similar texture and taste to spinach and the young shoots can be eaten raw into a salad.
Here is one of my favourite way to eat them.

Sea-bass en papillotte with lemongrass & star anise

Cooking fish couldn't be simpler and doesn't get any better than this recipe. There is no call to go tarting up good fresh fish. The best way is to keep it simple and with simple flavours. People are forever saying that it is tricky to cook fish but take it from me that it's dead easy to cook fish. The trick is not to overcook it ,Once it's starts to turn from opaque to white, it's cooked and slightly undercooked is a hell of a lot better than overcooked to cotton wool consistency.
Here I am using some delicate Thai flavours which makes this dish very very tasty.
Cooking " en papillotte " is literally cooking in a sealed parcel made out of parchment paper and if you're in an Al Fresco mood, wrap in tin foil and cook over the BBQ.

Pan fried Scallops with Savoy cabbage & fennel. Food in a flash

Isn't it strange how we have amazing seafood in this island and yet we don't eat a lot of fish. Furthermore good fishmongers selling fresh fish are a rare breed and rather hard to find. Gone are the days when you could pop into Molloy's off Grafton street or Sawyer's on Baggot street and pick up some fresh catch. Recently on a trip to Howth , I purchased some mighty and very fresh Scallops and couldn't wait to get home and cook them. Scallops are highly regarded and expensive and should be eaten as soon as possible after buying. If they are still in their shells, open them by separating the shells with a knife or by putting in a hot oven. The edible part is the round white muscle and the orange roe, called coral.The frilly gills and mantle should be removed and can be used for soups and stock.
The best way to cook Scallops is on the pan, but they can also be steamed, grilled, poached or eaten raw in a Ceviche. Here I seared them  in a hot pan but cooking should always be brief so the Scallops stay sweet and juicy.
This delicious dish will be on the table in 15 mins and better still, it's all prepared in one pan, so there's hardly any washing up. And if you are not watching your intake of calories,this dish tastes delicious served with warm crusty bread.

Creme Caramel

Now that Summer is finally here, when berries and fresh fruits are bountiful and the children on holidays, every Mum in the land is being asked to bake a Pavlova. Everyone's happy, as there is nothing easier to whip up a meringue base, slather on some whipped cream, mixture of fruits and a dusting of icing sugar. But most of the time, we are left to look at all the egg yolks and wonder what to do with them. Ice cream is a firm favourite but not everyone has an ice cream maker. Don't panic , here is a simple ,very easy recipe and guaranteed to please everyone. A french classic set cream infused with vanilla & caramel.
This dessert also makes a great finish to any dinner party and for that something special try infusing the milk with Orange peel, bay leaf and Stroh rum. Stroh rum is a mighty Austrian rum, it has a distinctive caramel flavour that lends itself so well to this dessert. You will need ramekins to make individual portions.
This dessert always brings to me memories of yester years and nostalgia, It reminds me of the kitchen of my mother and before that of my grandmother. It's like being back at home.

Leek & Stilton tart .... Savoury for any time, from brunch to supper

With the holiday season upon us,when the kids are at home with their posse of friends all hanging around your kitchen,and without doubt working their way through your fridge,This is the time to draw boundaries and find some recipes that are just for your taste buds. Yes, time to be a little bit selfish, for let's face it, while we love them dearly, they tend to take over our lives. Hence, it is always nice to have something simple and light,at hand to fill that little peckish gap before moving on to yet another car ride to the cricket, football or rugby club or is it all three !!! more or less at the same time and in locations scattered across the city or God forbid , during this melee, unexpected guests or distant cousins & aunts turning up unannounced....with yet more Kids !!!!
Here is a quick ,easy yet delicious tart to prepare and it will take you from brunch to supper. As most kids don't like Stilton or blue cheese of any sort, you are perfectly safe that it will be all yours.
Ditch the apron, put your feet up, relax and enjoy.

EirGrid Euro-Toques Food Awards 2014

The very best of Irish produce were recognised and celebrated yesterday at the Euro-Toques Food Awards 2014. The event took place at the Residence Club on St Stephen's Green in Dublin at a reception hosted by Ella McSweeney with canapés featuring the Award Winning foods, stylishly prepared by Graham Neville of Restaurant Forty One.
With Irish Cuisine and produce currently enjoying international recognition, five producers from all over Ireland were presented with a coveted Euro- Toques Award for their outstanding produce.The Award also recognises innovation and the preservation of traditional methods handed down from generation to generation and these were very much alive with these winners, albeit an innovative twist but foremost, their passion for the survival of traditional techniques and skills and channelling those into thriving Artisan businesses.
The Winners were selected by  Ireland's 160 Euro-Toques Chefs; Central to the selection criteria among others were Taste;Environmental sustainability;Preservation of traditional methods and Provenance.