Directions:

Put the wine, shallots, garlic, herbs and curry powder into a saucepan. Add the mussels, cover and steam open in the wine and other ingredients to get that
amazing flavour from the mussels. Shell the mussels and place them in a bowl, discard the shells. Strain the mussel cooking liquor into a saucepan and rapidly boil it down over a high heat to concentrate its flavour. Thicken the mussel liquor with roux to attain a thickish liquid. Add the boiling milk to thin out the soup to a light consistency. Just before serving, add the mussels and a little drizzle of cream and garnish with some finely chopped herbs or some croutons.

Main Course: Poached Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce

Go to your fish shop and ask your fish monger for a fresh centre-cut piece of salmon. Always remember this tip when buying fish – fresh fish should not smell fishy. It should be well coloured and odorless.

Directions:

To poach a piece of fish bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Turn off and sit the piece of salmon in the water for 20 minutes. While the salmon is poaching, make the Hollandaise sauce.

Hollandaise sauce:

2 egg yolks,

5 ozs butter diced,

1 dessertspoon cold water,

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions:
Put the egg yolks into a saucepan on a low heat, add the water and whisk thoroughly. Add the butter bit by bit and whisk all the time. As soon as one piece melts, add the next piece and so on. Do not stop whisking or leave the pan or it will split. This is hard work but its worth it. At this stage your salmon will be poached. Place on a plate, pour a little of the sauce over the salmon and garnish with a lemon wedge and some fresh herbs. If you wish to accompany this with vegetables or potatoes, I would recommend some glazed carrots and parsnips and some creamy mash potatoes.

Dessert: Panna cotta with summer fruit Coulis.

For Panna Cotta.

1 pint of cream

2 ozs castor sugar

1-2 vanilla pods, split lengthways

2 teaspoons of gelatine or 2 gelatine leaves

3 tablespoons of water.

For summer fruit coulis

450g of fresh strawberries

2 1/2 ozs of castor sugar.

Lemon juice

Put the cream into a saucepan with the split vanilla pods and castor sugar. Put on a low heat and bring to the shivery stage. Meanwhile sponge the gelatine in the water and then add to the cream sugar and vanilla pods. Whisk for two minutes and then remove the vanilla pods. Turn off the heat. Pour the liquid into jelly moulds and do not forget to grease the inside of the moulds or else you won’t be able to turn them out. Place in the fridge for at least three hours to set. Then make the summer fruit coulis.

Clean and hull the strawberries and put into a blender with the sugar and blend together for three minutes. Squeeze in a little lemon juice and blend again for another minute. Turn out the panna cotta’s and dress with some strawberries and coulis.

Some Tips and Advice

The most important part of putting any dish together is buying good quality ingredients. We should use our butchers and fish mongers skills more often and don’t be afraid to ask them to trim the meat or fish exactly the way you want it. Look, feel and smell what you’re buying to be sure it’s good quality. Remember you’re paying good money for it so make sure it’s good quality. We need to use our farmers markets a lot more because these markets are amazing, they have top quality fruit, vegetables, fish and breads and these people are not appreciated enough for the amazing products that they produce. Also you are buying fresh ingredients at a lower price and by using them it keeps them funded to keep growing and supplying. We are really lucky in Ireland to have these great artisan food producers and when you use them and taste their products you’ll soon see the difference in your cooking. Happy cooking.

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Olive oil

4 chicken breasts

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 tbls cornflour

150ml dry white wine

150ml chicken stock

200ml double cream

1tbssp wholegrain mustard

2tbls chopped fresh chives

Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and brown the chicken well on both sides. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side. Remove and keep warm.

1. Gently sauté the shallots in the olive oil until soft.
2. Dissolve the cornflour in the white wine and add to the pan. Bubble up for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the mustard, chicken stock and cream.
4. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Adjust seasoning and garnish with chives.

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2 large free-range eggs

2tsp sugar

275ml double cream

1tbsl Amarula liqueur

Crunchy Caramel Topping

165g sugar

115ml water

Method:

1. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Gently heat the milk and Amarula in a saucepan until the milk begins to shiver, but do not boil.
3. Pour in the egg yolk mixture very slowly into the milk beating all the time.
4. Return to the heat and cook over a medium heat until the custard is just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
5. Spoon into ramekins and chill overnight.,
6. To make the caramel, place the water and sugar in a small pot and stir gently until the sugar melts. Bring to the boil and cook until the sugar syrup goes a dark brown chestnut colour. Carefully spoon over the caramel syrup over the custard and leave to cool.
7. Serve with seasonal fresh fruit if desired.

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Add a chilled glass of white wine, a group of girls, some scintillating conversation and you’re set!!

Fig and Blue Cheese Crostini

(serves four)

1 small loaf half-baked ciabatta bread

Olive oil

8 fresh figs

200g Bellingham Blue cheese

12 slices Parma ham

3 sprigs fresh thyme

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Thinly slice the ciabatta bread and drizzle with olive oil. Place on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.
3. Trim the tops off the figs and score the top of the fig. Mash the blue cheese with a few fresh thyme leaves and stuff into the top of the fig. Bake the figs at the same time as the bread for ten minutes.
4. On each slice of bread, arrange half a slice of Parma ham and the bake fig on top.
5. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve immediately.

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“Wine gives courage and makes men more apt for passion.” – Ould

For a special romantic evening, may I suggest that you choose foods that are delicious but healthy and not overly heavy. After all, you want to have some energy left for romance!  Romance should be all about feeding all five senses – sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. Imagine a living-room with a romantic setting: candlelight (sight), scented candles (smell), soft music (hearing), chocolate strawberries (taste) and a sweet wine (feeling). Jot down a list of items that your partner loves such as foods, sweets, music, wines, etc. Look at this list, open your mind to the possibilities, and create your own special day. Don’t aim for ‘perfection’, aim for ‘thoughtful’.

If your sweetie gives you wine and chocolate, you have two reasons to thank him or her.  Not only did you give a lovely, romantic gift, but you have given a gift that may actually be good for you.

There’s nothing wrong with chocolate unless you are eating it all day. A little dark chocolate and red wine every day is quite healthy and beneficial. Chocolate tastes great, has a sumptuous texture, and contains theobromines and caffeine, which are mood elevators. A little wine red can calm and ease the pressures at the end of a long day.

So enjoy your romantic evening and don’t feel guilty about the occasional dark chocolate or red wine indulgence.

So have a nice Valentine’s Day and remember the immortal words of Martin Luther (1777)

“He who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long”.

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Serves 4.  Vegetarian

Children and adults alike love cheese fondue because it’s a bit of a novelty. Definitely something to enjoy as a family – especially when a piece of bread disappears into the cheese sauce and everyone hunts around for it with their skewer!

• 75ml (3fl oz) dry white wine
• 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley (optional)
• 300g (11oz) Gruyre cheese, grated
• 400g (14oz) Emmental cheese, grated
• 200g (7oz) crusty white bread, cut into 2cm (1in) chunks

Cooking Instructions

1. Place the wine, garlic and parsley (if using) in a fondue pot or small saucepan, stir together and then add the grated cheeses. The fondue can be prepared ahead up to this point.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F), Gas mark 6.
3. Tip the chunks of bread onto a non-stick baking tray and bake in the oven for 8–10 minutes, tossing halfway through, until they are crisp and golden.
4. Place the fondue pot or saucepan on the hob at a low heat and cook until the cheese melts and begins to bubble, stirring occasionally. Serve the fondue immediately with the toasted bread. To eat, place a piece of bread on a fork or fondue skewer, dip in the fondue and enjoy!

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Servers 6-8. Vegetarian

In cooking, semifreddo (literally ‘half cold’) refers to certain kinds of chilled or partly frozen desserts. This particular dish is ideal for a dinner party or to serve to unexpected guests as you can prepare it in advance and take it out of the freezer shortly before serving. Simply cut into slices and serve. Feel free to add other ingredients with or in place of the dark chocolate, such as toffee brittle (see page 314) or liqueur-soaked raisins. It is fabulous served with chocolate sauce.

• 3 eggs, separated
• 150g (5oz) caster sugar
• 500ml (18fl oz) double or regular cream
• 200g (7oz) dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 175ml (6fl oz) dark chocolate sauce, to serve
• 900g (2 lb) loaf tin (24 x 11cm/ 9Hx 4Hin) with 8cm (3in) sides

Cooking Instructions

1. Line the base of the loaf tin with parchment paper or a double layer of cling film, leaving the excess hanging out over the edges.
2. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. In a second bowl, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Finally, in another (spotlessly clean) bowl, whisk the egg whites (with a clean whisk) until they form firm peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture and then carefully fold in the egg whites.
3. Sprinkle a third of the chopped chocolate evenly into the base of the prepared tin. Pour half the semifreddo mixture over the chocolate, followed by the next third of the chocolate. Finally, pour over the remaining semifreddo and top with the remaining chocolate. Cover with the excess hanging parchment or cling film and freeze for at least 6 hours until solid.
4. Once it is set, carefully remove the semifreddo from the tin, turning it upside down onto a plate, and remove the parchment or cling film. Cut into slices, using a warm knife if necessary and serve with a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Variations

Semifreddo with nuts: Substitute some of the weight of chocolate for roughly chopped nuts, such as pecans, almonds or hazelnuts, or even candied peel.

Citrus semifreddo: Try adding the finely grated zest of 1 large orange to the semifreddo, adding it when the whipped cream is being folded into the egg yolk mixture.

White chocolate semifreddo: Substitute the 200g (7oz) dark chocolate with a good-quality white chocolate and assemble the semifreddo in the same way. Serve with toffee sauce.

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Se r v e s 8 – 1 0

This is a classic Sunday lunch to savour. My favourite time to eat this dish is between spring and early summer when mint and redcurrant are in season and the lamb has a mild, sweet flavour. Serve both sauces with the lamb, if you wish, or just one or the other.

• 1 leg of lamb (2.5–3.5kg/ 5H–7Ilb)
• 1 large sprig of rosemary
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Mint sauce or redcurrant jelly to serve

For the gravy

• 600ml (1 pint) chicken stock
• 15–25g (H–1oz) roux
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F), Gas mark 6.
2. Place the joint in a roasting tin and make several deep incisions widthways across the top using a sharp knife. Pull the tufts of rosemary from the stalk and push them into each incision with a slice or two of garlic (it’s fine if they are left poking out a bit). Season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Roast the lamb for 20 minutes, then turn the heat down to 180C (350F), Gas mark 4, and cook for a further 1G–1H hours. Baste the lamb  occasionally by spooning the hot melted fat in the tin over the meat.
4. When the lamb is cooked, remove it from the tin, cover with foil and allow it to rest for 15 minutes – somewhere warm if possible (like on a plate/baking tray in a low oven). Meanwhile, make the gravy.
5. Place the roasting tin on a medium heat and deglaze with a little of the chicken stock, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping any sticky bits from the bottom, then follow the instructions for making gravy.
6. Carve the rested lamb into slices and serve with the gravy, mint sauce or redcurrant jelly, roast potatoes and your choice of vegetables. The sticky cumin and apricot roast carrots and parsnips (see opposite) would go perfectly with this.

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These are a real favourite of mine with a roast leg of lamb. The natural sugars in the vegetables work beautifully with the apricot jam to give it the perfect sticky and flavourful finish.

• 500g (1lb 2oz) small carrots, peeled and tops trimmed
• 500g (1lb 2oz) small parsnips, peeled and halved (if larger than the carrots)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp apricot jam
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F), Gas mark 6.
2. Place the carrots and parsnips in a large roasting tin and drizzle with the olive oil. Scatter over the cumin seeds, season with salt and pepper and toss everything together to coat evenly. Roast in the oven for 40–45 minutes, tossing occasionally in the oil during cooking, until tender and golden.
3. In the meantime, heat the apricot jam and lemon juice for a few minutes in a small saucepan, stirring until you have a smooth, runny sauce. Pour this over the carrots and parsnips for the last 10 minutes of cooking, tossing the vegetables in the sauce to coat evenly. Scatter with the coriander just before serving.

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