Darina Allen: Celebrating the joy of food with Rory O'Connell

Ginger, lemon and turmeric cake

The Joy of Food , Rory O’Connell’s excellent third book was published by Gill Books at the beginning of October. My signed copy arrived in the post, beautifully wrapped with a limited-edition linen tea towel from Stable. That’s the gorgeous shop in Westbury Hall, off Dublin’s Grafton Street where I want to buy absolutely everything in the shop. The package also included several postcards of Rory’s line drawings that illustrate the pages of this enchanting book. All so beautifully chic and stylish.

I know what you’re thinking — 'well, She would say that wouldn’t she? After all, Rory is Darina’s brother who co-founded the Ballymaloe Cookery School with her in 1983'. True, but many of you who have been watching the accompanying series, The Joy of Food on RTÉ, will have realised that Rory is an exceptional talent: a curious chef with his own unique style, who not only loves to cook but also loves to share his knowledge, making him a much-loved teacher here at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in East Cork.

For me, as his older sister, it’s a trip down memory lane — an extra fascinating element. We were both brought up in the little village of Cullohill in the rural midlands of County Laois by a mother (our Dad died when I was 14) who loved to cook yummy meals for us every single day. Simple but truly delicious comforting food, vegetables and fruit and berries from the kitchen garden. Chickens and eggs from our own hens, milk from the Kerry cow, meat from the local butcher, wild food in season…..this was our norm and was unquestionably where we learned to cook but also to appreciate the magic of food and its ability to enhance both our family life and the experience of friends and the students we share with.

The evocative introduction to the chapters in this new book gave me an even deeper insight into my brother's psyche, his passion for good food, and superb ingredients in season. Memories of family picnics, foraging expeditions up Cullohill ‘mountain’ to gather hazelnuts, the importance of laying a beautiful table and lighting a candle, even when dining alone. Read about the difference a little bunch of flowers makes, I also loved his homage to the pestle and mortar, his musings on the joy of owning a few hens and was intrigued to read how much Jane Grigson’s book ‘Good Things’ meant to him because it’s my favourite too.

It’s packed with delicious-sounding recipes, special tips, and insight into how to use some less familiar ingredients such as sumac, perilla, and shiso. 

I’ve chosen a few of my favourite seasonal recipes to tempt you. Don’t miss the Pantry and Preserving section towards the end of the book — a personalised copy would make a brilliant Christmas present.

Eggs stuffed with Mayonnaise and Nasturtium

Serves 4

• 4 eggs
• 3 tablespoons homemade mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons finely-chopped nasturtium leaves and flowers
• 2 green olives, stoned and halved or quartered
• Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

To decorate

• 8-16 small nasturtium leaves
• 8 nasturtium flowers
• 8 slivers of green olive (2 olives will easily yield this)

• Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and add a good pinch of salt. Drop in the eggs carefully and boil for exactly 10 minutes. Remove immediately and chill in cold water.
• Peel the eggs and cut them in half lengthways. Remove the hard yolks and place them in a sieve over a bowl. Push the yolks through the sieve and then scrape the bottom of the sieve to ensure you have not wasted any. Add in the mayonnaise and chopped nasturtiums and mix well with a wooden spoon. Taste and correct seasoning. I find it is easy to over-season stuffed eggs as the eggs have been salted in the cooking and the mayonnaise will have been salted in the making, so proceed with caution.
• Use a teaspoon to drop and divide the egg yolk mixture into the hollowed-out egg white. You could also use a piping bag fitted with a large plain or star nozzle. Decorate each egg with a nasturtium flower and leaf. Finally, place the sliver of green olive in a prominent place so that its sharp flavour does not come as a surprise to diners. By now the eggs embellished with flower and leaf should look like the smartest hat ready for the Chelsea Flower show or a day at the races.

Rory O'Connell's Lamb Shanks with Tomatoes and Almonds

This recipe has its origins in the wonderful cooking of north Africa. The large quantity of tomatoes combined with the gentle combination of spices are cooked down to a rich and sumptuous sauce. I cook this dish when fresh and vine-ripened tomatoes are readily available. I think that is when the dish is at its best as the perfume and depth of flavour of tomatoes that have come to their prime on the branch is reflected in the finished dish. I have also used frozen tomatoes with excellent results though the juicy nature of those requires a longer cooking to reduce the sauce to the required thick and coating consistency. It may seem strange to grate rather than chop the onions, but this process yields a softer edge to the cooked onions which then disappear into the sauce. The addition of honey and powdered cinnamon at the end of cooking is when the dish really starts to sing and though the quantity of both may seem excessive, it really is needed to bring all of the aromatic flavours together.

The shanks can, of course, be served whole, but I now prefer to slide the softly tender meat off the bone back into the sauce and serve less to match the changing tastes in relation to my consumption of meat. I usually leave one of the shanks whole as part of the presentation of the dish. You will know what is required at your table. The dish would be perfect served with a lovely fluffy couscous or a buttery and smooth mashed potatoes. I also serve a bowl of dark green crispy leaves tossed in a simple vinaigrette to accompany.

The dish reheats perfectly and, in that case, may need a few drops of water added to loosen up the consistency.

Serves 5-8

• 5 lamb shanks
• 50g butter
• 160g onion, peeled and coarsely grated
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1 level teaspoon saffron threads
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 1.4kg ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 3-4 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
• 25g butter
• 200g almonds
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat parsley leaves
• Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

• Place the shanks, sitting sideways rather than standing up in a heavy casserole. Add the butter, onion, garlic, ginger and saffron.
• Dissolve the tomato puree with 450ml water, whisking it well and pour over the contents of the casserole. Add more water to barely cover the shanks. Season with salt and pepper. At this point, I like to taste the rather unappetising looking liquid just to check how the seasoning is going. I find that by doing this I will have a greater understanding of the progression of the flavour of the dish from start to finish and it teaches me a lot about how flavours change, blend and mature over a particular cooking time.
• Cover the casserole with a tight-fitting lid and simmer very gently for about 2 hours or until the meat is nearly ready to fall off the bones with a gentle push of a fork. It is vital that the lid of the saucepan is a tight fit to prevent the liquid from evaporating too quickly. If, this does happen, top up the level of water again though I find this rather dilutes the flavour of the finished dish. Alternatively, the casserole can be cooked in an oven heated to 160°C for a similar length of time.
• When the meat is cooked, remove it and the cinnamon stick from the casserole. Add in the chopped tomatoes and cook over a moderately high heat until the liquid from the tomatoes has all but evaporated. You will occasionally need to stir the casserole with a flat-bottomed wooden spoon to prevent scorching. The object is to end up with just the meat juices now richly-flavoured with the concentrated tomato. If you wish to serve the meat off the bone, you could gently push it off the bones while the tomatoes are cooking. I usually leave one shank whole as a presentation piece. Now add the honey and cinnamon and simmer for a moment longer to allow the flavours to mingle. Taste and correct seasoning.
• Melt the remaining butter in a sauté pan and allow to cook to a pale hazelnut colour. Add in the prepared almonds and a pinch of salt and fry until they colour very lightly. Lift them out of the butter with a perforated spoon.
• Reheat the lamb and tomatoes as necessary and place in a heated serving dish. Scatter over the almonds and parsley and serve with couscous or buttery mashed potatoes and a salad of crisp leaves on the side.

Rory O’Connell’s Roast Plums with Pomegranate Molasses and Crème Fraiche

Serves 4-6

• 8 blood plums
• 110g caster sugar
• 1 lemon
• Pomegranate molasses
• Crème fraîche

Roast plums

Preheat oven to 180°C

• Halve the plums leaving the stones intact in some of the halves and place in a close-fitting baking dish.
• With a swivel top peeler, peel 5 strips of peel off the lemon and push in around the plums. Scatter on the sugar and squeeze over the lemon juice.
• Wet a piece of parchment paper under a tap and then squeeze out the excess moisture. Spread the dampened paper over the dish and down to cover the sides. Place in the oven and cook for about 25 minutes. Keep a close eye on the plums as the cooking times of plums will vary depending on the ripeness and the variety of plum being used. You want the plums to be perfectly soft but also still holding their shape. There should be beautiful burgundy-coloured juices surrounding the cooked plums.
• I like to serve the plums still slightly warm, though they are also delicious served chilled. If plating them individually, serve with plenty of the cooking juices, a dessertspoon of crème fraîche and a drizzle of the pomegranate molasses. If serving family style, serve the crème fraîche and pomegranate molasses separately and ensure all diners also spoon lots of the delicious cooking juices over the plums.

Rory O’Connell’s Homemade Stem Ginger and Chocolate and Ginger Mendiants

Learn how Rory makes his own stem ginger from The Joy of Food and then make these delicious treats.

• 225g dark chocolate, 62% cocoa solids
• 50g stem ginger

• Place the chocolate in a Pyrex bowl and sit over a saucepan of cold water. The bottom of the bowl should not be touching the water. Heat the water to a simmer and turn off the heat immediately. The chocolate will not be fully melted at this stage but the residual heat in the saucepan will melt the chocolate perfectly. Stir the chocolate with a rubber spatula.
• Remove the ginger from its syrup and dry well on kitchen paper. Cut into c 3ml dice.
• Lay a sheet of parchment or silicone paper on a baking tray. Spoon small blobs of the melted chocolate onto the paper — about the size of a €2 coin. Leave a little space between the chocolate blobs as they will expand slightly. Carefully scatter little dice of the ginger on to the chocolate. Allow to chill and set.
• Peel the mendiants off the paper and serve.

Rory O’Connell’s Ginger, Lemon and Turmeric Cake

• 175g butter at room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 175g self-raising flour
• 150g caster sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 30g fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

Icing

• 45g butter at room temperature
• 55g cream cheese
• 80g icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon of finely-grated peeled fresh turmeric
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 50g stem ginger, chopped into 1/3 cm dice
• 1 x 22cm cake tin

Preheat oven to 180°c.

• Brush the cake tin with a little melted butter and line the bottom with a disc of parchment paper. Dust the sides of the tins with a little flour and tap the tins to remove any excess.
• Place the butter, eggs, flour, sugar, lemon zest, and ginger in a food processor. Using the pulse button, process the ingredients very briefly to achieve a creamy consistency. This may take as little as 20 seconds. Ensure that all of the flour from the base and sides of the processor are amalgamated evenly into the mixture.
• Spread the mixture into the lined tin as evenly as possible. Place in the oven and cook for about 25 minutes or until the cake is risen, richly-coloured, and just barely starting to come away from the edges of the tin. Test that the cake is cooked by inserting a skewer into the cake and retracting it. The skewer should come out of the cake clean.
• Place the cake still in the tin on a wire rack and allow to cool for 15 minutes before carefully removing from the tin and replacing on the wire rack.
• To make the icing, place the butter, cream cheese, and sieved icing sugar in a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon until a creamy and fluffy consistency is achieved. Add the turmeric and lemon juice and mix in gently. Chill the icing until you are ready to ice the cake.
• When the cake has completely cooled, remove the parchment paper and place on a flat serving plate. Spread the icing over the top of the cake achieving a gentle and swirly finish. Scatter the diced stem ginger over the icing as evenly as possible.
• Serve the cake with crème fraîche or softly-whipped cream.

Hot tips

Jerusalem artichokes

We’ve just roasted the first of these knobbly tubers — super delicious, and super good for us, particularly important to cultivate a healthy gut biome and boost our immune system. Look out for them at Farmers Markets, we also dig them fresh from the garden for the Ballymaloe Cookery School Farm shop, open 10am - 5.30pm Monday-Saturday. Fantastic for soups, stews, gratins, pureés etc.

Irish Foodie Artisan Christmas Gifts

Ballymaloe Cookery School Farm Shop Christmas Hampers available to order. We have a fabulous selection of local produce gift packed, perfect as a gift this Christmas. Call our Farm Shop on 021 4646 785 to order and collect. Also available at our Market Stalls in Mahon Point and Midleton Farmers Markets.

Burren Smokehouse local produce Christmas Hampers: packed with delicious Burren Smokehouse products, Burren Gouda and Burren Whiskey Marmalade to name a few.  burrensmokehouse.com

Wildwood Vinegars Limited Edition Gift Box: these unique artisan vinegars made in Ballina, Co Mayo are available as a special limited edition gift set. 

husseysfarm.com