Darina Allen: My recipe for a foolproof rhubarb tart and a delicious custard to pour over it
Country Rhubarb Cake - Darina's favourite rhubarb tart with custard
World Health Day is on Thursday, April 7 this year. There’s a special day for virtually everything nowadays but it’s definitely worth reflecting on the source of good health.
The reality is our health comes from the soil, from healthy living soil — not from labs, factories or anywhere else. We can certainly influence our health and wellbeing by nourishing ourselves with vital living chemical-free food rather than with ultra-processed food that we now know damages our health and, in many cases, causes disease.
Every bite of food we eat has consequences, not just on our health but also the environment and the livelihood of our farmers and food producers.
I so wish this basic fact could be better understood and highlighted: we are totally dependent on the varying layer of topsoil around the world for our very existence. Sadly much of that soil is now seriously degraded. Here in Ireland, where we are fortunate overall to have a high percentage of good land, a recent Teagasc report concluded that 90% of Irish soils are deficient in one or more main soil nutrients. Minerals come from the earth’s crust, so if they are not there, they cannot be in our food.
At present because of the ‘cheap food policy’, the price at farm gate is rarely enough to enable the farmers to produce the kind of healthy wholesome food we say we want. Farmers are paid for volume and yield rather than nutrient levels. If this emphasis were to change, and it urgently needs to, it would be a complete game changer — better to pay the farmers to keep us healthy than have to pay the doctors for a cure.
Agribusiness is called agribusiness for a reason; the primary focus is on making money. New varieties are bred and selected for particular characteristics that impact the bottom line. Cultivars are chosen for disease resistance, high yields and physical appearance rather than maximum nutrient density. Intensive farming methods strip the soil of nutrients; chemical pesticides are formulated to kill specific weeds and/or pests but they also kill beneficial microorganisms in the soil. Microbes recycle and release nutrients into the soil, they are crucial to nutrient density. Just as our health depends on what we eat, vegetables and plants depend on what they absorb from the soil — so in the words of Eve Balfour whom I have quoted many times in this column: ‘The health of soil, plant, animal and man is one and indivisible.’
Seek out and support the small farmers and food producers at your local Farmers’ Market
Join an organic box scheme — Check your local area first but Green Earth Organics based in County Galway delivers to every county in Ireland.
Join your local branch of NeighbourFood. If there isn’t one in your area, start one. Founders Jack Crotty and Simone Crotty will generously share the model information with you – contact jack@neighbourfood.ie
Incorporate some wild and foraged foods that contain far more vitamins, minerals and trace elements into your diet — they are more nutritionally complex than many cultivated foods.
So as we move closer to the growing season, let’s redouble our efforts to grow some of our own food, even if it’s just one or two items. Get together with your pals and make a plan: you grow beets and scallions, someone else grows tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes; and everyone grows salad leaves and radishes and then share.
Here are a few inexpensive and delicious recipes to boost your family’s immune system and spread joy.
Slow-cooked lamb with cannellini beans, tomatoes and rosemary
Bean stews make the perfect one-pot meal — comforting, filling and inexpensive. Gremolata is a fresh-tasting mix of chopped parsley, garlic and lemon zest. I use it to sprinkle over roast or braised meats, pastas or anything pan-grilled. Delicious If you’
Servings
6Preparation Time
30 minsCooking Time
1 hours 30 minsTotal Time
2 hours 0 minsCourse
MainIngredients
500g boned shoulder of lamb, trimmed of fat and cut into 3cm cubes
plain flour, for dusting
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
50g onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
225g carrots, finely diced
1 stick of celery, finely diced
2 bay leaves
a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 x 400g tins of Italian tomatoes, chopped
300ml white wine
300ml homemade lamb stock or water
2 400g tins of cannellini beans, rinsed in cold water and drained (*see note at end of recipe)
flaky sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
For the gremolata:
4 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 generous tsp grated or finely chopped organic lemon zest
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
flaky sea salt, to taste
Method
Dust the cubes of lamb with flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a casserole and fry the lamb in batches until brown. Remove the lamb to a plate and set aside.
Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery to the casserole and cook over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes until the onions are beginning to soften and are slightly golden. Add the lamb.
Reduce the heat to low and put in the bay leaves, rosemary, tomatoes, white wine and lamb stock or water. Bring slowly to the boil, cover the pan with a lid and simmer very gently for about one and a half hours, or until the lamb is tender. Add the cannellini beans 15 minutes before the end. Remove the rosemary sprigs and bay leaves from the lamb and check the seasoning.
To make the gremolata, mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl, season to taste with salt and serve soon.
Serve sprinkled with the gremolata and a big bowl of buttery scallion champ.
Scallion champ
A bowl of mashed potatoes flecked with green scallions with a blob of butter melting in the centre, add the butter just before serving so it melts into the centre. ‘Comfort’ food at its best.
Servings
4Preparation Time
5 minsCooking Time
25 minsTotal Time
30 minsCourse
SideCuisine
IrishIngredients
1.5kg (3lb) unpeeled 'old' potatoes e.g. Golden Wonders or Kerr’s Pinks
110g (4oz) chopped scallions or spring onions (use the bulb and green stem) or 45g (scant 2oz) chopped chives
350ml (10-12fl oz) milk
50-110g (2-4oz) butter
salt and freshly-ground pepper
Method
Scrub the potatoes and boil them in their jackets.
Chop finely the scallions or spring onions or chopped chives. Cover with cold milk and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat and leave to infuse. Peel and mash the freshly boiled potatoes and while hot, mix with the boiling milk and onions, beat in the butter.
Season to taste with salt and freshly-ground pepper. Serve in 1 large or 6 individual bowls with a knob of butter melting in the centre. Scallion mash may be put aside and reheated later in a moderate oven, 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Cover with parchment paper while it reheats so that it doesn’t get a skin and add the lump of butter just before serving.
Cullohill rhubarb tart
This is a gem of a recipe – a real keeper. The pastry is made by the creaming method so people who are convinced that they suffer from 'hot hands' don't have to worry about rubbing in the butter
Servings
10Preparation Time
20 minsCooking Time
40 minsTotal Time
60 minsCourse
DessertCuisine
IrishIngredients
For the pastry:
225g soft butter
50g caster sugar
2 eggs, preferably free-range
350g white flour, preferably unbleached
For the filling:
900g sliced rhubarb (about 1cm thick)
370g granulated sugar depending on whether you are using forced or garden rhubarb
egg wash made with one beaten egg and a dash of milk
caster sugar for sprinkling
To serve:
softly whipped cream
Soft dark brown sugar
Equipment:
tin, 18cm x 30.5cm x 2.5cm (7 x 12 x 1 inch) deep
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
First, make the pastry. Cream the butter and sugar together by hand or in a food mixer (no need to over cream). Add the eggs one by one and beat for several minutes. Reduce speed and mix in the flour slowly. Turn out onto a piece of floured greaseproof paper, flatten into a round wrap and chill. This pastry needs to be chilled for at least 2 hours otherwise it is difficult to handle.
To make the tart, roll out the pastry 3mm (⅛ inch) thick approx., and use about ⅔ of it to line a suitable tin. Place the sliced rhubarb into the tart, sprinkle with sugar. Cover with a lid of pastry, seal edges, decorate with pastry leaves, egg wash and bake in the preheated oven until the apples are tender, approx. 45 minutes to 1 hour. When cooked cut into squares, sprinkle lightly with caster sugar and serve with softly whipped cream and Barbados sugar.
Vanilla custard
Delicious hot or cold, once you've mastered custard you'll never look back
Servings
4Preparation Time
2 minsCooking Time
10 minsTotal Time
12 minsCourse
DessertIngredients
5 eggs, organic and free-range if possible
1 ¼ tbsp caster sugar
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ pints (750ml) rich milk
Method
Whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla extract. Heat the milk to the ‘shivery’ stage and add it to the egg mixture whisking all the time.
Put into a heavy saucepan and stir over a gentle heat until the custard coats the back of the wooden spoon lightly. Don’t let it boil or it will curdle.
Join us for the afternoon demonstration and be inspired to create your own Easter Feast. The gardens and greenhouses are bursting with colour and beautiful fresh produce. How about a potato and wild garlic soup or maybe some seakale and new season’s asparagus with hollandaise? Or succulent Easter lamb with a delicious fresh mint and apple chutney. For sweet treats, we’ll share our special rhubarb chevron tart. Hot cross bun custard pud is the way to everyone’s heart and of course a special Easter cake with crystallised primroses.
Booking essential.
The Gourmet Grocer Artisan Deli and Wine Store in Riverstick, County Cork is owned by Ballymaloe Cookery School alumna, Clara Cooney. She grew up surrounded by good food. I’m told the bread, pastries, salads, meals to-go are all made in-house with local Irish produce. Also a range of fantastic, cured meats, cheeses and other pantry goods from Irish Artisan Producers. Check out the range of wines too, all from independent family-run vineyards across the world using organic and biodynamic winemaking methods.
See thegourmetgrocer_ on Instagram
The Ballymaloe May Fair takes place at the Grainstore at Ballymaloe in East Cork from May 20-22, 2022. Ballymaloe’s newest festival is an ode to good food, gardening, green-living, home, health, fashion and Summer fun. Lá Bealtaine is one of Ireland’s ancient Celtic festivals celebrating the beginning of Summer.
Save the dates in your diary.
See Ballymaloe_grainstore on Instagram
