Darina Allen: Celebrate our Producers' Day at Ballymaloe Cookery School

Ruth Calder Potts' Mussels in Cider

As cooks and chefs, we are totally dependent on the quality of the raw materials we can source to make beautiful fresh tasting food. We are super fortunate in Ireland to have many fantastic artisan and specialist producers.

There’s a growing entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude around the country and the brilliant thing is that many of these start-ups are situated in rural areas, creating extra employment in the countryside.

Recently we celebrated our Producers Day here at the Ballymaloe Cookery School to introduce our students to some of the food heroes behind the ingredients they cook with. Among them were:

• Rod and Julie Calder Potts, an extraordinary couple of passionate entrepreneurs from Kilkenny, who farm with nature to produce a variety of beautiful apples, from which they make 15 plus organic products. Seek out their products in various locations all over the country and watch out for events at the Highbank Farm, see highbankorchards.com
• Eunice Power from Dungarvan in Waterford is another totally inspiring and seemingly unstoppable entrepreneur with a ‘can do’ attitude in spades. Her fish and chip restaurant in Dungarvan, And Chips, draws devotees from far and wide, see eunicepower.com 
• Sally Barnes from Woodcock Smokery overlooking Castletownshend harbour has been smoking fish for over 40 years. She learned her trade by trial and error. Her initial fish smoking efforts were a desperate attempt to preserve four beautiful brown trout that had been caught in Ballyalla Lough, now devoid of trout. She shared her passion for wild caught fish, fire and smoke, and her deep knowledge of the state of the seas, lakes and rivers. She is now teaching master classes in an attempt to pass on the skills she painstakingly acquired smoking award-winning wild salmon, albacore tuna, mackerel and other white fish over the years, see woodcocksmokery.com 
• Anthony Creswell’s Ummera Smokehouse is also in West Cork. A second generation multi award-winner who also smokes duck, chicken breast and traditional cured rashers as well as organic salmon, see ummera.com 
• Toby Simmons, known to many from his stall in the English Market in Cork city but also based in West Cork where he and his lovely wife, Jenny Rose have transformed the Toonsbridge Dairy close to Macroom into a destination café with a woodfired oven, shop and dairy that produces five or six types of Italian filata style cheeses to supply his many olive stalls around the country. See toonsbridgedairy.com 
• Rupert Hugh Jones produces both native and gigas oysters in Cork Harbour close to Carrigtwohill in East Cork where his father David established oyster beds in the 1960’s. Rupert is also founder of the award-winning Mahon Point and Douglas Farmers Markets. Rupert does many exciting corporate events and bespoke tours of Rossmore Oysters, see rossmoreoysters.com 

Ruth Calder Potts' Mussels in Cider

An Irish take on a fancy seafood staple.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4 rashers, dry-cured bacon

• 2 shallots, finely chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, crushed

• 2kg Irish mussels

• 1 bay leaf

• 50ml Highbank Proper Cider

• 150ml cream

• freshly ground black pepper

• handful of fresh parsley

• crusty bread (for soaking up all the sauce)

Method

1. Fry or grill the bacon until crispy then set aside. When they have cooled, cut them into strips.

2. Wash the mussels in cold water. Discard any open mussels.

3. Fry the shallots, until translucent along with the garlic.

4. Place the mussels, bay leaf and cider into a large pot. Add the onion and garlic and cover with the lid.

5. Place on the hob for about 5 minutes, shaking the pot a couple of times during cooking. The mussels should all have opened, remove the closed ones.

6. Add the cream, pepper and chopped parsley and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the bacon.

7. Serve with the crusty bread to mop up all the yummy sauce.

Eunice Power's Raspberry Coconut Cake

Every now and then you want to make a cake for someone special and push the boat out - this is one of those cakes.

Servings

1

Preparation Time

 2 hours 0 mins

Cooking Time

 50 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 50 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 275g self-raising flour

• 70g desiccated coconut

• 1 tbsp rosewater

• 375g caster sugar

• 175g butter, melted

• 3 eggs

• 375ml milk

• Coconut Cream Filling

• 300g white granulated sugar

• 6 egg whites

• 350g salted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• pinch of salt

• 160g coconut milk

• 2 tbsp of raspberry jam

• 100g raspberries

• 100g raw coconut (available in health food shops, I buy mine in Blasta Health Food Store, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford)

• a tiny drop of red food colouring

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3.

2. Lightly grease a 20.5cm tin with high sides and line with parchment paper.

3. Add all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir until mixed, then add in all of the wet ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon until smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool for 1 hour. This cake is moist and dense.

4. Coconut Cream Filling

5. Place egg whites and sugar in a saucepan and whisk until almost simmering. Remove from the heat and pour the egg white and sugar mix into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed for about 10 minutes, until the sides of the bowl are cool, and the mixture has about doubled in volume. Add the butter chunks, a few at a time, and beat until incorporated. It may look curdled but keep beating until the butter is well incorporated and the frosting is glossy.

6. Add the vanilla, salt, and coconut milk. Whip for another couple of minutes until smooth.

7. If you make this ahead of time, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Before using, bring it back to room temperature and whip it for a few minutes until smooth.

HOT TIPS

The Bread 41 Teach the Teachers Programme

An absolutely brilliant initiative - bravo to Eoin Cluskey and all the team at Bread 41 for launching The Bread 41 Teach the Teachers Programme. 

They are inviting home-economic teachers across Ireland to learn how to teach Breaducation and are on a mission to get more kids eating real bread. 

Interested home-economics teachers who would like to partake can apply online. 

• For more information, see bread41.ie

The Big Grill (August 17 – 20)

The Big Grill team is returning to Herbert Park, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 this August with a long list of chefs, cooks and restaurants from Thursday 17 - Sunday 20. The barbecue always takes centre stage but it doesn’t stop with the food including the Little Grillers family-friendly experience on the Saturday and Sunday day sessions. Bastecamp demo stage, Brewcamp drinks tent, cocktail masterclass plus numerous restaurants including Reggie Does Pizza and Los Chicanos who are operated by Ballymaloe Cookery School graduates Reggie White and Scott Holder. The wildly popular Chilli Eating Challenge has returned and there is a busy line up. Great music and entertainment, not to be missed.

• For more information, see biggrillfestival.com