Darina Allen: Cookbooks to gift and recipes for smashed potatoes and Christmas fudge

Darina Allen shares gift inspiration and festive recipes in the nick of time for Christmas

Picture: Daniel Callen

Last week, my column was packed with suggestions for edible presents. This week. I’m going to suggest some recently published cookbooks — some for beginners, others for culinary creatives, cake makers, nature lovers, and still others to delight the food historians, and one outstanding bread book for the baking nerds in your life. Richard Hart’s Bread: Intuitive Sourdough Baking book arrived on my desk recently.

This much-anticipated book written by legendary, and I don’t use that term lightly, bread baker Richard Hart considered by many to be one of the world’s great bakers. He founded Tartine in San Francisco with Chad Robertson, then went on to work with René Redzepi at Noma, before establishing the hugely successful Hart Bageri in Copenhagen, and more recently he has launched Green Rhino bakery in Mexico City.

There’s nothing in the world that Richard cares more about than bread except perhaps, his beautiful wife Henrietta, aka ‘The Rare Tea Lady’ whose book Infused, about tea is also worth seeking out. It’s a deep dive into the story of exquisite teas, made by small farmers who are totally passionate about it.

Next up — Anna Haugh, one of our own. According to Gordon Ramsay, “Anna Haugh is definitely one of the most talented chefs ever to come out of Ireland”.

Anna hails from Tallaght in Dublin. Many of you will know her from her TV series, No Place like Home. Anna lives for cooking, is super driven and, as long as she can remember, has been determined to learn more to hone her craft. She worked in the kitchens of many of the greats, Derry Clarke of L’Ecrivain, then onto Gaultiero Marchesi in Paris, back to London to work with Philip Howard, Shane Osborne, Gordon Ramsay. Anna was inspired by my mother-in-law’s Myrtle Allen’s philosophy at Ballymaloe House so she named her restaurant in London, Myrtle as a tribute.

You’ll love her first cookbook Cooking with Anna, modern home cooking with an Irish heart.

Next, a book given to me by a friend as a present saying “I think you might just love this”, Recipes for my London Kitchen by Cathy Gayner (self-published). No bells and whistles but so many delicious recipes that you’ll be tempted to cook, including this little jam.

I have indeed become very fond of it. We all need to have a few quick and easy standbys in our repertoire. Not all the recipes are as quick as these, but they are all ‘keepers’. The book is sold in aid of charities in Suffolk benefiting disadvantaged youth and elderly. Afterwards I saw that Cathy’s book has drawn praise from both Rick Stein and Albert Roux — how about that?

For historians in your life, it would be difficult to beat the following two — An Irish Food Story, 100 foods that made us, by the remarkable JP McMahon. A brilliantly researched and beautifully written book it has notable end pages by Nataliia Dragunova. The chapters are short, hope JP will forgive me for saying that it’s a perfect book to pick up in the loo.

Book of the year for my money is Irish Food History — a companion by Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire, and Ballymaloe Cookery School alumni Dorothy Cashman, with contributions from multiple scholars. A meticulously researched tome that has garnered praise and awards from many quarters including Bookselling Ireland - Food and Drink Book of the Year at the recent An Post Book Awards.

I can’t finish without mentioning Nature Boy, written by ecologist and ornithologist Seán Ronayne, an extraordinary young man from Cobh who has made such a huge contribution to mankind and nature by recording the bird song of all our species in Ireland and beyond. 

Christmas Fudge

This excellent recipe for fudge is really a complete cheat and it takes a moment to make

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 2 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 15 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 500g best white chocolate

• 400g jar of mincemeat

Method

1. Over barely boiling water, melt the white chocolate you can find, while still on the heat, stir in the mincemeat.

2. Pour into a lined loaf tin and refrigerate for a couple of hours before slicing. Wrapped prettily, it makes a good present.

Pistachio Pesto

I often use leftover herbs, nuts and whatever cheese I happen to have to make an instant supper. This is one of my favourite combinations.

Servings

3

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 5 mins

Total Time

 10 mins

Course

 Side

Ingredients

• 100g basil leaves

• 75g pistachios

• 1 garlic clove

• 70g Pecorino

• 120ml olive oil

• salt and pepper

Method

1. In an ideal world, this should be done in a pestle and mortar, but I am no purist, so I whizz everything up in a food processor and it takes no more than a moment to produce something irresistible.

Creamed Eggs

This is my standby recipe when I am in a hurry or when a guest turns up unexpectedly. You will probably have all the ingredients already but if you don’t have any cream, just substitute milk.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 45g Cheddar, grated

• 45g Parmesan, grated

• 125ml milk

• 125ml cream

• 3 eggs

• 6 rashers, smoked streaky bacon, cooked until crisp

• pepper

Method

1. Divide the bacon between 6 ramekin dishes. Stir the cheese into the mixture of milk and cream, whisk in the eggs and season with plenty of black pepper.

2. Pour into the ramekin dishes and cook at 200°C/Gas Mark 6 (180°C fan) for 10-15 minutes or until the tops are puffed up and golden.

Smashed Potatoes

Potatoes cooked in this way can be done hours ahead and even frozen – just reheat them for 10 minutes at 200°C/Gas Mark 6 (180°C fan)

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Side

Ingredients

• 500g small potatoes, boiled until just tender

• 100g butter

• 1 plump garlic clove, crushed

• 25g Parmesan, grated

• 1 heaped tsp smoked paprika

• 1 heaped tsp oregano or thyme

• 1 plump garlic clove, crushed

• salt and pepper

Method

1. Melt the butter and cook the garlic for no more than a minute.

2. Season well and stir in all the other ingredients.

3. Coat the potatoes in this mixture and arrange them on baking parchment in a roasting tin.

4. Gently squash each one with a potato masher and cook at 200°C/Gas Mark 6 (180°C fan) for 25 minutes.

All recipes from A London Kitchen by Cathy Gayner.

Myrtus ugni

I’ve just discovered that Carewswood Garden Centre in Castlemartyr, Co Cork have now got Myrtus ugni in stock. It’s one of my favourite Christmas pressies for my foodie friends.

It’s got many common names, Strawberry myrtle because of its strawberry-flavoured fruit, to tazziberry by which it is known in Australia and New Zealand.

Myrtus ugni is native to the Valdivian rainforest in southern Chile. It was first introduced to Europe in the 1840’s where it quickly became Queen Victoria’s favourite fruit. In recent years it has become a popular plant among chefs, but it’s not commercially grown so much. It flowers in spring with delicate, fragrant flowers, which turn into delicious wine coloured berries by mid- autumn, often staying on the shrub long after Christmas — delicious particularly with game, in salads, relishes, or float in a festive gin and tonic!

carewswood.ie

The Mince Pie Project

Hilary Quinn’s Mince Pie Project is back in full swing and is open for online orders. Hilary’s delicious handmade pies are made with plump dried fruit soaked in Barry’s Tea, beef suet from Frank Murphy Butcher’s in Midleton, Green Saffron spices, and a signature flaky pastry crust. Eat them warm with lots of Irish whiskey cream.

€1 from every mince pie sold will be donated to Marymount Hospice in Cork.

For more, see @hilary_quinn on Instagram.

Support local this Christmas

Let’s all make a determined effort to support local businesses, bookshops, artisan producers, and bakers this Christmas.

Just €1 spent locally can generate €4 extra in the community as opposed to €1 spent online via a well-known website…shopping locally helps to keep jobs in Irish towns and villages.