Weekend food with Darina Allen

THE whole gastro pub scene hasn’t quite taken off in Ireland in quite the same way as in Britain where some of the very best food is to be found in comfy grungy pubs often with mismatched wooden furniture and crockery, serving gorgeous non-fussy seasonal food.

There are many good ones now vying for my few precious meal slots when I’m in London. The Eagle, The Canton Arms, The Earl Spencer, Magdalen Arms, The Anchor and Hope… seven years after it first opened I still totally love the latter.

Jonathon Jones would probably blush to hear himself referred to as the most famous and successful gastropub chef in the British Isles but if anything the description is an understatement. His restaurant the Anchor and Hope pub in south London has won six major awards in as many years and is the darling of every restaurant critic who eats there.

In his teens, Jonathon Jones hated school and plotted and schemed incessantly to get out.

His dad wouldn’t allow him to leave until he came up with an alternative so he decided on the spur of the moment that he wanted to be a chef.

His dad thought he’d ‘fix him’ by getting him a job in a tough hotel kitchen in Edinburgh. He hated it but determinedly hung on, insisting he loved every minute! As luck would have it, his sister saw a brilliant article in the Financial Times about a restaurant called La Mimosa in the South of France.

The owner said her greatest challenge was getting staff to settle out in the wilds, coupled with the fact that the French find it challenging to work for a woman. Jonathon loved the sound of what she was doing — beautiful, fresh food simply cooked. He applied for and got the job. The rest is history.

So I decided that if we were to offer a gastro pub course at the Ballymaloe Cookery School, there probably wasn’t a better chap to teach it than Jones.

He came on Sunday, September 11, and with none of the cheffy airs and graces that are all too characteristic of many of the new breed of celebrity chefs. Jonathon was really keen to see the gardens and greenhouses and was genuinely excited by the beautiful fresh produce. It’s a great time of the year, the summer vegetables and fruit are properly tasty by now.

Jonathon charmed us all with his love of real food and his effortless skill in transforming cheaper cuts of meat and offal into the sort of gorgeous comforting food that you fight over.

The kitchen at Anchor and Hope is tiny yet every week they buy in whole animals, butcher them and use every last morsel in a delicious way.

Jonathon quoted Fergus Henderson of St John: “It’s disingenuous to the animal not to value and use every scrap.”

Sadly these skills are lost in some restaurant kitchens nowadays.

Here are some Anchor and Hope favourites which Jonathon shared with us.

Anchor and Hope’s Beetroot, Horseradish and Watercress Salad

Serves 6-8 as a starter

900g (2lb) small beetroot

4 eggs — soft boiled (cook for five minutes, cool and peel)

2 bunches of watercress

Horseradish Dressing

About 2 tablespoon freshly grated horseradish

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

A little freshly squeezed lemon juice

About 225g (8oz) crème fraíche (we use Glenilen)

For horseradish dressing:

Put the grated horseradish into a bowl. Season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice; add the crème fraîche and mix to combine.

Take 900g (2lb) even sized beetroots, wash well but do not damage the root, leave about 4cm (1½ inch) of leaf on top.

Cook with a little salt and vinegar in the water, (30 minutes to two hours depending on age).

When tender, peel and cut into chunky bite-sized pieces.

Dress rigorously with as much of the horseradish as you like, then gently fold in a bunch or two of washed watercress.

Divide between the plates. Decorate with soft boiled eggs, peeled and halved.

Serve with crusty bread.

Anchor and Hope’s Slow Cooked Lamb Neck and Gratin of Potatoes with Rosemary and Bay Leaves  Serves 9-10

3 whole lamb necks, usually on the bone – trim off excess fat

4 medium onions chopped coarsely

2 large carrots, cut in chunks

½ head celery, coarsely chopped

6 bay leaves

1 x 400g (14oz) tin of tomatoes

8-10 cloves of garlic

4 sprigs of rosemary

500ml (18fl oz) lamb stock or water

62ml (2½ fl oz) white wine

Heat a little sunflower oil in a suitable sized casserole. Season the neck with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook in the oil until nicely browned, remove from the casserole.

Add the peeled and chopped root vegetables. Nestle the lamb neck back in, add the herbs, white wine and tomatoes and enough stock to come 2/3 up the neck. Bring to a boil on top of the stove and put into the preheated oven at 250C/500F/Gas Mark 10 to start with and when it’s simmering gently, cover lamb loosely with the lid or parchment paper, reduce the heat to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and cook until completely tender — two and a half to three hours.

The meat should be almost falling off the bones. Cool until next day, remove fat and warm through in a hot oven uncovered. Serve with gratin of potatoes with rosemary and bay leaves.

Gratin of Potatoes with Rosemary and Bay Leaves

Serves 4

About 300ml (10fl oz) each of single cream and milk

2 sprigs rosemary and a couple of crushed bay leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and fairly thinly sliced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

A gratin dish

Butter for greasing

Parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6

Put the milk and cream into a heavy saucepan, add the scrunched bay leaves, finely chopped rosemary and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the shivery stage on a medium heat, turn off the heat and allow to infuse.

Meanwhile peel and slice the potatoes into 3mm (1/8 inch) thick slices approximately. Rinse the potato well to remove some starch, add to the herby infused liquid with the crushed garlic.

Bring to the boil on top of the stove (to take the rawness away).Then pour into a buttered gratin dish, cover with parchment paper.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes. Uncover and brown in a hot oven or under the grill.

Anchor and Hope’s Queen of Puddings with Raspberries or Blackberries

Stewed plums, greengages, apricots or Bramley apples are also good. Jonathon uses a big dish when making this recipe as individual ones don’t work in his opinion. Brown bread may be used — it tastes a bit more virtuous!

Serves 8-10

450g (1lb) fresh raspberries or blackberries or a mixture

1.2l (2 pints) full fat milk

zest of ½ an orange and ½ a lemon

1 vanilla pod

200g (7oz) soft white breadcrumbs, preferably sour dough (Jonathon uses St John bread)

100g (3½ oz) ground almonds

6 egg yolks

Meringue

6 egg whites

250g (9oz) caster sugar

To Serve

Pouring cream to serve

Gratin dish

Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas Mark 3.

Put the milk in a heavy stainless steel saucepan; add the orange and lemon zest.

Add one vanilla pod, split and with the seeds scraped out well and included. Bring to a simmer, add the bread chunks and ground almonds and allow to sit for five minutes — it should be the consistency of softish porridge. Add a little more ground almonds if necessary.

Separate the eggs, save the whites in a spotlessly clean bowl. Whisk the egg yolks into the base and pour into a gratin dish.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until just set. Allow to cool (can be cooked ahead and used next day but not ideal). Spread the fruit on top.

(Raspberry jam is also good and can be used in the traditional way if no fresh fruit is available).

Whisk the egg whites in a spotlessly clean dry bowl, free of grease and any residue of detergent.

Whisk until stiff, fold in the caster sugar. Dollop the meringue roughly over the top and spread so it covers the fruit to an even thickness – return to the oven and cook at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 15-20 minutes approximately. It should be crisp on the outside and be marshmallowy in the inside. Serve with pouring cream.

Hot tips

An intensive half-day course on coeliac cooking, led by Rosemary Kearney on Saturday, October 8, from 2pm to 5pm at Ballymaloe Cookery School — phone [phone] to book or online www.cookingisfun.ie

Rosie’s Farmshop was opened by Rosie Casey last June on her family farm at Poulmucka, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. She sells her own certified organic beef, pork and vegetables. Don’t miss the little teashop where Rosie bakes fresh scones daily and serves teas and Ponaire coffee. Contact 052-6137764 www.rosiesfarmshop.ie

Euro-toques have launched their 21st Young Chef of the Year competition, in association with BIM and Failte Ireland. The closing date for entries is Wednesday, October 12, at 3pm. www.euro-toques.ie/youngchef.php, 01-6779995/085-8520760 or email [e-mail]

A new Urru Greengrocer will open on Saturday, October 8, 2011 in McSwiney Quay, Bandon, Co Cork. Nutritionist Lucy Hyland will deliver a “Shop Well, Cook Well, Eat Well — Be Well” nutrition programme. The cost is €80 for four workshops. 023-8854731 / 086-8372138.