2014 Recipes


Recipes created for the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards 2014 by chefs Derry Clarke and Michael Hunter of l’Ecrivain Restaurant, Baggot Street, Dublin 2, showcasing the 2014 award winners.

Irish Atlantic Sea Salt & caramel mousse with Stonewell apple cider sorbet

Craft ciders have been making a comeback and Derry Clarke showcases Stonewell’s tangy flavours by contrasting with a sweet and salty mousse in this contemporary Irish dessert.

Serves 4

for the sorbet

  • 250g sugar
  • 125g water
  • 1 tsp glucose syrup
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • 150g pressed apple juice
  • 1 x 500ml bottle of Stonewell Dry Irish Cider

for the caramel

  • 500g caster sugar
  • 75g unsalted butter
  • 1½ tsp Irish Atlantic sea salt
  • 3½ leaves of gelatine (soaked) or 4g agar
  • 250g cream

for the mousse

  • 100g caster sugar
  • 100g icing sugar
  • 100g egg white
  • 500g lightly whipped cream

to serve

  • clotted cream, optional
  • cinnamon crumble, optional

To make the apple cider sorbet, bring the water, sugar and glucose syrup to the boil, turn down heat and simmer for three minutes. Remove from heat and then add the remaining ingredients. Leave to cool. Once cooled, place into an ice cream churner and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions.

To make the caramel, heat a heavy bottomed pan over a medium heat and slowly pour in enough sugar to just cover the base of the pan. When the sugar changes to an amber colour, slowly add more, mixing gently as you go. Continue in this way until you have added all the sugar and a rich dark caramel colour has been achieved.

Remove pan from heat. Add the butter and the Irish Atlantic Sea Salt. Stir to dissolve. Add the cream gradually, taking care as the caramel is very hot and may spit. Once all the ingredients are mixed together, add the soaked gelatine or whisk the agar into the mixture. Set aside to cool.

To make the meringue mix for the mousse, beat the egg whites in a spotlessly clean bowl until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Add the sugar in one tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly, until all the sugar is incorporated and stiff peaks form. (If you prefer to cook the egg whites you can use an Italian meringue recipe as the base for this mousse.)

Once the caramel mixture has cooled, fold it into the meringue and then fold in the cream. Leave to set in the fridge until ready to serve.

Serve on a chilled plate. Arrange a quenelle of caramel mousse in the centre of the plate and place spheres of sorbet to sit alongside the mousse. Add a quenelle of clotted cream and sprinkle with cinnamon crumble, if using.

Ballyhoura Mountain Mushroom consommé with Coolea cheese tortellini

This elegant consommé dish pairs the deep flavours of Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms with the tangy notes of Coolea cheese. For a more intense pairing, look for the Mature Coolea cheese with its caramel character.

Serves 4

for the consommé

  • 200g assorted Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
  • 200g smoked bacon
  • 1 litre water
  • 3–4 egg whites

for the pasta

  • 500g flour, sifted
  • 3 eggs
  • 6 egg yolks
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

for the tortellini

  • 200g Coolea cheese, rolled into 4 small golf ball-sized balls
  • 1 egg, beaten

to serve

  • 200g Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms, cleaned
  • rapeseed oil
  • a little lemon juice
  • freshly ground Irish Atlantic Sea Salt and black pepper

To make the consommé, add the sliced Ballyhoura mushrooms, smoked bacon and water to a large heavy-based pot and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for two hours.  Strain and chill the liquid. When cool, add the egg whites to the liquid and heat over a low heat. The egg whites will rise to the top of the pot taking all the impurities with them. Carefully strain the liquid through a muslin cloth and you will be left with a beautiful clear consommé.

To make the pasta, place the flour in a food processor. Add the eggs and egg yolks and process until the dough starts to form a ball. Next add the salt and olive oil and combine. Shake a little flour on a work surface and knead the ball of dough by hand for five minutes or until it becomes smooth, adding more flour if it sticks. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave it to rest in a cool place for one to two hours.

To make the tortellini, roll the pasta dough through a pasta machine set to the thinnest setting. Cut out four circles of pasta about 6cm in diameter, place cheese in centre of each of the pasta circles, brush around the edges of the disk with beaten egg and fold in half. Press the edges well to seal, ensuring that there are no air pockets or tears.

Take each semi-circle in your hand and curl the two tips of the straight edge around your index finger pressing well to seal. Then turn up the two edges to form a shape like the brim of a hat. Cook the tortellini in boiling salted water for two minutes.

To serve, slice the remaining mushrooms and toss in a hot pan with a little oil. Season and add a little lemon juice and strain on a kitchen towel. Divide the mushrooms between four warmed soup bowls, pour over the consommé and then place a tortellini in the centre of each bowl. Sprinkle a little Irish Atlantic Sea Salt and cracked pepper around the rim of the each bowl and serve while hot.

Cured & smoked Irish mackerel, Irish Heritage potato salad, pickle, beetroot

In this recipe Derry Clarke pairs one of Ireland’s most delicious and sustainable fish, sourced from one of over 100 members of Responsible Irish Fish, with indigenous spuds from the Irish Heritage Potato collection.

Serves 4

for the cured mackerel

  • 4 mackerel fillets, all bones removed
  • 100g Irish Atlantic Paprika Sea Salt
  • 100g white sugar
  • 1 large bunch fresh dill, chopped

for the smoked mackerel pâté

  • 4 mackerel fillets, all bones removed
  • 200g wood chips
  • 100g cinnamon sticks
  • 50g star anise
  • 2 tbsp fresh rosemary and thyme, chopped
  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise or crème fraîche
  • 1 tbsp grated fresh horseradish
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
  • a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

for the pickle

  • 100ml white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds
  • 150g sugar
  • 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
  • 2 shallots, peeled and sliced

for the potato salad

  • 200g cooked Irish Heritage potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 50ml olive oil
  • 1 shallot, peeled and diced
  • 1 tbsp chopped chives
  • Irish Atlantic Smoked Sea Salt

To cure the mackerel, mix the salt, sugar and dill together and spread over the flesh of the mackerel, cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the fridge, scrape off the curing mix and rub the mackerel with rapeseed oil.

To make the smoked mackerel pâté you will need to smoke the mackerel fillets. Begin by placing the wood chips into the bottom of a deep roasting tin, add the cinnamon sticks, star anise and rosemary and thyme. Cover with an oiled wired rack and place the four mackerel fillets on top, skin-side-up. Tightly cover the tin with tinfoil and place it over a low heat for 15 minutes (this is best done outside your house on a barbecue). Once smoked, remove cover and leave to cool.

To make the mackerel pâté, flake the mackerel flesh into a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix well until you have a nice pâté texture.

To make the pickle, boil the vinegar, sugar and fennel seeds for three to four minutes in a small pot, season, allow to cool, and then add the sliced cucumber and shallot.

To make the potato salad, gently mix all ingredients together.

To serve, arrange the cured mackerel at the centre of the plate with a quenelle of smoked mackerel pâté and a spoonful of potato salad to the side.

Dry-aged beef, Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms, Coolea cheese, parsley purée, wild garlic

Lucy Deegan and Mark Cribben of Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms grow and harvest an extraordinary range of cultivated and wild mushrooms in Co. Cork, where Coolea cheese is also produced. This simple dish showcases both alongside some quality dry-aged Irish beef.

Serves 4

for the beef

  • 2 fillet dry-aged Irish steaks
  • freshly ground Irish Atlantic Sea Salt and black pepper

for the mushrooms

  • 300g assorted Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms, cleaned
  • freshly ground Irish Atlantic Sea Salt and black pepper
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

for the parsley purée

  • 200g fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 30ml olive oil

for the wild garlic

  • handful wild garlic, washed
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • freshly ground Irish Atlantic Sea Salt and black pepper

to serve

  • 4 generous slices Coolea cheese

Season the steaks and sear on a very hot pan, making sure to brown all sides. Cook medium-rare and leave to rest for at least five minutes.

Heat a clean pan, add a little rapeseed oil and toss the mushrooms for two minutes. Season and add a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Transfer to kitchen towel.

Remove the parsley leaves from the stalks. Place the stalks in a pot of boiling water for two minutes. Add the leaves and cook for a further two minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl of iced water. Drain and blend in a food processor with the olive oil until smooth. Finally pass through a sieve.

Toss the wild garlic in a hot pan with the butter, season and sauté for 10-15 seconds.

To serve, cut the steaks in half. Place a slice of Coolea cheese on each piece of beef. Dot the plate with parsley purée and scatter the sautéed wild garlic over the beef.