Enjoy a taste of the Emerald Isle via Rachel Allen’s latest culinary adventure, along Ireland’s wild west coast, writes Jeananne Craig
Author and TV presenter Rachel Allen spent a month journeying along the western terrain from Ballymaloe in County Cork to the rugged headlands of Donegal, visiting numerous foodie locations along the route. Each stop-off forms a chapter in her new book, Coast, which is packed full of recipes inspired by her “culinary odyssey”.
“The characters you meet along the way and their passion is just wonderful,” said Rachel, who teaches at the acclaimed Ballymaloe Cookery School.
“I also learned how to free-dive for crabs and went snorkelling, looking at different seaweeds. I was constantly learning. Our produce is just the best in the world – when you think of our amazing seafood, our dairy, our meat, because of all our wonderful green grass and our grass-fed animals – it’s just fantastic,” she enthused.
Want to try one of Allen’s tasty recipes at home? Here are two from Coast…
IRISH ONION SOUP WITH BLUE CHEESE TOASTS
SERVES 4
25g butter
600g onions, peeled and cut into 5mm thick slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 litre chicken or beef stock
150ml double or regular cream
FOR THE BLUE CHEESE TOASTS
8 x 1cm thick slices of baguette, white yeast bread or sourdough
75g blue cheese, crumbled
Melt the butter in a saucepan large enough to take the onions. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and stir. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for one-and-a-quarter to one-and-a-half hours, until the onions are very deep golden brown. You’ll need to stir the onions and scrape the bottom of the saucepan every few minutes while cooking. When the onions have caramelised, add the stock and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the cream, bring to a simmer and season to taste again with salt and pepper, then take off the heat. When ready to serve, preheat the grill, then toast the bread on both sides and cut into smaller pieces, about 4cm. Pour the hot soup into heatproof bowls and top with the toasted bread. Crumble the blue cheese over the top, place the bowls under the hot grill and cook for one to two minutes until bubbling.
RAW BEETROOT, FETA AND AVOCADO SALAD WITH TOASTED ALMONDS AND BALSAMIC DRESSING
SERVES 4-6 as a starter
30g whole almonds, cut lengthways into three slices
180g raw beetroot, peeled and sliced on a mandoline or a vegetable peeler 1-2mm thick
One large ripe avocado, halved, stone removed, peeled and flesh cut into about 18 slices
30g watercress, separated into little sprigs
30g red onion, peeled and sliced on a mandoline or vegetable peeler 1-2mm thick
90g feta cheese, crumbled
Few pinches of sea salt flakes
FOR THE BALSAMIC DRESSING
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (the best you have)
Pinch of fine salt
Twist of black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas mark 6. Combine all the ingredients for the balsamic dressing and set aside. Put the almonds on a baking tray and cook in the oven for three minutes until golden under the skins. (You can also do this in a frying pan on a medium-high heat) Set aside. Arrange the salad ingredients evenly on the plates: a layer of beetroot, about three slices of avocado, sprigs of watercress, red onion slices, crumbled feta, a pinch of sea salt flakes and a scattering of toasted almonds. Drizzle each plate with a generous one to one-and-a-half teaspoons of dressing and serve immediately.