Beetroot Cured Gravalax

This stunning dish was served as the starter of the most recent supper club, which was based on methods of preserving. Curing fish isn't something a lot of people would consider doing at home -time and space being contributory factors. After all you should probably go for a side of salmon if you're going to bother and it's not a dish you're going to tuck into that very evening but rather enjoy a few days later. However, I urge you to give this one a go -not only does it taste great, it is a feast for the eyes too. This recipe comes from Diane Henry's 'Salt Sugar Smoke' a beautiful, insightful addition to the anyone's cookbook shelf. Gravalax is Scandinavian in it's origins and it was a method of preserving first used by fishermen way back in the day, the salmon would be buried in sand and allowed it to ferment. The name comes from the Scandinavian words 'grav' meaning grave and 'lax' meaning salmon - literally then translating as 'salmon grave' ...sounds delightful eh?!

What you need;                - for 14 people

• 1.2kg tail end piece of salmon -gutted & deboned with skin intact either cut in half or a large side of salmon
• 6 tbsp of vodka
• 125g granulated sugar
• 100g sea salt flakes
• 2tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
• large bunch of dill roughly chopped
• 400g raw beetroot grated

What you need to do;

• Make sure your salmon is free of bones -use tweezers to remove any
• Get a large dish that will hold your salmon and place a double layer of foil down
• Put your piece of salmon in skin side down rub the vodka into it
• Mix the sugar, salt, dill and pepper together and spread over the salmon

• If you have two pieces divide the mixture in half and follow the above steps placing the second piece skin side up
• Pull the foil up over the fish and place something weighty on top

Thank God I had this lying around!

• Refrigerate and leave for at least two days -will keep for a week
• Pour off the liquid that will appear in the dish 
• Scrape off the cure and slice thinly as needed
• At the supper club I served it with leaves and fresh horseradish sauce .....it went down a treat.I  also had lunch out of the last few slices which I put onto toasted sourdough with a good  unhealthy slathering of garlic aioli!

Bears Like Salmon

Rhubarb Schnapps -that is all

Schnapps, schnapps, schnapps....my new favourite tipple. Like risotto, once you know 'how to' you can adapt it to your liking.For the supper event recently I had decided to try a recipe from Diane Henrys' 'Salt, Sugar, Smoke', actually 3 of the various elements were from said book...more on the rest later. Forced rhubarb along with Kale has a certain magical quality, aesthetically mostly, and I have watched (and joined in with) kids using both as a form of magic wand...sure why wouldn't you?! Possibly after the consumption of a few glasses of this you will feel yourself imbued with a certain magical quality too.....

What you need:

• 900g of pink rhubarb
• 900ml vodka (doesn't have to be expensive)
• 350g of sugar -granulated or caster

What you need to do:

• Trim the stalks and cut into small pieces
• Pop into jar or bottle and add the sugar
• Cover and give it a good nights sleep -the sugar will entice the juice out
• Next day add the vodka -shake well
• Allow to imbue for 4 weeks
• Shake every now and then (mine only had 2 weeks but was still very, very tasty)
• Keeps for a year...I'd like to see you try
• Serve over ice and sip yourself gently into rhubarb heaven

February Dinner Event - All The Saints Preserve Me!

The Open Door Supper Club is delighted to announce our next event happening on Saturday February 16th. We live in an era obsessed with best before dates and use by dates -which is all well and good most of the time, but when I see it on a packet of pasta for example it irkes me ....ever so slightly....if in doubt use your nose. In bygone times before fridges it was necessary to give food longevity by one of the many methods of preserving. Nowadays we eat 'preserved' foods for the ends of pleasure rather than survival -although my mother would have you believe her continuity on terra firma is directly linked to always having a jar of lemon curd within arms reach. So if we travelled back in time 50/100 years, in the merry month of February we would no doubt find oursleves tucking into the preserved goods in the larder. I am proferring a little homage to those foods pickled, smoked and salted in this special dinner. Come gather round a roaring fire, meet some salt of the earth people, fill your belly and all your ills will be cured.

Salted Horse....!

Le Menu

 Rhubarb Apéritif

Amuse Bouches

Beetroot Cured Gravalax 

w. Homemade Horseradish Cream

Lime & Lemongrass Sorbet

Confit Duck Leg

  Herb Roast Potatoes & Watercress Salad

Lemon Curd Tart

Tea & Coffee

Petit Fours 

For those of you new to the experience of a supper club....you may have some questions;

Where does it happen? 

This event will take place at my home in Dublin, (close to the city center) on Saturday 16th Feb @7.30pm finishing up around 10.30pm

What will happen? 

10 people will come together at one table, getting to know each other, over the shared experience of a meal.

Can you bring your own wine/beer?

Yes you can - you will receive a cocktail on arrival but please bring your own beverages for the rest of the evening.

 
What will it cost? 

There is a suggested donation of E35.

What should you wear? 

Dress as you would if going out for dinner

Please alert me to any special dietary requirements you may have and within reason I will do my best to cater for you.

 

If you are unable to attend please do your best to give me at least 24 hours notice and try get a replacement for your space if possible. Understand that the food is purchased in advance and unlike a restaurant I cannot put it on the following days menu.

Places are limited and remember it's first come, first served -to reserve your place please email me. 

 

theopendoorsupperclub@gmail.com  

 

As soon as I am able to confirm your place you will receive an email. 

 

Peas & love,            

 

Aoife x

Roasted Parsnip Soup with Mussels & Hazels

Ever find yourself wandering aimlessly around Fallon & Byrne or the supermarket aisle with 'What will I make for dinner??' circling around your cranium. That was me yesterday, I was there for so long that the security guard started following me....I don't blame him -I was muttering under my breath and I had a slightly pained look on my face. Eventually I pulled myself together...protein, start with protein I said (under my breath). I side stepped my way from the Toulouse sausages past the venison -landing my feet and furrowed brow at the fish counter. Okay fish can be pricey and I am usually on a pretty tight budget -'Why were you in Fallon & Byrne?' I hear you cry....Simply put it's a place of inspiration and when it comes to quality protein at a reasonable price it ain't bad, oh and did I mention fresh fish! My eyes scanned the fishies and when I saw the mussels I had a flash back to the Observer Food Monthly magazine....Nigel Slater (my secret culinary crush -I don't fancy him so much as his food) had a recipe for soup with mussels and hazelnuts -bingo. I couldn't remember if it was celeriac or parsnip though...I decided parsnip....it was actually cauliflower! Nigels Recipe I have no doubt it is delicious with cauliflower but here follows the parsnip version of events....

What you need;      Serves 3 very hungry / 4 not so hungry peeps

• 1kg mussels -scrubbed and beards removed (tap any that don't close during the washing- if they still don't close these should be discarded)
• 10 black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 medium sized parsnips peeled and chopped into chunks
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic smashed
• 4 medium sized potatoes -peeled and chopped into chunks
• 2 hand fulls of hazelnuts pre-roasted or not (see below)

What you need to do;

• Turn oven on to 200'C / Gas 6
• When ready chuck your parsnips with some olive oil on a tray and roast for 15-20 mins or until browning at edges
• In the meantime sweat your onion and garlic in some butter over a medium heat
• If you have bought hazels in their skins (much cheaper than already roasted) simply put them on a dry skillet for 5-10 mins on a medium heat -keep an eye as they can burn easily. When done wrap in a tea towel and rub the skins off. To crush wrap in a tea towel and bash with a rolling pin
• Get your cleaned mussels on -put in a pan with 300mls of water, bay leaf and peppercorns
• Put a lid on the mussels and bring to the boil steam for a few mins until the shells have opened (any that haven't opened should be discarded -as they were dead before you started)
• Add your spud to the onion and garlic 
• Set your mussels aside strain the cooking liquid and pour into your spuds et al.
• When your parsnips have roasted chuck them into the pot
• You'll need to add more liquid to cook all the veg -the amount depends on how thick you want your soup to be....if unsure see what it's like when you've whizzed it up and you can always add more
• Simmer your veg. until the potatoes are softened -whizz with a stick blender taste and season
• To serve ladle into hot bowls, pop some mussels on top and sprinkle over some crushed hazels- delicious with these easy peasy bread sticks from Lorraine Pascale Bread Stix

Baked Eggs with Cavolo Nero & Chorizo and Fresh Bread Stick Soldiers

I was far from a fussy eater as a child but I despised eggs, well not the whole egg, I loved the gooey yellow part -but the white part...urrgh! Something about the texture ...and the smell of hard boiled eggs being peeled just put me right off from a young age. My little sister Emma was the opposite, she despised the yellow, so when we had boiled eggs on toast for dinner I would delve in and extract the yolk and pass the remainder on to her -sibling symbiosis! I think the turnaround was a few years ago when I was really sick and nothing would stay inside me, eventually I started to recover my appetite and mum made me scrambled eggs - I wolfed them down and I started to let go of my racism against the whites.

Sunday brunch has to be one of the most enjoyable meals of the week -it's a relaxed affair during which a crossword puzzle might be 're-reviewed' or a break is taken from some outdoor activity or it's simply brunch because you had a lie in and the clock says it's too late to call it breakfast. I had brought some beautiful earthy, smokey chorizo from Dublin and in my dads garden were long, dark stalks of cavolo nero begging to be pan fried with some butter...So I decided the brunch marriage had to be with a third member...the humble egg. Alas there wasn't any 'real' bread in the house so I knocked up some fresh bread sticks using Lorraine Pascales super easy recipe. And I mean it when I say 'knocked up' because this has to be the fastest yeasted recipe I've ever used....read on!

What you need;

for the bread-                makes 12

• 450g strong white flour/ 'oo' flour
• 1&1/2 tsp of salt
• 250-275 mls tepid water
• 7g fast action yeast
• Olive oil for brushing
• Cracked black pepper, sea salt, poppy seeds -whatever takes your fancy for sprinkling

for the baked eggs-          serves 4

• 4 eggs
• 300ml cream
• 8-10 long leaves of cavolo nero or regular kale
• A knob of butter
• A good hunk of chorizo
• Pepper & salt

What you need to do;

bread-

• Start by putting your flour and salt in a large bowl
• Lorraine says to add the yeast to the flour followed by the water -I prefer to add the yeast to the water with a bit of sugar and allow to activate -just in case the yeast is a bit off at least you'll know
• Mix together the flour, water and yeast and kneed for 10 mins or until the dough is springy

• Divide into 12 pieces and roll into fat lengths -twist some if you like by splitting the piece into two longer lengths and twisting together

• Cover with oiled cling film and allow to rest and grow for 25-30 mins in a warm place
• When almost ready turn oven on to 200'C / Gas 6
• Brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle on pepper & salt, poppy seeds, sesame etc...

• Bake for 15-20 mins or until browned -for some reason I have problems getting things to brown in my own oven so I pop them under a hot grill for 2/3 mins afterwards
• Cool on a wire wrack

eggs-

• Set oven to 180'C / Gas 4
• Put a frying pan a medium high heat
• Chop your chorizo into small pieces -fry on the pan until crispy
• Put another frying pan on a medium heat

• Slice the kale from its central stalk and chop roughly
• Wilt down on a pan with butter and some olive oil, after a few mins add a splash water to aid the process
• Drain the chorizo on kitchen paper to remove excess oil
• Add crispy chorizo to the kale, season with pepper
• Add 300mls of cream, allow to bubble for a minute or two
• Divide into 4 ramekins, crack an egg into the center of each
• Grate some Parmesan cheese or another hard cheese over the egg

• Pop into the oven for 8-12 mins depending on how well done you like your eggs
• Serve with your bread sticks or a nice thick slice of toast

Break My Heart -Crème Brûlée

Crème brûlée .....well what can I say except I must have eaten about 20 of these last year and I loved every soft custardy mouthful and will probably eat at least 25 this year...it's good to push boundaries and challenge yourself right?! I grew up with a certain disdain for custard, I would crinkle my nose if told dessert was to be custard with bananas or stewed apple. The reason being that, my mother, whose apron strings I was cut from and who taught me that you can make anything from scratch and if you can you should...the last person on earth you would think to have a tin of custard powder in her press....well she did...Susan your secret is out now. It wasn't until my 20's that I realised the beauty of making your own. I think I thought the reason my mother used powdered was that the real thing wasn't much better. Mon dieu......nothing, I repeat nothing, could be further from the truth!

I believe that everyone has an inner pyromaniac and for mine I bought a blowtorch last year online  Kitchen Cookware Blowtorch and what's the first thing you think of making? Crème brûlée naturally and that's when my love affair really started. Who doesn't feel like a child as you poise your spoon over the burnt crispy sugary top, that brief moment of anticipation just before the crack and then the plunge into the thick vanilla custard? My last supper death row wish dish would definitely be a very large portion of crème brûlée...'Take me to the chair I can die happy'. Apologies for getting a bit Nigella there earlier - but jaysus tis a fierce sexy dessert!

What you need:

• 300ml double cream
• 1 vanilla pod -split length ways with seeds scraped out
• 20g caster sugar
•  3 egg yolks 
• caster sugar for sprinkling at the finish   

 What you need to do:

• Preheat the oven to 150C  / Gas 2
• Pop a sauce pan onto a medium heat, add the cream along with your vanilla pod and seeds
• Bring to the boil, then set aside, discarding the vanilla pod.

Making brulee for a large number at the supper club!

• Whisk the yolks and caster sugar in a good sized bowl.
• Sit your bowl on a tea towel to keep it steady, pour your cream vanilla mixture into a jug.
• Now slowly pour the warm cream onto the yolks and whisk like a mad thing so that it doesn't curdle.
• Get a roasting tray/dish pop your ramekins in and divide the mixture. Carefully pour cold water until it comes up 2/3 of the side of the ramekins. Tip-You can put the tray in the oven first and then gently put the cold water in.
• Cook in the oven for 40 mins -or until the custard is set. There should be a little wobble. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then pop into the fridge -over night is best.
• Sprinkle caster over the tops and blowtorch to your hearts content...but with care of course! If you have to caramelise them under a high grill be sure to return to fridge to cool again for 30-45 mins.
• Serve with a smile :)

Tips for you:

• I served  crème brûlées for my Halloween supper  Spooky Kabuki Supper Club for a twist I popped a couple of fresh raspberries at the bottom of each ramekin. It worked well, just make sure that any berries you use are as dry as they can be and don't use frozen as the juice from them will mingle with the custard and it wont set well at all.
• For the Christmas Special Supper I added some festive spices to the cream at the beginning and then I simply crumbled some plum pudding into the bases. These were a real hit with the guests and they work well in monetary terms because you can stretch the custard mixture further.
• You can freeze your egg whites for use at a later date -they just loose a little of their foaming power but can be kept for quite a few months in the freezer. Freeze individually.

Image courtesy of  National Education Network

Irish Coffee - a cure all

Tis the season of hot port, mulled wine and hot whiskey, but the ultimate in these festive warming drinks, for me at least is the Irish coffee. Not only does it look gorgeous, it's taste is....well... bear with me... imagine you've been outside walking on  a very frosty day, your toes and fingertips are frozen -eventually you come indoors, you pop on a pair of fluffy socks, settle your chilled bones into your favourite arm chair, adjacent to a roaring fire. You are instantly soothed....that is what an Irish coffee tastes like.
A man called Joe Sheridan is credited with the conception of the Irish coffee, in the 1940's. In an effort to warm up some very cold American passengers from a cross atlantic flight into Shannon Airport he decided to add whiskey to the coffee to defrost them -thanks Joe!

There are a few simple hints and tips to bear in mind when it comes to executing this Winter wonder;

• Put the kettle on
• Next begin by very gently whipping your cream. I find it best to use the cream bottle as you need to pour the cream onto the coffee. So, pour out about a third depending on how many you're serving, so that you have room for the cream to expand. Now shake the bottle -this is a great bingo wings prevention exercise too! Be careful -  a mistake people often make is to whip the hell out of the cream thinking that this will stop it from sinking down into the coffee. What you want is lightly whipped cream, almost not whipped really, you need to be able to pour it fairly easily out of the bottle. If you over do it just add some of the unwhipped cream and give it a little shake to loosen it up.
• Now make your coffee -it has to be French press. Instant is out!
• Warm your glasses with hot water- you can use wine glasses or tumblers -as you prefer.
• Take a mug fill it with hot water and pop a dessert spoon in.
• Empty your glasses, add sugar 1 -1 & 1/2 tspns as per your taste, pour some hot coffee on and stir to dissolve sugar.
• Add a measure (or 2!) of whiskey - something Irish like Powers, Bushmills or Jameson.
• Top up the glass with coffee leaving about 1cm or less for your cream.
• Now pour the cream over the back of the hot spoon onto your coffee. Refresh the spoon in the hot water between coffees.
• Finish with some dark chocolate shavings or a sprinkle of cocoa.