Author: dingledarcy

Autumn Berry cheesecake

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Ingredients

Base

75g butter

225g ginger nut biscuits (crushed )

Filling

4 leaves of gelatine

170mls milk

1 vanilla pod seeds removed

175 g caster sugar

500 g mascarpone cheese

1 lemon finely grated and zest

400 g mixed berries ( if frozen ensure they are defrosted )

150 mls Greek yoghurt

Method

Make the base, line the base of a 9 inch spring form tin

Melt butter and add crushed biscuits, mix well ,spread evenly over the base and press down firmly

Refrigerate to chill

Make the filling – soak the gelatine in cold water for 10 minutes

Place the milk in a pan ,add vanilla seeds and sugar ,whisk and bring to just boiling point

Just before boiling add the gelatine

Pour into a bowl and leave to cool

Beat cheese into the cooled mixture with the lemon rind and juice ,

Add the berries and beat to combine

Fold in the yoghurt ,pour into the biscuit base

Chill for at least 1 hour

Berry Muffins

dingledarcy1 Comment

Makes 12

Prep time 12 mins 

Cooking time 20 -25 mins 

Ingredients 

225g plain flour

2tsp Baking Powder

55 g ground Almonds

125g caster sugar 

150g melted butter 

100 MLS milk

2 eggs beaten

250g mixed berries such as blueberry, raspberry or blackberries.

Method

  • Preheat oven 190c,place 12 paper cases in a bun tin
  • Sift flour and baking powder in a large bowl,stir in ground almonds and sugar, make a well in the centre of dry ingredients.
  • Whisk together butter,milk and eggs and pour into the dry ingredients.
  • Stir gently until just combined, do not over-mix. Gently fold in the berries.
  • Divide the mixture into the paper cases. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 
  • Sprinkle with sugar 

Spiced Sweet potato and mixed bean burger

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Make 10

Image result for free sweet potato images

INGREDIENTS                                                   AMT

Sweet potato                                                        2
Spanish Onion                                                      1
Tin of chick peas                                                                 1
Tin Kidney Beans                                                                1
Celery                                                                    1
Fresh Coriander                                                   50g
1 tsp gr coriander, 1 teaspoon cumin, ½ tsp crushed chilli flakes
Pinch turmeric,
Eggs                                                                                        3
Milk                                                                                        300 mls
Flour                                                                       200g

METHOD

  • Wash and peel all vegetables
  • Cut sweet potato in large dice, drizzle with a little oil, roast in oven of 170 C for 30 mins until soft, mash together
  • Dice onion and celery ,add a little oil to a frying pan and sweat onion and celery over medium heat, add all the spices and cook for further 5 minutes, leave to cool
  • In a blender, blitz kidney beans and chick peas
  • In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients
  • Shape into burgers
  • Set up 3 bowls,1 with flour, 1 with egg lightly beaten and milk added to beaten egg, 1 bowl with bread crumbs
  • With clean hands place burgers in flour, followed by egg wash and finally breadcrumbs
  •  lightly brown the burgers in a pan over medium heat with some oil, place in the oven for 10 mins at 170c

 

 

New Tastes and Textures For Baby

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Apple and Blackberry Compote.

image

We arrived home in early October from picking blackberries and my little 7 month old son was eagerly looking at the berries, after washing them I decided to make him a treat of steamed apple and berry purée, this recipe is full of flavour and is ideal as a snack in the evening for baby or added in with their rice or porridge in the morning, for natural sweetness I added agave syrup.

Ingredients (4 portions)

2 sweet eating apple, peeled cored and diced

150g ripe blackberries

1/2 tsp natural vanilla extract

1 tbsp agave syrup

Method

  • Steam the apples for about 8 minutes, stir in the blackberries and steam for a further 4 minutes until the berries are soft
  • imagepuree the mixture in a food processor, pass through a sieve to remove the seeds,
  • stir in the vanilla extract and agave syrup
  • Freeze in individual portions and when needed thaw overnight in the fridge.
  • To boost calcium content, you can make apple and blackberry fool by combining 2 – 3 tablespoons of puree with 2 tablespoons of full fat vanilla yogurt,chill until ready to serve

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Beetroot Textures,Goats Cheese,Rye Crumble and Caraway Seed Tuille

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There is nothing more satisfactory than creating a dish that shines on the plate. When I was 7 years old I thought I was the creator of the chicken salad sandwich as every Sunday with the leftover cooked chicken I would finely dice onion , tomato , lettuce and the chicken , then I used to bind it with mayonnaise , I remember being so proud as it tasted delicious and it was my invention .

To me Modernist cuisine is about cooking in a way that builds an insight for technology and implementation of taste and being creative which in return creates delicious food.

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My starter dish in contemporary culinary trends module is beetroot textures, goats cheese, caraway tuille and rye crumble .I want people to enjoy the taste, textures and enjoy the creativity on the plate .As a chef I work to enjoy food but for my final dish in culinary arts I want the guests to be seduced by my plate through the different techniques and textures I am using.

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The concept for this starter came upon as in the restaurant goat’s cheese and beetroot are very popular ingredients. It is normally goat’s cheese salad with a pureed beetroot. This is why I chose beetroot done in many different ways.

Preparation was key in my dish as there were many elements.I think about plating like a painting, there should be a little unexpected like the contrast of the beetroot gel and beetroot vinaigrette in my starter.

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For the recipes and all the different elements I used, click here,you can also use different elements of the starter to suit your own creation.

It was an honour to work with such a fantastic team of chefs throughout the past few years of my hons degree, I have made friends for life.To my friend Ciaran, thank you for your advice on presentation.

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From Pier 2 Platter

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mackerel

Consumption of Mackerel has become increasingly popular in recent years, this is mainly down to the health benefits associated with oily fish.

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Dingle Peninsula and around Dingle harbour is a great hot spot for Mackerel.

The method of filleting I will be displaying of the my video is called:

Block fillet /Butterfly fillet

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With this type of fillet the flesh is cut from both sides of a fish with the two pieces remaining held together by the skin.

Small whiting , herring and mackerel are normally done in this way.

Hot Smoking your own fish has attracted a lot of attention as it is easy to do and the results are fantastic.

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My video is a simple guide on brining and hot smoking Mackerel Fillets. I will give detailed step by step guide to preparing ,filleting , brining and hot smoking. You can use a tin for hot smoking. We are using a Bradley Smoker, as the cabinets smoke large batches of fish.

The final part of the video will demonstrate how to make a smoked Mackerel Pate, it can be served in a variety of ways , I will serve it with tossed salad and Homemade  brown bread.

I hope you enjoy my short video.

Dingle Bay Crab Tartlet

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The Boatyard Restaurant where I work in Dingle serves the very best of fresh Dingle and Kerry produce.

The fish comes straight from local fishing boats .

Today I am sharing a favourite of mine that we serve in the restaurant ,with Mike Hennessy’s Dingle Bay Crab , Sheehy’s Prawns and Dingle Farmhouse butter .crab and prawn tartlet

Crab Tartlet

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: beginner
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 280g plain flour (sieved )
  • salt and black pepper
  • 170g Dingle Farmhouse Butter ,cubed
  • pinch of paprika
  • 140g  fresh crabmeat
  • 4 medium prawn tails peeled
  • 2 lispoil Eggs
  • 250 mls Dingle Farmhouse Cream
  • Pinch dried dill
  • 20g spring onion ,chopped
  • 25g lemon juice
  • 20g Dingle Farmhouse Semi -Hard cheese , crumbled
  • Pickled Dulse from On The Wild Side
  • Beetroot cubes to garnish

Method

  1. Make the  pastry :sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl .Rub in butter to give a texture that resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make  a well in the centre and mix in just enough cold water to form a light smooth paste .Wrap in cling film and rest for 30 minutes before use .
  2. Preheat the oven to 175c/325f/gas3
  3. Grease 4 x 10 cm tartlet tins with melted butter. Roll out the pastry to 2mm thick and line the tartlet moulds.Sprinkle a little paprika on the pastry. Bake blind for 10 minutes
  4. Place equal amounts of crab meat in the tartlet cases. Place a prawn tail in each tartlet. Whisk the eggs well. Add the cream, dill, spring onion,lemon juice and season.Once incorporated divide between the 4 tartlets, keeping the mixture within 3mm of the top of the pastry. Top with the crumbled cheese .
  5. Bake for about 25 minutes or until light golden brown and set.
  6. Garnish each tartlet with pickled dulse and a beetroot cube .

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Contemporary Culinary Trends Portfolio

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amuse bouche photo

With Contemporary culinary trends module we  used various techniques to understand the contemporary approach to cooking including , emulsifying , foams , gelling , low temperature cooking , spherification , thickening , dehydration,  freezing compression and smoking .

The ingredients used in the modern kitchen to create modernist dishes include , Agar , carrageenan , gelatin , lecithin,sodium alginate , Xanthan gum , calcium , gellan , dry ice and liquid nitrogen .The understanding of safety issues is vital with these ingredients .

For a full list of my portfolio which contains ingredients, method of work and costing’s please follow the link Contemporary Culinary Trends 2015

red cabbage

week 5. Roast Butternut squash and parmesan custard, ginger bread, meringue, goat’s cheese beignet, smoked seeds, walnut puree.

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Simon Regan Profile-150x225

Simon Reagan,  Head Chef at the Panorama Restaurant in Killarney’s Five Star Europe Hotel, was a guest lecturer at the I.T. Tralee.

Simon has a wealth of experience in some of Ireland’s leading Hotels and Restaurants .

He brings with him a passion for food, and sources  only the best local ingredients.

In Simon’s own words :simon reagan dish

“Today, when we have an almost unlimited range of ingredients at our disposal and are open to so many culinary influences, it is essential that we as a kitchen team work with a real sense of balance and respect for cultural traditions, whilst at the same time using an open and imaginative frame of mind.

I believe it is essential to stay true to classic recipes and techniques as these can then be used as a platform for modern cuisine.

We try to make perfect, if there is such a thing and my philosophy is very simple, each day we strive to do better.

I believe a great dining experience is finding a perfect balance of excitement, refinement, professionalism and warmth.”

Simon dish I am going to share is

Roast Butternut squash and parmesan custard, ginger bread, meringue, goat’s cheese beignet, smoked seeds, walnut puree..

To download and follow this wonderful recipe, click Week 5 Guest Lecture1

Week 4 Plated Main Courses

Week 3 Starter Dishes

Week 2 Amuse Bouche

Week 1 stock