St Patrick's Day Feast

A lot of things in this feast need to be prepared in advance but once underway can be left to their on devices - if you plan on making it for St Patrick's day tomorrow and need to work on the day I would advise making the Mousses the night before along with the starting the Stew - this means at all you is heat up the Stew and make the Drop Scones!! So not as complicated as is sounds!!

Feeds 6

* Potato Drop Scones with Smoked Salmon
* Irish Stew
* Stout & Guinness Mousse

Potato Drop Scones with Smoked Salmon

Drop Scones
- 200g of Mashed Potato (cooled)
- 1 egg
- 80g of Self-Raising Flour (sifted)
- 100ml Milk
- Vegetable Oil for frying
- Salt & Pepper to taste

Topping
- About 6 Slices of Smoked Salmon (preferably Irish for authenticity)
- ½ Granny Smith Apple (finely diced)
- ½ Red Onion (finely diced)
- Handful of Chopped Dill
- 150ml Sour Cream

Combine Apple, Dill & Onion and set aside

Mix together Drop Scone ingredients till well combined

Pan fry Drop Scones (make them about bite size) till golden on both sides

Arrange cooked Drop Scones on a plate then place a generous helping of Salmon on each, followed by a dollop of Sour Cream and finally sprinkle with the Apple, Onion and Dill mixture.

Serve as canapés or alternatively give each guest 3-4 on a plate

Beef & Guinness Irish Stew

- 800g Diced Beef (stewing beef or top-rump)
- About 20 mini Chantray Carrots (grated but tops left on)
- About 20 mini Button Mushrooms
- About 20 Shallots (peeled)
- 1 Jar of mini Pickled Onions
- 2 Cans of Guinness
- 1 Tablespoon of Horseradish
- 1 Tablespoon of Wholegrain Mustard
- About 100g of Salted Butter
- Salt and Pepper to taste

Lightly braise beef on all sides in Casserole Dish with a little butter and set aside

Add the remaining butter to the dish along with the Carrots, Shallots and Button Mushrooms and lightly fry till the vegetables start emitting a fragrant and tasty smell

Add beef to pan along with 1 can on Guinness, Horseradish, Mustard and Pickled Onions, cover and reduce heat to that it is lightly simmering or alternatively place in warm oven (about 150 degrees)

Cook for at least 3 hours (until beef and vegetables are falling apart) and add additional Guinness as needed as the juices reduce

The finished product should be dark brown and slightly thick and slightly running and melt in the mouth juicy

Serve with Buttery Mash Potato

Chocolate & Stout Mousse

(This is not my recipe, I found it in House & Garden but thought it was the perfect completion to a St Patrick’s Day Feast – alternatively you could do some kind of apple pudding – Ireland being one of the homes of Cider!!)

Note: it is essential to have all the ingredients at room temperature before starting this recipe

- 150g Plain Chocolate (70% cocoa) copped
- 35g Butter
- 8 tablespoons soft, Dark Brown Sugar
- 3 large Eggs separated
- 6 tablespoons of Stout
- 110ml Double Cream

Melt Chocolate and Butter in a glass bowl set over boiling water, then beat in 5 tablespoons of the sugar and allow to cool slightly

Beat the Egg Yolks into the Chocolate mixture one at a time, incorporating each one well before adding the next

Stir the Stout into the Cream, then using a wooden spoon add this liquid to the Chocolate mixture beating it thoroughly. It won’t come together easily but keep beating hard and it will eventually become smooth

In another bowl, whisk the Egg Whites till they form soft peaks, then add the remaining Sugar and whisk till stiff

Whisk 1/3 of the Egg mixture into the Chocolate mixture and combine really well, then using a rubber spatula fold in the rest, but be sure there are no white streaks

Pour Mousse into 6 glasses (it could be fun to use beer glasses ½ pint)

Cover in cling film and refrigerate for 6 hours till set

Serve, could be nice with a sprinkle of icing sugar or cocoa on top

Happy St Patrick’s Day!!

Caramel Slice

Base
· ½ cup of firmly packed brown sugar
· 2/3 cup of desiccated coconut
· 2/3 cup of self raising flower
· 85g of melted butter

Caramel Filling
· 30g of butter
· 2 tablespoons of golden syrup
· 1 can of sweetened condensed milk

Topping
· 150g of milk chocolate

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees
- Grease a 20cm square cake pan and line the base and sides with baking paper
- Stir brown sugar, coconut and flour together in a bowl till well combined. Firmly press mixture into prepared pan.
- Set base aside to cool, leave oven on.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes till slightly brown and slightly risen.
- Place butter and golden syrup in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the butter has melted, add condensed milk. Stir constantly over medium heat for about 9-12 minutes, until caramel thickens,
- Gently spread caramel evenly over base. Return to oven for a further 10-12mins (a 1/2cm border of browned caramel should form around the edges of the slice).
- Allow slice to cool at room temperature
- Melt the chocolate in a saucepan over a very low heat, stirring occasionally. Alternatively melt the chocolate in a glass bowl in the saucepan. Spread the melted chocolate over caramel.
- Refrigerate slice until chocolate is just set (30mins), then remove from pan and cut in to bite size pieces.
- Store in the fridge

Light Fish and Chips

This is a lovely light meal compared with the usual oil ridden fish and chips and also tastes good served with a green salad on the side.

· 4 firm white fish fillets or about 150g of fish per person (I like to use monkfish, but you could use cod, flat head or flake)
· 1 large clove of garlic (crushed)
· 8 Courgettes (cut into thin French fry size strips)
· Plain Flour (for dusting)
· Knob of Butter
· Vegetable Oil (for shallow frying)
· Salt and Pepper to taste
· Parsley to garnish (finely chopped)

Note: Have some kitchen paper on hand to soak up any excess oil

Dust fish and courgettes in flour till covered and set aside.

Heat vegetable oil in a fry pan till you can feel the heat (you can test if it is hot enough by placing one of your courgette chips in and seeing if is sizzles).

Once oil is hot, shallow fry the courgettes in batches till golden (once cooked placing in a bowl lined with kitchen paper).

Towards the end of your chips cooking heat the butter in another pan and add the crushed garlic (stir through).

Then add your dusted fish and cook for about 5 mins on each side till fish is cooked through and lightly browned on the outside.

Place a handful of courgette chips and equal portions of fish on each plate.

Sprinkle with parsley and then serve.

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

Salad
· 2 shop bought large Roast Chicken (or approx. 4 Chicken Breasts )
· 1 Packet of Vermicelli Rice Noodles (follow instructions on the back for cooking)
· 1 Chinese or Savoy Cabbage (finely chopped)
· Bunch of Vietnamese Mint or normal mint if you can’t buy this (chopped)
· Bunch of Coriander (chopped)
· Bunch of Spring Onions (long thin slices)
· 1 Cucumber (long thin slices)
· 2 Carrots (long thin slices)

Dressing
· Handful of chopped Roasted Cashews
· Lime wedges
· Use my Sweet Chilli recipe (Asian Nibble)

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl then add about 250ml of the Chilli Sauce and mix together

Serve on a large platter and garnish the top with the chopped Cashews and some limes on the side.

This is an excellent dish for a girly lunch, accompanied by white wine of course!!

Duck with Cranberry & Mango

Serves 4 people

* 4 Duck breasts
* 1 bag of spinach leaves
* 2 ripe mangoes (cut into thin strips)
* 300g mange tout (boiled or steamed)
* 2 Spanish onions (chopped into thin strips)
* Jar of cranberry jelly
* Handful of coriander leaves (optional)
* Dash of olive oil
* Salt and Pepper/Chilli to taste

Heat up a fry pan with a little olive oil then cook the duck breasts skin side down till the skin is brown and crispy, then brown the rest of the duck breast and remove from heat.

Place duck in a hot oven (180 degrees) and cook for 20mins till well done on the outside and pink in the middle.

In your fry pan add some olive oil and then\fry the onions till they become translucent, turn down the heat and add the cranberry jelly and let it simmer until the mixture reduces – if it feels like it might burn add half a cup of water whilst reducing.

NOTE: You can serve a combination of ingredients on single plates but I think this dish looks best on a big platter where people can serve themselves.

So place spinach leaves first, then mange tout, followed by mango strips, thin slices of duck then the cranberry onions and finally garnish with coriander leaves.

Spinach and Feta Fritattas

These little snacks are great for picnics and catering for vegetarians!!

* 1 large bag of Spinach Leaves (coarsely chopped)
* 2 Courgettes (grated)
* 1 Onion (diced)
* 1 heaped tablespoon of shop bought pesto (or alternatively home made)
* 4 Eggs
* 200ml Single Cream
* Handful of grated Cheddar Cheese
* 180g (approx.) Greek Feta (flaked)

Cook the Courgette and Onion in a pan with the pesto and a dash of olive oil till onion is translucent—then remove and allow to cool.

Meanwhile mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl together till combined then add the cooked vegetables.

Place mixture into mini muffin tray and bake for approx. 15 mins. till the surface of the frittatas is golden.

Makes 24-36 depending on the size of your tray.