Food

By Belinda Prince

Hello from the accidental Chatelaine! I love to cook at any opportunity and delighted to be able to share that love with you

Chateau Kitchen

www.chateaumareuil.com

Traditional Irish Food

Soda Bread with Yoghurt

Ingredients

225g plain flour 225g wholemeal flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp fine sea salt 500g plain full fat yogurt splash of milk, only if needed extra flour for dusting Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas Mark 6. 1. Put both flours in a large bowl. Add the baking soda and salt and give it all a good whisk. Alternatively, you can sieve all the ingredients into a bowl, adding back the bran from the wholemeal flour that will stay on top of the sieve. 2. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the yogurt, mixing everything in gently with the spoon until the dough starts to come together. 3. Turn out the dough onto the worktop, dust it lightly with flour and gently start bringing it all together to form a round loaf. Add a bit more flour if

your dough gets really sticky or a tiny splash of milk if it's a bit dry but try not to use too much of either. 4. Line a baking tray with some baking paper, place the loaf on the tray and cut a large cross in the middle of the loaf either with a knife or a dough scraper, if you have one. The cross needs to be quite deep, about 2/3rds through the loaf to help the baking process 5. Dust a little more flour over the loaf and bake it in a preheated oven for 30 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Let it cool slightly on the cooling rack before eating!

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Braised Pork with Cider and Vegetables

Ingredients (Serves 2) Small knob of butter 2 pork loin chops 100g smoked bacon lardons 1 large carrot, cut into chunks 2 potatoes, cut into chunks 1 small swede or turnip, cut into chunks ¼ cabbage, cut into smaller wedges 1 bay leaf 100ml dry cider (brut) 100ml chicken stock

Method

1. Heat the butter in a pan until sizzling, season the chops, then fry them for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned. Remove from the pan. 2. Gently fry the lardons in the pan for a minute or so, then add the carrot, potato and swede or turnip to the pan and fry gently until they have some colour. Stir in the cabbage, place the chops on top and add the bay leaf.

Pour over the cider and stock, cover the pan and let everything simmer gently for 20 minutes or so until the pork is cooked through and the vegetables are nice and tender.

Colcannon with Celeriac

Ingredients

500g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks 500g celeriac, peeled and cut into chunks 100g butter 150g smoked bacon lardons ½ small green cabbage, finely sliced 150 ml double cream, (crème entiere)

Method

1. Tip the potatoes and celeriac into a large saucepan of water, bring to the boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender. 2. Meanwhile, heat a quarter of the butter in a saucepan and fry the lardons and half the cabbage for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside. 3. Drain the potatoes and celeriac in a colander and leave for about 5 minutes with a clean tea towel over the top to absorb some of the steam. 4. Mash the potato and celeriac until smooth. 5. Heat the cream with the remaining butter in a pan and when almost

A perfect one pot dish

boiling, beat it into the potato/celeriac mixture. 6. Add the bacon and cabbage and season to taste. If you have any additional greens for extra flavour and nutrition (kale etc) add them at the same time as the cabbage.

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Ingredients (Serves 12)

For the Cake: 250ml Guinness 250g unsalted butter 80g cocoa powder 400g caster sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla essence 150ml crème fraiche 280g plain flour 2.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda For the Topping: 50g unsalted butter, softened 300g icing sugar 125g full-fat cream cheese (such as Philadelphia) Cocoa powder, for dusting (optional) A 23cm diameter spring-form cake tin Preheat the oven to 170ºC (325ºF), Gas mark 3, and line the base of the tin with baking parchment.

Method

1. Pour the Guinness into a saucepan, add the butter and gently heat until it has melted. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the cocoa powder and sugar into the warm liquid until dissolved. Mix together the eggs, vanilla essence and crème fraiche by hand in a jug or bowl, and add this to the mixture in the pan. Sift together the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl or into the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer.

Using the mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand-held electric whisk, set on a low speed and pour in the contents of the pan. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are incorporated. 2. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until the cake bounces back when lightly pressed and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Set aside to cool, and then remove from the tin on

to a wire rack, making sure the cake is cold to the touch before you add the topping. 3. Using the electric whisk or the freestanding mixer with paddle attachment, mix the butter and icing sugar together until there are no large lumps of butter and it is fully combined with the sugar in a “sandy” mixture. Add the cream cheese and mix on a low speed, then increase the speed to medium and beat until the topping mixture is light and fluffy. 4. Place the cooled cake on to a plate and apply generously with the cream cheese topping. It’s quite fun to end up with a cake looking a bit like the famous pint of Guinness The cake can then be decorated with a light dusting of cocoa powder.

Irish Brioche & Butter Pudding

Ingredients

300g brioche loaf 50g butter, melted plus extra for greasing 100g raisins or sultanas (or a mixture) 1tsp grated nutmeg 1tsp ground cinnamon 3tbps Demerara sugar (cassonade) For the custard: 3 eggs 50g caster sugar 150ml double cream (crème entiere) 500ml whole milk 100ml Irish cream liqueur (eg. Baileys) 1 tsp vanilla extract You will need a 28cm wide-based round or oval ovenproof dish and a roasting tin large enough to place it in.

Method

1. Cut the brioche loaf into 1.5cm slices and brush each slice with the melted butter on both sides. Butter the dish and arrange the slices neatly, scatter over the dried fruit. 2. To make the custard, place all the custard ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together until well mixed. Pour over the brioche and gently push down with a fork to ensure everything is well soaked in the liquid. Sprinkle with the

Demerara sugar and leave to stand for about 30 minutes. 3. Pre-heat the oven to 180º/160º fan. 4. Half fill the roasting tin with boiling water and place the ovenproof dish in this. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes until well risen and golden.