CelebrateEvery

BY MARY SUBIALKA

Donal Skehan flipped his first pancake when he was four years old, sparking a lifelong interest in food. Born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1986, Skehan started one of the country’s first food blogs in 2007 called Good Mood Food, which evolved into a cookbook of the same name. The self-taught cook drew audiences with his enthusiasm for whipping up delicious and approachable healthy meals, and his first series on Irish television soon followed.

After making appearances on television and giving cooking demonstrations at social events, he was featured in his own weekly food program, “Kitchen Hero” in 2011 and published a cookbook based on the series,

“Kitchen Hero—Bringing Cooking Back Home.” Skehan judged some of the U.K.’s young cooks on BBC’s “Junior MasterChef” in 2012, and in 2013, after appearing on Jamie Oliver’s YouTube channel, Skehan launched his own YouTube channel which has since grown to over a million subscribers.

His travels have taken him to many parts of the globe over the last decade. He learned from “nonnas” on Fox International’s “Grandma’s Boy,” and he presented a series for Food Network, “Follow Donal,” exploring Vietnam in a four-part series and then visiting 10 European cities in the second installment of the series, which aired in 2015. He has also appeared on HBO Max, NBC’s “Today” show, “Rachael Ray” and more.

Now one of Ireland’s most-popular foodies, he has written 10 cookbooks and offers up recipes from everyday eating with family and friends to dishes inspired by his travels in Europe and Southeast Asia.

Life has changed a bit since his intensive globe-trotting days. After marrying his wife Sofie Larsson in 2015, the couple moved to Los Angeles, California, in 2016. Their son Noah was born there in December 2017 and their second son Oliver arrived in November 2019. Then, with the little ones and their dog Max in tow, they moved back to his hometown of Dublin during the height of the pandemic in April 2020 to be closer to family.

“Over the past few years, my life has had plenty of twists and turns, moving across the world and adding children to the mix. But now that I’m back home and closer to my family, I see the importance of those essential recipes that make our home kitchen tick, the classic dishes we come back to time and time again for comfort and security,” he writes in the introduction to his latest book, “Everyday Cook: Vibrant Recipes, Simple Methods, Delicious Dishes,” which was published in fall 2021.

Thai BBQ Fighting Chicken with Crunchy Salad

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Ideally you want to cook this fabulous street-food recipe on a barbecue, but if it’s raining or you don’t have one, then you can do this on the griddle as in this recipe.

2lemongrass stalks, peeled and chopped

3garlic cloves

1red chili

Large bunch of cilantro

3tablespoons soy sauce

2tablespoons brown sugar

2tablespoons rice vinegar

1tablespoon fish sauce

2tablespoons peanut oil

8free-range chicken thighs (bone in and skin on)

Sea salt and white pepper, to taste

For the Salad

3½ounces kale, shredded

7ounces carrot, grated ¼red cabbage, shredded 5scallions, thinly sliced 2tablespoons smooth peanut butter

1tablespoon rice vinegar

2tablespoons soy sauce

1tablespoon honey

1(¾-inch) piece of fresh ginger

Juice of 1 lime

2teaspoons sesame oil

To Serve

Handful of cilantro leaves

Handful of basil leaves

Handful of peanuts, chopped

1. In a mortar and pestle or in a small food processor, mash together the lemongrass, garlic, chili and cilantro leaves and stems. Blend with the soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar and fish sauce, then add the oil and season with sea salt and white pepper. Tip into a shallow bowl, add the chicken thighs and leave to marinate for at least an hour, or overnight.

2. Heat the oven to 400°F.

3. Mix all the vegetables for the salad together in a large bowl. Blend the rest of the salad ingredients together to make a dressing, pour over the vegetables and toss well.

4. Place an ovenproof griddle pan over a high heat. Add the chicken thighs and char for a few minutes on each side, then transfer to the oven for 5 to 6 minutes until tender and cooked through. Serve the chicken with the crunchy salad, a sprinkling of cilantro, basil and some peanuts.

This book is a celebration of real home cooking for modern-day life and includes meal planning suggestions, time-saving tricks and achievable recipes in categories such as speedy 15- to 30-minute meals, recipes using just one pan, comforting favorites, classic desserts, and recipes to batch cook and freeze for days where you don’t have time to cook from scratch. His wish is that these recipes will help you manage life and all its twists and turns, while still allowing you to pull together meals that are nourishing, vibrant and delicious.

“The push and pull on our busy lives means that the routine of cooking a decent home-cooked meal can often find itself being pushed down our list of priorities,” he writes. “Reclaiming our kitchens without sacrificing our time is possibly one of the most important things we can do for ourselves and for family life.”

“As a food writer, I am constantly looking for new ideas and recipe inspiration, but if I’m honest, having reliable recipes that I can easily whip up are what I most come back to and make time after time,” he writes. His hope for his cookbooks? “To become dog-eared, sauce-splattered, wellused guides to the kitchen.”

With recipes including Crispy Hoisin Duck Lettuce Wraps, one- pan Oven-roasted Ratatouille, prep ahead Roast Cherry Tomato Pici, easy favorite Crispy Egg Fried Rice Bowls, freezeable Smoky Fish

Pie with Velvet Mash Topping and more, Skehan has worked to have something for most everyone in “Everyday Cook.”

Here, check out recipes from the book for Thai BBQ Fighting Chicken with Crunchy Salad and get a taste of his travels, and try the Spiced Salmon with Pineapple Salsa and Caramelized Onion Rice for a jazzed up take on the hearthealthy fish. Reclaim your kitchen without sacrificing time or flavor. ■

Spiced Salmon with Pineapple Salsa and Caramelized Onion Rice

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

A spicy fishy feast for the whole family, this recipe feeds a crowd. You can scale it down if you’d like by using individual salmon fillets.

2-pound, 4-ounce side of salmon

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Generous pinch of cayenne pepper

For the Salsa

1 medium pineapple, peeled and chopped into small chunks

1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime

2 tablespoons olive oil

Good handful of roughly chopped cilantro

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Caramelized Onion Rice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large onions, thinly sliced

1 pound 2 ounces basmati rice, rinsed

1 teaspoon dried thyme

A good handful of cilantro, roughly chopped

1. Put the salmon into a large dish. Mix the maple syrup and spices together, then spread evenly all over the salmon. Leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight if you have the time.

2. Combine all the salsa ingredients except for the cilantro in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

3. For the rice, heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions over a medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring, until caramelized and sticky. Stir in the rice and then pour over 4 cups of water and season with salt and pepper. Cover and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff up with a fork and stir in the herbs.

4. Meanwhile, preheat the grill to high. Line the grill tray with foil and grease well then place the salmon, skin-side up, on the tray. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes until the skin is crispy then flip over and grill for 5 minutes until just cooked and golden brown.

5. Stir the cilantro through the salsa. Serve the salmon with the salsa and caramelized onion rice.