Starters
Leek, Gubbeen cheese & Folláin caramelised onion relish jambon
A seasonal, veggie riff on the Irish jambon that’s full of flavour. Make things easy by using pre-rolled pastry (available in any good supermarket) and keep it local with a great West Cork cheese and relish!
Ingredients:
2 x 400g sheets of ready to use puff pastry
1 leek, topped, tailed and thoroughly washed
Knob of butter
1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
West Cork Atlantic Sea Salt and pepper
½ round of Gubbeen Cheese
Jar of Folláin Caramelised Onion Relish
1 egg
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan) and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Braise the leek to soften. Depending on the size of your leek, either cut into 1cm rounds, or cut the leek in half lengthways then slice into 1cm half-moons. Place into a sauté pan with some oil and a knob of butter, salt and pepper, and gently cook with the lid on for 5-10 minutes until softened but still holding their shape.
- Unpack the pastry sheets and cut each sheet into six squares of roughly equal size. Using a sharp knife, cut a 2cm slit in from the middle of each edge.
- Lay each square on a baking sheet (6 per tray) leaving room between each square for the pastry to puff up during cooking.
- Place a teaspoon of onion relish in the centre of the pastry square, some softened leek and top generously with sliced cheese.
- Take each corner of the pastry and fold into the centre of the jambon filling. Each tip of the pastry should meet in the middle. Don’t worry if you can see the filling a little between the gaps.
- Crack an egg into a bowl, whisk, then brush over the pastry. Sprinkle a few extra flakes of sea salt over and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until puffed up and golden.
- Serve with a crisp green salad dressed with a punchy mustard vinaigrette dressing, and some hot mustard on the side.
Classic prawn cocktail with vodka Marie Rose
A good prawn cocktail is hard to beat as a Christmas starter. Using great quality locally-sourced prawns is the secret, of course, but a twist on the classic Marie Rose dressing using a hit of West Cork vodka takes things to another level!
Ingredients (serves 4):
500g Glenmar shellfish giant prawn tails (defrosted)
Iceberg and Little Gem lettuces
3 scallions, sliced
Sun-blushed tomatoes from West Cork Olives
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Wild Atlantic Sea Salt and pepper
4 tbsp Ballymaloe Foods mayonnaise
4 tbsp Mama Bear ketchup
½ tbsp Two Trees vodka
½ tsp celery salt (optional for allergen)
½ tsp cornflour
2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
Method
- Preheat a frying pan over a medium high heat, then add the oil.
- Pat the prawns dry and season with salt and pepper, and fry until pink and cooked through. Remove prawns from the pan onto a plate with kitchen paper to soak up excess oil. Let cool.
- Per portion, take two leaves of iceberg lettuce and finely chop. Slice scallions and 3-4 sun blushed tomatoes. Add all to a bowl, sprinkle over a little lemon juice, a pinch of sea salt and pepper and mix well. Set aside.
- To make the Marie Rose, in a bowl place mayonnaise, ketchup, vodka, lemon zest, celery salt and cornflour and whisk until combined and thickened. To this, add most of the prawns except for one or two prawns per portion which will be used to garnish.
- Take a handful of the iceberg lettuce mix per portion and place in individual serving dishes. Clip off, wash and dry leaves of Little Gem. Position two per portion standing up in each serving dish.
- Spoon in the Vodka Marie Rose covered prawns, then garnish each dish with two un-dressed prawns and a slice of lemon.
Mains
Roast duck and figgy sauce
Duck is a great alternative for smaller gatherings. A whole duck will easily feed four people with very little waste. Skeaghanore Farm raise free-range ducks overlooking Roaring Water Bay giving a distinct, rich flavour. A sweet sauce made using Folláin’s fig jam cuts through the richness.
Ingredients (serves 4):
1 Skeaghanore Farm oven-ready duck
Salt and pepper
Folláin Fig Jam
1 star anise, whole
5 all-spice berries
1 cinnamon stick
Method:
Cooking Time: 20 minutes per 500g plus 20 minutes extra.
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C (fan). Take the duck from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking, remove giblets, and weigh to calculate cooking time.
- Score the skin in a criss-cross pattern, especially around the legs to assist with even cooking. Season the skin with salt and pepper.
- Place the duck on a wire rack tray and put into the oven on the middle shelf. Turn the duck halfway through to ensure even cooking and baste well.
- Remove the fat from the tray and save for cooking or for your roast potatoes.
- Cover the cooked duck with foil and insulate with tea towels, and rest for 20 minutes before carving.
- To make the sauce, empty the jar of fig jam into a heavy bottom saucepan and add a little water to loosen.
- Add in the star anise, all-spice berries and a cinnamon stick. Reheat over a medium-low heat and allow the flavours to mix and mingle for 10 minutes.
- Be careful not to burn the jam or that the mixture bubbles vigorously. Remove the whole spices and pour the sauce into a warm bowl or jug.
Individual veggie Christmas pies
These delicious pies can be made in advance and frozen. On the day, reheat in the oven until piping hot. Don’t be daunted by the prospect of making your own pastry – it’s so simple!
Ingredients (serves 4):
For the filling
25g butter
1 medium leek, thinly sliced
100g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tsp ground mace
1 tbsp thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs to decorate
1 large potato, washed, peeled and grated
100g tinned lentils, rinsed and drained
100g cooked chestnuts, finely chopped
150 ml Gloun Cross Dairy cream
4 tbsp dried cranberries
2 tsp redcurrant jelly
1 egg, beaten
For the pastry
200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
100g vegetarian suet
8 tbsp Clóna Dairy whole milk
Method:
- Place a saucepan over a medium heat, melt the butter and fry the leeks until softened. Add mushrooms, mace and thyme, and cook until the mushrooms are also softened.
- Add the potato and cook for just a couple of minutes. Add the lentils, chestnuts and cream. Cook for five minutes, remove from the heat, stir through the cranberries and redcurrant jelly, then set aside while you make the pastry.
- Put the flour and suet in a food processor with a good pinch of sea salt. Blitz to a fine crumb, then add the milk a spoonful at a time until it comes together as a dough.
- Light dust a surface with plain flour and roll a quarter of the pastry out to the thickness of a two-Euro coin. Using one of the small pie dishes, punch out four pastry lids and set aside. Make decorations from the scraps – holly leaves or stars always look good!
- Cut a sheet of parchment paper into four strips. Place these inside the four pie dishes ensuring the paper spills over the edge. This makes it easy to lift the pies out once cooked.
- Divide the remaining pastry into four and roll each out to the same thickness as the lids. Line the pie dishes with the pastry ensuring a little overhang for easy crimping with the lid. Fill with the lentil and chestnut mix, place the lid on top, and press together to seal.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (fan). Brush each pie with beaten egg and bake for 30 mins. Then lay the pastry stars on a baking sheet, brush with more of the egg and bake with the pies for 10 mins until the pastry is golden and crisp.
- Lift the pies from the ramekins and garnish with a pastry star, a sprig of fresh thyme and a couple of cranberries.
Sides
Pommes Anna stack
Somewhere between a classic Pommes Anna and a deconstructed Hasselback Potato, these crispy, cheesy potato stacks make a delicious alternative to the roastie and cook in half the time. Prep ahead and pop them into the oven as the starters are being served.
Ingredients (serves 4-6):
4 large West Cork-grown potatoes (Roosters are ideal here), washed and peeled
50g Skeaghanore duck fat (you could also use the fat reserved from roasting the duck – see page 123)
Pack of Narmada Organics fresh parsley, finely chopped – stalk and leaves
One-third pack Narmada Organics fresh thyme, leaves stripped from stalk and finely chopped
1 clove West Cork Garlic, crushed
100g Coolea Cheese, extra mature, grated
Wild Atlantic Sea Salt and pepper
Method:
- Using a very sharp knife or a mandolin, carefully slice the potatoes as thin as possible, 1-2mm. Place in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Place the duck fat into a saucepan and melt over a low heat with the crushed garlic, parsley and thyme. Turn off the heat letting the mixture cool and infuse before pouring over the potatoes. Toss the potatoes to ensure they are well coated.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (fan).
- Take a muffin tray and stack the potatoes in each slot right to the top. You may need to slice a piece of potato to make it fit – that’s okay!
- Repeat until the tray is full and the potatoes are all used up (use more than one muffin tray if needed).
- Grate the cheese and top each potato stack with it. Cover the tray tightly with tin foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and increase the temperature to 220°C. Bake for another 15 minutes until golden and crispy.
- Lift the potato stacks from the muffin tray and serve on a warmed platter. Finish each stack with more fresh thyme and sea salt.
Creamed spinach with nutmeg
This simple-to-make side is packed with flavour and provides a different texture to the usual roasted roots that accompany a Christmas dinner. The fresher the nutmeg, the more vibrant the flavour will be. Use baby or large leaf spinach, or swap for chard.
Ingredients:
500g fresh spinach, washed and drained
25g Bandon butter
2 tsp rapeseed or olive oil
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced
¼ nutmeg, grated
Pinch of chili flakes
of fresh parsley, finely chopped
100ml Clóna Dairy crème fraiche
Wild Atlantic Sea Salt
Method:
- Place a sauté or frying pan over a medium heat. Add olive oil and melt butter, then add garlic and onion and gently sauté until softened for 5 minutes.
- Grate in most of the nutmeg, add chili flakes and parsley, stir and cook for a further minute or two.
- Add the spinach. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan. Wilt down, stirring occasionally, then continue to cook until the moisture has cooked off.
- Add the crème fraiche, cornflour and a generous pinch of salt. Stir to combine and cook for a further 2 minutes over a low heat.
- Transfer into a food processor, and whizz until everything is nicely blended.
- Spoon until a bowl, and finish with a final sprinkle of sea salt and a generous grating of nutmeg.
Desserts
Rosemary and vanilla poached pears with salted caramel sauce
Sometimes you just can’t beat simplicity, and this delicious dish is certainly simply to prepare – the key is to make sure that the pears are poached well.
Ingredients (serves 4):
4 Irish pears, peeled
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp of vanilla bean paste
2 sprigs of Narmada Organics fresh rosemary
120g white granulated sugar
Folláin Salted Caramel Sauce
West Cork Irish Whiskey (optional)
The Good Dairy Company ‘Udderly Delicious’ Vanilla Farmhouse Ice Cream
Method:
- Place the pears in a large saucepan and add enough cold water to just cover them. Add the lemon juice, vanilla bean paste, rosemary and sugar, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer until the pears are softened.
- Warm the salted caramel sauce by pouring it into a saucepan and reheating it gently until warm but not bubbling. If not serving this dessert to children, add a splash of Irish whiskey to the caramel sauce while it is warming.
- To serve, pour a generous amount of the caramel sauce into a bowl, top with a poached pear, and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Spiced Orange Upside-Down Cake
A fresh, light, zingy and sweet alternative to heavy Christmas Pudding, this cake is so easy to make and tastes amazing!
Ingredients:
Odlum’s produce a very good gluten-free self-raising flour which I have used here and works just as well as regular self-raising flour.
For the upside-down bit
50g softened Bandon butter
50g golden caster sugar
4 Oranges (Blood Oranges if you can get them)
For the cake batter
100g soft Bandon butter
100g golden caster sugar
100g Odlum’s gluten-free self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla paste
3 West Cork eggs
For the spiced syrup
Juice from orange peel
1 star anise
1 stick of cinnamon
1 tbsp Molaga West Cork honey
For the Chantilly cream
250ml Gloun Cross Dairy cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tbsp icing sugar
Garnish:
Lorge Chocolatier candied orange peel in dark chocolate
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan).
- For the Upside-Down bit: Into a bowl add the zest of two oranges, butter and sugar and whisk until light and fluffy. Spread the butter and sugar mix over the bottom and sides of a 20cm cake tin.
- Top and tail the oranges. Using a sharp knife, cut down the length of each orange deep enough to take off all the skin and the pith exposing the juicy flesh of the orange. Don’t worry if you take some of the orange flesh off too, you’ll be making using of this later!
- Slice the oranges into 2cm slices. Pop out any pips and pith and place the orange slices into the buttered cake tin. Fill in any gaps with little cut pieces of orange.
- For the cake batter: In a clean bowl, place all the cake ingredients together and whisk into a batter. Spoon the cake batter over the sliced oranges. Place in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes. Test with a skewer, if it comes out clean the cake is done. Set the cake aside and allow to cool a little.
- For the spiced syrup: Squeeze all the juice from the leftover pieces of orange peel into a small saucepan, plus the juice of half an orange. Add honey, star anise and cinnamon. Stir over a medium heat until the honey has dissolved. Boil until reduced by half, remove the whole spices and set aside.
- Take a serving plate and place it over the top of the cake tin. Hold securely and flip over. You should hear the cake land onto the plate. Carefully remove the cake tin.
- Gently brush the spiced syrup over the oranges to glaze. Garnish with dark chocolate candied orange peel strips.
- For the Chantilly Cream: Pour Gloun Cross Dairy cream into a bowl, add vanilla bean paste and icing sugar and whisk until thickened.
