Smokey Fish Pie, Cheesy Champ Mash

Being able to make a basic white sauce or bechamel is a skill everyone should have.
The simple bechamel sauce is the doorway to undiscovered realms in cookery, and if you have this skill under your belt the world of pies is your oyster!

White sauce and variations of it go so well with many other foods, from meats to fish, to vegetables and spices.

You can add white wine, red wine, sherry, brandy, mustard's, oh the list is endless what extra flavors can be added to a basic sauce.

As the bechamel is such an important basic sauce, it was literally the first thing I learned to cook in chef college, and the skill of turning out a perfectly silky smooth bechamel has seen me through a thirty year career.

The heart of this fish dish is the creamy white sauce which will imbibe all the flavors of the smoky fish and commune with the creaminess of the cheesy champ mash...... add some mushy peas and you are in comfort food heaven.

Spicy Butternut & Lentil Dhal Parcels

'Dal' or 'Dhal' is another name for a split pulse, be it a lentil, pea or bean, but it is also the name for a thick stew made from any of these. In Asian countries dhal is a staple in the diet and is usually eaten with rice or flat-bread.

Here in Ireland people tend to only eat dhal as a side dish when out for an Indian meal or as part of a take away....much too bothersome to cook for themselves!

I cook various dhal dishes frequently as they are fast, nutritious and you can really make them more than just a 'dhal'.
Their simplicity is vastly underrated and you can make your dhal not just with pulses but by adding a variety of vegetables. This dish is an even thicker version of a lentil dhal with butternut squash as the main vegetable. I use the Thai red curry paste as it saves a lot of messing around with different spices.....and I love the flavors too.

When the dhal is cooked I leave it to cool, then using sheets of rice pastry which I top with the dhal and fold into parcel shapes. They can be frozen like this and when it comes to cooking them you can deep fry them....IF you have sealed the edges well.....or you can bake them in the oven.

Impulsive Hot Pot - A veggie bean-feast!

This is a very healthy dish full of tasty pulses like peas, beans and lentils, and can be one of those ...'oh! I fancy that' dishes!.....hence the name 'Impulsive'...it's easy to make on the spur of the moment with store cupboard staples if you don't mind doing a bit of chopping too!

It is a dish suitable for your vegetarian or vegan friends, but there is no reason why it cannot be enjoyed by carnivores too!


If you are using a hand slicer then I recommend buying the smaller oval shaped sweet potatoes that usually come in a net, if you are going to slice with a knife then you can buy the really big potatoes and just cut them down to a manageable size to suit your own knife skills.

You can make and cook this dish in a cast iron casserole pot or, cook the base in a saucepan then finish with the sweet potato topping in a casserole or gratin dish.

Gratin of Butternut Squash - A cheesy gluten free treat!

There seems to be a concerning increase in the amount of people who are diagnosed as sensitive to gluten which is a protein found in wheat. Their intolerance can be due to Coeliac disease or other health reasons. Gluten sensitivity can cause excessive fatigue and severe headaches, never mind the gut wrenching cramps and serious constipation or swift 'movements' of another kind!

Some people however, are under the impression that going 'gluten free' by choice rather than a medical necessity, will help them loose weight, this is not so and there is no medical proof to confirm this......choosing a keto style of eating would be a better idea!

Those who are unfortunate to suffer from genuine gluten intolerance may be very slim or or may have lost a large amount of weight, but this is due to their health condition not allowing their body to absorb the vital nutrients from food.....in other words they are starving to death!.......in fact you could be putting your health at risk by unnecessarily going 'gluten free'. You may be missing out on vital nutrients from the foods that have gluten in them naturally and many gluten free products are fortified with additional nutrients because of this......always seek medical advice and a consultation with a nutritionist before changing your normal diet drastically.

Cheesy Potato Gratin

The classic French dish of 'Potato Gratin' either with or without cheese, is what I call perfect 'Sunday lunch let's have the relatives round' or 'dinner party' food!

It can be made well in advance, everybody seems to like it, and earns you copious brownie points for having 'gone to all that bother' to make something so gorgeous!.....if only they knew the truth!

Potato gratin is a very simple dish to make and once assembled you just leave it alone in the oven to do it's thing. The key to a good gratin is to use a potato that is well suited to this type of dish, one that is dry and 'floury' as the Irish would say. A 'dry' potato will absorb all the creamy cheesy deliciousness and cook down perfectly, so I recommend the King Edward potato or the red skinned Rooster, both are usually available all year round.

Pork Pockets with rice, kale & parmesan

Having spent much leisure and working time in the South of France, especially in Provence and around the Cote d'Azur area, it is hardly surprising that the cuisine of this region has greatly influenced my own cooking.

The Cote d'Azur area was under the governance of Italians for many years and it was only in the mid 1860's that Nice finally became part of France after the second Italian War of Independence.

The influence of this country in such close proximity not only affected the culture and architecture of the region but also the cuisine, and even today the Italian influence can be seen in many of this regions 'traditional' dishes.

A dish unique to the area of Menton, formerly part of the Republic of Genoa, is a whole stuffed loin of veal.  I would say it's pretty impossible to get veal in the local butchers now due to the prohibitive cost, and to it being viewed as politically incorrect to eat veal.......or so I've been told!

But not to be outdone I have adapted the basics of the dish and have substituted pork loin in place of the veal.....and I was able to throw a little Irishness into the mix too in the form of kale, one of our nations favorite cabbages......yes the Irish are ahead of their time, we loved kale before it became the new 'super-food'!

Sunday Pancakes - good on Tuesdays too!

In 'The New International Confectioner', a tome weighing over 2 kilos and filled with literally a thousand recipes all to do with baking and the art of European classic patisserie, there are 19 different types of pancakes listed but all made from basically the same 4 ingredients...flour, butter, milk and eggs..... from a puffed up 'Scotch' pancake, to the classic thin French crepe, to a crepe like pancake called 'pannequets', which is larger than the usual crepe and is filled with cream, creme patisserie...which is a type of thick custard...and a fresh fruit puree or jam.

Everyone seems to have their own preference when it comes to the thickness of their pancake and I am no exception!
When in France I enjoy the classic crepe.....au chocolat of course!, but when at home, I am more partial to the American style of pancake which is what my mother and grandmother would have made. and the one I grew up with.....bring out the 'Betty Crocker'!

Pancakes to our family means more than just 'Pancake Tuesday'. It is a traditional Sunday evening tea when we may have eaten lightly during the day. A picnic may have been had at the beach, a quick egg 'n onion sandwich at a dog or horse show, or if we've been on a cultural visit to some 'big house', national monument or festival.
A day on your feet is not the day to eat a heavy Sunday lunch so by the time we get home everyone is starving so I will whip out my trusty electric griddle and knock up some pancakes.

If possible, I recommend you try to get your hands on some 'Betty Crocker' pancake mix made by Bisquick.....it is an American product and one my family would have used and no one really does pancakes like Americans!.... you just need to add an egg and milk to the dry mix so there's no messing about with the weighing scales required ....you open the packet, whisk it up and its ready to cook .....the resulting pancakes are light, fluffy and addictive........pass the 'real' maple syrup if you please, none of that imitation stuff allowed!

But if you want to go the whole hog and make your own pancakes from scratch, this is a recipe that works every time.
I have been using it for years and the resulting pancakes perfectly puffed in the American breakfast style.....perfect for soaking up oodles of maple syrup! although I never understood the fascination in eating bacon with them.....that's just wrong in my opinion!

you will need:

350 g self raising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

100 g castor sugar

3 really fresh medium size eggs at room temperature

300 mls of full fat milk or buttermilk.....personally I prefer buttermilk for the flavour 

70 g unsalted butter

how to:

• melt the butter gently and leave to cool slightly but don't let it set again
• meanwhile, sieve the flour, baking powder salt into a deep mixing bowl, add the castor sugar and mix well
• in another bowl beat the eggs then whisk in the milk....I like to use a hand blender for this task
• make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the egg/milk mixture
• working from the centre, stir with a whisk slowly drawing the flour in from the outside to the centre
• keep stirring until all the flour is incorporated.....the batter DOES NOT! have to be smooth! floury lumps are fine so don't whisk to firmly lastly stir in the melted butter
• let your batter stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or refrigerate overnight if you want pancakes for breakfast the next day
• heat your non stick griddle to medium or use a non stick frying pan, and dollop on ladle-fulls of the batter
• cook until bubbles begin to form on the top of the pancakes, now flip them over and cook until browned on the underside
• flip again and place on a plate and keep warm or scoff them straight away!

Foil Braised Fennel, Balsamic Oil Dressing

The vegetable fennel is seldom seen on the everyday tables of family homes in this country,. Viewed as an unusual vegetable that is 'expensive' and requires a lot of 'work', it is largely thought to be the preserve of posh restaurants, when really nothing could be farther from the truth.

Fennel is a delicious, easy to cook and economical vegetable. A head of fennel will cost the same as a head of broccoli, or it does in my local market, and portion wise a fennel will yield pretty much the same.
With having a very distinctive taste similar to aniseed, I always think it a cross between celery and licorice in flavour. Maybe licorice is not everyone's cup of tea, but I find when the fennel is cooked the intensity of the aniseed flavour is lessened giving a much milder flavor.

Fennel has a multitude of uses; the feathery tops can be chopped and added to sauces that go perfectly well with fish and chicken, the crisp white body called the 'bulb' can be eaten sliced raw into a salad, boiled like any other vegetable, oven roasted, braised, char grilled on an electric grill or the bar-be-que, used to liven up what might otherwise be a bland soup such as parsnip or white turnip, and even has it's place in a vegetable bake without overpowering the other vegetables used.
Fennel seeds and are a usual addition to Indian and Pakistani cooking. They are aromatic and spicy and a great way to enjoy them easily is to fry them in a little butter and toss in some cooked white or red cabbage which will absorb those aniseed flavors delightfully.

Mallorcan Orange & Almond Cake, Zesty Clementine & Maple Icing

Mallorca is a wonderful island for a family holiday and very popular with the Irish tourist.

It is an island of sun, pine trees and secret rocky coves, but the island is famous for more than what draws the Irish holidaymaker for their annual fortnight of sun and sangria.




A secluded valley on the north of the island, reached by a delightful wooden train from the capital Palma, is a haven for what are probably the best oranges in the world, in fact the French king Louis XIV would eat no other oranges and we all know how much he enjoyed the finer things in life!

The town and port of Soller sit in this fertile valley, and every year during the first two weeks of June the town plays host to its annual orange festival the 'Fira Tarjona'
It is a celebration not only of the fruit but of its products such as oil, jams and liqueurs. and even the local restaurants get involved with their menus centered around this famous fruit

Mallorca also has the perfect climate for the growing of almonds, and between January and February the countryside is awash with white blossoms.

Radiant Radishes - Good for more than just salad! - oven braised radishes

This peppery, pink, little vegetable adds a wonderful crispness and bite to any summer salad and I adore the contrast of the cerise tinted skin against the firm white flesh.

As you know I can never pass a bargain in the market especially when I know I can make good use of it, and as the radishes were on offer 49c for 250 g, how could I not grab some and take them home.


With each new year comes the resolution that we will make a serious attempt to eat a little healthier than we did last year, and so far it has been successful, so a salad of some sort for lunch is almost a daily occurrence at the moment, except when the wind is howling and nothing but a heart warming bowl of soup will do! so I was positive I could make the most of these pink babies. But who would have thought that the humble little radish could be destined for greater things than a summery salad!

I had seen cooked radishes a few months ago possibly in a magazine or maybe on some online cookery site, and I was struck by how lovely they looked, it may just have been excellent photography, but it worked, and the inspiration machine was fired up. Since then I have often wondered exactly what cooked radishes would taste like. Would they retain that peppery goodness, should they be cooked so they still have a bite to them, or would they come out of the oven all shriveled and leathery.

For this recipe I have treated the radishes similar to how I would prepare any other oven roasted root vegetable such as swede or white turnip, and if you have a go at this radish dish you too will be surprised at how easy to cook and simply delicious, they are!

you will need: approx 2 - 3 servings

250 g radishes
2 medium red onions
 6 cloves garlic
sea salt
fresh black pepper
olive oil
fresh rosemary or thyme or a combination of both

how to:

• trim any root and leaves remaining on the radishes and give them a wash
• cut the radishes in half or quarters so they are all of an even size and place in a deep bowl
• peel the onion but try and leave the root end intact, cut the onion in half, then into thin wedges cutting away from the root end so the wedges hold together, add to the radishes
• remove any loose pieces of skin but don't peel the garlic cloves, add to the bowl
• season the vegetables with salt and pepper
• drizzle with a little olive oil and add some of the fresh herbs, you can leave them in whole sprigs or chop them as you like
• toss everything together and place in a deep sided roasting tin
• cook gently in the oven at 160oC approx 20 minutes until the radishes are tender and the onions have caramelized
• scatter with some more fresh herbs and serve straightaway

If you want to roast other root vegetables with the radishes just make sure that you cut them all to an even size so everything will cook at the same pace.