Recipes
I was delighted to be asked to write a weekly column for the Irish Examiner, and I look forward to travelling through the seasons with you, the readers. I will try to keep my recipes grounded, accessible and, most importantly, delicious.
We can all be guilty of rehashing the same old dishes simply because we are comfortable with them and the family likes them; I am guilty of this too!
One of the main reasons is all the busyness that surrounds us; we often don’t have the time or energy to try something new. Life gets in the way of our kitchen creativity.
What I hope to achieve is bringing a collection of everyday ingredients together, all readily available and combining them in different and not so different ways, to give a little lift to lunch or dinner, and to invigorate and inspire your relationship with cooking, so that you look forward to making and eating something new or different occasionally.
Sometimes all we need is a little reminder to spur us into a bit more adventure and change.
I’m starting gently this week with a warm chicken salad and a spaghetti dish. Try, as much as possible, to buy local and buy Irish – it means so much to Irish businesses and to building sustainable communities.
Warm Chicken, Potato & Green Bean Salad with Dates, Parmesan & Almonds
This is a delicious salad with a dressing that’s sweet, tangy, savoury and warm. It should really be eaten immediately while everything is still slightly warm and glossy. I’ve suggested using a small rotisserie chicken simply for ease, but of course you can roast a small chicken yourself, allow it to cool slightly and shred it. Reserving the carcass for stock.
A roast chicken salad should always be made with chicken roasted on the day. By the following day, you lose the magic of the chicken, so this is very much a salad for eating fresh.
There’s an alchemy about this salad. The warmth of the potatoes and vegetables melts the Parmesan, softens the shallots and brings the whole thing together into something rich and deeply savoury. It’s just magical.
Recipes Warm Chicken, Potato &Green Bean Salad with Dates, Parmesan & Almonds
This is a delicious salad that should really be eaten immediately while everything is still slightly warm and glossy.
Preparation Time
10 mins
Ingredients
For the salad
4 large potatoes (about 800g), peeled and cut into chunks
200g green beans, trimmed
1 small rotisserie chicken, shredded
250g baby leaf spinach, or if using larger spinach leaves, shred them.
2 handfuls whole almonds, skin on
Handful of dill
For the dressing
4 shallots, very finely diced
15 soft dates, pitted and sliced into thin strips
200ml extra virgin olive oil
1 large knob Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra for serving
Juice of 1½–2 lemons
1 heaped dsrtsp Dijon mustard
Sea salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan).
Spread the almonds on a tray and roast for about 8 minutes until golden and fragrant. Leave to cool slightly, then roughly chop.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil. Add the potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes before adding the green beans. Continue cooking for another 10 minutes, or until everything is completely tender. The potatoes should be soft enough that the edges begin to collapse when tested with a fork.
While the vegetables are cooking, combine the diced shallots and sliced dates in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, grated Parmesan, Dijon mustard, sea salt, black pepper and the juice of 1½ lemons. Stir well and leave to sit while the vegetables finish cooking so the dates soften slightly and the flavours combine.
Drain the potatoes and beans thoroughly, then immediately tip them into the bowl with the dressing while still hot and steaming. Toss very well and leave for 2 minutes.
This is where the magic happens, The heat from the vegetables melts the Parmesan into the dressing, softens the shallots and helps the edges of the potatoes collapse slightly into the oil, creating a glossy, rich sauce.
Allow everything to cool slightly for about 10 minutes, then add the shredded chicken, mixed leaves and roasted almonds. Toss gently until everything is coated.
Taste and adjust with more lemon juice, sea salt and black pepper as needed. The salad should taste sharp, savoury, rich and perfectly balanced.
Transfer to a large serving platter and finish with extra Parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil, another squeeze of lemon juice and a final seasoning of sea salt and black pepper.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Lemon Butter Spaghetti with Cavolo Nero & Crispy Parmesan Breadcrumbs
This is a really easy midweek summer pasta that’s full of flavour, quick to make and relies mainly on simple store cupboard ingredients. If you don’t have cavolo nero, feel free to swap it for kale, just remove the stalks and finely shred the leaves.
The magic of this dish comes together when the butter, grated Parmesan and starchy pasta water emulsify into a glossy, velvety sauce that clings to every strand of spaghetti. It’s a perfect example of how using very simple ingredients and cooking them with care can elevate a dish into something really special.
Recipes Lemon Butter Spaghetti with Cavolo Nero & Crispy Parmesan Breadcrumbs
This is a really easy midweek summer pasta that’s full of flavour, quick to make and relies mainly on simple store cupboard ingredients.
Ingredients
300g dried spaghetti
Sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced into very thin rounds
6 anchovies
1 hot red chilli, finely sliced
200g cavolo nero, stalks removed and leaves shredded
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1½–2 lemons
50g unsalted butter
1 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve
Freshly ground black pepper
For the breadcrumbs
2 handfuls panko breadcrumbs or even better if you have stale sourdough blitz into crumbs
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
A pinch of sea salt
A little finely grated lemon zest
A little finely grated Parmesan
Method
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring often, until deeply golden and crisp. Season with a pinch of sea salt, a little lemon zest and a small handful of Parmesan, then set aside.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil.
Meanwhile, place a wide pan over medium heat and add a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil. Add the anchovies and gently cook until they melt away into the oil. Lower the heat slightly and add the garlic and chilli. Cook gently until the garlic is soft and fragrant, being careful not to let it brown.
Add half the butter and allow it to melt gently into the oil. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon, then add the cavolo nero and cook until just wilted. Season lightly with flaky sea salt, then turn off the heat while the pasta cooks.
Cook the spaghetti until almost al dente. When the pasta is ready, ladle about half a cup of the starchy pasta water into the cavolo nero pan and bring it back over medium heat. Transfer the spaghetti directly into the pan using tongs, allowing a little of the pasta water to cling to the strands.
Add the remaining butter, the remaining lemon zest, most of the Parmesan and a generous twist of black pepper. Toss everything gently over the heat until the butter, cheese and pasta water emulsify into a glossy, lightly creamy sauce.
If the pasta looks too dry, add another splash of pasta water. Taste and adjust with more lemon juice, sea salt or black pepper until perfectly balanced. Divide the pasta between four warm bowls and finish with extra Parmesan, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and the golden Parmesan breadcrumbs.
Serve immediately.