Margarita ice cream!

August 15, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda

In the hot summer months, what could be nicer than a Margarita for dessert!

Serves 6
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tbsp tequila
3 tbsp Cointreau or Triple sec
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
2 cups heavy cream

Pour the lime juice, tequila and orange liqueur into a bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add the cream and then softly whip until thick and smooth but not stiff.
Spoon into an airtight container to freeze overnight. This ice ream does not need softening before serving as it won’t freeze too hard due to the alcohol in it. It will melt pretty fast so don’t let it stand around at room temperature too long
Finely grate some lime zest over to serve

Baking · Do-ahead

Easy no knead Guinness bread

August 14, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda1 Comment

This is another great moist, dense and very tasty bread we had in Ireland. The addition of Guinness beer whether draught or canned, makes it so rich and flavorful. All it needs is some salty Irish Kerrygold butter and some smoked salmon!

This recipe makes one loaf and is better served fresh and slightly warm, especially as it’s a no-knead recipe.

5 ½ cups plain wholemeal / wholemeal all purpose flour
1 ¼ cups plain white / white all purpose flour
½ cup oatmeal
2 ½ teaspoons of baking soda or bicarbonate of soda
2 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cups black treacle or molasses
½ pint draught or canned Guinness

Preheat the oven to 350 °F and lightly grease a standard loaf tin with butter.
Place all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub into the dry ingredients until it resembles fine breadcrumbs – I recommend working quickly as the mixture can easily become greasy if over mixed, or mixed using too warm hands.
Add the milk, black treacle or molasses and the Guinness. Mix to create a wet dough.
Grease a standard loaf tin, add the wet dough and bake in the oven for 40 – 45 mins or until the bread is well risen and cooked through.
Leave for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Eat while slightly warm if you like, or leave to go completely cold. Delicious with salty butter and Irish smoked salmon, cold meats or cheeses.

Baking · Do-ahead · Nuts

Val's Ballinkeele brown soda bread

August 12, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda

At the beautiful manor house of Balinkeele, County Wexford, Ireland, where we stayed for a night on our two week driving trip of Ireland, we got to know the young owners of this stunning property, Laura, Val, and their four young children. They live in the house, run a bed and breakfast in it and do all the cooking and cleaning themselves. At breakfast we were served this delicious bread warm from the oven. The recipe, which is easy to make, is Val’s handed down over the generations and it was to die for.

Screen shot 2014-08-12 at 7.05.08 PM

This was our bedroom and the view across the lakes and gardens was stunning.

After breakfast we strolled around the property, taking as many pictures as possible of the gorgeous lakes, pathways and gardens.

Dry Ingredients
14 oz wholemeal flour
3 oz plain flour
4 tbsp mixed seeds & nuts, (like pumpkin, sunflower, pine nuts, golden flax seeds, chopped nuts, or whatever you fancy)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Wet ingredients
14.5 fl oz buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp honey

Heat the oven to 450 F. Grease the inside of a 2lb loaf tin – cut a piece of baking parchment to fit the base.
Mix the dry ingredients together except for 2 tbsp of the nuts/seeds mixture, in a large bowl. In another bowl or a pitcher, mix the wet ingredients together, using a whisk, but don’t beat the mixture too much.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the wet ingredients in and mix well.
Turn the bread mixture into the loaf tin and pat down on the top with a fork or spatula. Scatter the remaining 2 tbsp seeds and nuts along the middle of the length of the loaf tin.
Cook at 450 F for 15 mins then turn down the oven to 375 F for the remaining 35 to 40 mins. Leave the loaf in the tin to cool a little and when cool enough to remove from the tin, it should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Soup · Vegan

Chilled essence of tomato consomme

August 12, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda1 Comment

On our vacation recently, we had an amuse-bouche course of this chilled soup and it was absolutely divine. The tomato flavor is intense, yet delicate and it’s well worth trying as a lovely summer starter. It’s hard to believe that the clear liquid is actually the tomato consomme.

5 ½ lbs cherry vine-ripened tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 small shallot, finely chopped
half fennel bulb, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
2 sprigs thyme, roughly chopped
4 leaves tarragon, roughly chopped
A handful basil leaves, roughly chopped
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
2 pinches cayenne pepper
5 drops Worcestershire sauce
3 drops Tabasco sauce

To serve
4 basil leaves, finely sliced, plus 4 small sprigs
6 large plum vine tomatoes, skinned, seeded and finely diced
good-quality extra-virgin olive oil

In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together with 1 tbsp sea salt, cover with cling film and marinate for 6 hrs. Then, in a food processor, pulse the tomato mix in batches until roughly chopped – don’t over-chop them to a mush.
Place three layers of muslin cloth, or a new kitchen cloth, over a large bowl and pour the mix into the cloth. Tie up with string and hang in a cold place for at least 15 mins over the bowl to collect the tomato essence. Set aside the pulp. Taste and correct the seasoning, if necessary, then cool in the fridge.
To serve, spoon a quarter of the diced tomato into the centre of four bowls.
Carefully pour the chilled tomato essence around the tomato towers and garnish with the basil and a small drizzling of olive oil.