Yesterday we took a day trip into the charming little harbor town of Dun Laioghaire. After we roamed in and out of little shops filled with Saturday shoppers in the quaint town overlooking the sea, we made our way to one of the city's two piers, before having the best meal we've had in Ireland.
After our day by the sea we meandered back into town for a seriously delicious meal.
Harry's Cafe Bar had some great deals for parties of two so we treated ourselves to our first really delicious meal in Ireland. To start, we go "Harry's Famous Fish Cakes with a Basil Aioli," which were aptly named and a Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Fig salad.
Recipe for Fish Cakes from BBCgoodfood.com:
* 450g skinned Icelandic cod or haddock fillet, from a sustainable source
* 2 bay leaves
* 150ml milk
* 350g Maris Piper potatoes
* ½ tsp finely grated lemons zest
* 1 tbsp fresh white flatleaf parsley , chopped
* 1 tbsp snipped chives
* 1 egg
* flour , for shaping
* 85g fresh white breadcrumbs , preferably a day or two old
* 3-4 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil , for shallow frying
* lemon wedges and watercress , to serve
1. Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Set aside. Lay the fish and bay leaves in a frying pan. Pour over the milk and 150ml/¼ pint water. Cover, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 4 mins. Take off the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 mins to gently finish cooking the fish.
2. Meanwhile, peel and chop the potatoes into even-sized chunks. Put them in a saucepan and just cover with boiling water. Add a pince of salt, bring back to the boil and simmer for 10 mins or until tender, but not broken up.
3. Lift the fish out of the milk with a slotted spoon and put on a plate to cool. Drain the potatoes in a colander and leave for a min or two. Tip them back into the hot pan on the lowest heat you can and let them dry out for 1 min, mashing them with a fork and stirring so they don't stick. You should have a light, dry fluffy mash. Take off the heat and beat in 1 rounded tbsp of the sauce, then the lemon zest, parsley and chives. Season well with salt and pepper. The potato should have a good flavour, so taste and adjust to suit.
4. Drain off liquid from the fish, grind some pepper over it, then flake it into big chunks into the pan of potatoes. Using your hands, gently lift the fish and potatoes together so they just mix (see pic 1). You'll only need a couple of turns, or the fish will break up too much. Put to one side and cool.
5. Beat the egg on a large plate and lightly flour a board. Spread the breadcrumbs on a baking sheet. Divide the fish cake mixture into four. On the floured board, and with floured hands, carefully shape into four cakes, about 2.5cm thick (pic 2). One by one, sit each cake in the egg, and brush over the top and sides so it is completely coated (pic 3). Sit the cakes on the crumbs, patting the crumbs on the sides and tops so they are lightly covered. Transfer to a plate, cover and chill for 30 mins (or up to a day ahead).
6. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. To test when ready, drop a piece of the dry breadcrumbs in - if it sizzles and quickly turns golden brown, it is ready to use. Fry the fish cakes over a medium heat for about 5 mins on each side or until crisp and golden. Serve with the rest of the sauce (squeeze in a little lemon zest to taste), lemon wedges for squeezing over and watercress.
Recipe for the Basil Aioli from Epicurious:
* 3/4 cup mayonnaise (home-made or store bought)
* 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh basil
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
* 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
* 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
Mix all ingredients in medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to allow flavors to develop. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Fig Salad:
Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Fig Salad from Jamieoliver.com
"One thing I do is to criss-cross the figs but not quite to the bottom - 1 fig per person is always a good start. Then, using your thumbs and forefingers, squeeze the base of the fig to expose the inside. At this point you'll think, 'Oooh, that looks nice, I think I'm quite clever ...' or at least I do. More importantly, it allows your dressing to get right into the middle of the fig. All these little things really help to make a salad special. Simply place the figs in a dish, weave around 1 slice of Parma ham or prosciutto per fig, throw in some slices of buffalo mozzarella and rip over some green or purple basil. Mix 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, a tablespoon of good honey and some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper together in a bowl and drizzle everything with this dressing. As far as salads go, it's pretty damn sexy.
PS It's a good idea to have some spare bread on the table to mop up the juices - always a treat."-J.O.
For our mains, Jake had the Classic Char-grilled Homemade Beef Burger with Crispy Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Tomato Relish and French Fries. This thing was huge. And delicious. This look-alike does not do this burger justice:
Recipe for Bacon Cheese Burger from Allrecipes.com:
Ingredients
* 1 pound sliced bacon, diced
* 5 pounds ground beef chuck
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 1/4 cup steak sauce
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 pound American cheese slices
Directions
1. Preheat a grill for high heat.
2. Place bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry, stirring occasionally. When the bacon is almost done, add the onion. Cook until the bacon is crisp, and the onion is tender. Remove onion and bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon, and transfer to a food processor. Pulse a couple of times to chop finely. Do not puree. Pour into a large bowl, and mix with steak sauce and ground chuck using your hands. Form into 16 patties.
3. Place patties on the grill, and cook for 5 minutes per side, or until well done. Place a slice of cheese on top of each one during the last minute.
Tomato Relish recipe from grownups.co.nz:
12 medium tomatoes
6 medium white onions
1 pint brown vinegar
1 lb sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 Tbsp mustard
1/2 Tbsp curry powder
for thickening:
1 heaped Tbsp plain flour mixed to smooth paste with cold water
Use kitchen whizz to pulp up the tomatoes and onions and put in a large pot along with all other ingredients.
Simmer steadily with lid on for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in flour paste to thicken the relish.
Put back onto the heat and bring back up to the boil to cook the flour. This will only take 4-5 minutes.
Remove from heat and pour into sterilized jars or bottles and cap when cool.
I had the Char-grilled Pork Loin with Grilled Peach, Tender Stem Broccoli, Asparagus and new Potatoes.
The grilled peaches initially sold me on this thing, but the whole combination was over the top!
Recipe for Pork Loin from Gourmetfood.com:
Prep Time: 24 hours
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 24 hours, 15 minutes
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients:
For the Brine
* 1 1⁄2 quarts water
* 6 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
* 1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
* Handful of fresh thyme sprigs
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
For the Pork:
*4 bone-in pork loin chops, about 3⁄4 inch thick
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 2 tablespoons bourbon
* 2 teaspoons honey
* 2 large freestone peaches, such as O'Henry or Elberta, halved and pitted
1. Make the brine: In a medium saucepan, combine the water, salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the salt. Set aside until completely cool.
2. Put the pork chops in a nonreactive container that holds them snugly in a single layer. Add the brine, which should cover them. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
3. About 1 hour before cooking, remove the pork chops from the brine and set them on a wire cooling rack at room temperature to dry. Discard the brine. Prepare a moderate charcoal fire for indirect grilling (page 102) or preheat a gas grill to moderate (375˚F), leaving one burner unlit for indirect grilling.
4. In a small saucepan, combine the butter, bourbon, and honey. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring until the butter melts and the honey dissolves. Keep warm.
5. Pat the pork chops with paper towels to remove any remaining surface moisture. Set the chops directly over the coals or flame and brown both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Then transfer to indirect heat, cover the grill, and cook until the pork chops offer some resistance to the touch but are still springy, not firm, about 4 minutes longer. On an instant-read thermometer, the internal temperature should measure about 150˚F for medium.
6. Once the pork chops have been moved to indirect heat, grill the peaches. Brush them all over with the butter-honey mixture and place cut side down directly over the coals or flame. Cook until the peaches are lightly charred, then turn, baste again, and cook just until they are tender and juicy. The pork chops and peaches should be done at roughly the same time, but if not, move whichever is done first to a cooler area of the grill. Serve each pork chop alongside half a grilled peach.
