Dublin Bay Prawns - Japanese Style

I am in Dublin today which is a shame as the sun is shining in St Cado (my favorite place in Brittany)and the rain is just about to come down on us here in Howth Head near Dublin! However the seafood market is wonderful and particularly the delicious Dublin Bay prawns which are renowned the world over.

Dublin Bay prawns are large, succulent and wonderful to work with. I particularly enjoy them Golden Style when East meets West as in this Japanese way (Ebi no kimi ni).

What you need:

8 large prawns
8 small potatoes
575ml of Dashi II
45ml of sake
90ml of mirin
60ml of light soy sauce
175g of green beans
45gm corn flour
3 egg yolks
slip of lemon peel

Method

Devein and shell the prawns leaving the tail intact. Slit open the back of the prawns. Score the back of each prawn and press it out hard.

Peel and trim the potatoes and cut into equal size balls. Parboil in lightly salted with a lid until just tender. Drain and refresh in cold water.

Combine the dashi, sake, mirim and soy sauce in a saucepan, add the potatoes and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and set aside so that the potatoes cool in the simmering stock and absorb the flavour.

Trim the beans and cut diagonally into 5cm pieces. Parboil in lightly salted water until just tender. Drain in cold water.

Bring the simmering stock to a simmer. Holding the prepared prawns by the tail, brush each prawn with cornflour to make an even coating.

Separate the egg yokes into a small bowl and beat until frothy. Holding the bowl of simmering stock, dip each prawn (held by the tail) into the egg yolk.

Carefully lay the dipped prawns into the stock and simmer gently uncovered until the egg is set and the tails are bright pink. The egg yolk coating will puff up a bit as the prawns cook. Put the beans into the simmering stock to reheat.

Arrange the prawns against the potatoes in small serving bowls and place the beans in front. Ladle over the simmering stock and garnish with lemon peel (optional)

This is simply wonderful with a pint of Guinness but you may prefer a dry white wine or a hot sake instead!

Nibblerdibbler Sandwich

Every morning people are rushing around in the city without breakfast ! They are usually late for work and endeavouring to get a coffee fix to keep them going. Now here is a lovely easy recipe to get you properly set up for the morning rushhour and it only takes one minute to prepare! That means you can do this while waiting for the kettle to boil!!

Ingredients

Rye bread
Mascarpone cheese
1 Kiwi

On a slice of rye bread, spread the mascarpone cheese. Peel the kiwi and slice up. Place the slices of kiwi on top of the cheese and serve immediately! Serve as an open sandwich in two halves. If you get bored with kiwi, you can use apple, mango, carrot or melon instead. Experiment and try other fruits and vegetables. The kiwi is good as it is packed with antioxidents and tastes wonderful with the rye bread and mascarpone.

Don't dribble when you nibble a nibblerdibbler sandwich!

Enjoy

Linden Tree Blossom Tea

This time of year the wonderful yellow fragrant blossoms hang from the linden tree turning it into an extraordinary sight. The blossoms are full of the heavy scent of lime and melon and attract insects and honey bees from miles around. The linden tree in our garden has supplied us with tea blossom for many years. Not only is it a lovely fragrant tea, but it does have health attributes too. It is said that drinking this tea can lower blood pressure,calm the digestive system,relieve headache, boost the cardiovascular system and induce a good night's sleep - not bad for a nice cuppa. No wonder the Celts and Greeks raved about the tree in olden days!

Linden Tree Blossom Tea

Ingredients for making a pot of tea

15 blossoms and young (new)leaves.
Boiling water.


Method

Boil the water and heat the pot. Once warmed, place a handful of linden blossom in the pot and fill with the boiled water. Replace the lid and pour remaining hot water over outside of pot. Place a tea cosy over the pot to retain heat. Leave to infuse for 5 minutes. Serve through a strainer without milk or sugar.

You can also make linden tea cordial by following the exact same recipe as for elderflower cordial but using linden blossom instead of elderflower (see previous blog.

Summer cooking courses - 2009

Monday
We start at 10am with introductions, course programme, safety issues (use of knives etc).We discuss each menu daily before we commence preparation and actual cooking.

Lunch

Bruschetta on toasted bread
Salmon fish cakes on a garden salad with home-made sauce remoulade
Selection of French cheeses

Dinner

Gazpacho
Langoustine stuffed chicken leg with chive sauce
Cheese: Selection of French cheeses
Panna Cotta with fresh summer fruits

Tuesday

Lunch

Artichoke in a citrus soup
Turkey breast marinated in soya, ginger and chilli served on a salad with toasted pine kernels
Selection of French cheeses

Dinner

Grilled scallops with endive sauce and chives
Slow roasted lamb with oven baked vegetables
Selection of French cheeses
Australian lemon cake (a la Keogh)

Wednesday

Lunch

Small tomato pizza
Poached fish on a salad with watercress mousseline sauce
Selection of French cheeses

Dinner

Grilled Langoustines with garlic butter
Thai style beef with ginger and baby vegetables
Selection of French cheeses
Caramelised strawberries served with cinnamon and a vanilla ice cream parfait

Thursday

Lunch

Visit to local food market followed by lunch in a traditional Briton restaurant

Dinner

Asparagus risotto
Pan fried skate wing with lemon, capers, parsley and new potatoes
Selection of French cheeses
Chocolate fondant with fresh fruit culis

Friday

Lunch

Mussel soup with saffron
Caesar Salad
Selection of French cheeses

Dinner

Lobster bisque
Veal fillet with port wine and mushroom sauce, crème fraiche potatoes and rosemary roasted
vegetables
Selection of French cheeses
Poached peach with a sabayon sauce and fresh raspberries

Elderflower Cordial

It's that time of the year again and we are busy making elderflower cordial. It is so simple to make and so nice to drink that I make enough for the whole year ahead!

Take 30 elderflower petals, 2 organic lemons, 1 lt water, 1 kilo of cane sugar, and 2 ts of citric acid. Boil the water in a large saucepan. Add the sugar, citric acid and sliced lemons to the boiling water and then add the elderflower petals. Allow to cool and store in a refrigerator for 4 days. On the fourth day, strain the juice from the pulp and pour the syrup into sterilised bottles. Keep in a cool place.

Serve 1 part elderflower to 5 parts water. A wonderful refreshing natural drink for the whole year ahead. We also use it in gin instead of tonic and also as an addition to sparkling wines!!

Red Tapenade

We all need something easy and quick to prepare and this is such a dish. It is also delicious at any time of the year!


RED TAPENADE


10 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in olive oil, chopped
20 black olives, pitted
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbs. thyme chopped
appr. 5 tbs. olive oil
1 medium strong pimento chopped or you can use a dash of tabasco
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Process all the ingredients in the food processor until tapenade has emulsified, but still has whole pieces in it. It should not be completely smooth.

This tapenade is delicious with pasta, easy to spread on toasted breads and may be use as a simple dip element.

St Goueno Course de Cote - Grand Prix Dinner

The French Grand Prix will take place in St Goueno Course de Cote over the weekend of 23/24 May 2009. With good weather forecast and one of the most exciting courses in France it should be a weekend to remember. Kerrouet House are offering a very special one day cooking class on the saturday for those who want to do something different and there are a range of very exciting dishes on the menu for those lucky enough to get on the course. Places are limited to a maximum of 8 so you need to act fast to get on this very exceptional offer. The course which lasts until 5pm kicks off at 10am sharp when students discuss the menu and aspects of the course over coffee. The menu for the course is as follows:

First Course

Grilled Langoustines with herb and garlic butter
***
Scallops in mille-feuilles (puffed pastry) with a curry sauternes sauce
***

Red wine granitée (sorbet)
***
Main Course

Chicken Breast stuffed with mushrooms and served with crème fraiche potatoes and Madagascar pepper sauce
***
Tiramisu
***

Selection of local cheeses

All courses are served with appropriate wines

Cost £75 (all inclusive) Places are limited. To confirm your booking please email us at info@frenchdiningschool.com or contact us via our website www.frenchdiningschool.com