Given that the purpose of lists is, generally, to organise things, they are often remarkably random and even controversial. Last month's Time magazine, for example, sparked a furore when its list of the "13 gods of food" included only fourwomen, none of them a chef. Well, there are so many women doing amazing things in kitchens that to try to redress the balance by naming just afew in the space Ihave here would be a disservice to the rest.
So, instead, I am going to create my own list (hopefully a less random and controversial one): the 13 food-related things I love about Ireland.
My four headline acts are Myrtle, Darina and Rachel Allen, the three generations of women at the helm of the impossibly idyllic Ballymaloe restaurant and cookery school in Cork; and my beloved mother-in-law Greta. (Having said Iwouldn't name specific women, I've managed to contradict myself right at the start.)
Fifth on my list has to be Irish butter – it's second to none: rich, creamy and full of flavour – while potatoes (but of course) take up slots six and seven in the form of colcannon (the ultimate comfort food) and potato bread. Eighth place goes to seaweed, especially from the west coast: sea spaghetti, green wakame and nori featured large in some of my most satisfying recent salads. And ninth spot goes to oysters: fresh, canned or smoked, any time, any place, anywhere.
Steel-cut Irish oats take 10th spot, for their fantastic rough texture, and at number 11 sits Cafe Paradiso, Denis Cotter's great restaurant in Cork that just happens to be vegetarian. In 12th place is wild garlic, which grows in such abundance when in season that it seems every soup, salad, pesto or mash is all but compelled to find room for it. And finally, in 13th spot is the rich, sweet and nutty cheese Coolea, which dominates my cheeseboard at this time of the year.
No matter how random my choice, however, it's as nothing compared with the controversy that today's recipe for Irish stew will stir up in some households. That said, purists would protest against using anything more than mutton, potatoes, onions and water, sohere's to breaking the rules.
Potato bread with creamy mushrooms
Serves four.
500g King Edward potatoes (oranother floury variety)
100g unsalted butter, diced
80g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
Salt and white pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
300g portobello mushrooms, cutinto 5mm slices
200g button mushrooms, halved
200g chanterelle mushrooms, broken into pieces
¼ tsp allspice berries, lightly crushed
90ml white wine
4 tbsp chicken stock
80ml double cream
10g tarragon, chopped
10g chives, chopped
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Prick the potatoes all over, bake for an hour, until cooked, then set aside to cool. Turn down the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
Peel the potatoes and discard the skins. Put the flesh in a large bowl and roughly mash. Add 60g of butter while the mash is still warm, along with the flour and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix to combine, then bring together into a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
On a floured surface, gently roll the potato into a 25cm circle (sprinkle over more flour, if need be). Cut into eight triangles and set aside.
Put 10g of butter in a large, nonstick pan over medium heat. Once bubbling, use a spatula carefully to lift in two potato slices. Fry for two minutes a side, until golden brown, then transfer to atray lined with greaseproof paper. Repeat with the remaining slices, wiping the pan clean each time and adding more butter. Once all the cakes are fried, put in the oven for about five minutes, to cook through, then set aside somewhere warm.
Wipe down the pan, add atablespoon of oil and put on a high heat. Add a third of the mushrooms, fry for three minutes until nicely coloured, remove, and repeat twice more with the remaining oil and mushrooms. Put all the mushrooms in the pan with a quarter-teaspoon of white pepper, the allspice and half a teaspoon of salt. Cook for aminute, add the wine, stock and cream, and cook on medium-high heat for three minutes, to reduce by half. Add the tarragon and half the chives, and lift off the heat.
To serve, lay two slices of potato bread on each plate and spoon the mushrooms on top. Scatter over the remaining chives and serve.
'Irish' stew
Serves six to eight.
300g whole wheat, soaked overnight in water
2kg lamb loin chops, boned, trimmed and cut into 3cm cubes
Salt and black pepper
120ml olive oil
24 shallots, skinned but left whole
4 large carrots, cut into 2.5cm x 5cm batons
2 turnips, peeled and cut into 3cmwedges
1 celeriac, peeled and cut into 2.5cmx 5cm batons
350g baby charlotte potatoes, halved
150ml white wine
1 tsp caster sugar
4 sprigs of fresh thyme, 4 of oregano and 2 of parsley, tied with string, plus extra parsley to serve
450ml chicken stock
For the paste
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughlychopped
30g parsley, chopped
1½ tsp grated orange zest
60ml olive oil
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Drain and rinse the soaked wheat, put it in a medium pan with lots of water, bring to a boil and simmer for an hour, until cooked. Drain and set aside.
Season the lamb with a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Put one tablespoon of oil in alarge, deep sauté pan for which you have a lid; place on a medium-high heat. Add some of the lamb – don't overcrowd the pan – and sear for four minutes on all sides. Transfer to abowl, and repeat withthe remaining lamb, adding oilas needed.
Lower the heat to medium and add a tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the shallots and fry for four minutes, until caramelised. Tip these into the lamb bowl, and repeat with the remaining vegetables until they are all nice and brown, adding more oil as you need it.
Once all the vegetables are seared and removed from the pan, add the wine along with the sugar, herbs, ateaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Boil on a high heat for about three minutes.
Tip the lamb, vegetables and whole wheat back into the pot, and add the stock. Cover and boil for five minutes, then transfer to the oven for an hour and a half.
Meanwhile, make the paste. Put all the ingredients in a food processor with a pinch of salt and work to a rough paste.
Remove the stew from the oven and check the liquid; if there is a lot, remove the lid and boil for a few minutes. Divide between plates, drizzle over the paste, scatter on the parsley and serve.
