Nana's corner

Pancakes

Shrove Tuesday and my mother would get out a special measuring jug, the likes of which were never seen at any other time of the year. A big, white, plastic jug with red writing measuring out the sides. Out would come the two frying pans, a clatter of plates while a clump of butter, a bowl of sugar and a Jif plastic lemon containing lemon juice would be placed on the table.

Once the batter was made, the annual ritual would begin. Mum would fry the most delicious, large, spongy, pancakes that would be golden brown on both sides. And she would keep making them until the batter was gone or we, as children, admitted defeat as one of us tried to out eat the other.

And amongst those sepia frayed pages, I found the recipe which she sized up to fill that jug. I have eaten many in my time but none as good as those pancakes I ate at my mother’s kitchen table, my legs swinging between the legs of the stool.

Ingredients
2 ½ cups, plain flour
2 teaspoons, Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon, salt
2 tablespoons. Sugar
1 egg
Enough milk to make a thin batter
3 tablespoons, butter

Method
1. Heat a knob of butter in the pan until hot
2. Add batter to cover the base of the pan
3. Cook for a couple of minutes before turning over
3. Cook for another couple of minutes until cooked

Nana's corner

Taste of Springfield, MA

My Mum was born in April 1929. Her sister was born in March 1928. Not quite ‘Irish Twins’ but close enough. They were as close as close as sisters could be. When Mum was in Dublin studying to be a Primary Teacher, they were still close even though her sister was back home on the farm in West Kerry. Nothing prepared my Mum for the news that Teresa was moving to American with her boyfriend.

The move to America was familiar to many in West Kerry and off my Aunt and her beau went to link up with family and friends in Massachusetts. This was a familiar path. So much so that Tomás Ó Crohan in his classic book, The Islandman, speaks about people going to Springfield rather than to the United States.

That was in 1953. My mother’s heart was broken. They kept in contact. They saw each other. They wrote frequently. They sent food parcels. Every Christmas, my mother would pack up a parcel of Cadburys Chocolate, Walnut Whips and packets of Irish Potato Soup. And in return, my aunt would send over such gems as Shake ‘n’ Bake, instant Iced Tea, tea bags, charcoal mix for steaks and mix for corn muffins. While we had tea bags, and my mother hadn’t the heart to tell Teresa, the rest was the closest to Manna from Heaven that I have ever experienced. We were afraid to even touch these delights for fear they would run out too quickly.

Through those years, another gem would be sent back and forth across the Atlantic. A 45 single. My mother and her sister exchanged songs to cry to. The single would arrive and be popped on the record player. And as the lyrics unfolded, the tears would flow. This masochistic exercise was always lost on me and dismissed as ‘totally daft’.

On the first of my mother’s many trips to Springfield, she compiled recipes from the women she met. In a sepia stained notebook, I see my mother’s familiar writing – a hand written index set out with exact ruling at the front. ‘American Cooking Notes – September 1953’ appearing on the front.

I love looking through this piece of my Mum’s culinary legacy. It makes me smile at how my mother assessed the recipe. No star rating for this lass. Instead comments such as ‘very successful’ (underlined twice) or ‘No worry’ or red lined throughout!

Chicken, Daal II

Normal services resume…

Services were temporarily suspended as the Teen left the Attic. It is only temporary. Since her return, normal cooking has now resumed!

As her return beckoned, I went into cooking overdrive. While she told me not to overdo it, I couldn’t resist. I so enjoy cooking but more than anything, I love cooking for her!

I put together some of her favourite dishes to welcome her home. Chicken curry, Daal and chocolate cake – not exactly a traditional ending to a spicy but it’s her favourite bake.

The Chicken Curry? It’s a tweaked version of Roopa Gulati’s recipe on the BBC Good Food website. The spicing is perfect for us and it’s a really tasty dish.

The Daal? I have no idea where it came from (another recipe scribbled on the back of a page) but whoever created the original, we thank you as its one of the best we’ve tasted.

And the chocolate cake? It’s the Chocolate Fudge Cake recipe on this blog but with a twist. Instead of the chocolate butter cream filling, I used whipped cream mixed with crushed Malteesers. It was surprisingly light and not too sweet as I’d feared. A really nice alternative.

Chicken Curry

Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped roughly
50g ginger, chopped roughly
6 garlic cloves
Water
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
5cm cinnamon stick
1 chilli, chopped finely with seeds removed
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp castor sugar
1 tsp caster sugar
10-12 chicken thighs, skinned and boneless
250ml hot chicken stock

Method
1. Place the onion in a small food process with three tablespoons of water. Process until a paste
2. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan
3. Fry the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and cinnamon stick for about 30 seconds
4. Add in the onion paste and fry for about 10 minutes until golden brown
5. Place the garlic and ginger in the food processor with 4 tablespoons water and blend into a paste
6. Add this to the onion mix with the chilli and cook for for another 2 minutes
7. Stir in the garam masala, turmeric, sugar and tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes until the tomatoes darken and reduce
8. Add in the chicken and coat with the paste.
9. Cook for about 15 minutes until the chicken is tender and the masala lightly thickened. The stock can be added if the sauce is becoming too thick
10. Serve with rice or naan bread

Daal

Ingredients
Stage 1
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
8-10 fresh curry leaves
1 chilli, deseeded and chopped very finely

Stage 2
3 tbsp butter or ghee
1 onion, chopped finally
1-2 chillis, deseeded and chopped finely
1 tbsp minced garlic
8 ounces red lentils
1½ pints water
3 tbsp roasted garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
7 ounces tomatoes, skinned and chopped
A dash of lemon juice
Salt and black pepper

Stage 1
1. Heat the oil. Add the cumin and mustard seeds, cooking for about 30 seconds
2. Fry the onion until crispy.
3. Add the garlic and chilli. Cook for a further 2 minutes until the garlic softens
4. Add the curry leaves and cook for another 2 minutes
5. Remove with a slotted spoon and leave aside

Stage 2
1. Heat the butter or ghee in the same saucepan. Add the onions, ginger and chilli and cook for about 10 minutes until golden brown
2. Add the lentils and cover with the onion mix
3. Mix in the water, bring to the boil and leave to cook for about 50 minutes
4. Add the garam masala and coriander
5. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and freshly ground pepper
6. Cook for another 10 minutes
7. Remove about one third of the mix and blend into a smooth paste
8. Return to the pan and mix in
9. Mix in the onion and garlic mix from the first stage
10. Serve as a main dish with naan bread or as a side dish

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Here is the link to the recipe on this blog
https://teeninattic.com/category/baking-and-stuff/chocolate-fudge-cake

Chicken

Pollo Asado

Food smells conjure up so many memories – mostly good, thankfully! I can’t remember what age I was when I first encountered Pollo Asado but it was memorable. Love at first bite as the cliché goes!

Long before the chicken rotisserie machine graced every supermarket and the concept of a raw chicken without giblets was commonplace, my mother brought home an unimaginable feast – a cooked chicken from the local shop in Spain. I remember every detail – the bright yellow plastic bag and the tinfoil package inside. But mostly, I remember the delicious smell, the juices dripping into the bag and the heat off the parcel!

It was one of those simple meals which was divine. Mum put the chicken on a plate and we broke pieces of bread. Eating with our fingers and putting bread into the juices was truly amazing. I worried about the yellowish colour of the flesh but was assured the bird had been corn fed and that was part of the beautiful flavour we were enjoying.

I often cook Pollo Asado but while delicious, it will never be on par with that first encounter. Sometimes, it is eaten with hands and bread or mixed salad or chips. Whatever accompanies it, there are rarely any leftovers!

All the ingredients are commonplace in the kitchen and the chicken is roasted in the usual fashion. The level of garlic, however, is not for the faint hearted!

Ingredients
Whole chicken (c. 4lbs)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 dessert spoon of sea salt flakes
Generous sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees
2. Combine all the ingredients together to make a paste*
3. Rub the paste into the skin of the chicken and allow to stand for about 30 minutes
4. Place in a covered tin and put in the oven
5. Cook for 20 minutes before reducing the heat to 170
6. Cook for 1 hour
7. Remove the lid and cook for another 20-30 minutes until the skin is browned and the juices run clear
8. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving

*The salt can be omitted and sprinkled over instead (this makes the skin crispier).

Beef

Beef Stroganoff

It’s July. It’s summer. It’s Ireland so winter fare still makes a regular appearance on the menu! It is part of what we call our Sum-inter menu – if the Gods can combine seasons so can we!

So Beef Stroganoff – not exactly a summer dish but very tasty. This recipe is at least thirty five years old and has fed hordes of family and friends through the ages. While there are very few ingredients in the sauce, it is still delicious. Quick to prepare, slow cooking and the dish is done. We serve it with boiled long grain rice.

And the photograph? The pot was empty before I had a chance to snap!

Ingredients
Serves 4
1½ lbs – 2lb rib steak, cut into pieces
1 large onion, sliced
Good pinch of curry powder
1 tablespoon of flour
2-3 tablespoons tomato purée
1 pint good quality beef stock
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 ounces butter
2 teaspoons English mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons sour cream

Method
1. Place the beef in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, mustard and curry powder and make sure meat is coated in this mix
2. Heat the butter in a saucepan and fry the onion until soft
3. Add the flour and combine thoroughly, cooking for a few minutes
4. Add the stock in stages making sure that with each addition, it is combined with the onion-flour mix and there are no lumps
5. When coming to the boil, add in the tomato purée, salt and a generous grind of black pepper
6. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the meat
7. Add the meat to the sauce and simmer for c.1 hour until the meat is tender
8. Add the sour cream and cook for simmer for another 10 minutes
9. Serve with boiled long grain rice.

Soups

Wintery summer calls for Minestrone

It may be summer but in Ireland, that doesn’t always mean warm weather. Routines have gone out the window so, with the Teen arriving in late from work, I wanted to have dinner ready to be heated.

I know it’s traditionally a winter dish but a pot of home made Minestrone fit the bill. Full of vegetables with a hint of smoked bacon, it’s delicious – especially, with a good sprinkle of cheese melting on top. As it’s summer, I chose to use baby spinach leaves rather than finely shredded white cabbage which I would use when in season.

Ingredients
(Serves 4)
7 ounces cannellini beans, soaked overnight and pre-cooked before use (or a tin of cannellini beans)
1 large onion, chopped finely
2 large cloves garlic, chopped finely
4 streaky smoked bacon rashers, rind removed and cut into thin strips
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 carrots, diced
1 large potato, diced
3 ounces baby spinach leaves
3 ounces dried spaghetti, broken in bits
1 tin tomatoes in own juice
1½ pints good quality chicken stock
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Method
1. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan
2. Fry the onion for a few minutes before adding the bacon, garlic and celery
3. Cook together for about 10 minutes until carmelised
4. Add the carrots, potato, seasoning and herbs
5. Add the tin of tomatoes and stock
6. Simmer for above 15 minutes
7. Add cannellini beans, pasta and spinach
8. Cook for another 15-20 minutes
9. Serve in bowls – on its own, sprinkled with cheese or with a chunk of fresh bread.

Chicken

Lemon and Rosemary Chicken

Blogging has been low on the list of priorities since my laptop died and took all my recipes with it! Cooking, however, has continued because the teen and I have to be fed!

In a rush the other day, so what’s nicer than roast chicken? When possible, I spatchcock the chicken so it cooks evenly and all the skin is crispy. The first time I did this I found the method a little creepy but the results were so good, I quickly got over that!

So how do I do it? I place the chicken breast side down. With a sharp scissors, rather than a knife, I cut along the back bone. Turning the chicken over, I push the bird downwards with the heel of my hand so that it is as flat as possible. If the bird is large, I use two large skewers, placed across the bird (leg to leg), to secure it and keep it flat throughout the cooking process. If it is smaller, I don’t bother.

This night’s offering was Lemon and Rosemary Chicken and I served this up with a mixed salad. The leftovers were few!

Ingredients
3lb whole chicken
Sprig of fresh Rosemary
Half a lemon
Sea salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 175 C degrees
2. Spatchcock the chicken as above
3. Squeeze lemon juice over the bird and sprinkle the fresh Rosemary
4. Season with ground black pepper and sea salt flakes
5. Cook for 1 hour
6. Rest for 10 minutes and serve with accompaniments of your choice.

Irish Stew, Lamb

From Grandmother to Mother to Daughter…

My friend’s niece arrived in Dublin and declared she would like to eat ‘Irish food’. That very thought strikes horror in most people as traditional Irish food can be quite bland. In many recipes, there is an over reliance on offal or they consist of boiled meat.

For me, the notion of ‘Irish food’ conjures up images ranging from ‘Packet and Tripe’ (a Limerick dish of blood sausage and the lining of a cow’s stomach cooked in milk) and stuffed lamb’s heart to boiled bacon, corned beef or mutton. Some of it I actually love but as I am no fan of offal, many delicacies are simply lost on me!

I do love Irish Stew. I make it from my Grandmother’s recipe and always marvel at the fact that for such a tasty dish, it contains so few ingredients. It’s a pity that I’ve no idea where the big wrought iron pot my mother cooked in has gone but I can just about replicate the taste using an ordinary saucepan on the stove top.

This is a rugged recipe. I have seen dolled up versions of Irish Stew in restaurants where garlic and cream are added and the vegetables are pared. I prefer this one. It is both simpler and less rich. The meat used is generally a cheaper cut like gigot chops or neck as the bones are needed to enrich the stock.

The dish is assembled in layers and usually not stirred during the cooking process. The pan is sealed and slow cooked so it’s effectively cooked in its own steam. No oil is added.

It’s cooked in an average sized large saucepan. To judge if the size is correct, the meat should cover the bottom of the pan without gaps or overlaps. The recipe feeds 4 and any leftovers make a hearty soup for the next day.

Ingredients
Boiling water
1 1/2lb lamb (gigot chops or neck)
5 carrot chopped in rounds
1 large onion chopped roughly
1 1/2lb potatoes, peeled
Salt and pepper
Sugar

Method
1. Choose enough lamb to cover the entire base of the saucepan you are using without gaps or overlaps
2. Cover the meat with hot water to about 1 inch over meat
3. Season with salt, pepper and a small sprinkle of sugar
4. Put in a layer of roughly chopped onion over the meat
5. Put a layer of chopped carrots over the onions
6. Season with a little more salt and pepper
7. Put a layer of medium sized potatoes on top (these should cover the entire top)
8. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer
9. Place a double sheet of greaseproof paper over top of the saucepan and push lid in to seal
10. Cook slowly at a simmer for about an hour (when potatoes are cooked, it’s done)

Beef, Ragu

Slow-cooked Beef Ragu

Mince may be a flexible ingredient but we often tire of it too! Today, we wanted a pasta dish but with something a little different. Suggestions were made for salmon and cream sauce, carbonara, bolognaise, tomato and basil but the teen greeted all suggestions with a ‘meh’ response.

For a change, I slow cooked beef Ragu in the oven made with a strip of beef rather than minced meat. Yes, it was very rich but it was also rather delicious. Cooking it slowly gave the dish time for the flavour to deepen. The meat absorbed all the other flavours and liquid. At the end of the cooking process, it simply fell apart. The completed dish really was a winner!

The preparation was also quick. As this was oven cooked, I didn’t pre-fry anything so there was no added fat. This recipe serves 4-6.

Ingredients
2lbs rib steak
1 large onion, sliced in rings
4 cloves of garlic, chopped in small pieces
1 tablespoon of parsley, chopped
2 sprigs of rosemary, stems removed
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 tin of chopped tomatoes in own juice
1 pint good quality beef stock
¼ pint red wine
4 tablespoons tomato puree
Salt and pepper

Method
1. Heat oven to 220 C
2. Cover the bottom of a heavy casserole dish with the chopped vegetables and lay the meat flat out on top
3. Mix all the wet ingredients and herbs together. Season with salt and pepper
4. Pour this mix over the meat and vegetables
5. Place greaseproof paper over the top to help seal the dish and secure the lid on top
6. Place in the oven and after 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 150 C
7. Cook at this heat for 3 to 3 ½ hours – it is done when the meat is falling apart and the sauce has reduced
8. Remove from the oven and mix together
9. Cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes
10. Serve with pasta of choice

Beef, Chilli

Dining around schedules

We’re on different schedules these days, the teen and me. Not only do I need a dinner which fits but something which can be served with a range of different items according to the mood of the diner. So a big pot of chilli suits all these. Spicy and tasty. In this home, it is served with rice, baked potatoes, potato wedges, in pitta bread with salad or in a bowl with some grated cheese on top.

Ingredients
1 lb good quality minced beef
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 tin kidney beans or black beans drained and rinsed
1 medium onion chopped finely
3 cloves garlic chopped finely
1 hot chilli deseeded and chopped very finely or 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 red pepper deseeded and chopped finely
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon honey
1-2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons tomato puree
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
Salt and pepper

Method
1. In a heavy saucepan, heat the oil and fry the onions for about 5 minutes
2. Add in the garlic, chilli and red pepper – frying for another couple of minutes
3. Break up the mince, add to the pan and after coating with the onion mix, brown the meat
4. Stir in the spices and cook for another minute
5. Add in the rest of the ingredients
6. Reduce to a simmer and cook slowly for about 1 hour

The Teen in the Attic

Enticing the Teen to the table and other matters

Author Archives: MG McShane