Love N.I. Meat

PHOTO: MARGARET M. JOHNSON

By Margaret M. Johnson

If you love good food, you’ll want to visit Northern Ireland in 2016 for its “Year of Food and Drink.” Throughout the year, restaurants, hotels, producers, and markets have been showcasing the best of Northern Ireland produce and celebrating the people and passion that goes into rearing, making, cooking, and serving it. Every month is dedicated to a unique aspect of food and drink, so whether it’s “traditional foods” in March or a celebration of Northern Ireland’s fabulous meats in August, you’re sure to find something delicious awaits this year in Ulster.

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When I visited last year, Peter Hannan (a.k.a. “the Meat Merchant”), proprietor of Hannan Meats in Moira, Co. Armagh, gave me a tour of his Himalayan salt chamber, the only one in Europe, where he dry-ages his beef. After the tour, he treated us to slices of his oh-so-tender beef and delicious bacon sandwiches. Short of a visit in-person, you can try to duplicate the taste by serving it with some of Noel McMeel’s famous chutney, a delicious accompaniment to Ulster meats. The recipe is from the Lough Erne-based chef’s cookbook “Irish Pantry.”

NOEL MCMEEL’S CHUTNEY

Makes 2 cups

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1/2 cup chopped pitted dates

14 cup chopped apricots

1/2 cup raisins

2 large tart apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 to 3 tablespoons red wine

2 teaspoons honey


  1. Put the almonds in a food processor and pulse 5 to 10 times, or until coarsely ground. Add dates, apricots, raisins, apples, cinnamon, and cloves and pulse 4 to 6 times, or until well combined.

  2. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in enough red wine to make a paste-like mixture (add a little more if needed). Stir in honey.

  3. Serve immediately spread on bacon sandwiches or with steak, or ladle into clean jars and refrigerate for up to 5 days.


 

Margaret M. Johnson has been writing about Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink once a month. Her “Recipes” column appears every other week in the print edition of the Irish Echo. The rest of this week’s column is reproduced below.

EVA GRUNDEMANN | DREAMSTIME.CO

Hot or Cold, Tomatoes Are It!

Part One

It’s safe to say, I never met a tomato I didn’t like — red, yellow, green, plum, beefstake, big boy, heirloom, the list is endless. Whether you toss them in a salad or cook them in a tart or sauce, the quintessential August vegetable is this month’s “it girl.” In two of my favorite tomato recipes, a soufflé-like casserole of crab and potatoes and a spicy tomato-raisin chutney, they play very different roles: the former combines tomatoes and watercress in a chilled dressing that complements the richness of the crab, the latter packing a punch that holds up beautifully as a sidekick to cheese and meats. You might also like it as an alternative to the fruit chutney from Northern Ireland below.

More tomato recipes July 23 – July 30.

CRAB AND CHAMP BAKE WITH TOMATO-WATERCRESS DRESSING

Serves 4

This three-step dish takes some of Ireland’s best-known ingredients and transforms them into a tasty and sophisticated dish perfect as a starter or for lunch.

CHAMP

2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

1/2 cup half-and-half

6 tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped fresh chives or scallions

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

CRAB FILLING

1 1/4 cups light cream

1/2 cup fish stock

1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 pound fresh crabmeat

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Dash of Tabasco sauce

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

TOMATO-WATERCRESS DRESSING

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard

1 teaspoon sugar

4 tablespoons cider vinegar

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tomato, skinned, deseeded, and diced

Small bunch watercress, washed and roughly chopped, plus more for garnish


  1. Make champ. In a large saucepan, cook potatoes, covered, in boiling salted water for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain and mash.

  2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine half-and-half and butter. Heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until butter melts. Add chives or scallions, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 2 to 4 minutes, or until chives or scallions are soft. Add to potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and stir until blended. Set aside.

  3. Make filling. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, fish stock, and lemon rind. Bring gently to boil and then whisk in flour. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat, stir in crabmeat, and season with salt, pepper, and Tabasco.

  4. Preheat oven to 400° F. Butter 4 (6 ounce) ramekins. Put dishes on a baking sheet and divide champ into dishes. Spoon crab mixture over top and bake for about 15 minutes, or until filling is bubbling and set. Remove from oven.

  5. Preheat broiler. Sprinkle dishes with grated cheese and broil, 4 inches from heat source, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until tops are brown and cheese is bubbling.

  6. Make dressing. In a small bowl whisk together oil, mustard, sugar and vinegar until smooth. Stir in tomato and watercress.

  7. To serve, run a sharp knife around sides of ramekins to loosen, then lift out, return to upright, and arrange on 4 salad plates. Drizzle dressing around and garnish with additional watercress.


TOMATO CHUTNEY

Makes about 3 cups

2 cups sugar

3 cups cider vinegar

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons crushed cardamom seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoons mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

3 pounds plum tomatoes

3 medium onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup golden raisins


  1. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, combine sugar, vinegar, salt, cardamom, ginger, mustard seeds, and cloves. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.

  2. Add tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, and raisins, reduce heat to simmer, and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until mixture thickens. As skins separate from tomatoes, remove and discard.

  3. Spoon into clean jars or bowls, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.


Margaret M. Johnson’s” Favorite Flavors of Ireland” is a “labor of love and tribute to her thirty years of travel there. It offers more than 100 best-loved recipes from her previous ten cookbooks and celebrates the special flavors of each Irish season: Spring/An t-Earrach, Summer/An Samhradh, Autum/An Fómhar, Winter/An Geimhreadh.” To order a signed copy, visit www.irishcook.com.

 

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