Mashed in the USA

The judging for our Women & Agriculture Awards is well under way, but recently we learned that former winner Tracy Hamilton has made even bigger strides with her company, Mash Direct.

Tracy and her husband, Martin, started the company in 2004 after looking at their vegetable farm and questioning how they could add more value to their produce.

The sixth generation farmers realised their vegetables had so much more potential and developed side dishes such as champ, colcannon, cauliflower cheese gratin and carrot and parsnip mash.

All are healthy and gluten-free, made with traditional local butter and no artificial flavourings or preservatives.

Fourteen years later and the company has grown into a massive success. Now with 40 products on It books and 190 employers on the payroll, Mash Direct has a turnover of €17m.

Tracy and Martin are now supplying far beyond their farm in Comber, having launched in New York just ahead of St Patrick’s Day.

Tracy says: “Everybody knows that Comber is famous for potatoes and for the first time we are able to supply them fresh to New York.

There is such a great variety of Irish-produced whiskies and stouts across the USA, but no one on the market is bringing fresh, Northern Irish dishes to American plates.

"We wanted to bring the unique richness of Irish soil and six generations of farming knowledge to the shelves.”

Eight of Mash Direct’s products, including the potato croquettes, mashed potato and potato rostis, will be listed in Key Food supermarket stores throughout New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

For more information, check out www.mashdirect.com

Flahavan’s overnight oats available

If you haven’t tried overnight oats yet, get mixing. Even if you’re not a big fan of porridge, these have a different consistency and taste. Combine oats, some milk and natural yoghurt in a jar. If you fancy it, add some cinnamon, vanilla extract and honey.

Leave overnight and in the morning add some pecan nuts and berries. Very healthy and easy.

Flahavan’s is certainly doing well with the trend, with people using oats in a whole new way, but it jumped on the bandwagon even further by bringing out Flahavan’s Overnight Oats.

A mix of Flahavan’s Irish oats with apple, raspberries, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, the only thing you need to add is milk, apple juice or water, whichever you prefer. Pop in the fridge and breakfast prep requires zero time in the morning, unless you want to add a dollop of natural yoghurt yourself.

Flahavan’s Overnight Oats is available in a handy 450g drum, providing 10 portions with a free scoop for measuring.

Flahavan’s Overnight Oats is available in stores nationwide. Visit www.flahavans.ie

Easter carrot cakes

These delectable little carrot cakes are ideal for every upcoming Easter celebration. Siúcra and Catherine Fulvio have created these adorable mini carrot cakes. Makes six.

320g plain flour

1½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¾ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp nutmeg

200ml light olive oil

220g Siúcra light golden brown sugar

Four eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

250g grated carrots

60g chopped walnuts

70g white chocolate drops

70g Siúcra caster sugar

60g shelled pistachios

100g cream cheese

100g butter, softened

350g Siúcra icing sugar

One lemon, zest only

1tsp vanilla bean paste

100g Siúcra ready roll-out fondant

Orange fool colouring paste

Six small sprigs of rosemary

  • 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark four.
  • 2 Line a 32cm x 23cm rectangle tray with baking parchment.
  • 3 Sift the flour, baking powder, bread soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg into a large bowl and set aside.
  • 4 Whisk the oil, Siúcra brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract together in the bowl.
  • 5 Pour the oil sugar mixture into the flour and the spices and fold to combine. Fold in the grated carrots, walnuts and white chocolate in the mix.
  • 6 Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes until the cake is cooked.
  • 7 To prepare the pistachios, line a tray with baking parchment.
  • 8 Heat the Siúcra caster sugar in a non-stick saucepan over a medium heat until liquid, but not amber, remove from the heat and add the pistachios and fold gently.
  • 9 Spread out evenly on baking parchment and leave to set and then chop them fairly finely.
  • 10 To make the frosting, add the cream cheese and butter into a mixer and whisk, while adding Siúcra icing sugar, lemon zest and vanilla bean paste.
  • 11 Whisk well until smooth. Spoon into a piping bag, ready to use.
  • 12 To make the carrots, colour a piece of Siúcra ready roll-out fondant with orange food paste and shape into six little carrots.
  • 13 Using a round scone cutter, ensure that you will get 12 circles out of the cake before you cut the shapes.
  • 14 Trim to level and lay six circles of cake out, snip the piping bag and pipe on each, place the next layer on top.
  • 15 Spoon some chopped pistachios over the top and place a carrot on top of each cake, add a rosemary sprig for the leaves.