Last week, I was thrilled to attend my first rugby international match for the Six Nations Championship. The match was Ireland versus France at the Aviva Stadium. Now, we all know how this match turned out – what a disappointment – but it was a packed house and the atmosphere was electric.
Apart from the result, I loved the whole occasion. My brother-in-law, Dermot Murphy, who is married to my sister, Sharon brought me. He is a real rugby head. Aside from attending the match, we also had a fantastic lunch at Saba. This restaurant, which has two locations in Dublin, focuses on Thai and Vietnamese flavours.
I had a lovely starter of cauliflower fritters. I know I featured a cauliflower cheese soup recipe recently – it would seem I am on a bit of a cauliflower mission these days – but it’s a week on and I am still thinking about those fritters!
Taking the day off for the rugby match was a great idea and I hope it’s not the last match I get to attend. I know some of the crueler readers may be thinking that, as a Manchester United supporter, I am well used to losing these days. But, you know what? We have been through hard times before and we have always come back – I am in for the long haul.
Even with the losses, there are still some moments of joy (like that spectacular free kick by Bruno Fernandez) which keep us going.
I have been to three matches so far this year with my son Connor, and sadly those were three losses. I grew up with the stories of George Best, Bobby Charton and Denis Law, who I was sad to hear had passed away recently.
While filming my Ulster Food Trails series for RTÉ, I was thrilled when the crew brought us to the Belfast house where George Best grew up. Obviously, I never got to see him play, but I have seen many video clips and, as far as I am concerned, he was as good as Pelé.
Meatless marvel
But let’s get back to cauliflower. It is such a great and versatile vegetable. In this week’s one-pot vegetable curry, the cauliflower adds a great, meaty texture – so much so that you will likely not miss the meat. The sauce freezes really well, or it will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
It’s a handy recipe for this time of year, with so many family events like confirmations and first communions taking place.
It doesn’t have to be vegetarian – I sometimes add chicken, monkfish or prawns to the mix. Equally, if you have some slow-cooked leftover lamb or beef, it works really well here.
For my second recipe, we’re sticking with the cauliflower, but in a completely different way. The base of this delicious mac and cheese is one of the first sauces I ever learned to make while attending Fermanagh Catering College.
A béchamel is a creamy white French sauce and, in French cuisine, it is absolutely essential. For culinary students, it is known as one of the “mother sauces” and I think if you were to learn just one sauce, it should be this one because you will use it all the time.
This mac and cheese is a great dinner for the kids – you could also add in some frozen peas or sweetcorn. I always keep some spinach in the freezer; it is so convenient to have on hand.
For the cheese, I mix things up sometimes and use a French gruyère, but for a mac and cheese I would never use a really strong, overpowering cheese.
This recipe is a little piece of America on a plate – mac and cheese is one of the most American recipes you could master. It’s very economical to make and you can easily make bigger quantities and feed a crowd. I like serving this version with a fresh green salad and roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine.
Spicy cauliflower and chickpea curry Ingredients: Serves 4–6
4 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 × 4cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
2 onions, chopped
600ml water
8 ripe tomatoes, chopped, or 1 × 400g tin of Italian chopped tomatoes
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 large cauliflower, cut into florets
(about 500g in total)
2 × 400g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Coriander
Garlic naan bread
Natural yogurt
Mango chutney
Method
1 To make the curry sauce, heat the rapeseed oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 20 seconds or so, stirring constantly.
2 Tip in the onions and fry for 5 minutes, until they are translucent but not browned.
3 Pour the water into the pan and bring to the boil. Add the tomatoes, cumin, garam masala, paprika, turmeric and cayenne pepper, stirring well to combine.
4 Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook over a low heat for 30 minutes, until slightly reduced and thickened.
5 Blitz with a hand-held blender until you have achieved a smooth sauce.
6 Add the cauliflower and chickpeas to the curry sauce, stirring well to combine. Reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 8–10 minutes, until the cauliflower is just tender.
7 Divide between shallow bowls and scatter over the coriander. Serve on plates with the coriander and garlic naan bread and natural yogurt swirled with mango chutney on the side.
Super loaded
mac and cheese
Super loaded mac and cheese.
Ingredients: Serves 4–6
1 large butternut squash, or cauliflower or 500g frozen spinach (or a mix of all three)
Rapeseed oil, optional (if roasting the veg)
100g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
100g plain flour
1 litre milk
1 tbsp prepared English mustard
200g Cheddar cheese, grated
500g macaroni pasta
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine
Method
1 If using butternut squash, peel and remove the seeds, then cut into even-sized pieces.
2 If using cauliflower, break it into florets. Steam for 10–12 minutes, until tender. (Alternatively, you could cut the squash or pumpkin into large wedges, leave the cauliflower as florets and drizzle with a little rapeseed oil and roast in the oven at 200°C for about 40 minutes, until tender.)
3 If using spinach, cook it according to the packet instructions. Tip your veg into a food processor and blend to a smooth purée (or mash to a rough purée with a potato masher). You can also leave the veg as chunks.
4 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium to low heat. Add the onion and celery and sauté for 2–3 minutes, until softened but not coloured.
5 Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring with a wooden spoon.
6 Gradually pour in the milk, whisking until smooth after each addition.
7 Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until smooth and thickened.
8 Blitz with a hand-held blender until smooth, then stir in the mustard and most of the cheese. Remove from the heat.
9 Bring the macaroni to the boil in a large pan of boiling water with a pinch of salt. Then reduce the heat and cook for 7 minutes. It should not be completely cooked at this point. Drain in a colander and return to the pan.
10 Fold in the cheese sauce along with the vegetable purée. Transfer to a large ovenproof dish and scatter over the remaining cheese, then bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until bubbling and lightly golden.
11 Serve straight to the table with roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine, if liked.
Read more
Neven Maguire: yes cheese to a bowl of comfort
Neven Maguire: some flippin’ divine choices
Last week, I was thrilled to attend my first rugby international match for the Six Nations Championship. The match was Ireland versus France at the Aviva Stadium. Now, we all know how this match turned out – what a disappointment – but it was a packed house and the atmosphere was electric.
Apart from the result, I loved the whole occasion. My brother-in-law, Dermot Murphy, who is married to my sister, Sharon brought me. He is a real rugby head. Aside from attending the match, we also had a fantastic lunch at Saba. This restaurant, which has two locations in Dublin, focuses on Thai and Vietnamese flavours.
I had a lovely starter of cauliflower fritters. I know I featured a cauliflower cheese soup recipe recently – it would seem I am on a bit of a cauliflower mission these days – but it’s a week on and I am still thinking about those fritters!
Taking the day off for the rugby match was a great idea and I hope it’s not the last match I get to attend. I know some of the crueler readers may be thinking that, as a Manchester United supporter, I am well used to losing these days. But, you know what? We have been through hard times before and we have always come back – I am in for the long haul.
Even with the losses, there are still some moments of joy (like that spectacular free kick by Bruno Fernandez) which keep us going.
I have been to three matches so far this year with my son Connor, and sadly those were three losses. I grew up with the stories of George Best, Bobby Charton and Denis Law, who I was sad to hear had passed away recently.
While filming my Ulster Food Trails series for RTÉ, I was thrilled when the crew brought us to the Belfast house where George Best grew up. Obviously, I never got to see him play, but I have seen many video clips and, as far as I am concerned, he was as good as Pelé.
Meatless marvel
But let’s get back to cauliflower. It is such a great and versatile vegetable. In this week’s one-pot vegetable curry, the cauliflower adds a great, meaty texture – so much so that you will likely not miss the meat. The sauce freezes really well, or it will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
It’s a handy recipe for this time of year, with so many family events like confirmations and first communions taking place.
It doesn’t have to be vegetarian – I sometimes add chicken, monkfish or prawns to the mix. Equally, if you have some slow-cooked leftover lamb or beef, it works really well here.
For my second recipe, we’re sticking with the cauliflower, but in a completely different way. The base of this delicious mac and cheese is one of the first sauces I ever learned to make while attending Fermanagh Catering College.
A béchamel is a creamy white French sauce and, in French cuisine, it is absolutely essential. For culinary students, it is known as one of the “mother sauces” and I think if you were to learn just one sauce, it should be this one because you will use it all the time.
This mac and cheese is a great dinner for the kids – you could also add in some frozen peas or sweetcorn. I always keep some spinach in the freezer; it is so convenient to have on hand.
For the cheese, I mix things up sometimes and use a French gruyère, but for a mac and cheese I would never use a really strong, overpowering cheese.
This recipe is a little piece of America on a plate – mac and cheese is one of the most American recipes you could master. It’s very economical to make and you can easily make bigger quantities and feed a crowd. I like serving this version with a fresh green salad and roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine.
Spicy cauliflower and chickpea curry Ingredients: Serves 4–6
4 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 × 4cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
2 onions, chopped
600ml water
8 ripe tomatoes, chopped, or 1 × 400g tin of Italian chopped tomatoes
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 large cauliflower, cut into florets
(about 500g in total)
2 × 400g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Coriander
Garlic naan bread
Natural yogurt
Mango chutney
Method
1 To make the curry sauce, heat the rapeseed oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 20 seconds or so, stirring constantly.
2 Tip in the onions and fry for 5 minutes, until they are translucent but not browned.
3 Pour the water into the pan and bring to the boil. Add the tomatoes, cumin, garam masala, paprika, turmeric and cayenne pepper, stirring well to combine.
4 Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook over a low heat for 30 minutes, until slightly reduced and thickened.
5 Blitz with a hand-held blender until you have achieved a smooth sauce.
6 Add the cauliflower and chickpeas to the curry sauce, stirring well to combine. Reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 8–10 minutes, until the cauliflower is just tender.
7 Divide between shallow bowls and scatter over the coriander. Serve on plates with the coriander and garlic naan bread and natural yogurt swirled with mango chutney on the side.
Super loaded
mac and cheese
Super loaded mac and cheese.
Ingredients: Serves 4–6
1 large butternut squash, or cauliflower or 500g frozen spinach (or a mix of all three)
Rapeseed oil, optional (if roasting the veg)
100g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
100g plain flour
1 litre milk
1 tbsp prepared English mustard
200g Cheddar cheese, grated
500g macaroni pasta
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
Roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine
Method
1 If using butternut squash, peel and remove the seeds, then cut into even-sized pieces.
2 If using cauliflower, break it into florets. Steam for 10–12 minutes, until tender. (Alternatively, you could cut the squash or pumpkin into large wedges, leave the cauliflower as florets and drizzle with a little rapeseed oil and roast in the oven at 200°C for about 40 minutes, until tender.)
3 If using spinach, cook it according to the packet instructions. Tip your veg into a food processor and blend to a smooth purée (or mash to a rough purée with a potato masher). You can also leave the veg as chunks.
4 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium to low heat. Add the onion and celery and sauté for 2–3 minutes, until softened but not coloured.
5 Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring with a wooden spoon.
6 Gradually pour in the milk, whisking until smooth after each addition.
7 Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until smooth and thickened.
8 Blitz with a hand-held blender until smooth, then stir in the mustard and most of the cheese. Remove from the heat.
9 Bring the macaroni to the boil in a large pan of boiling water with a pinch of salt. Then reduce the heat and cook for 7 minutes. It should not be completely cooked at this point. Drain in a colander and return to the pan.
10 Fold in the cheese sauce along with the vegetable purée. Transfer to a large ovenproof dish and scatter over the remaining cheese, then bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until bubbling and lightly golden.
11 Serve straight to the table with roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine, if liked.
Read more
Neven Maguire: yes cheese to a bowl of comfort
Neven Maguire: some flippin’ divine choices
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