Regular readers will know I am a champion for Home Economics in schools. For me, this subject teaches essential life skills that everyone should have an opportunity to learn.
A lot has changed since I was the only boy in my secondary school doing Home Economics, and I am proud to have been an ambassador for this subject for the last 10 years. I do what I can to show the importance of Home Economics in the modern world and support awareness around the vital skills of cooking, nutrition and budgeting that it covers. Amelda and I are delighted that our twins, Connor and Lucia, now have Home Economics as part of their school curriculum.
Every year, the Association of Teachers of Home Economics (ATHE) has a schools competition called Healthy Home Chef, which is hosted by St Angela’s in Sligo, home of the National Centre of Excellence for Home Economics. The task is to create a healthy, nutritious and affordable meal for two people.
I am one of the judges, and it is heartening to see the interest and ability shown by boys and girls from all over the country who are in second, third or fourth year. They cook under some pressure to create delicious and nutritious dishes as part of the competition, which is sponsored by Dunnes Stores.
Twelve of the contestants win the chance to cook with me in the Innovation Centre at Dunnes Stores HQ in Dublin, where I film my videos. This is a day I always enjoy, and this year they are cooking beef skewers with satay sauce, cajun chicken melts, sweet chilli sausage rolls and a lemon curd cheesecake. Everyone goes home with a goody bag, and I am happy to say that it includes my most recent book. For me, it is one of the most enjoyable days of the year.
This time of year also means lots of demos and as this paper lands, I will be taking to the stage at the Women & Agriculture conference in Sligo (23 October). I always enjoy meeting our readers who always give me plenty of ideas for my upcoming columns in Irish Country Living. I was also busy last weekend at the Ideal Homes Exhibition in the RDS, where I was doing demos for Dunnes Stores using lots of Simply Better products. The range is growing all the time and I enjoy travelling around the country sampling the work of fantastic Irish food producers as part of this collaboration.
One of the highlights was cooking with Francis Brennan, who is always great company. And I was delighted to be using serving of the beautiful plates and bowls from his range to serve up.
Meals in minutes
Today’s harissa beef skewers recipe can be comfortably made in just half an hour. I do it here with roasted potatoes, but I sometimes use rice instead. Hanger steak is very popular in the USA but is not so well known here. You may also see it called butcher’s steak or hanging tenderloin. It is a good value cut with lots of flavour and good texture. There is a bit of a bite, but it is not tough. The key is to cook it to medium, or pink.
I like to season any steak just before putting it on the pan. I use some garlic and then thyme or rosemary. The purple sprouting broccoli is delicious cooked on a griddle pan. You will find a good range of Irish-made hummus in your supermarket these days. Or it is something you might make yourself sometime. Likewise, you will find lots of delicious Irish-made harissa sauce available. It is hot and gives a good kick. For the apple cider vinegar, I am a great fan of Highbank Orchards, just outside Kilkenny.
The garlic and herb chicken recipe is a good one-tray meal with a bit of a Mediterranean vibe. You can save yourself from buying three jars by getting the mixed antipasti of artichokes, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and olives in one jar.
Harissa beef skewers with hummus
yoghurt dip
Harissa Beef Skewers.
Ingredients: Serves 4
2 packs baby potatoes
1 pack Irish Angus quick fry hanger steak,
at room temperature
2 tsp organic apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp Irish-made harissa sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 carton hummus
150g authentic Greek yoghurt (0% fat)
Good pinch of paprika
1 pack tenderstem or purple sprouting broccoli
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4) coat the baby potatoes in oil and cook according to packet instructions.
2. You will need eight skewers, approximately 16cm long. If using wooden ones, soak in water for 30 minutes to prevent them from burning. Cut the steaks into eight long thin strips lengthways going with the grain. Whisk the vinegar, harissa and honey in a bowl. Add the beef strips and toss everything together.
3. Stir the hummus into the yoghurt and divide among small dipping bowls, then garnish each one with the paprika.
4. Heat a barbecue or griddle pan until smoking hot. Thread a piece of harissa beef onto each skewer. Cook for 2 minutes on each side. Then put on a warm plate to rest.
5. Toss the broccoli in a bowl with the oil and plenty of seasoning. Add to the griddle pan and quickly char for a minute or two on each side, turning regularly with tongs.
6. Arrange the beef skewers on plates with the charred broccoli and roasted potatoes. Add a dipping bowl of the hummus yoghurt dip to each one to serve.
Garlic and herb chicken with warm antipasti potato salad
Ingredients: Serves 4
1 jar Italian mixed antipasti
1 pack fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp organic apple cider vinegar
2 packs Irish corn-fed chicken supremes
1 pack baby potatoes
1 tbsp garlic and herb seasoning
1 carton garlic aioli
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4). Drain the oil from the antipasti and reserve. Then roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes and put them in a large bowl. Stir back in the olives and pick off the parsley leaves to add with the vinegar. Set aside until later.
2. Put the chicken supremes in a large baking tin with the potatoes, halving or quartering any that are too big. Toss everything in the reserved antipasti oil and then sprinkle over the garlic and herb seasoning. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through and the potatoes are nice and crispy.
3. Arrange the chicken supremes on plates. Fold the crispy potatoes into the antipasti mixture and add to the plates with a dollop of the garlic aioli, season and serve.
Regular readers will know I am a champion for Home Economics in schools. For me, this subject teaches essential life skills that everyone should have an opportunity to learn.
A lot has changed since I was the only boy in my secondary school doing Home Economics, and I am proud to have been an ambassador for this subject for the last 10 years. I do what I can to show the importance of Home Economics in the modern world and support awareness around the vital skills of cooking, nutrition and budgeting that it covers. Amelda and I are delighted that our twins, Connor and Lucia, now have Home Economics as part of their school curriculum.
Every year, the Association of Teachers of Home Economics (ATHE) has a schools competition called Healthy Home Chef, which is hosted by St Angela’s in Sligo, home of the National Centre of Excellence for Home Economics. The task is to create a healthy, nutritious and affordable meal for two people.
I am one of the judges, and it is heartening to see the interest and ability shown by boys and girls from all over the country who are in second, third or fourth year. They cook under some pressure to create delicious and nutritious dishes as part of the competition, which is sponsored by Dunnes Stores.
Twelve of the contestants win the chance to cook with me in the Innovation Centre at Dunnes Stores HQ in Dublin, where I film my videos. This is a day I always enjoy, and this year they are cooking beef skewers with satay sauce, cajun chicken melts, sweet chilli sausage rolls and a lemon curd cheesecake. Everyone goes home with a goody bag, and I am happy to say that it includes my most recent book. For me, it is one of the most enjoyable days of the year.
This time of year also means lots of demos and as this paper lands, I will be taking to the stage at the Women & Agriculture conference in Sligo (23 October). I always enjoy meeting our readers who always give me plenty of ideas for my upcoming columns in Irish Country Living. I was also busy last weekend at the Ideal Homes Exhibition in the RDS, where I was doing demos for Dunnes Stores using lots of Simply Better products. The range is growing all the time and I enjoy travelling around the country sampling the work of fantastic Irish food producers as part of this collaboration.
One of the highlights was cooking with Francis Brennan, who is always great company. And I was delighted to be using serving of the beautiful plates and bowls from his range to serve up.
Meals in minutes
Today’s harissa beef skewers recipe can be comfortably made in just half an hour. I do it here with roasted potatoes, but I sometimes use rice instead. Hanger steak is very popular in the USA but is not so well known here. You may also see it called butcher’s steak or hanging tenderloin. It is a good value cut with lots of flavour and good texture. There is a bit of a bite, but it is not tough. The key is to cook it to medium, or pink.
I like to season any steak just before putting it on the pan. I use some garlic and then thyme or rosemary. The purple sprouting broccoli is delicious cooked on a griddle pan. You will find a good range of Irish-made hummus in your supermarket these days. Or it is something you might make yourself sometime. Likewise, you will find lots of delicious Irish-made harissa sauce available. It is hot and gives a good kick. For the apple cider vinegar, I am a great fan of Highbank Orchards, just outside Kilkenny.
The garlic and herb chicken recipe is a good one-tray meal with a bit of a Mediterranean vibe. You can save yourself from buying three jars by getting the mixed antipasti of artichokes, peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and olives in one jar.
Harissa beef skewers with hummus
yoghurt dip
Harissa Beef Skewers.
Ingredients: Serves 4
2 packs baby potatoes
1 pack Irish Angus quick fry hanger steak,
at room temperature
2 tsp organic apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp Irish-made harissa sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 carton hummus
150g authentic Greek yoghurt (0% fat)
Good pinch of paprika
1 pack tenderstem or purple sprouting broccoli
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4) coat the baby potatoes in oil and cook according to packet instructions.
2. You will need eight skewers, approximately 16cm long. If using wooden ones, soak in water for 30 minutes to prevent them from burning. Cut the steaks into eight long thin strips lengthways going with the grain. Whisk the vinegar, harissa and honey in a bowl. Add the beef strips and toss everything together.
3. Stir the hummus into the yoghurt and divide among small dipping bowls, then garnish each one with the paprika.
4. Heat a barbecue or griddle pan until smoking hot. Thread a piece of harissa beef onto each skewer. Cook for 2 minutes on each side. Then put on a warm plate to rest.
5. Toss the broccoli in a bowl with the oil and plenty of seasoning. Add to the griddle pan and quickly char for a minute or two on each side, turning regularly with tongs.
6. Arrange the beef skewers on plates with the charred broccoli and roasted potatoes. Add a dipping bowl of the hummus yoghurt dip to each one to serve.
Garlic and herb chicken with warm antipasti potato salad
Ingredients: Serves 4
1 jar Italian mixed antipasti
1 pack fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp organic apple cider vinegar
2 packs Irish corn-fed chicken supremes
1 pack baby potatoes
1 tbsp garlic and herb seasoning
1 carton garlic aioli
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4). Drain the oil from the antipasti and reserve. Then roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes and put them in a large bowl. Stir back in the olives and pick off the parsley leaves to add with the vinegar. Set aside until later.
2. Put the chicken supremes in a large baking tin with the potatoes, halving or quartering any that are too big. Toss everything in the reserved antipasti oil and then sprinkle over the garlic and herb seasoning. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through and the potatoes are nice and crispy.
3. Arrange the chicken supremes on plates. Fold the crispy potatoes into the antipasti mixture and add to the plates with a dollop of the garlic aioli, season and serve.
SHARING OPTIONS