What a March it has been. I am still recovering from the excitement at the Aviva Stadium when Ireland won the Triple Crown after a fantastic win over Scotland. I was taken there as a guest by my brother-in-law, Donal Murphy, who is married to my sister, Sharon.
He treated me to a great three-course meal in the stadium before the match. What an atmosphere there was. I cannot remember anything else like it.
Of course, the Scots came expecting to win but there was nothing but good humour and camaraderie from the fans when it didn’t go their way. I was back in the restaurant kitchen for the crucial France versus England match and missed the drama of the final kick, but saw a recording later. What a Six Nations and what drama!
Earlier in the week Marty Whelan came to Blacklion to do his 7am to 10am daily Marty in the Morning programme on Lyric FM from the cookery school. I was delighted to have Marty and his team for dinner the night before in the restaurant.
They were very well-behaved with a 6am alarm call in the morning! The team had contacted a lot of local guests including Ken Moffitt, from Thornhill Duck, who is just up the road.
His daughter, Isabella, is a good friend of our Lucia and the two girls were fascinated to watch the way a radio programme is made before heading off to school.
Then he chatted with Ann Rudden, better known as Áine’s Handmade Chocolate, about her Cavan business which she began in 1999.
Charlie McGettigan and his guitar provided the music and he told a lot of stories.
Charlie is a very entertaining raconteur. He told us he had been writing some songs with Maxi who people remember from RTÉ, Sheeba and of course, Eurovision. He sang a beautiful song called The Outside of your Heart. What a pleasure it was to have Eurovision royalty in Blacklion.
More fabulous music was provided by the girls from the local St Patrick’s national school who impressed everyone. My head chef, Carmel McGirr, was also delighted to chat with Marty. He is so good at his job and full of energy.
Our front of house team of Christopher McPartland and Gary McGinley had never done a radio interview before and they flew through it. We didn’t let the cookery school go to waste and Carmel showed Marty how to make the perfect eggs benedict.
Charlie McGettigan had great difficulty controlling his amusement as Marty did his best. It was a wonderful morning and they all stayed on afterwards for a proper feed.
Perfect chicken dinner
Perfect roast chicken is just what the name says. It is one of the nicest meals, and I have many happy memories of my mother, Vera, feeding our family of 11 with roast chicken. Make sure the chicken is at room temperature and do try get a quality assured one.
Noone Poultry in Clonmany, Co Donegal farming 120ac are a great option. I think the garlic cloves cook sweeter if left in their skin. A Riesling wine has a nice high acidity for this meal. I always like it with chicken. This Cumberland and port sauce is a traditional English sauce which gives a nice tanginess to the gravy.
The lemon bars are a nice afternoon treat served in bite-sized pieces and they keep well in an airtight container.
The West Cork Biscuit Company in Dunmanway are worth keeping an eye out for. Folláin near Ballyvourney in Co Cork, make one of the nicest lemon curds that I have ever tasted. For the yoghurt, I always use the 10% fat version.
For an excellent Irish cream cheese, look no further than Killowen near Enniscorthy, Co Wexford – I prefer this over just about any other.
Perfect roast
chicken with gravy
Ingredients: Serves 4-6
2 onions, halved
2 celery sticks, halved
3 carrots, halved
6 garlic cloves (not peeled)
1 pack Irish bacon lardons
2 extra virgin olive oil
1.8-2kg Irish chicken
2 tbsp poultry seasoning
1 lemon, halved
50g salted butter, softened
2 tbsp plain flour
1 Irish-made slow cooked bone broth
1 heaped tsp Cumberland and port sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
150ml Riesling wine
Creamy mashed potatoes mixed with cavalo nero, spring onions, (colcannon) and peas to serve
Method
1. Preheat to 200C (400F/Gas Mark 6). Get a shelf ready in the middle of the oven without any shelves above it. Scatter the vegetables over the base of a roasting tin that comes with a trivet (a three-legged stand). Tuck in the garlic and bacon lardons and then drizzle over half of the oil. Season generously.
2. Rub the chicken all over with the rest of the oil and then sprinkle with the poultry seasoning, making sure you get it right into the cavity, then stuff with the lemon halves. Sit the chicken on the trivet on top of the vegetables and smother the breast and legs all over with the butter.
Place in the oven and leave undisturbed for 40 minutes per kg plus 20 minutes extra until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown. To check that it is fully cooked, pierce the thigh with a skewer – the juices should run clear.
3. Remove the chicken from the oven. Transfer it to a plate and cover loosely with tin foil, then leave to rest for 15 minutes. Put the roasting tin directly on the hob and sprinkle over the flour, then cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring.
Pour in the wine and use to deglaze the tin, then stir in the bone broth with the Cumberland and port sauce. Boil to reduce to a gravy consistency, then season to taste and strain into a gravy jug.
4. Meanwhile, carve the rested chicken into portions and arrange on plates with the colcannon, if preferred. Serve the gravy on the table.
Neven Maguire: Greek Yoghurt Lemon Bars.
Ingredients: Serves 8
2 packets of shortbread biscuits
80g salted butter
1 jar Sicilian lemon curd
2 cartons Irish cream cheese
1 carton authentic Greek yoghurt
with vanilla (10% fat)
2 free range eggs
1 carton Irish strawberries
icing sugar, to dust
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/Gas Mark 4). Put the biscuits in a food processor and blend to fine crumbs. Melt the butter in a small pan or in the microwave and put in a bowl with the biscuit crumbs. Mix well and use to line the bottom of a parchment lined square baking tin pressing down well with a palette knife for an even layer.
2. Put two thirds of the lemon curd in a food processor with the cream cheese, yoghurt and eggs, then blend briefly until smooth. Using a spatula, cover the base swirling around the top. Add small teaspoonfuls of the reserved lemon curd and swirl into spirals with a wooden skewer.
Place in a large roasting tin half filled with water and carefully put in the oven for 30 minutes until there is still a slight wobble in the middle. Leave to cool in the roasting tin, then take out and chill for at least two hours or overnight is perfect.
3. Once chilled, using the parchment paper lift the Greek yoghurt lemon bake out of the tin and put on a chopping board. Using a sharp knife to cut into bars and wipe it clean with kitchen paper to keep them very neat. Leftover bars can be kept in an airtight container for up to five days in the fridge.
4. Arrange on plates with a mound of strawberries and a light dusting of icing sugar to serve.
What a March it has been. I am still recovering from the excitement at the Aviva Stadium when Ireland won the Triple Crown after a fantastic win over Scotland. I was taken there as a guest by my brother-in-law, Donal Murphy, who is married to my sister, Sharon.
He treated me to a great three-course meal in the stadium before the match. What an atmosphere there was. I cannot remember anything else like it.
Of course, the Scots came expecting to win but there was nothing but good humour and camaraderie from the fans when it didn’t go their way. I was back in the restaurant kitchen for the crucial France versus England match and missed the drama of the final kick, but saw a recording later. What a Six Nations and what drama!
Earlier in the week Marty Whelan came to Blacklion to do his 7am to 10am daily Marty in the Morning programme on Lyric FM from the cookery school. I was delighted to have Marty and his team for dinner the night before in the restaurant.
They were very well-behaved with a 6am alarm call in the morning! The team had contacted a lot of local guests including Ken Moffitt, from Thornhill Duck, who is just up the road.
His daughter, Isabella, is a good friend of our Lucia and the two girls were fascinated to watch the way a radio programme is made before heading off to school.
Then he chatted with Ann Rudden, better known as Áine’s Handmade Chocolate, about her Cavan business which she began in 1999.
Charlie McGettigan and his guitar provided the music and he told a lot of stories.
Charlie is a very entertaining raconteur. He told us he had been writing some songs with Maxi who people remember from RTÉ, Sheeba and of course, Eurovision. He sang a beautiful song called The Outside of your Heart. What a pleasure it was to have Eurovision royalty in Blacklion.
More fabulous music was provided by the girls from the local St Patrick’s national school who impressed everyone. My head chef, Carmel McGirr, was also delighted to chat with Marty. He is so good at his job and full of energy.
Our front of house team of Christopher McPartland and Gary McGinley had never done a radio interview before and they flew through it. We didn’t let the cookery school go to waste and Carmel showed Marty how to make the perfect eggs benedict.
Charlie McGettigan had great difficulty controlling his amusement as Marty did his best. It was a wonderful morning and they all stayed on afterwards for a proper feed.
Perfect chicken dinner
Perfect roast chicken is just what the name says. It is one of the nicest meals, and I have many happy memories of my mother, Vera, feeding our family of 11 with roast chicken. Make sure the chicken is at room temperature and do try get a quality assured one.
Noone Poultry in Clonmany, Co Donegal farming 120ac are a great option. I think the garlic cloves cook sweeter if left in their skin. A Riesling wine has a nice high acidity for this meal. I always like it with chicken. This Cumberland and port sauce is a traditional English sauce which gives a nice tanginess to the gravy.
The lemon bars are a nice afternoon treat served in bite-sized pieces and they keep well in an airtight container.
The West Cork Biscuit Company in Dunmanway are worth keeping an eye out for. Folláin near Ballyvourney in Co Cork, make one of the nicest lemon curds that I have ever tasted. For the yoghurt, I always use the 10% fat version.
For an excellent Irish cream cheese, look no further than Killowen near Enniscorthy, Co Wexford – I prefer this over just about any other.
Perfect roast
chicken with gravy
Ingredients: Serves 4-6
2 onions, halved
2 celery sticks, halved
3 carrots, halved
6 garlic cloves (not peeled)
1 pack Irish bacon lardons
2 extra virgin olive oil
1.8-2kg Irish chicken
2 tbsp poultry seasoning
1 lemon, halved
50g salted butter, softened
2 tbsp plain flour
1 Irish-made slow cooked bone broth
1 heaped tsp Cumberland and port sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
150ml Riesling wine
Creamy mashed potatoes mixed with cavalo nero, spring onions, (colcannon) and peas to serve
Method
1. Preheat to 200C (400F/Gas Mark 6). Get a shelf ready in the middle of the oven without any shelves above it. Scatter the vegetables over the base of a roasting tin that comes with a trivet (a three-legged stand). Tuck in the garlic and bacon lardons and then drizzle over half of the oil. Season generously.
2. Rub the chicken all over with the rest of the oil and then sprinkle with the poultry seasoning, making sure you get it right into the cavity, then stuff with the lemon halves. Sit the chicken on the trivet on top of the vegetables and smother the breast and legs all over with the butter.
Place in the oven and leave undisturbed for 40 minutes per kg plus 20 minutes extra until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown. To check that it is fully cooked, pierce the thigh with a skewer – the juices should run clear.
3. Remove the chicken from the oven. Transfer it to a plate and cover loosely with tin foil, then leave to rest for 15 minutes. Put the roasting tin directly on the hob and sprinkle over the flour, then cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring.
Pour in the wine and use to deglaze the tin, then stir in the bone broth with the Cumberland and port sauce. Boil to reduce to a gravy consistency, then season to taste and strain into a gravy jug.
4. Meanwhile, carve the rested chicken into portions and arrange on plates with the colcannon, if preferred. Serve the gravy on the table.
Neven Maguire: Greek Yoghurt Lemon Bars.
Ingredients: Serves 8
2 packets of shortbread biscuits
80g salted butter
1 jar Sicilian lemon curd
2 cartons Irish cream cheese
1 carton authentic Greek yoghurt
with vanilla (10% fat)
2 free range eggs
1 carton Irish strawberries
icing sugar, to dust
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/Gas Mark 4). Put the biscuits in a food processor and blend to fine crumbs. Melt the butter in a small pan or in the microwave and put in a bowl with the biscuit crumbs. Mix well and use to line the bottom of a parchment lined square baking tin pressing down well with a palette knife for an even layer.
2. Put two thirds of the lemon curd in a food processor with the cream cheese, yoghurt and eggs, then blend briefly until smooth. Using a spatula, cover the base swirling around the top. Add small teaspoonfuls of the reserved lemon curd and swirl into spirals with a wooden skewer.
Place in a large roasting tin half filled with water and carefully put in the oven for 30 minutes until there is still a slight wobble in the middle. Leave to cool in the roasting tin, then take out and chill for at least two hours or overnight is perfect.
3. Once chilled, using the parchment paper lift the Greek yoghurt lemon bake out of the tin and put on a chopping board. Using a sharp knife to cut into bars and wipe it clean with kitchen paper to keep them very neat. Leftover bars can be kept in an airtight container for up to five days in the fridge.
4. Arrange on plates with a mound of strawberries and a light dusting of icing sugar to serve.
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