Once in a Blue Moon.....

Apologies folks for my long absence, what can I say, it's been a busy few months. So as opposed to my intended monthly posts, they are more like once in a blue moon posts!!
Since I've last been in touch, a lot has gone on here at Liss Ard. As well as a busy summer with guests, we had an amazing festival in August. The Liss Ard Festival went down a storm, we saw some amazing gigs, heard some great stories and ate lots of delicious food. The theatre of food was a real treat all weekend, with lots of great demonstrations and yummy tastings! We helped A Taste of West Cork Food Festival celebrate our national treasure, "THE HUMBLE SPUD”, a great evening of seminar, theatre & food!

We also had a great wedding here on the estate in September, thanks John & Joanne. Fantastic tipi in place for the weekend, and we cooked our socks off, with a little help from our friends. Big thanks to Fingal & Clovisse from Gubbeen, and to Una Martin for her amazing  pies!!

And now Autumn is here, and the nights are certainly closing in. So our menu is changing with the weather. Lots of lovely pumpkin and squash around at the moment, as well as delicious, and oh so good for you, kale. Of course the apples are all out, our own trees at Liss Ard were bountiful, and while due to the rain it hasn't been the best year for blackberries, we still managed to pick enough to make a batch of apple & blackberry jam, and various tarts, pies and crumbles!

Sara Devoy (http://www.devoysorganicfarm.com/ )has been providing me with delicious squash of all sorts over the last few weeks, and the perfect recipe for a day like this is soup.  This is adapted from a Ballymaloe recipe. Serves 6.

Organic Gem Squash & Cumin Soup
2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil
50g butter
110g onion, chopped
150g potatoes, chopped
550g squash (or pumpkin), chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1 litre homemade stock, chicken or vegetable

Heat the oven to 180C. Heat the cumin seed on a dry frying pan, for a minute or so, until it smells spicy. Grind in a pestle and mortar, or a spice grinder. Coat the chopped squash with the olive oil and ground cumin. Season with salt & pepper. Roast in the oven until soft, approx  20-30 minutes.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, when it foams, add the chopped onion and potato. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with a butter wrapper and a lid. Allow to cook gently on a low heat, until the vegetables are slightly soft, but not coloured. Add the hot stock and boil until the vegetables are soft, add the roast squash. Puree until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add a little cream, or milk if desired. Garnish with a little ground cumin. Delicious!!

Liss Ard 2012 August Bank Holiday Weekend.... Sure where else would you be????

A music, food and literary festival, and right on our own doorstep,how exciting!! The website for Liss Ard 2012 has just gone live. We can't wait for the August weekend, there'll be lots to see, hear and most importantly taste here at the Liss Ard Estate. The focus for food at the festival ties in with our own ethos here at Liss Ard, so fresh, local and seasonal is the order of the day. As you know from previous posts, we have a fantastic range of artisan producers in West Cork, a lot of them are expected here for the festival. As the title says, where else would you be??!!

Friday 3 - Saturday 4 - Sunday 5th August. Liss Ard Estate - County Cork, Ireland

Amazing Asparagus

While the weather hasn’t been anything special to date this May, we are seeing signs of summer in the vegetables available. My personal May favourite is Asparagus, delicious with a poached free range egg, or drizzled with a little lemon and a hard cheese, we use locally produced Gabriel here. Great in risottos, or grilled as a side dish.

In our continuing series showcasing our local artisan suppliers, we feature Tim Yorke at Lisheen Organics, and give you a tasty warm recipe. Tim is currently selling delicious asparagus  at the Skibbereen and Schull Farmer’s Markets. It tends to sell pretty quickly, so get there early to make sure you get yours.

Lisheen Organics - Tim York

Local grower Tim York produces a variety of chemical-free summer vegetables - specialising in tomatoes, French beans, mixed leaves and asparagus - with other fresh vegetables in season. lisheenorganics@gmail.com

Lisheen Organics Asparagus with a Gubbeen Poached Free Range Egg

Serves 4

Ingredients
    * 450g asparagus, trimmed
    * 4 large eggs, free range
    * Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
    * Gabriel cheese, thinly shaved
    * Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Cook the asparagus in boiling, salted water until just tender.

To poach the eggs- get a saucepan of boiling water, swirl the water, add the eggs.  Use the freshest eggs possible, it makes a big difference!  Cook until whites are set but yolks are soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggs to paper towels, and drain briefly.

Divide asparagus among 4 plates, and top each with an egg. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with the Gabriel, and season with salt and pepper.

The result is a delicious, light dish bursting with spring flavour.

The season is short, so give it a try before all the fresh asparagus runs out!!

Foraging Wild Garlic

So it's that time of year, signs of Spring are everywhere, actually a bit earlier than usual, due to our mild Winter. The grounds here at Liss Ard are awash with wild garlic, so last weekend, it being St Patrick's, and wild garlic being the appropriate colour, we decided to gather and cook with it.

And gather it we did, far too much to use for the soup I was planning, so we also added it to salads and made some delicious pesto.

The soup was fantastic, vibrant green, with a subtle garlic flavour, we garnished of course with the beautiful petals.

The pesto is great with pasta, potatoes, meat and fish.

So get out there and gather. Try and avoid busy roadsides for foraging, quiet lanes and woods are best, as the leaves are not affected by fumes from passing traffic.

Wild Garlic Pesto

25g wild garlic, washed.

1-2 cloves garlic.

40g freshly grated gabriel cheese

25g pine nuts.

150ml extra virgin rapeseed oil.

salt

Put all the ingredients, except the oil and salt into a food processor. Blend for few seconds, add oil and a little salt. Taste, and correct seasoning. Enjoy!!

Artisan Producer Feature - Thornhill Organics and Bill Hogan and Sean Ferry cheeses

In our continuing series showcasing our local artisan suppliers, we feature Thornhill Organic Salads, cheesemakers Bill Hogan and Sean Ferry, and give you a tasty warm salad recipe.

Thornhill Organics is an organic farm situated just outside Skibbereen. Run by Anthony Boyle and Morgan Hurley, Thornhill offers a great selection of local, organic vegetables. Their salad leaves are available most of the year round, and in the summer, we purchase a wide variety of produce off them, including courgettes, tomatoes, cucumbers. Quality and taste are always fantastic.

A cheese which often features in Liss Ard meals is Gabriel, made on the Mizen Peninsula by Bill Hogan and Sean Ferry, whose cheeses are made during the summer months using the milk supplied by the small herds which graze the rolling hills between Mount Gabriel and the sea.

Gabriel is a hard, granular cheese similar to Parmesan, with a deep, fruity flavour and a mellow after taste.

One of the best ways to combine these products is in a warm salad with bacon or chorizo.

Here is our recipe:

Warm salad of Thornhill Organic leaves and Gabriel cheese

Ingredients

*Packet of Thornhill Organic salad leaves

*55 grams of sliced bacon or chorizo, we use Caherbeg or Gubbeen

*Gabriel cheese

For the dressing:

3 tbsp olive oil (use your best extra-virgin for this)

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp wholegrain or dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash and dry the leaves and then tear them into bite-sized pieces. To make the dressing, place all the ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake to mix. Taste for seasoning. Drizzle sparingly over a selection of your prepared salad ingredients in a bowl and toss to serve. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat, add the bacon or chorizo and fry for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Sprinkle the panfried bacon or chorizo on top of your salad leaves, then garnish with shavings of Gabriel cheese and serve.

Artisan Producer Feature - Skeaghanore Duck

Duck is a popular choice on festive occasions and duck shooting a pursuit enjoyed by enthusiasts throughout the country at this time every year.

The first in a series showcasing our local artisan suppliers features Skeaghanore West Cork Duck.

Eugene and Helena Hickey have been hand rearing duck since 1994 in an idyllic setting overlooking Roaringwater Bay, their family farm in Skeaghanore, Ballydehob, West Cork.

Famous for its fuller flavour and succulent taste, Skeaghanore ducks are hand reared for a longer period and fed an additive free, 100% natural cereal-based diet.

Our Head Chef Cliodhna McCarthy has showcased this local product to our guests on many occasions, with Crispy Breast of Skeaghanore Duck with Blackberry Sauce, proving a particularly popular recipe.

Want to enjoy a taste of Skeaghanore Duck at home, the Liss Ard way?

Here is Cliodhna’s recipe:

Crispy Breast of Skeaghanore Duck with Blackberry Sauce

Main Ingredients

* 2 Skeaghanore Duck Breasts

* Salt and freshly ground pepper

Sauce Ingredients

* 100g/3 1/2 oz Blackberries

* 1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar

* 50ml/2fl oz Red Wine

* 1 tbsp Brown Sugar

Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Heat an oven-proof griddle pan over a medium heat. Season the duck breast on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then place skin side down onto the hot griddle pan to cook for 4-5 minutes. Turn the breast over and transfer to the oven to roast for 8-10 minutes, or until completely cooked through.

To make the sauce, place all the ingredients into a frying pan and bring to simmer. Simmer for 5-6 minutes to reduce and thicken.

Serve with roast potatoes or root vegetables.

For more information on Skeaghanore Duck visit www.skeaghanoreduck.ie

Posted by Karen Aguilera-Gibson

Christmas Party Nights At Liss Ard Country House

Each evening starts with a complimentary glass of mulled wine served in front of a roaring fire.

The ideal place for a group of friends to mark the Season – small and large groups (up to 50).

Dates in December:

Fri 9th, Sat 17th, Tues 20th

€39 per person

Starts 7.30pm.

More at www.lissardestate.com

Bookings and Inquiries

Tel: 028 40 000

Posted by Karen Aguilera-Gibson