Sunday, 13 May 2012

Ballymaloe Week Two Highlights

Monday 7th May – Sunday 13th May

1. Learning how to joint a chicken and remembering to cut round the ‘oyster’. 

2. The Wednesday demo on learning how to make lots of different cheeses and yogurt with Darina and Eddie O’Neill (an artisan dairy specialist).



3. I learnt that cheese as a pudding doesn’t have to be cheesecake – Mato is a homemade curd cheese and is delicious topped with honey, fresh figs, toasted pine nuts and mint. Alternatively, the French dish Coeur a la Crème is just a mixture of cottage cheese, cream, stiff egg whites and sugar, drained in a muslin-lined heart-shaped mould overnight. It can be served with fresh berries and a fruit coulis.  

4. Similarly, homemade yoghurt can be an unusual and delicious Indian pudding when mixed with exotic spices. We were shown a recipe called Shrikhand, which is simply thick homemade yoghurt drained overnight. To this is added saffron water, sugar and crushed cardamom seeds. Darina served this sprinkled with chopped pistachio nuts in a tall, glass bowl which looked très élégante.





5. The sea view from the top of the lane down past the cookery school.


6. Brighter-than-lemons rape flower fields everywhere on my Sunday bike ride.

7. Favourite dish of the week: fluffy lemon pudding demonstrated by Rachel Allen. So simple and not particularly WOW but serendipitously heavenly with thick cream.

8. Watching half a lamb being butchered by Philip – so that’s how it all connects!

9. The mounds of fresh herbs from the gardens (including beautiful bronze fennel) used to great effect to garnish the roast leg of lamb.


10. Flame-haired Pam’s demo including my favourite pear, walnut and blue cheese salad – the pears were chargrilled and the nuts were candied and spiced, which made it even better!


11. Walking through the gardens at dusk.


12. Sunday roast! In the guise of diligent cookery students, the pink cottage crew picked up an organic chicken at the Midleton farmers market to practice our new jointing ‘skills’ (ahem). Once we’d jointed (and at times hacked - sorry Darina) the chuck we roasted it South African style on a bed of rosemary, fennel fronds and sage with parsnips, carrots and sweet potato, drizzled with olive oil and lime juice and served with coconut rice. So good!





1 comment:

  1. Everything looks wonderful Annabelle, you must be having so much fun!!

    ReplyDelete