Ballymaloe Week Nine Highlights

Beautiful sugarcraft at Ballymaloe House

1. We started off the week with a fantastic pasta demonstration with Rory and Gillian Hegarty, a past teacher who also worked for several years at The River Café. Of course, Gillian made kneading the dough look effortless, but on Tuesday morning every student was cursing the rubber-like dough as we kneaded it in the sticky heat of the kitchens! At demo she cooked up everything from Pappardelle with Chicken Liver Sauce (a recipe by the feted Marcella Hazan), to Ravioli with Sage Butter (which I cooked the next day) and Cappelletti with a delicious Tomato and Cream Sauce.

2. That same demo Rory made a gorgeous Zabaglione Ice-cream which was served with an Italian Fruit Salad. Of course, no Italian feast is complete without the dinner party stalwart, Tiramisu (no one can decide whether it originated from Venice or Rome) and, as it is my most favourite pudding I was interested to taste it but for some reason I just didn’t like it. For me, the grating of chocolate between each layer that they do here takes away from the bitter richness of the coffee that is so needed to cut through the rich egg and mascarpone. But then, Rory did warn that everyone’s idea of a good Tiramisu is different.

3. 

‘Whey can be a Revelation!’ – Rory

Lebanese Cucumber Soup and the Yoghurt Parfait

On Tuesday Rory demonstrated a rather unusual but deliciously light starter: Yoghurt Parfait with Mint Oil and Whey, Pea Shoots and Tendrills. As you can see, the presentation is incredibly delicate, with a myriad of micro-salad leaves arranged on the top.

4. Honestly, making a sourdough is like minding a baby, but on Tuesday evening, I finally managed to cook it. With my starter fully fed and the first big ‘feed’ done, I attempted to shape and cook my batch of loaves. The result was that it kind of looked like sourdough, and actually had that delicious beery sourness, but it was pretty much as thin as biscotti and almost as hard to cut! Apparently the first batch is always bad though, so I will try again next week.

Canapes for lunch!

5. On Wednesday morning we had a canapés demonstration which was great fun to watch as it was very presentation-heavy, with all sorts of fun and elegant ways to present finger food. One of my favourite ideas, was presenting cooked quails eggs in their (open) egg boxes with various toppings in which to dip. Also, Hermes boxes were filled with Anchovy and Sesame Seed Straws as an example of how to do branded events. As a rustic foil for all the formal bites like Smoked Salmon Spirals and Lamb on Rosemary Skewers, I liked their idea of Grilled Sourdough Bread with Rosemary and Garlic, which Darina served fresh from the bbq to guests as they arrived at their daughter’s wedding reception in the farm’s gardens. Guests could then help themselves to seasonal toppings like Crushed Broad Beans or Sautéed Chanterelle Mushrooms.

 

6. That afternoon we had a whirlwind talk about fur and feathered game from local gamekeeper Tom Duane and his gun-dog, Sammi. After taking us through the various game, their shooting seasons and how to pluck a bird, we got to see the incredibly obedient Sammi in action!

7. That evening, a few of us whizzed over to Ballymaloe House to catch a glimpse of the just finished decoration made by the pastry chef JR for a wedding cake. Perched cleanly on two white cakes, the ‘peonies’ were incredibly delicate and amazingly JR taught himself. All the sugarcraft took him and incredible 48hrs to make!

From this...

...to this

8. On Thursday I filleted a horrendously ugly and slimy monkfish for my Poached Monkfish with a Red Pepper Vinaigrette. As there are no pin bones, once the enormous head has been cut off (and cheeks cut out!) it is as easy as taking a chicken breast off the bone with the exception of the thick mucas-like slime with causes your fingers to slip and slide.

9. That same day we all made puff pastry which involves keeping everything stone cold as you are literally working with a whole pack of butter – no mean feat when the teachers later admitted they’d never had such a humid day. As I started with a fairly dry detempre (a flour and water dough which is used to encase the butter), my pastry was even harder to keep from cracking (which resulted in the butter coming out – not good!). But eventually, after giving it an additional fourth roll the next day, it looked somewhat ok. The task was to turn it into a Gateau Pithivier (or Gateau du Rois) which is filled with an almond paste and decorated in a very precise manner then glazed after cooking. As I have made a variation of this tart at home with shop bought puff it was amazing to see just how much higher homemade puff rises!

10. Dish of the Week: Bocca di Lupo’s Shaved Radish Salad. While I didn’t get to make this, I thought the combination of thinly sliced celeriac, radish and pecorino cheese dressed with truffle oil and sprinkled with pomegranates and parsley was delicious and may choose it for my starter for the final exam.

11. On Thursday we cooked more steak, this time with a traditional Red Wine Sauce and additional toppings of finely diced Tomato and Gherkin or Ballyhoura Oyster Mushrooms. The wine sauce took a long time to make as you first reduce half a bottle of wine, then the added grand marnier and port and finely almost 2 litres of beef stock. This results though in a very delicious, thick glaze to coat the steak in.

12. Our last demo of the week was with Rachel which was a nice change as she’s been away filming for most of the course. The focus was on how to cut and prepare a Rack of Lamb which was then cooked and served with various sauces, then a Crème Brulee with Poached Apricots and a Walnut Cake with American Frosting which she has made (herself!) in tiers for her wedding. She also made an old-school but comforting Fish Mousse with Shrimp Butter which has been on the House menu for 50 years (one family always request it on their return to stay) and must be made with incredibly fresh fish, eggs and cream.