Just Ask Restaurant of the Month for September - Global Village

The “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month winner for September is Global Village, Dingle, Co Kerry

Everything about Martin Bealin and Nuala Cassidy’s long-established restaurant in Dingle Town is a delight, especially the local provenance and seasonality which is its raison d'etre, and any food lover attending the Dingle Food Festival (Thu 4th - Sun 7th October 2012) should have a visit here high on the list of treats to look forward to over what is sure to be a very pleasurable weekend.

Global Village is a model of sustainability and, ever since opening in 1997, has always showcased the best of local foods. A blackboard proclaims the daily specials, notably local fish and seafood, but also names the day’s beef and lamb suppliers and the vegetables harvested from their own bio-dynamic garden out at Ventry.

The sourcing list on the menu is more extensive (see below), and it’s interesting to see Dingle Farmhouse Milk given full credit alongside the meats and fish, and famous speciality products like Ashes black and white puddings, from nearby Annascaul.

Fish lovers will be thrilled by the local seafood; on any one day the range could include scallops, crab, lobster, Glenbeigh mussels, monkfish, hake, plaice and lemon sole - and it’s good to see the humble mackerel given equal billing. Yet the meats carry weight too and, thanks to the exceptional respect accorded to vegetables here, vegetarians also fare particularly well – and, smaller items, such as the delicious yeast breads, also tell their own story of skill and attention to detail in the kitchen.

Highlights showcasing superb local produce include a number of ‘duo’ and ‘trio’ dishes created around a single ingredient – a memorable Trio of Crab starter, for example, beautifully demonstrates the versatility (and deliciousness) of crab.

Among the mains, inexpensive ingredients carry equal weight alongside the traditional treats such as lobster, and it is good to see a plentiful fish in season given their due: a dish such as panfried mackerel fillets and garlic crab toes with Ashes white pudding is a delight, for example, served with pretty pea purée, saffron sauce and a crisp flesh-flavoured salad.

Yet, despite the weighting in favour of fish, local meats are also highly regarded and the highlight of a meal here could well be a wonderful roast rack of Kerry lamb with sautéed liver, perfectly accompanied by a puy lentil and chorizo casserole, boulangère potatoes and a rosemary jus. The stand-out lamb dish of the year to date for the Guide, the best quality meat is allowed to show its form and the imaginative accompaniments are perfectly weighted to complement the quite assertive lamb.

Seriously delicious desserts follow the same seasonal philosophy, and the Irish Farmhouse Cheese selection is supplied by Maja Binder’s Little Cheese Shop in the town; including her own Dingle Peninsula Cheese of course, the choices are laid out in loving detail…

SAMPLE MENUS

Where Our Food Comes From......

• Lobster and Crab....Richard Sheehy, Ventry
• Oysters and Mussels...Glenbeigh Shellfish
• All other Fish and Prawns, landed by The Teresa Mae, skipper Labhras Courtney, or sourced locally by O'Cathain lasc Teo
• Vegetables - Grown chemically free in our own gardens in Ventry, using biodynamic principles, or soureed from Kingdom Fresh, Dingle
• Eggs...Lispole free range eggs
• Cheese… we use only Irish cheeses most of which are sourced from "The Little Cheese Shop" here in Dingle including Maja's own Dingle Peninsula cheese
• Milk...Dingle Farmhouse Milk, Baile na nGall
• Black and white pudding ... Ashes of Annascaul
• Beef and Lamb ...sourced and butchered by John and Micheal Ashe of
Annascaul. We know exactly which farm your meat came from this evening.
Take a look at our blackboard.

Early Bird Menu

Served from 5.30pm to 7pm
Two courses €25.50 Three courses €28.50

Cream of potato, spinach and garden herb soup

Crab and cognac bisque

Organic green salad from our garden, grain mustard dressing

Tossed, organic, dressed salad leaves with goats cheese in a cashew and herb crust, roast beetroot, toasted walnuts, black olives, figs

Duo of free range Duck: potted liver pate and rolled rillette of confit leg, port jelly, melba toast, garden greens, orange crisp

Steamed Glenbeigh Mussels with white wine, garlic, herbs and cream Risotto of Dingle Bay seafood with garden herbs and parmesan

Crab trio: potted crab terrine, dressed crab meat, salad, bisque shot, sesame seed tuile

XXX

Pan fried fillets of Hake, rosti potatoes, carrot puree, chorizo, anchovies and caper butter

Grilled fillets of Plaice, pea purée, garlic potatoes, parsley cream

Pan seared Mackerel fillets, garlic crab toes. Ashes white pudding, apple and radish salad .rapeseed oil mayonnaise

Lamb Three Ways; sautéed lambs liver, sweetbreads in Madeira, and crisp belly of lamb, boulangère potatoes, lentils, salsa verde

Sage and onion polenta cakes with garden vegetables and rocket pesto

XXX

Fresh garden strawberries with strawberry and vodka sorbet, strawberry crisp

Mocha Plate: coffee and cardamom creme brulee, langue du chat biscuits, coffee truffle

Selection of Irish Cheeses with crackers


A LA CARTE

Starters

Cream of potato, spinach and garden herb soup €5

Crab and cognac bisque €6

Organic green salad from our garden, grain mustard dressing €10

Tossed salad of mixed organic leaves, goats cheese in a cashew and herb crust, beetroot, roast peppers, black olives, figs, toasted walnuts and mustard dressing €10

Duo of free range Duck: duck liver pate and rolled rillette of confit leg, port jelly, melba toast, garden greens, orange crisps €12

Pan seared scallops .apple and radish salad, Annascaul white pudding , chorizo, rapeseed oil mayonnaise €12

Steamed Glenbeigh Mussels with white wine, garlic, garden herbs and cream €12

Trio of Crab; potted crab terrine, dressed crab meat, salad, bisque shot, sesame tuille €12

Risotto of Dingle Bay Seafood, parmesan cheese and our own garden herbs €12

Pan fried mackerel fillets, sage and onion polenta, pea puree, dill cream €10

Medallions of Ventry Bay Lobster on a potato cake with a soft poached free range egg and hollandaise €14

Main courses

Medley of Dingle Bay seafood: Monkfish, Hake, Plaice, Brill, Lemon sole,

Crab toes. Prawns, Mussels, polenta cake, fennel broth, green salad €29.50

Pan fried Hake fillets, rosti potatoes, carrot puree, chorizo, anchovies, caper butter €24

Grilled fillets of Plaice, buttered mange toute peas, garlic potatoes, salsa verde €24

Trio of roast Monkfish tail, pan fried Brill and whole Prawns, roast fennel, potato fondant, vermouth cream €28.50

Pan fried mackerel fillets, garlic crab toes, ashes white pudding, apple and cashew salad, rapeseed oil mayonnaise €22

Pan seared Scallops, Annascaul white pudding, pea purée, saffron sauce green salad €28.50

Whole Ventry Bay Lobster served either with garlic butter or with dill and cognac sauce, colcannon, green salad €38.50

Pan seared fillet of prime Irish Beef, roast shallots, garlic mushrooms, colcannon, Madeira demi-glace €28.50

Roast Rack of Kerry lamb with sautéed lambs liver, puy lentil and chorizo casserole, boulangère potatoes, rosemary jus €28.50

Crisp sage and onion polenta cakes, garden vegetables, roquette and cashew pesto €19

Dessert

Chocolate orange plate: Moist orange cake, chocolate and cointreau mousse, orange jellies, cinnamon anglaise

Lemon posset granita shot, ginger biscuits

Mocha plate; coffee and cardamom creme brulée, langue du chat biscuit, coffee truffle

Rhubarb and berry plate-rhubarb and ginger mousse, strawberry and vodka sorbet, baked rhubarb and vanilla biscuit, raspberry gel

Selection of our home made ice creams (choose three) Apricot, Vanilla, Coffee and Cointreau, White chocolate, Raspberry, Baileys with Chocolate Chip

Dessert Wine: Alois Kracher, Neusiedlersee,
Austria 2009. A lighter though fulsome style made predominately from chardonnay, easy to match with food
Btl €22.50 by the glass €6

Selection Irish Farmhouse Cheeses
€9.50 (choose three)

Our cheeses are supplied by Maja Binder of The little Cheese Shop, Greys Lane. Dingle. Showcasing the best of Irish cheese, including her own Dingle Peninsula Cheese

Crozler Blue: (Tipperary) Natural rind cheese made from sheep's milk and vegetarian rennet, rich, creamy and mild, with sweet blue flavour when mature

Wicklow Blue: (Arklow) Soft white mould rind cheese made from own cow's milk and vegetarian rennet
Creamy, buttery and mild, with little aggressive blue flavour, the mould rind gives an aroma of fresh white mushroom P

Milleens: (Cork) Semi-soft, rind washed cheese made from cow's milk and animal rennet
Farmyard, earthy aromas with a slight chalkiness at the centre of creamy paste P

Smoked Gubbeen: (Cork) Semi-hard cheese with waxed black rind made from pasteurised cow's milk from own herd
Buttery and mild flavour with a very subtle smoky touch on the finish, slowly smoked with oak

Cooleency: (Tipperary) White mould rind cheese made from cow's milk and vegetarian rennet.
Creamy and buttery flavour with white mushroom notes and pleasant bitterness. R

Ardrahan: (Cork) Semi-soft, washed rind cheese made from cow's milk from own herd and vegetarian rennet
When young, mildly pungent, salty and lactic. More mature has creamy, salty, hazelnuts, pungent farmyard aromas P

P-pasteurised milk R-raw milk

Ports

Graham's Late Bottled Vintage Port 2005
€4.50

Gratuities at your own discretion
Prices include V.A.T at 9% on food and 23%on wine

----------

VIEW ALL JUST ASK RESTAURANT OF THE MONTH WINNERS

---

“Just Ask!” is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage consumers when eating out to look for information on where the food (particularly meat) on their plate comes from, and encourages chefs to provide this information on their menus. The programme supports both large and smaller artisan suppliers, encouraging both Irish diners and visitors from abroad to support restaurants that are in turn supporting their suppliers.

Here at Georgina Campbell Guides we have always been avid supporters of the ‘eat local’ concept, and we always enjoy reading menus that have a real sense of place. The dining experience is greatly enriched by knowing that the food on your plate is inspired by the produce and traditions of the area, and sourced nearby – and we would love to see more chefs sharing that precious information with their guests. 

If you are a visitor to the area, learning a little about local food and the people who produce it adds a special extra dimension to the visit – and, for residents, it reinforces a natural pride in the good things of their locality and makes a meal all the more enjoyable.

So, we are delighted by the high standard of menus that continue to be submitted for our ' “Just Ask!” Restaurant of the Month Competition', menus that really speak of the best of Irish foods – and the dedication of both the people who make them, and the chefs who select them to create wonderful dishes with real Irish flavour for our enjoyment.