Articles

Although Easter is just around the corner (and early this year) March is only the beginning of spring and it can be a very chilly month, when comfort food that makes the most of the remaining autumn and winter ingredients can be very welcome.
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by Clodagh McKenna, with photography by Tara Fisher. Kyle Books, hardback, 256pp. RRP €25

Well timed to hit the book shops just before St Patrick’s Day, Clodagh’s Irish Kitchen offers a nicely balanced collection of 150 upbeat traditional recipes presented with pzazz.
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Just an hour from Dublin, the O'Flynn family’s romantically rambling country house has a wonderfully away-from-it all atmosphere - and this quietly luxurious place has always been renowned for good food. Long before ‘local and seasonal’ came into its own on a national basis, that was just the way things were done around here, with food from the farm and the walled garden taking its rightful place on the table along with the best of other Irish foods.
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Pork is one of our most traditional and most versatile foods and, while the introduction of refrigeration made a big change to attitudes as fresh pork was no longer seen as being ’just for winter’, there is something wonderfully comforting about it and many of the great pork dishes seem to have a secret ingredient that brings warmth to the chilliest of days.
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Fish smoking has a long history in Ireland, with traditionally smoked fish a staple on our tables until relatively recently. It is still held in affection and many people have fond memories of locally smoked fish enjoyed on childhood holidays - all of which helps to create a positive mindset for contemporary shoppers when they see modern versions of these traditional foods on display, take note of their healthy eating credentials and (in the case of Atlantic Treasures mackerel) spot the familiar Great Taste Awards logo, which is a respected independent indication of quality.
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What it means to be an organic farmer in Ireland today … Jenny Young writes about life and work on an organic mixed farm in Co Kildare - and selling its produce
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This month Marilyn Bright talks to Frankie Mallon, chef- proprietor of the acclaimed An Port Mor seafood restaurant in Westport, Co Mayo
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This month Martin bravely takes on preparation of one of the great dishes of the area where they have settled: Salt Cod
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This is a wonderfully warming casserole, perfect for cold February days. Red wine gives a lovely richness to the dish, the chilli warmth and the thyme an aromatic quality. The cooking aromas are wafting from the kitchen as the boys arrive in from school cold and hungry.
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Tomatoes have a long growing season so to get good fruit you need to get the plants started early (if you are growing from seed). I sow my tomatoes on a heating mat in the potting shed in mid February, so by early March they have germinated.
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