Tag Archives: Pork

Beef, One-pot wonders, Pork, Slow cooker, Soups and stews

Beef, Chorizo and Ale Stew

The Irish Independent recently ran an article about cheap casseroles coming back into fashion in these penny-pinching times. Cuts of meat that people turned their backs on during the Celtic Tiger boom are now reappearing on shopping lists and in casserole pots — cuts like lamb shanks, oxtails and beef shins. I discovered this recipe while watching Channel 4’s show Food: What Goes in Your Basket, where UK food critic Jay Rayner made it with shin of beef. I’ve modified it to use regular stewing beef, which is also much less expensive than prime cuts.

But just because a dish is economical doesn’t mean it can’t be delicious too, like this stew. In fact, I liked it so much that I made it twice in two weeks — once after watching the Food program and again because it was too perfect to pass up as an entry to November’s Irish foodies cookalong, which had a winter warmers theme. It might also have something to do with the fact that after coveting one for ages, I bought a Le Creuset casserole pot as a birthday present for myself back in September and loved the fact that I could actually cook it in the oven. But no matter which way you cook this — in the oven, on the stovetop or in a slow cooker — you’ll love it.

Beef, Chorizo and Ale Stew
adapted from Jay Rayner’s shin of beef recipe from Food: What Goes in Your Basket

Serves 8

If you don’t have a casserole pot (a.k.a. Dutch oven), you can simmer the stew on the stovetop instead. Alternatively, you could make this in a slow cooker (see below). I used O’Hara’s Irish Red Ale for this stew.

2 lb (1 kg) stewing beef, cut into cubes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
olive oil
1 x 7 oz to 11 oz (200 g to 300 g) chorizo ring, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 red onions, roughly chopped
3 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bottle of ale
2 cups (1 pint) beef or chicken stock
1 bouquet garni (bay leaves, thyme sprigs and parsley, tied with kitchen string), or 1 teaspoon mixed dried herbs
1 tablespoon brown sugar
chopped fresh parsley, to garnish (optional)
mashed potatoes or crusty bread, to serve

Preheat the oven to 270°F (130°C).

Season the beef with salt and pepper and toss in the flour until the beef pieces are evenly coated. Heat some olive oil in a casserole pot (Dutch oven) and brown the beef in batches, making sure not to crowd the pot, or the meat won’t brown properly. Remove from the pot and set aside. Add in the chorizo and cook for a few minutes, until it has started to release its oils. Add in the onions, carrots and celery and cook for 10 minutes, until the vegetables have softened. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

Deglaze the pot with a small glass of the ale and simmer until it has reduced and thickened. Add the rest of the bottle and bring back to a simmer. Return the beef to the pot, and if it’s not fully covered, top up with the stock. (Add the whole pint of stock if you like a thinner stew, add less if you like a more concentrated broth.) Add the bouquet garni or dried herbs and stir in the sugar.

Cover and put in the oven for 3 to 4 hours (or simmer on the stovetop on a low heat), stirring a few times. The meat is ready when it shreds apart. As an optional extra if you want to intensify the flavor, you can strain off all the liquid into another pot and reduce the liquor by half, then return the liquid to the casserole pot. Serve with lots of chopped fresh parsley and mashed potatoes or crusty bread.

Slow cooker variation: Follow the recipe above until you’ve deglazed the pot, then transfer the stew to your slow cooker. Add the beef, stock, herbs and sugar to the slow cooker — though you should use less liquid because it won’t reduce as much as it does on the stovetop or in the oven. Cover and cook on a low heat for 8 hours, or until the meat shreds apart with a fork.

Beans, Italian food, Pork

Tuscan-style White Beans with Sausages and Peppers

My kids are crazy about beans. They’d eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, which is fine by me. You can’t cook many things that are healthier, easier or quicker than a can of beans. While canned beans are great, cooking dried beans is much cheaper and tastes better, too. And then there’s the BPA issue to think about. So I’m trying to use dried beans instead of canned and, in the process, finding some great recipes. This white bean recipe may be my favorite so far. Don’t be afraid by the amount of sage, it’s actually quite subtle tasting when cooked low and slow. If you have leftovers, try pureeing them with some olive oil and Parmesan cheese to make a spread perfect for crackers. I combined this batch with sausages and peppers as per Mark Bittman’s suggestion. The last-minute side of plain quinoa was a surprisingly perfect match with the beans.

A quick comment about beans, generally. I usually cook my beans in a slow cooker but the stove top works just as well. Don’t be afraid to add salt to the beans during cooking. I add a good teaspoon per pound (450 g) of beans after the beans are just tender, about halfway through cooking. Contrary to popular belief, salt doesn’t prevent the bean from cooking properly and results in a much better-tasting bean. And if you’re making a pot of beans, you may as well make a double batch. Once cooked, beans will keep in the fridge for several days or in the freezer several months, ready for pasta with chickpeas, eight-layer veggie burritos, or hummus at the drop of a hat.

Tuscan-style White Beans
adapted from How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman

Makes 8 servings

1 lb (450 g) dried white beans (cannellini, navy, Great Northern, etc.), washed and picked over
30 fresh sage leaves or 1 heaping tablespoon dried sage
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced or grated garlic
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Place the beans in a pot with water to cover by about 1 inch. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Add the sage. Reduce the heat, cover loosely and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans begin to soften. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Continue to cook until the beans are very tender, adding additional water if the beans dry out. Depending on the size and freshness of the bean, this will usually take 1 to 2 hours. Drain the cooking liquid if necessary, then gently stir in the garlic and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot, warm, or even cold.

***

Sausages with Peppers

Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 hot and/or mild Italian sausages
2 bell peppers (one green and one red, yellow, or orange), sliced into thin strips

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the sausages and cook for 10 minutes, turning the sausages halfway through the cooking time. Add the pepper strips and cook until the peppers are soft and the sausages are fully cooked, stirring frequently, about 10 more minutes. If the sausages take on too much color early in the cooking process, lower the heat or cover the skillet with a lid for a few minutes.

Italian food, Pasta and noodles, Pork

Rigatoni with Pork and Lemon Ragu and Garlic Sauteed Spinach

After more than a year of blogging, nearly all my favorite recipes have been gathered, photographed and posted. While this has forced me to try out new recipes, the new recipes don’t always turn out to be blog-worthy. Sometimes they don’t even turn out to be edible. Thankfully, friends and family will sometimes throw a tried and true recipe of their own my way. Leah, high school friend of Kristin and me, also of Tzatziki Chicken fame, sent me a bunch of her family’s favorite recipes earlier this month. This is the first of the bunch I tried and if the others are even half as tasty, we’re in for some good eating in my house. Thank you, Leah! If anyone else has a favorite recipe of their own, please send them our way.

Rigatoni with Pork and Lemon Ragu
adapted from Easy Everyday: Simple Recipes for No-fuss Food (Ryland Peters & Small))

Serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb (450 g) ground pork
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 anchovy fillets in oil, drained
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, minced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 lb (450 g) rigatoni
2 cups (475 ml) whole milk
handful of good quality green olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (50 g) Parmesan shavings, plus extra to serve
salt and black pepper, to taste

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil for the rigatoni.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat and add the pork. Cook the pork 3–4 minutes until lightly browned, breaking up clumps with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the onion, garlic, anchovies, rosemary, and lemon zest and stir to combine with the pork. Reduce the heat, cover, and let the onion soften for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the salted water is boiling, add the rigatoni and cook according to the package instructions until al dent and drain.

When the onion is translucent, add the milk, lemon juice, and olives, and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the skillet to loosen any sticky, flavorful bits and incorporating them into the sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes or utnil about two-thirds of the liquid has evaporated and the pork is soft. Stir in the cream, then season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Carefully stir in the cooked rigatoni to the pork ragu. Add the Parmesan and transfer to bowl, sprinkling extra Parmesan on top if desired.

***

Garlic Sauteed Spinach

Serves 4

2 bunches spinach, stems removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
lemon juice or rice wine vinegar, to taste

Fill your sink or a large bowl with cold water. Add the spinach to the water and let it soak for a few minutes. Any dirt on the spinach should settle to the bottom of the sink or bowl. Remove the spinach, drain the water (and any dirt) and repeat the procedure to remove any remaining dirt. Drain the spinach and dry it as much as possible in a salad spinner or on a dish towel.

Heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook 1–2 minutes until it is just starting to turn golden. Add half the spinach and stir until it begins to wilt. Add the other half of the spinach and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 4–5 minutes until fully wilted but still green. Season with salt and lemon juice or vinegar, to taste.

Cookbook reviews, Italian food, Pork, Rice

Oven-baked Sausage and Tomato Risotto

Catherine Fulvio is one busy lady these days. In addition to running Ballyknocken House and Cookery School in County Wicklow, she’s been filming her new series, Catherine’s Roman Holiday,* which premieres tomorrow in Ireland at 8:30 p.m. on RTÉ, doing cooking demos at summer festivals like Bloom and Taste of Dublin, and writing a fantastic new cookbook, Catherine’s Italian Kitchen, which was released last week.

Catherine was brought up at Ballyknocken, a traditional Irish farm that has been in her family for almost 100 years, and learned to cook from her mother by “hanging onto her apron strings.” Imbued with an appreciation of good food from an early age, the Italian twist in the tale is when she met her husband, Claudio Fulvio, who is originally from Palermo. They and their two young children now spend summers at their other home in Sicily, where Catherine is inspired by their Italian family and friends. This inspiration has translated into a cookbook full of easy and family-friendly recipes that are suitable for all levels of cook and which use ingredients that can be commonly found outside of Italy, meaning anyone can enjoy Italian flavors in their own kitchen, wherever you might be.

This oven-baked fennel sausage and tomato risotto is the first dish that jumped out at me to make, which is no surprise, seeing as how much I also like this cherry tomato and sausage bake. I particularly like this recipe since it has more vegetables than my other favorite risottos, and my kids happily devoured it. Catherine’s eggplant “meatballs” (polpette di melanzane) are already a favorite that I’ve made several times since watching her make them on her first TV series on RTÉ, and that recipe is included in her cookbook now as well. Other recipes I’ve bookmarked to try are the Leek, Gorgonzola and Walnut Pizza, Pistachio and Asparagus Penne, Braised Beef with Garlic, Lemon and Chili, and last but not least, Amaretto and Almond Truffle Tort.

We have a copy of Catherine’s Italian Kitchen to give away, so for a chance to win, just leave a comment telling us what Italian dish you’ve got a hankering for. The winner will be randomly chosen and the competition will close at midnight (US Central Time) on Friday, September 10. As Catherine would say, Buon appetito!

*You can watch sneak preview of the first show here, or even a behind-the-scenes peek at how the show was made here.

Oven-baked Sausage and Tomato Risotto
adapted from Catherine’s Italian Kitchen by Catherine Fulvio

Serves 4 to 6

The original recipe calls for Sicilian fennel sausages, but Italian sausages or good-quality butcher sausages are good substitutes. Catherine notes that this risotto won’t be creamy since there’s no constant stirring, but it’s just as delicious and is a great no-fuss weeknight option.

extra virgin olive oil
1 lb (450 g) Sicilian fennel sausages, Italian sausages or good-quality butcher sausages (I used garlic and herb)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 3/4 cups (300 g) Arborio rice
1 carrot, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 pints (750 ml) chicken stock
1 x 14 oz (400 g) can of cherry tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup (120 ml) dry white wine or vermouth
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan shavings, to serve

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan or casserole dish over a medium heat. Cook the sausages for 15 minutes, until fully cooked. Remove from the pan and slice into bite-sized pieces. Set aside. Add the onion to the pan and saute on a low heat for 10 minutes, until lightly golden. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the rice, carrots, celery and parsley. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring from time to time. Return the sausages to the pan.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat the chicken stock and tomatoes, then add the wine, stock and tomatoes to the casserole dish. Stir and cover with foil or a lid. Place in the oven and cook for approximately 45 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is just tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with Parmesan shavings and serve.

Casseroles, One-pot wonders, Pork

Cherry Tomato and Sausage Bake

Today marks our one-year blogging anniversary and our 200th post! To celebrate the occasion, we’re doing a little giveaway. To be in with a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift certificate, just leave a comment on this post telling us your favorite recipe from our site. The giveaway will close at midnight (US Central time) on Sunday, August 8 and the randomly selected winner will be notified by e‑mail.*

I just got back from my 10-day solo trip to the States, so I know it’s hot back home (sadly, the same can’t be said of Ireland). If you can bear to turn on your oven for 45 minutes, then this is an easy way to use up an abundance of tomatoes now that they’re coming into season. It’s like a summertime version of Donal Skehan’s oven-roasted sausage and sweet potato recipe. It’s also incredibly easy to pull together and doesn’t take much prep work or thinking about — just right for when your head is still spinning from jet lag, a hard day at work or a long day taking care of the kids. I like to serve this with a green salad with balsamic vinaigrette and plenty of crusty bread to mop up all the juices.

*The competition has now closed. Congrats to Kathy, who likes the warm tofu with spicy garlic sauce!

Cherry Tomato and Sausage Bake
adapted from Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver

Serves 4

Jamie suggests chopping up any leftovers to make into a chunky pasta sauce for penne or rigatoni, and I can vouch that it’s good. If you like this dish, you’ll also like balsamic roast chicken with rocket, roast tomatoes and Parmesan.

3 to 4 1/2 lb (1.4 to 2 kg) ripe cherry tomatoes (mixed colors if you can find them)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
2 red onions, quartered (leave the root end intact so the quartered segments stay together)
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (not too small or they’ll burn)
10 to 12 good-quality butcher sausages or Italian sausages
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
crusty bread, mashed potatoes, rice or polenta, to serve
green salad, to serve

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

Place the tomatoes, herbs, onions, garlic and sausages in a large roasting tray or casserole dish, one that can more or less fit all the tomatoes in one layer (or you could do individual casserole dishes, like I did in the photo, or divide everything between 2 trays/dishes if you don’t have one that’s big enough). Drizzle well with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper, then make sure the sausages are on top. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, then give the tray a shake and turn the sausages over. Continue cooking for 15 to 30 minutes more, depending on how golden and sticky you like your sausages.

If you think the sauce is a little too thin once the sausages are done, lift them out and place the tray on the stovetop to cook it down to the consistency you like, then put the sausages back in. Check the seasoning and serve either with a good crusty bread (great for mopping up the sauce!), mashed potatoes, rice or polenta, a green salad and a nice glass of wine.

Eggs, Italian food, Pork

Chorizo, Red Pepper and Feta Frittata

We planted potatoes for the first time this year, joking that we were earning our Irish citizenship now. Of all the things we planted, my husband was most excited about the potatoes. The first thing he’d do when he got home from work was make a beeline to the garden to check on them, sometimes barely even stopping to say hello to the kids first. So when the diagnosis came back from our expert gardening friend that the potatoes had blight, he was pretty cut up about it. The good news is that the potatoes are still perfectly edible, but the bad news is they won’t store well. Suffice it to say we’re going to be eating a lot of potatoes over the coming weeks.

Most frittatas, which are like an Italian open-faced omelet, use potatoes, so it was one of the first things I thought of when faced with this sudden glut. Plus they’re perfect summertime food — not too heavy or filling and ideal for picnics, since they’re easy to transport and can be served at room temperature (I actually prefer them this way). It’s also a good way of using up bits and bobs of things that are hanging around in your crisper or pantry, making them open to endless variations.* This one is our new favorite, but I also like making one with baby potatoes and jarred artichoke hearts, or if provisions are very low in the house, I can usually rustle up a classic Spanish tortilla.

A word of warning here: to make a frittata, you need an ovenproof frying pan. No one wants to deal with a melted handle. And be sure to remember that the handle will be hot for quite some time after you take it out of the oven — I’ve burned my hand more times than I care to admit. Nowadays, I always leave an oven mitt or dishtowel wrapped around the handle as soon as I take it out of the oven to remind me to be careful.

Chorizo, Red Pepper and Feta Frittata

Serves 4 to 6 as a light dinner or brunch

For a vegetarian version, simply leave out the chorizo. Try to use potatoes that are roughly the same size so that they all cook in the same amount of time when you parboil them in the first step. Roasting the red peppers heightens their flavor, but if you don’t have them, simply chop them and saute them along with the onions.

1/2 lb (225 g) baby potatoes, unpeeled and left whole
olive oil
5 oz (140 g) chorizo sausage, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 red peppers, roasted, skinned and roughly chopped (or use well-drained jarred roasted peppers)
8 eggs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 oz (140 g) feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
green salad, to serve

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place the potatoes in the pot and boil for about 5 minutes, or until just cooked and fork tender — do not overcook them or they won’t keep their shape when sliced. Drain. When they’re cool enough to handle, slice thinly and set aside.

Heat a splah of olive oil in a large ovenproof, nonstick frying pan over a medium heat. Add in the sliced chorizo and cook for about 5 minutes, until the chorizo has released its oils into the pan and has browned slightly. Scoop the chorzio out of the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on a paper towel-lined plate. If there’s an excessive amount of oil now in the pan, drain some off until only 1 or 2 tablespoons remain.

Reduce the heat to low, add the onion to the oil left behind in the pan and cook gently for 7 to 10 minutes, until softened. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, then remove from the heat. Add in the chopped roasted red peppers and set aside.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl with a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper (don’t use too much salt, since the chorizo and feta are also quite salty). Stir in the potatoes and chorizo. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the onion and peppers from the pan to the egg mixture and give everything a good stir.

Wipe out the frying pan and add 2 tablespoons of fresh olive oil (you can use less oil if you have a really good nonstick pan). Heat the oil in the pan, then pour in the egg mixture, making sure the chorizo and vegetables are evenly distributed throughout the pan. Top with the feta cheese.

Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 25 to 35 minutes, or until set in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little before sliding it out of the pan onto a large serving platter or cutting board. Serve warm or at room temperature with a green salad on the side.

*Here are a few other frittata variations from around the web:

30-minute meals, Beans, Cookies, Italian food, Pork, Salads

White Bean, Salami and Spinach Salad and Italian Chocolate Fridge Biscuits

I’m a little jealous of all the heat waves in America lately. After the best June in years here in Ireland, July is turning out to be cold and rainy a lot of the time and we’re lucky to even hit 70°F. But last month, when we had proper warm weather, I was making salads for dinner almost every night and this is one of my favorites. Served with some crusty bread, it’s a perfect main course for a hot (or even not so hot) summer’s night.

And if you’re being good and eating salad for dinner, it’s as good of an excuse as any to splurge a little with one of these biscuits. If you can rouse yourself from the heat enough to melt some butter on the stovetop, then all you have to do is press the dough into a baking dish and leave it in the fridge overnight, making this ideal for summertime baking. I made them for the Irish foodies’ cookie bake-off* at the start of the month, and while at first I was a little disappointed in them (I’d been expecting more flavor from the coffee and Crunchie bars), they grew on me. They’re a grown-up kind of cookie, the kind of thing that’s perfect with a cup of coffee after dinner (or anytime).

White Bean, Salami and Spinach Salad
adapted from The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater

Serves 2 as a light main course

for the salad:
7 oz (200 g) baby spinach (or about 4 big handfuls)
1/2 lb (225 g) salami, thinly sliced
a handful of basil leaves, cut into ribbons
2 x 14 oz (400 g) cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup (100 g) black olives, halved
freshly grated Parmesan shards, to serve
crusty bread, to serve

for the dressing:
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the spinach into a large serving dish. Cut the salami into thin strips and add to the spinach along with the basil, beans and olives.

To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, thyme and salt and pepper together until thick and creamy (or shake to combine in a screw-top jar). Pour the dressing over the salad and toss everything together gently. Grate over some thick shards of Parmesan cheese and serve with plenty of crusty bread.

***

Italian Chocolate Fridge Biscuits
adapted from Avoca Café Cookbook

Makes one 9 x 13 inch tray

3/4 cup (175 g) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (150 g) cocoa powder
1 cup (200 g) sugar
3/4 cup (75 g) ground almonds
3/4 cup (75 g) ground hazelnuts
1 tablespoon espresso or strong black coffee
1 egg and 1 egg yolk, beaten together
6 oz (175 g) Petit Beurre, high-quality butter cookies or digestive biscuits, roughly chopped
6 oz (175 g) honeycomb, such as Crunchie bars, roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups (175 g) hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Put the butter, cocoa, sugar, ground almonds and ground hazelnuts in a large pot and heat gently, stirring, until the butter has melted. Beat the coffee, egg and egg yolk into the mixture, then stir in the cookies, honeycomb and chopped hazelnuts. It will be very crumbly and rough looking at this stage.

Lightly oil a shallow 9 x 13 inch baking dish and firmly press the mixture into it (the mixture should be about 3/4 inch thick). Leave it to set in the fridge overnight, then turn out and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

*Looking for more cookie inspiration? Check out all these recipes from some other Irish foodies:

Drinks, Pork

Sausages, Peppers and Onions and Elderflower Syrup

You couldn’t have asked for a better day for a cross-country trip in Ireland. I made the three-hour drive from the east coast to the Midlands under a brilliant blue sky with warm sunshine beating down, passing roadsides covered with wild daises, buttercups and poppies, tractors pulling trailers of turf in the bogs of County Offaly and farmers working to harvest the first cut of silage in fields all along the way. I was heading to Oldfarm in County Tipperary, between Birr and Portumna, to meet up with a few fellow food bloggers and to see some rare-breed pigs.

Six years ago, Margaret O’Farrell and Alfie McCaffrey traded in their city life in Dublin and their scuba diving business for life in the country and a new venture raising free-range Saddleback pigs. Last week, they invited a group of strangers to their home for an afternoon of foodie chat and to have a look around their farm. We sat on their fabulous porch (what Margaret calls her “Martha Stewart room”) with a view to the Silvermine and Slieve Bloom mountains and drank homemade elderflower cordial while they told us how the two pigs they originally bought – they only wanted one for themselves and one for Margaret’s brother – became forty-eight, and without quite meaning to, they found themselves in the pig business.

We headed out then to look at the pigs for ourselves, all happily rooting in the earth in the fresh air, taking little notice of us as we stood next to them and talked shop. Ralph Haslam from Mossfield Organic Farm stopped by later on, coming out to meet us in the fields behind the house. Margaret and Alfie feed the whey left over from his cheese-making to their pigs, as well as locally grown barley and vegetables, and this time he brought a box of his award-winning cheeses for us to try and take home.

After tramping around the farm, we returned to the porch and a table groaning with food — Ralph’s cheeses, strawberries and cherries picked that morning from Margaret’s garden, two kinds of chocolate chip cookies, muffins, a Barra cake, a strawberry sponge, a mocha tart that we’re all still talking about, and a new experiment from Theresa, a chocolate raspberry preserve that was so good we simply ate spoonfuls of it straight from the jar, and all washed down with endless pots of tea.

I was sent home with an armful of rhubarb that Alfie harvested from their garden, which I later turned into rhubarb-strawberry mousse, two kinds of Mossfield cheeses and a jar of fresh pesto from Hey Pesto. After I mentioned that I’d always wanted to try making elderflower cordial myself, Margaret and Alfie cut dozens of elderflower heads for me from their trees, and even though I was tired from the six-hour round trip, I made a batch of this elderflower syrup as soon as I got home.

And, of course, we got sausages. Oldfarm’s Saddleback sausages have a stronger flavor than conventional sausages, so they stand up well to being featured as the star of a dinner dish. Sausages, peppers and onions is one of my favorite dinners and is traditionally made with Italian sausages, but since those are hard to come by in Ireland, I make it with good-quality butcher sausages instead, and Oldfarm’s are some of the best around.

The day out at Oldfarm showcased many of the things that are so special about artisan Irish food — it’s top-class, local, and produced with pride and passion by dedicated, generous people. If you’d like to try some of it for yourself, Margaret and Alfie sell their free-range Saddleback pork and bacon in 5 kg or 10 kg box schemes at €10 per kg, delivered right to your door. You can contact them at margaret.oldfarm@gmail.com or 086 810 0125 for more information, or follow Oldfarm on Facebook, Twitter or Margaret’s blog, A Year in Redwood.

Sausages, Peppers and Onions
adapted from Giada Di Laurentiis

Serves 4 to 6

Serve this as a sandwich on fresh rolls, on top of pasta, or on its own in bowls with plenty of crusty bread on the side. If serving as a sandwich, split the rolls in half lengthwise. Hollow out the bread from the bottom side of each roll, being careful not to puncture the crust, then fill the bottom half of the roll with the sausage mixture.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lb (450 g) Italian sausages or good-quality butcher sausages
2 red peppers, sliced
2 yellow peppers, sliced
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup (240 ml) red wine or water
1 x 14 oz (400 g) can of chopped tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
a few basil leaves, roughly chopped or chiffonaded, to garnish (optional)

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over a medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until browned on both sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain.

Keeping the pan over a medium heat, add the peppers, onions, salt, and pepper and cook for 10 minutes, until golden brown and softened. Add the oregano, basil, and garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the wine or water, tomatoes, and chili flakes, if using. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the browned bits. Bring to a simmer.

Cut the sausages into 1‑inch pieces. Add the sausage back to the pan and stir to combine. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Garnish with fresh basil and serve as desired (see note above).

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Elderflower Syrup
adapted from Darina Allen’s Ballymaloe Cookery Course by Darina Allen

Makes 2 cups (1 pint)

If you could bottle the essence of summertime, this would be it. Add this syrup to sparkling water or even a glass of champagne or Prosecco. Decant it into clean, sterilized bottles, or freeze the syrup in an ice cube tray. If you can’t find unwaxed lemons, lightly scrub them under warm water with a clean scrubbing brush before you zest them.

1 cup (200 g) superfine (caster) sugar
2 cups (1 pint) cold water
6 elderflower heads, in full bloom
zest and juice of 2 lemons, preferably organic and unwaxed

Put the sugar and water into a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the elderflowers and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and add the lemon zest and juice. Set aside to cool, then cover and leave to infuse for 24 hours. Strain and pour into sterilized, clean bottles. Dilute as desired.