Like mother used to make
It started as a food blog: What Katie Ate detailed the kitchen life of Dublin-born photographer Katie Quinn Davies and became an internet hit. Thousands logged on to see what she was cooking up, seduced by her award-winning photography and delicioussounding, and looking, recipes.
Quinn Davies began her career as a food stylist and photographer after her mother died, so this book is something of a memorial, too. As she notes in the Introduction, her cooking style owes much to her mother who was ‘an incredible baker and fantastic at catering for large gatherings’. Her own food, she says, is ‘simple and seasonal. I’m not a trained chef by any means, just someone who loves the rituals of cooking and the pleasure it gives people.’
Quinn Davies and her husband have now moved to Sydney, so her Irish-inspired food has been given an extra Aussie twist – especially when it comes to salads, such as pumpkin seed and watercress salad, pearl barley salad with harissa chicken, or wild rice, mint and chickpea salad. Mum’s chocolate meringues, slowcooked red cabbage with apples, and fettuccine with prawns, give a good idea of the book’s simple, homegrown style.
What Katie Ate, words and photography by Katie Quinn Davies, is published by Collins, priced £25.
Makes 12
Preheat the oven to 140C (fan)/ 160C/gas mark 2½ and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Place cream of tartar, cornfl our, coffee powder, cocoa powder and chocolate into a small bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
Wipe inside of the bowl of an electric mixer with the cut side of the lemon to remove traces of oil. Add the egg whites and beat on medium speed until soft and frothy and just starting to hold soft peaks.
Turn up the speed to mediumhigh and gradually add the caster sugar, beating just until the mixture turns thick and super-glossy and holds stiff peaks. Add the dry ingredients and the vinegar, then gently fold together using a large metal spoon (don’t overwork; five or six folds should do).
Take dessert spoonfuls of the mixture and drop on to the prepared trays. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until the bases of the meringues are fi rm. Turn off the oven but leave meringues inside to cool (use a wooden-spoon handle to keep the door ajar, if you wish). Serve dusted with cocoa, with freshly whipped cream alongside.
Serves 6–8
For the mashed potato
For the white sauce
For the bacon and leek topping
Preheat the oven to 180C (fan)/ 200C/gas mark 6. For the mashed potato, half-fill a large saucepan with cold water and add the potatoes and salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are just cooked through. Drain, add the butter, milk, cream and salt and pepper to taste. Mash well and set aside.
Meanwhile, cook the fi sh. Place milk, peppercorns and bay leaves in a large, wide saucepan, bring to simmering point, then simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the fish fillets and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes. Using a spoon, skim off any skin that may have formed on the milk. Remove fish with a slotted spoon (reserving milk mixture) and transfer to a chopping board. When fish is cool enough to handle, flake into a bowl, season with pepper and a small pinch of salt and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the onion and a pinch of salt; cook over a low heat for 5 minutes until softened. Add the leek, celery, spring onions and cook for 5-6 minutes over a low heat or until the vegetables have softened. Transfer the mixture to a 1.5 litre baking dish and spread out evenly. Scatter flaked fish over the top.
For the white sauce, strain the reserved milk mixture through a sieve into a small saucepan. Add the cream, herbs, lemon zest, nutmeg and butter. Season. Cook over a low heat, stirring until the butter melts, then pour the sauce evenly over the fish in the baking dish.
Take a piping bag fitted with a 2cm nozzle and fill with the mash. Pipe over the pie filling (or, spoon the mash evenly over the filling and rough up the surface with a fork). Dot with a few knobs of butter, transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
For the bacon and leek topping, pour the oil into a small, heavybased saucepan to a depth of 2.5cm and heat over a medium heat. Add leek, spring onions and capers. Fry for 5 mins to crisp up. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Reheat the oil, add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
Remove the pie from the oven after 45 mins and sprinkle over the crispy topping. Return to the oven for another 2-3 mins. Serve with a scattering of snipped chives and some lemon wedges.
Quinn Davies began her career as a food stylist and photographer after her mother died, so this book is something of a memorial, too. As she notes in the Introduction, her cooking style owes much to her mother who was ‘an incredible baker and fantastic at catering for large gatherings’. Her own food, she says, is ‘simple and seasonal. I’m not a trained chef by any means, just someone who loves the rituals of cooking and the pleasure it gives people.’
Quinn Davies and her husband have now moved to Sydney, so her Irish-inspired food has been given an extra Aussie twist – especially when it comes to salads, such as pumpkin seed and watercress salad, pearl barley salad with harissa chicken, or wild rice, mint and chickpea salad. Mum’s chocolate meringues, slowcooked red cabbage with apples, and fettuccine with prawns, give a good idea of the book’s simple, homegrown style.
What Katie Ate, words and photography by Katie Quinn Davies, is published by Collins, priced £25.
MUM’S CHOCOLATE MERINGUES
Makes 12
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp cornfl our
- 1 tbsp espresso coffee powder
- 1 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
- 100g good-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
- ½ lemon
- 6 free-range egg whites, at room temperature
- 300g caster sugar
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- Whipped cream, to serve
Preheat the oven to 140C (fan)/ 160C/gas mark 2½ and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Place cream of tartar, cornfl our, coffee powder, cocoa powder and chocolate into a small bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
Wipe inside of the bowl of an electric mixer with the cut side of the lemon to remove traces of oil. Add the egg whites and beat on medium speed until soft and frothy and just starting to hold soft peaks.
Turn up the speed to mediumhigh and gradually add the caster sugar, beating just until the mixture turns thick and super-glossy and holds stiff peaks. Add the dry ingredients and the vinegar, then gently fold together using a large metal spoon (don’t overwork; five or six folds should do).
Take dessert spoonfuls of the mixture and drop on to the prepared trays. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until the bases of the meringues are fi rm. Turn off the oven but leave meringues inside to cool (use a wooden-spoon handle to keep the door ajar, if you wish). Serve dusted with cocoa, with freshly whipped cream alongside.
FISH PIE WITH CRUNCHY BACON AND LEEK TOPPING (pictured top)
Serves 6–8
- 500ml milk
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 800g fi rm white fish fillets, skin and bones removed
- 250g smoked haddock fillets, skin and bones removed
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 brown onion, diced
- 1 large leek, white part only, trimmed, washed, thinly sliced
- 2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
- 3 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
- Few knobs of butter, at room temperature
- Snipped chives and lemon wedges
For the mashed potato
- 6-8 large, floury potatoes, cut into large chunk
- 1 tsp fine salt
- Large knob of butter
- 3 tbsp milk
- 3 tbsp cream
- Sea salt and ground white pepper
For the white sauce
- 300ml cream
- 1 tsp finely chopped, flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tsp finely chopped dill
- 1 tsp finely chopped tarragon
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 20g butter
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the bacon and leek topping
- Rapeseed or vegetable oil, for pan-frying
- 1 small leek, white part only, trimmed, washed, thinly sliced
- 2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed
- 6 rashers free-range bacon, fat and rind removed, finely diced
Preheat the oven to 180C (fan)/ 200C/gas mark 6. For the mashed potato, half-fill a large saucepan with cold water and add the potatoes and salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are just cooked through. Drain, add the butter, milk, cream and salt and pepper to taste. Mash well and set aside.
Meanwhile, cook the fi sh. Place milk, peppercorns and bay leaves in a large, wide saucepan, bring to simmering point, then simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the fish fillets and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes. Using a spoon, skim off any skin that may have formed on the milk. Remove fish with a slotted spoon (reserving milk mixture) and transfer to a chopping board. When fish is cool enough to handle, flake into a bowl, season with pepper and a small pinch of salt and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the onion and a pinch of salt; cook over a low heat for 5 minutes until softened. Add the leek, celery, spring onions and cook for 5-6 minutes over a low heat or until the vegetables have softened. Transfer the mixture to a 1.5 litre baking dish and spread out evenly. Scatter flaked fish over the top.
For the white sauce, strain the reserved milk mixture through a sieve into a small saucepan. Add the cream, herbs, lemon zest, nutmeg and butter. Season. Cook over a low heat, stirring until the butter melts, then pour the sauce evenly over the fish in the baking dish.
Take a piping bag fitted with a 2cm nozzle and fill with the mash. Pipe over the pie filling (or, spoon the mash evenly over the filling and rough up the surface with a fork). Dot with a few knobs of butter, transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
For the bacon and leek topping, pour the oil into a small, heavybased saucepan to a depth of 2.5cm and heat over a medium heat. Add leek, spring onions and capers. Fry for 5 mins to crisp up. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Reheat the oil, add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil.
Remove the pie from the oven after 45 mins and sprinkle over the crispy topping. Return to the oven for another 2-3 mins. Serve with a scattering of snipped chives and some lemon wedges.