Coastal Treats
Carrageen panna cotta
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
8g carrageen (this fills my semi-closed fist)
400ml double or regular cream
200ml milk
50g caster or granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla pod, slightly split
Fresh raspberries, and hulled and quartered strawberries, to serve
Method
Put a small plate in your freezer.
Place the carrageen in a bowl, cover with tepid water and soak for 10 minutes.
Drain, then put the carrageen in a saucepan with the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla pod (if using). Don't add the extract yet. Stir on a medium heat and bring to the boil, then cover, turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the heat.
Take the plate out of the freezer and place a small spoonful of the carrageen mixture on it, then pop it back in the freezer for 1 minute. Take out and run your finger through it – it should be set. If it is still runny, place the mixture back on the heat and cook for a further minute before testing again.
Pour the mixture through a sieve. Don't push the seaweed through the sieve, just the liquid that is clinging to it. Scrape the mixture from under the sieve and, using a whisk, mix it with the drained cream mixture and the vanilla extract (if using). Pour into bowls or glasses and place in the fridge to set.
Serve the panna cotta with some fresh raspberries or pieces of quartered strawberries – which have been scattered with sugar – on top.
West Cork paella
Serves 4-6 as a main course
Ingredients
200g prepared pork belly or streaky pork (all bones and rind removed), cut into 1 x 2cm pieces
1 tsp smoked paprika
Extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt
250g onions, peeled and chopped
4 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
150g chorizo, peeled if cured (soft, fresh chorizo doesn’t need peeling), halved lengthways and thinly sliced at an angle
350g paella rice (you can, at a push, use risotto rice)
200ml cider u 800-900ml hot chicken stock
200g monkfish, trimmed and cut into 1cm slices, or 200g scallops and their corals, trimmed
150g fresh or frozen peas u 150g or 2 medium peppers, roasted
2-3 tbsp chopped parsley
1 wedge of lemon per person
Method
First roast the peppers. Rub the skins with olive oil and place on a tray in an oven preheated to 230C. Cook for 35-40 minutes until the skin is blackened in patches and the flesh is soft inside (the peppers should be starting to collapse). Remove from the oven and place in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave for 10 minutes to steam (this will make the skins easier to remove). Next peel the peppers, discarding the skin and seeds.
Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/gas mark 4. Rub the pork with the smoked paprika and 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Put on a baking tray and roast for 20-25 minutes, turning the pieces over halfway through. While the pork is roasting, put 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the onion, garlic and chorizo in a wide, low-sided pan or paella pan. Cook on a medium heat until the onion is translucent and colouring at the edges.
Next, add the rice and cook, stirring gently, for a few minutes, to coat the grains with the oil in the pan. Pour in the cider, shake the pan and allow the rice to absorb the liquid. Add a quarter of the hot stock and allow to bubble and absorb. Add a further quarter of the liquid along with the cooked pork. When the second lot of stock is absorbed, test the rice – it should still have a bit of resistance at the core. Add the fish and a further quarter of the stock. When it is absorbed the rice should be nearly cooked with a very slight firmness in the centre.
Add the peas and roasted peppers and as much more of the stock as necessary to loosen the paella to a soft state. Give the pan a little shake, bring up to a bubble, then pop a lid on and cook for a couple of minutes (fresh peas will take a minute or two longer than frozen). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, sprinkle with the parsley, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the lemon wedges.
Roast cod with white bean and chorizo mash
Serves 4 as a main course
Ingredients
4 x 175g thick cod pieces, all bones removed, skin attached
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for oiling the fish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
240g dried cannellini beans (or other white beans), soaked in cold water, to cover, overnight, or 2 x 400g tins, strained (retain the liquid)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped 125g chorizo, peeled if cured, quartered lengthways and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed or finely grated
4 tbsp white wine or dry sherry
1 tbsp chopped parsley leaves
Lemon wedges and parsley sprigs, to serve
Method
Rub the cod with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and set aside. Drain the soaked beans and place in a saucepan. Cover with cold water, put on a high heat and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour until tender. Strain in a colander over a heatproof bowl, saving the cooking liquid. Return the beans to the pan (or put the strained tinned beans in the pan).
Preheat the oven to 220C/ 425F/gas mark 7. Place a heavy griddle pan or an ovenproof frying pan on a high heat and allow to get very hot, almost smoking. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, warm the olive oil, then add the rosemary, chorizo and garlic and cook gently until softened, but don’t brown. Mash the beans and season. Add the wine or sherry and a few tablespoons of the reserved bean cooking liquid (or liquid from the tins) to create a soft mash. Pour off some of the chorizo oil and save. Add the parsley and the contents of the chorizo pan to the mash, mix and heat through.
Cook the cod, skin side up, on the preheated griddle or frying pan on a high heat for 3-5 minutes until golden underneath, then turn the fish over and pop it into the oven for a further 4-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. You want the cod to be glistening and flaky inside but not dry.
Place a good dollop of the bean mash on each plate, top with a fish fillet and drizzle with some of the reserved chorizo oil. Serve with a leafy green salad.
Coast: Recipes Inspired By Ireland's Wild Atlantic Coast, by Rachel Allen, with photography by Maja Smend, is published by HarperCollins, priced £25.