Donal Skehan's relaxed summer cooking — no-knead red onion focaccia, prawn pil pil pasta and strawberries & elderflower cream pavlova

Irish Independent

20 hours ago

Relaxed, summery cooking that suits our little corner of the world perfectly.
Start with a no-knead red onion focaccia. A garlicky olive oil drizzle seeps into the indentations, while sweet red onions caramelise and rosemary gets crisp and golden in the oven. It's great as a side, but also excellent as the main event with a few salads and cheeses.
Next, a no-fuss prawn pil pil pasta, which is quick, punchy, and just a bit indulgent. You get that sizzling garlic and chilli oil base, fresh cherry tomatoes that burst in the pan, and prawns that take minutes to cook.
Toss it all with al dente linguine, a shower of parsley and peppery rocket, and you've got a dish that tastes like it was made to be eaten outdoors with a fork in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.
It's peak Irish summer on a plate — crisp, chewy meringue layered with soft elderflower cream and macerated strawberries
And to finish, a perfect strawberries & elderflower cream pavlova. It's peak Irish summer on a plate — crisp, chewy meringue layered with soft elderflower cream and macerated strawberries.
A few mint leaves and a scattering of elderflowers, if you can find them, and suddenly dessert feels like a bit of a showstopper. It's the kind of sweet treat that looks impressive but feels easy.
So if you are embracing Irish summer while it lasts — this means picnic blankets on the grass, long lunches that drift into the evening, and food that celebrates the season without making you miss a second of it. Rain jackets… on standby.
No-Knead Red Onion Focaccia
Time: 1 hour 15 plus proofing time Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
For the dough:
1x 7g sachet dried yeast
1 tbsp caster sugar
600ml warm water
650g plain flour
1 tbsp sea salt flakes
6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided,
plus more for hands and drizzling
2-4 garlic cloves
2 red onions, thinly sliced
A few rosemary sprigs
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
​Method
1. Mix the dried yeast, caster sugar and warm water together in a large bowl. Whisk, then leave for 15 minutes, until a foam forms.
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2. Add the flour and salt flakes to this and stir to combine with a wooden spoon until you have a rough but evenly mixed dough.
3. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil to a separate large clean bowl, then transfer the dough into this. Turn to coat the dough in the oil and cover and leave in the fridge overnight to rise (alternatively, leave covered at room temperature for 4 hours to bake the same day).
4. When the dough has risen, lightly coat your hands with oil then pull up the edge of one side of the dough and fold over the top. Repeat this on all four sides, turning the bowl a quarter turn each time to make this easier. Do this folding process three times in total.
5. Now, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil to the prepared tin and tip in the dough, spreading it out with your hands to roughly the size of the tin — don't worry if it doesn't fill the tin entirely, it will rise into the space. Leave to rise for at least an hour, uncovered.
6. While this is rising, bash the garlic cloves in a pestle and mortar with a little salt, until a paste forms; slowly drizzle in extra-virgin olive oil, until combined.
7. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7 and butter a 13 x 9 inch baking tray. Drizzle the buttered tray with a little extra-virgin olive oil and add a sprinkle of salt. The tray should be at least an inch in depth.
8. After an hour, oil your hands again, and then, to create the indentations, spread apart your fingers and press into the dough, reaching the base of the tray.
9. Spread the garlic paste on top of the focaccia, pushing it down into the indentations, then add the red onion slices and rosemary sprigs, along with a little more sea salt.
10. Place in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, ,until golden. Leave to cool for at least 10 minutes then slide a thin spatula underneath and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Prawn Pil Pil Pasta
Ingredients
350g linguine
100ml extra-virgin olive oil
150g cherry tomatoes
3 fat garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
A generous pinch of chilli flakes
500g raw king prawns, peeled
75g rocket leaves
Handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Squeeze of lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta for 10-12 minutes, until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat and add the tomatoes. Cook gently until they start to burst, then add the garlic, paprika and chilli flakes and cook for a couple of minutes more.
3. Add the prawns, increase the heat and fry until they are pink all over. Season well with salt and pepper.
4. Drain the pasta, saving a splash of cooking water. Tip the pasta and reserved cooking water into the pan with the prawns. Toss well with the rocket leaves and parsley, squeeze over some lemon juice and serve.
Strawberries & Elderflower Cream Pavlova
Ingredients
375g icing sugar
6 egg whites
3 tsp cornflour
1 ½ tsp white wine vinegar
For the filling:
400g strawberries
Zest of 1 lemon
5 tbsp elderflower cordial
300ml double cream
1 tbsp icing sugar
A few mint leaves, to serve
Elderflowers, to serve, optional
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/300F/Gas Mark 2. Line two baking trays with baking parchment.
2. To make the meringue, place the icing sugar and egg whites in a stand mixer and whisk on high for 10 minutes until glossy, stiff white peaks form — you can do this with an electric whisk too, it may just take a little longer, depending on the power of your whisk.
3. Using a spatula, gently fold in the cornflour and the white wine vinegar until incorporated. Divide the mixture between the two baking trays and form two large meringue discs, creating soft peaks and swirls with the back of a spoon as you go.
4. Transfer to the oven to bake for 45-50 minutes then turn off the oven and allow to cool completely with the oven door set slightly ajar.
5. Whilst the pavlova cools, dice most of the strawberries, reserving a few for decoration later, and place into a bowl. Add the lemon zest and two tablespoons of elderflower cordial and stir to coat the strawberries. Set aside to macerate.
6. When ready to serve, place the cream and icing sugar in a large bowl and whisk to soft peaks then add the remaining three tablespoons elderflower cordial and whisk again lightly to combine.
7. To assemble, place a cooled meringue disc on a serving plate, securing with a teaspoon of the cream mixture. Top with half of the cream mixture and half of the strawberries then place the second meringue disc on top and top with the remaining cream and strawberries.
8. Slice the reserved strawberries into quarters and use to decorate along with some mint leaves and elderflowers, if you can find them, for the perfect summer dessert.