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Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Seafood Made Simple: This anchovy pizza recipe is a fabulous balance of sweet and salty
A recent trip to the Basque city of Bilbao served me very well. My non negotiables for travel secured good food, great company and a return flight out of Cork Airport. It was the perfect spot to catch a quick break before the summer madness begins. Basque cuisine is a delight. We sampled classic dishes like wild mushrooms with egg yolk, plates of jamón ibérico and kokotxas, a simple fish dish of the gelatinous throat of hake, a real delicacy in northern Spain. Bilbao is well known for its pintxos bars, great places to have a cold glass of something and enjoy a couple of light bites. Thick slices of tortilla, Manchego cheese, and my all-time favourite bar snack, the gilda, were very much enjoyed. The first gilda originated a couple of hours from Bilbao in San Sebastian. The classic composition includes salted anchovies, green olives and pickled guindilla peppers, all assembled on a cocktail stilck. My version always includes a little cornichon or two for an extra hit of vinegar. The Cantabrian anchovies you'll enjoy in Bilbao are caught nearby in the Bay of Biscay, a well-managed fishery that has prioritised the preservation of the species as well as the technique of canning seafood. Anchovies here are considered some of the best in the world and it would be unusual to eat in a restaurant in this region that does not have a signature dish honouring this flavourful species. The best we encountered was a kimchi-brined and butterflied plump anchovy perched on top of toasted bread with tomato. This weekend's recipe makes excellent use of those Cantabrian anchovies. Although hailing from Nice in the south of France instead of Spain, this pissaladiére is a fabulous balance of sweet and salty with caramelised onions, umami rich anchovies and briny olives. Pissaladiére recipe by:Aishling Moore This pissaladiére is a fabulous balance of sweet and salty Servings 4 Preparation Time 15 mins Cooking Time 60 mins Total Time 1 hours 15 mins Course Main Ingredients 1x 320g sheet of all-butter puff pastry 3 tbsp golden rapeseed oil 25g butter 850g white onion, finely sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 sprigs thyme (1 sprig reserved for baking) 16 anchovy fillets 12 black pitted olives Freshly cracked black pepper 1 egg yolk Method Begin by making the caramelised onion base. Heat a heavy, medium-sized saucepan or Dutch oven on low heat. Add the rapeseed oil and butter to the pot. Once the butter has melted add the onions and stir well to coat. Season with fine sea salt and add the sprigs of thyme and minced garlic to the pot. Cook gently for 25-30 minutes, stirring often to prevent thebottom of the pan catching and the onions burning. If the bottom of the pan begins to catch, add a splash of water to deglaze the base of the pan. Once the sugars in the onions have caramelised and a jammy chutney consistency is achieved, remove from the heat, discard the thyme sprigs and pass the cooked onions through a strainer toremove the excess oil and butter. Set aside and allow to cool. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly dust a large baking sheet tray with flour. Place one sheet of puff pastry on the baking sheet. Using a small, sharp knife make a slight incision in the puff pastry 2cm from the edge of the pastry. Continue this line all around the sheet's edges to create a border. Place the now cooled caramelised onions onto the pastry and spread to cover inside of the border of the pastry sheet. Lay the anchovies across the caramelised onions diagonally to create a lattice. Place the olives across making sure each slice, when cut, will have one olive. Scatter over some picked thyme leaves and season generously with some freshly cracked black pepper. Lightly brush the outside border of the pastry with egg yolk and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before slicing and serving. Fish Tales Be sure to weigh onions after peeling and slicing, not before. Every gram counts when cooking down to a jam-like consistency. The onions can be caramelised a day or two before and stored in the refrigerator, ready to assemble if you'd like to get ahead. Avoid the temptation of turning up the heat when cooking the onions to speed things up; caramelisation needs to happen slowly. Seasoning the onions at the beginning of cooking is essential to draw out the water in them. Cut the pissaladiére into smaller slices and serve as a canapé. It is great for picnics too and fantastic served with a simply-dressed green salad. Reserve the olive oil remaining from the anchovies, transfer to a small glass jar and keep refrigerated. Use to dress grilled or roasted vegetables or fish, in pasta sauces or salad dressings.
Irish Examiner
24-05-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Seafood Made Simple: My chilli oil recipe is perfect for salads, rice and these steamed mussels
Fermented hot sauces, crispy chilli oils and hot honeys have become staple condiments within the Irish pantry. The emergence of Lao Gan Ma into the European market was the catalyst for this demand of chilli flavoured oils. I came across Lao Gan Ma for the first time in 2019, during lockdown, having a little more time on my hands to browse the shelves in the Asian supermarket. It's the original crispy chilli oil, utterly addictive with crunchy fried chillies and MSG. Tao Huabi opened a noodle shop in the 1990s in Guizhou, China where she served a crisp chilli oil. It became so popular that customers were coming to the restaurant just to buy this sauce and in 1996 the first factory producing Lao Gan Ma was established. The range has expanded with a variety of ingredients added to this base sauce. You'll find Lao Gan Ma with mushrooms, fermented soya beans, peanuts and even a kohlrabi, peanut and tofu version. I take immense pleasure in making store cupboard essentials like this myself. They make for fantastic gifts and there is something so satisfying about having a jar of deliciousness like this on your shelf that you've made yourself. So, I'm sharing a very simple chilli oil recipe, served here with a bowl of Shaoxing wine steamed mussels that you can have a go at making yourself. I'll use this in salad dressings, over rice and noodle dishes and in dipping sauces. It's excellent with eggs and equally brilliant over steamed fish and vegetables. Shaoxing wine is key for this bowl of brothy mussels. A fermented rice wine widely used in Chinese cookery it adds a wonderful aromatic and savoury flavour to dishes. You'll find it along with black rice vinegar and Korean chilli flakes at your local Asian supermarket. Shaoxing steamed mussels with chilli oil recipe by:Aishling Moore I use this chilli oil in salad dressings, over rice and noodle dishes and in dipping sauces. It's excellent with eggs and equally brilliant over steamed fish and vegetables. Servings 4 Preparation Time 10 mins Cooking Time 20 mins Total Time 30 mins Course Main Ingredients For the mussels 1kg mussels 2 tbsp rapeseed oil 6 cloves of garlic, finely sliced 1 thumb of ginger, finely sliced 200ml Shaoxing wine 1 bunch of scallions chopped, to garnish For the chilli oil 500ml vegetable oil 60g gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes) 4 cloves garlic, smashed 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger sliced 2 star anise 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 cinnamon stick 2 bay leaves 2 tbsp black rice vinegar Method To make the chilli oil, heat a heavy-based saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and bring to 80°C.. Add the ginger and garlic to the oil and cook for eight to 10 minutes until they begin to turn golden brown. Add the star anise, coriander seeds, cinnamon stick and bay leaves and cook for a further four minutes until fragrant. Place the chilli flakes in a large heatproof bowl Pass the oil through a heatproof stainer and add to the bowl of chilli flakes. Discard the ginger, garlic, bay leaf, and spices. Carefully add the vinegar to the chilli oil and allow to stand before storing in a sterile jar. For the mussels. fill a large bowl with water and add the mussels to the water. Using a small paring knife remove any barnacles from the shells and the beard of the mussel. The beard is what the mussel uses to attach itself to the surface of which it grows. Rinse the cleaned mussels in a colander and refrigerate until just before cooking. Heat a heavy-based large pot on medium high heat. Cook the sliced garlic and ginger in the rapeseed oil for one to two minutes. Keep them moving to avoid burning. Add the mussels to the pot and immediately follow by adding the Shaoxing wine. Place a tight-fitting lid on the pot. Give the pot a little shake and leave to cook covered for three minutes. Remove the lid. All the mussels should be cooked and open at this stage. Discard any that haven't opened. Add a couple of tablespoons of chilli oil and the chopped scallions and serve. Fish Tales Mussels should only be cooked when alive, so discard any that have cracked shells or do not close when tapped. They should smell fresh and of the seaside. It's very important when seasoning shellfish dishes to taste before you add any salt. Mussels are naturally high in salt. A temperature probe is key for making chilli oil to ensure accuracy and prevent the spices from burning. Use a pot large enough to fill only halfway when heating large amounts of oil. Make sure to use a flavourless high smoke point oil for this recipe. Korean chilli flakes are great for this oil as they are not aggressively hot in flavour. This oil will keep for weeks in the fridge. Read More Seafood Made Simple: These home baked beans go well with any piece of fish
Irish Examiner
03-05-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Seafood Made Simple: Why this vegetable should be the focal point of your dish
Asparagus is one of those vegetables that I believe should always be the focal point of a plate of food – a tender spear, both nutty and sweet in flavour with a welcome undertone of bitterness. They're the most elegant perennial vegetable; the short season where Irish-grown asparagus is available is now. I picked up a couple of Gort na Nain asparagus bunches at My Goodness stall in The English Market. These spears are grown just outside the maritime town of Kinsale, Co Cork. The opportunities for a veg-led dish with asparagus are endless. I tend to head in the direction of eggs. Fabulous with poached eggs and hollandaise for breakfast or, for my ultimate post-service snack, asparagus soldiers with a perfect soft-boiled egg and thick-cut slices of buttered sourdough toast. A gribiche sauce of diced hard-boiled eggs, herbs and mustard is also an excellent accompaniment. They are wonderful too as the star of a risotto, in pasta dishes and soups. For a vegetable with such presence on the plate and in the garden, I've chosen a flavour-packed anchovy mayonnaise to go along with it. It's something the asparagus can more than stand up to. I've used my go-to Cantabrian anchovies from the well-managed fishery in the Bay of Biscay to make this sauce. If you're an anchovy aficionado like me, add an extra couple of slivers to garnish and for that extra bang of oceanic umami. An emulsion-based sauce like this can requires patience more than skill. Once you've mastered this technique you can unlock a whole host of sauces. Flavour the base with vinegars instead of citrus, mustard instead of anchovies, add herbs and spices. Use leftovers in sandwiches; this mayonnaise is also great with a roast chicken, spuds and any roasted green vegetable. Asparagus with Anchovy Mayonnaise & Fried Bread recipe by:Aishling Moore If you're an anchovy aficionado like me, add an extra couple of slivers to garnish and for that extra bang of oceanic umami. Servings 4 Preparation Time 10 mins Cooking Time 10 mins Total Time 20 mins Course Starter Ingredients For the asparagus 2 x bunches of asparagus 1 tbsp golden rapeseed oil Juice of ½ a lemon Sea salt For the fried bread 2x thick-cut slices of sourdough bread 2 tb rapeseed oil For the anchovy mayonnaise (Makes 600ml) 2 cloves of garlic minced 6 anchovies 3 egg yolks Juice of 2 lemons (zest of 1) 500ml rapeseed oil Freshly cracked black pepper Method To make the anchovy mayonnaise: Finely chop the anchovies until a fine paste has formed. Add the minced garlic and combine. Next, add the egg yolks, lemon zest and juice to a very clean mixing bowl. Whisk well. Add the anchovy and minced garlic paste. Using a measuring jug, slowly add the rapeseed oil, drop-by-drop, whisking each time until the mixture is fully combined before adding the next drop. As you slowly add more of the oil, the emulsion will become stronger, and you'll be able to add more oil. Once all of the oil is added and you have a thick, homogenous sauce, the mayonnaise is now ready to adjust its seasoning. Add more lemon juice and salt if needed. Finish with some freshly cracked black pepper. Refrigerate until serving. For the fried bread: Remove the crusts of the bread and dice into bite-sized cubes. Heat a large heavy-based frying pan on medium heat. Cook the cubes of bread in the rapeseed oil, stirring regularly until golden brown. Remove from the heat and drain on kitchen paper. For the asparagus: Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus. Bring a medium pot of water to the boil. Season with lots of sea salt and cook the asparagus for 2-2½ minutes until tender and vibrant green in colour. Remove from the pot and drain well. Place on a baking sheet or large plate and drizzle with the golden rapeseed oil and the juice of half a lemon. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with the anchovy mayonnaise and fried bread. Fish tales I love making emulsions in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment as you have so much more control and far less chance of splitting the sauce. Alternatively, you can use a handheld electric whisk with a mixing bowl propped onto a tea towel. You can use a food processor to blend the anchovies into a fine paste. The anchovy mayonnaise will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. Reserve the leftover oil from the anchovy tin to use in pasta sauces and salad dressing. I've used sourdough bread here, but you could use any yeasted bread. Fresh focaccia is also great for this recipe. Read More Seafood Made Simple: Tinned sardines are a great way to eat more fish — here's a tasty recipe
