National Dairy Council with Phelim at The Ploughing Championships

The line up..........

Cooking with kids

Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake

Shiver Me Timbers Chicken Dippers (yogurt dip, salad and sweet potato wedges)

Cooking on a budget

Mixed bean, chickpea and vegetable cheats ‘Madras’ Curry

Phelim’s Simple White Fish crumble Bake

Warming colcannon soup with smoky bacon bits, nutty brown bread muffins

Impress your guests

Fresh egg pasta with a citrus dill and fresh Irish Crab sauce  

Warm fresh seafood and spring onion potato cakes, wholegrain mustard hollandaise, light salad

 

 

Breezy brunch

Apricot, dried plum and oatmeal muffins with a mango shake

Apple & Cinnamon pancakes

 

Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake

Serves 4

100g wholemeal pasta

50g of frozen peas

80g of mixed vegetables e.g. blanched brocolli, sweet corn, mixed peppers etc

300ml white sauce (method below)

75g grated cheddar

Seasoning to taste

2 x 160g cooked chicken fillets

• Cook the pasta first in boiling water for 10 minutes
• In a bowl mix up your favourite veggies and tear up or chop the skinless, cooked, chicken fillets and add them to the bowl
• Add the grated cheddar
• Now mix in the sauce and stir well
• Add the pasta and then when its all mixed up pop it into a suitable dish, like a lasagne dish and its ready for the oven
• Place in the preheated oven at 180c/Gas 5 for 45 minutes or until bubbling hot!

 

White sauce:

300ml milk

            15g flour

15g butter

Salt, pepper and nutmeg to season

 

• Melt the butter in a saucepan
• Stir in the flour which now forms a roux, continue to stir over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes
• Slowly add in the milk, whilst continually stirring until it is all incorporated and you have a smooth glossy sauce
• Cook the sauce for 3-4 minutes and then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to serve.

 

Shiver Me Timbers Chicken Dippers

Serves 4

In this recipe we’re going to show you how to make your own chicken dippers & fish fingers

3 x 120g Skinless chicken fillets or 400g of white fish (Cod, Haddock, and Pollock)

70g plain white flour

1 egg beaten

25ml milk

70g fresh breadcrumbs

½ tsp of Cajun spice

• Here we crumb the chicken or fish in a three step process – 1^st Flour  2^nd Egg   3^rd Breadcrumbs
• Set up your bowls in a line (left to right) first the bowl with the fish or chicken cut into nice strips, second a bowl with the flour, third a bowl with the egg and milk mixed together and fourth a bowl with the breadcrumb and Cajun spice mixed together, then all you need is a clean plate or tray to be ready to place the food on, now your ready to start! Its easier to have a team together doing this but you can wash your hands between each stage and do it yourself
• Place the meat/fish one piece at a time into the flour, coating it all
• Shake away the excess flour and place it into the egg mix, again making sure that it is well coated, remove excess egg mixture and finally pop it into the breadcrumb mixture.
• When fully coated we place them on the clean plate or tray and then they are ready to cook
• To cook; drizzle a little oil onto your tray and place the freshly crumbed goujons on top, if using chicken they will cook at 180c /Gas 5 in about 20 mins or the fish will take about 15 mins

We serve them with a little yogurt dip:

125ml of yogurt

2 tsp of honey

1 tsp of poppy seeds

• Place these three ingredients into a bowl and mix together.This is also a lovely dip with fruit or melon

Also a nice accompaniment would be a light salad and some oven sweet potato wedges

To prepare the sweet potato wedges:

2 medium sweet potatoes

2 tsp of sunflower oil

A dusting of Cajun spice mix

• Wash and cut the sweet potatoes, leaving the skin on, into nice chunky chips or wedges, then place in a bowl and mix in your oil and cajun spice
• Place them on a tray into a preheated oven at 180c/Gas 5 for about 30 minutes or until sweet and tender

 

 

Mixed bean, chickpea and vegetable cheats ‘Madras’ Curry

Serves 4

Cost €3.20 per serving with brown rice

 

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas

1 x 400g tin of mixed beans (butter beans, kidney beans etc)

2 onions, chopped

1 carrot, diced

350g fresh light vegetables (peppers, spinach, corn, peas)

600ml of natural yogurt

3 tbsp of madras curry paste

 

• In a little oil in a pan fry off the onion and carrot until golden in colour for 3-4 mins over a medium heat
• Add the curry paste and mix well for 1 minute
• Now add the  yogurt and stir well, while heating gently
•  Add the washed off chickpeas and mixed beans
• Now add the fresh vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes until lightly cooked but still crispy
• Serve with some braised brown rice

 

Phelim’s Simple White Fish crumble Bake

Serves 4

Costs €2.40per person

  400g fresh Pollock fillets

 400ml of white sauce (method below)

90g grated cheddar

1 heaped tsp of wholegrain mustard

Juice of half a lemon 

Seasoning

For the crumble topping:

45g butter

120g white fresh breadcrumbs

50g fresh parsley or chive

Zest of 2 lemons

• Mix the white sauce with the cheddar, mustard, lemon juice and seasoning
• Mix into the fish
• Place the fish in a suitable sized dish
• Blend breadcrumbs, lemon zest, herbs and salt and pepper in a food processor to allow the colour and flavour of the herbs to be mixed well throughout
• Now pop in the butter and pulse to create a slightly crumbly breadcrumb mixture that is full of flavour and colour
• Pour this over the top of the pie and then gently spread the mixture all over the top evenly
• Place in a preheated oven at 190c/Gas 6 for about 40-50  minutes or until cooked through

White sauce:

400ml milk

20g flour

            20g butter

Salt, pepper and nutmeg to season

 

• Melt the butter in a saucepan
• Stir in the flour which now forms a roux, continue to stir over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes
• Slowly add in the milk, whilst continually stirring until it is all incorporated and you have a smooth glossy sauce
• Cook the sauce for 3-4 minutes and then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to serve.

 

Fresh egg pasta with a citrus dill and fresh Irish Crab sauce

Serves 4

200g of fresh egg pasta (shop bought)

Juice and zest of ½ a lemon & ½ a lime

2 tsp of chopped dill

1 tsp of sweet mustard

Seasoning

100ml fresh cream

70ml of natural yogurt

3 diced shallots

15g butter

• In a pan of boiling salted water cook the pasta as directed
• In a pan melt the butter and gently cook the shallots, without browning until soft. Season lightly
• Now add the cream and yogurt and mix well bringing to the boil
• Add the lemon and lime juice and jest, the mustard and the dill
• Now add in your fresh crab (you can replace the crab with 150g of smoked salmon chopped up) and heat thoroughly
• Season to taste
• Pop in the fresh pasta and stir to coat all the pasta before serving in warm bowls!

 

Warm fresh seafood and spring onion potato cakes, wholegrain mustard hollandaise, light salad

10 starters or 4 main courses

 

600g cooked potato, mashed

250g chopped smoked salmon, cooked prawns and crab mixed

4 spring onions

1 tbsp of fresh dill

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp of plain flour or more

2 egg yolks

Extra flour for dusting

 

Hollandaise Sauce (Enough for 26 starters or 8-10 main courses)

2 egg yolks

180g butter, melted

15 ml white wine

15 ml white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

Lemon juice to taste if required

Fresh herbs if desired

 

Zest and juice of 3 limes

12 pieces of sundried tomatoes in oil

 

• To prepare the potato cakes place the cooked and cooled mashed potato into a bowl, to this add the chopped smoked salmon, the cooked chopped prawns or use shrimp, and the fresh crab, chopped spring onion and the fresh dill
• Combine these ingredients with the seasoning
• Now to make the mixture a little dryer and easier to handle add the flour and the egg yolks and mix well
• Lightly dust your work surface and place the potato cake mixture onto it
• With the aid of excess flour shape into little potato cakes using your hands about 2 inches thick and 3 inches in diameter then place onto a lightly floured tray or a clean plate
• Shallow fry in a small amount of hot oil to colour then place in a preheated hot oven at 180c /Gas 5 to cook for 5-6 minutes

 

• Prepare the hollandaise as detailed below then place into a food processor Add the lime juice and jest and the sundried tomatoes, then blend until flavoursome and smooth

 

 

For the hollandaise:

• Boil a large pan of water, and then reduce to a simmer. Using a large balloon whisk, beat together the yolks and wine vinegar and wine in a heatproof bowl that fits snugly over the pan.
• Beat vigorously until the mixture forms foam, but make sure that it doesn't get too hot. To prevent the sauce from overheating, take it on and off the heat while you whisk, scraping around the sides with a plastic spatula. The aim is to achieve a golden, airy foam (called a sabayon), which forms ribbons when the whisk is lifted.
• Whisk in a small ladle of the warmed butter, a little at a time, and then return the bowl over a gentle heat to cook a little more. Remove from the heat again and whisk in another ladle of butter. Repeat until all the butter is incorporated and you have a texture as thick as mayonnaise. Finally, whisk in lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste plus a little warm water from the pan if the mixture is too thick.

 

 

Apricot, dried plum and oatmeal muffins with a mango shake

Makes 6

50g dried apricots

50g prunes

25g walnuts

70g plain flour

70g wholemeal flour

½ tbsp of baking powder

Salt

1 egg

40g caster sugar

125ml milk

50g melted butter

A drop of vanilla essence

A pinch of ground cinnamon

2 tbsp of oatmeal

• Sift the salt, flour, wholemeal flour and baking powder together twice, tipping the extra wholemeal into the mix at the end
• Mix the butter, milk, and egg together and mix well
• Now add the fruit, walnuts, vanilla and cinnamon to the milk mix and stir well
• Sprinkle in the flour mix and quickly blend the mix; do not over mix at this stage
• Pop into little buttered muffin tins and sprinkle the oatmeal over the tops
• Bake at 180c/Gas 5 for about 25 mins or until cooked
• Meanwhile prepare your smoothie

Serves 2

200g fresh mango

5-6 ice cubes

1 tbsp of honey

250ml natural yoghurt

150ml low fat milk

• Blend until the ingredients in a smoothie maker until ingredients are smooth, add honey to taste!

Phelim’s  Apple & Cinnamon pancakes

Makes 6 brunches

 

250 g flour, plain  

1 tbsp of caster sugar 

300ml buttermilk  

1 egg

2 apples peeled and diced

1/3 tsp of cinnamon

 

Method  

• Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl to achieve a smooth slightly thick batter with pieces of apple
• In a frying pan heat a little oil
• Fry a spoonful at a time to resemble little blinis
• Turn over as per a mini pancake
• Remove from the pan and pat dry with a little kitchen paper
• For a treat serve drizzled with a little honey or maple syrup and a little spoon of fresh cream