Spicy Grilled Beef Salad (Yam Neua Yang) – and the credit goes to...

Pin It

In some Asian cultures, the person who selects the ingredients gets half the credit for the meal - and rightly so. A great cook can make a half-decent meal out of miserable ingredients.  Great ingredients can make a half-decent cook out of anyone.

Spicy grilled beef salad

Bord Bia's From Plate to Page competition gives me an opportunity to mention one of my food heros - Terry Kavanagh. My local craft-butcher shop, Kavanagh’s in Roundwood, is frequented by top food critics and Oscar winners (well, I’ve seen one Oscar winner there) as well as us mere mortals. With such quality product nearby, the shopper’s task is no more taxing than to show up and point randomly because everything is good. Particularly good is Terry’s sirloin steak. Tender yet full of flavour, it is one of my favourite lazy meals, char-grilled with rosemary potato wedges, fried onions and mushrooms, and a blob of strong Dijon mustard.

Today, it is a blue-skied sparkling Spring day. Having had a miserable cold for the past week, my tastebuds are crying out for something light, yet nourishing, and zinging with flavour.

Looking down Niki Segnit’s list of flavours that love beef I see:

Chilli ♥ Garlic ♥ Ginger ♥ Lime ♥ Mint ♥ Nam Pla (Thai fish sauce) ♥ Onion ♥ Peanut ♥ Tomato

We l♥ve beef !

Niki probably didn’t intend that they all appear together in the same dish however they are flavours that sing together as well as emphasising the flavour of the beef. This is my version of the Thai classic, Yam Neua Yang – spicy grilled beef salad.  To make life easier for yourself, prepare all the salad ingredients before you start to cook the steak.

For 2 substantial salads you will need...

2 x 200g sirloin steaks (about 2.5cm thick)

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the marinade/dressing you will need...

1 fat clove garlic, crushed

2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 medium/hot red chilli, seeds removed, very finely diced

1 tablespoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)

4 kaffir lime leaves or a ½ teaspoon grated lime peel

Juice of 2 limes

1 teaspoon runny honey

1.         First make the marinade/dressing by mixing all the marinade ingredients together in a non-metal bowl.

2.         Pour a little of the marinade over the steak and cover, before refrigerating until needed. Reserve the rest of the marinade for your dressing.

3.         Next cook the steak: preheat a grill pan to medium. Using kitchen paper, blot the marinade from the steaks and lightly oil them. Grill for approximately 4 minutes each side. (I like my steak medium for this salad. Use more or less time to grill the steak to your own liking.) Remove from the pan and leave to rest for 5 minutes while you assemble the salad.

For the salad you will need...

1 bag mixed salad leaves (I use a rocket, mizuna, red oakleaf lettuce mix for colour, flavour and texture)

2 tomatoes, deseeded and diced

½ cucumber, cut into ribbons using a vegetable peeler

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint

3 whole scallions (spring onions) finely sliced on the diagonal

a generous handful of coriander leaf (cilantro), roughly chopped

50g roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

4.         Assemble the salad by scattering a bed of lettuce leaves on 2 platters or shallow bowls.

5.        Using kitchen paper, blot any excess juice from the tomato and cucumber and arrange on top of the salad leaves. Scatter with chopped mint.

Fresh and bursting with of colour and flavour

6.         When the steaks have rested, slice thinly and arrange on top of the salad. Scatter the scallions, peanuts and coriander leaf on top.

7.         Remove the kaffir lime leaves from the dressing before spooning over the salad. Serve immediately.

And the credit goes to...

This dish also makes a fantastic appetizer.

Pin It

Banana Peanut Butter Muffins have the WOW* factor

Pin It

So much of cooking is by accident rather than design. I’m sure I’m not the only cook who hides her mistakes under the nearest tea-towel and celebrates the successes as if they were intended. These successes are a good example of serendipity... (I love that word).

Serendipitous muffins... the best sort!

I had intended porridge for breakfast this morning, but when I entered the kitchen, I was faced with three sad freckled bananas with a ‘pre-compost bin’ look about them. Enter the WOW factor.

My youngest sister is waging *War On Waste. I call it the WOW factor: if she allows a foodstuff to go bad then she cannot buy it for two weeks. To use up the sad bananas, I was inspired to make Banana Peanut Butter Muffins for breakfast instead. Here’s how that inspiration went:

7.30am – After measuring out most of the ingredients, I discover a major butter shortage – nowhere near enough for this recipe. Damn! Must have banana peanut butter muffins...

7.31am - I discover a packet of creamed coconut, with a use-by date of right about now (more WOW factor). It worked perfectly in place of the butter I normally use and filled the kitchen with a heavenly smell – actually pretty similar to the ah-mazing Coconut Melt Massage my holistic therapist sister does.

The result was a light fluffy flavourful muffin and I had just enough butter to make a silky peanut butter icing.

For 18 sinful muffins you will need...

... to pre-heat your oven to 160°C

200g creamed coconut, grated (or softened butter if you prefer)

100g crunchy peanut butter

250g very ripe bananas (that’s about 3 small bananas)

2 eggs

80mls fresh milk

150g plain flour

50g oatmeal flakes

25g Bourneville cocoa powder, sifted

100g caster sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

½ teaspoon salt

50g banana chips (optional)

1          In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the creamed coconut, peanut butter and bananas until they form a smooth mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between additions until well combined. Now, add the milk and beat until combined.

2          Measure the rest of the ingredients - except the banana chips – into a separate bowl.

3          Add the coconut mixture to the flour mixture, stirring with a spatula or wooden spoon just until no dry mixture remains. Finally, stir in the banana chips if using.

4          Using an ice cream scoop or dessert spoon, divide the mixture between 18 lined muffin tins, filling them no more than three-quarters full.

5          Bake for 18 minutes until well risen and cooked through – a toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. If any mixture adheres, bake for a further 5 minutes and test again.

6          When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

They are really good just as they are, with hints of underlying chocolate and coconut flavours beneath the brazen banana peanut exterior. I like to push to boat out by adding a Peanut Butter Frosting. The following quantities make enough frosting to swirl over 6 – 8 muffins – I put the rest into the freezer out of temptation’s way.

For the peanut butter icing you will need...

80g butter, softened

80g crunchy peanut butter (you could use smooth peanut butter if you want completely smooth frosting)

160g icing sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons fresh milk

1          In a medium bowl beat the softened butter together with the peanut butter until combined. Then add the icing sugar and mix until combined. An electric mixer is best for this job but go easy when adding the icing sugar unless you want a lovely sweet cloud filling your kitchen.

Potential sugar cloud...

2          Add the vanilla extract and milk and continue mixing until you have a smooth icing.

3          Swirl a generous portion of icing onto each cooled muffin.

Naughty breakfast is served... WOW!

Pin It

Sweet Potato Roulade – and a céad míle fáilte

Pin It

There is a noticeable flood of green food across the blogosphere these past few days, in the lead up to St Patrick’s Day. Maybe it is the “forty-shades-of green” countryside or the vivid emerald hue of the famous shamrock emblem that gives the impression that green is Ireland’s national colour. Many people will be surprised to learn that since Norman times, Ireland’s national colour is in fact blue. It is the exact shade of blue that glows above the St Patrick’s Day parade as it passes the GPO on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.

Green, white and gold (and pretty tasty too)



If you have ever been to that parade, you will know that no matter how fine and unseasonably sunny the day is, a March wind whips down that famous boulevard - Ireland’s Champs-Élysées - turning every inch of exposed flesh blue with cold. Due to the number of unsuspecting short-skirted marching bands and majorettes from warmer climes, and a trend towards Mardi Gras-style pageantry and costume, there is a lot of exposed flesh, resulting in a blue glow that can be seen from outer space every March 17th. Brrrrrrr!

I’ve been trying to think of a dish for St Patrick’s day that would nod to the occasion without being too cabbage-y, or too bacon-y, too corned beef-y, too green - or too blue for that matter.

Sweet...

I have my photography teacher to thank for mentioning sweet potato roulade some weeks ago. It nods to the potato heritage of the Irish and to the green, white and gold of the Irish tricolour. Reflecting a modern Ireland, it acknowledges in a very small way, the contribution of other cultures  - sweet potato, nutmeg and sesame seed are obviously not locals but a céad míle fáilte* to them all the same.

For 6 - 8 servings you will need...

For the soufflé base

10g melted butter

15g sesame seeds

1 sweet potato, weighing approximately 400g

75g butter

75g plain flour

300mls fresh milk

125g mature cheddar, grated

½ teaspoon fine table salt

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

6 eggs

1          Line the base of a 26cm x 36cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment and brush with the melted butter. Dotting the underside of the paper with a little melted butter helps it stick to the tin. Sprinkle the surface of the buttered paper evenly with sesame seeds.

2          Prepare the sweet potato by peeling it and slicing into rounds about 1cm thick. Place in a saucepan and cover with boiling water. Simmer with a lid on for about 20 minutes or until easily pierced with the tip of a knife. Drain and mash.

3          While the sweet potato is cooling, melt 75g of butter in a large saucepan over a low heat. Stir in the flour, mixing with a wooden spoon until it comes together in a thick paste. Continue cooking gently for another minute or so. Swap the spoon for a whisk and add the milk to the saucepan, a little at a time, whisking well between additions. It will be alarmingly lumpy at first but will soon whisk to a smooth mixture.

4          When all the milk has been added, whisk in 300g of the sweet potato mash (any leftovers can be reheated and eaten as a side or added to a vegetable soup. When the sweet potato has been combined, add in the grated cheese and stir until melted and combined. Add salt and nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasoning if required.

5          Carefully separate the eggs, placing the yolks in one bowl and the whites in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Lightly beat the egg yolks with a fork and add three large tablespoonfuls of the hot sweet potato mixture, mixing well between each tablespoonful. Then add the egg yolks to saucepan of sweet potato and whisk well to combine.(If you try to add the egg yolks to the hot mixture without first warming them as described, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs.)

6          Whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold the egg white mixture into the sweet potato mixture about a quarter at a time. Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or risen and evenly golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin. The beautifully risen soufflé will sink a little. Don't worry, that's supposed to happen.

Fold in the egg whites for a light-as-a-cloud base

7          When cooled, remove from the tin and place on a large sheet of clingfilm or baking parchment, with the liner paper still attached to the underside. The next step is to fill and roll the roulade.



I'm sinking... (but that's ok, I'm supposed to!)

For the filling

250g cream cheese (such as Philadelphia)

1 small clove of garlic, crushed

1 stick celery, peeled and finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or coriander (cilantro)

4 – 6 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped, including green part

50g baby spinach leaves, shredded

8          Mix the cream cheese with the crushed garlic, herbs and spring onions and spread evenly over the surface of the soufflé. Scatter the spinach leaves over the top. Gently release the liner paper from a long edge of the soufflé. Gripping the released edge of the paper together with the clingfilm or parchment paper, lift gently to start rolling. Roll the soufflé tightly and wrap snugly in clingfilm. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until required. Serve in slices with a green salad.

Wishing you a Happy St Patrick’s Day and here’s an Irish blessing to carry with you:

“May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door”

* a hundred-thousand welcomes

Pin It

Sticky Toffee Cupcakes with Fleur de Sel Caramel – fall for them!

Pin It

There is something about the whole Gym thing that makes me think of battery farming. I much prefer free-range exercise, particularly as I am fortunate enough to live in one of Ireland’s most beautiful counties.

Sticky Toffee Cupcakes - I've fallen for them! 

Free-range exercise offers a dilemma of its own - which route to choose? Which view will be more spectacular today?

The lakes are a no-brainer on a frosty morning when a mist sits just above the surface of the water giving the scene a dreamy Camelot-like quality.  The forest has its own charms, and is full of interesting wild life. If I take my mountain bike there I am quite likely to spot a stag; or a doe with its fawn; or on a really good day, a rare red kite.

My beloved will happily hike with me but refuses to take his mountain bike out. There was that unfortunate incident when his rear wheel slipped off a narrow path and his bike came to a dead stop. Making a brave attempt to balance, he wrestled with the uncooperative contraption for a long moment ... before toppling head-over-heels into a ditch.

Luckily he had a soft landing. Unluckily, it was an evil-smelling liquid mud that was the exact colour and texture of warm caramel sauce. Once I established that only his pride was injured I cried with laughter at the bedraggled sight. I still cannot eat this sticky toffee dessert without snickering at the memory!

Ahem! Anyway, it is light and sticky. It is sweet with little hits of salt in the caramel. Good vanilla ice cream completes the picture. Resign yourself to second helpings.

Did I mention it is also extremely versatile? Swap the dates for some of that left-over christmas mincemeat and a teaspoon of grated orange peel and ditch the salt in the sauce for 4 tablespoons of Grand Marnier liqueur. Magic!

For 12 cupcakes you will need...

... to pre-heat the oven to 160°C

200g ready-to-eat dried dates, quartered

100mls tea

1 tablespoon treacle (or molasses)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

110g butter

175g dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

250g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon fine table salt

It's a date!

1          Place the dates, tea and treacle (or molasses) in a saucepan over a medium heat. Bring to the boil then turn down the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, until the dates have absorbed most of the liquid. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and the bicarbonate of soda (which will fizz alarmingly but helps make the cake light and fluffy). Leave to cool.

2          While the dates are cooling, line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases.

3          Cream together the butter and sugar until paler in colour and fluffy – an electric mixer/beaters is best for this. Meanwhile in a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

4          Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between additions, and alternating with a tablespoonful of the flour mixture. When the egg has been combined, add the rest of the flour mixture and beat until just combined.

5          Add the cooled dates - they don’t have to be completely cold – and mix until just combined.

6          Divide the mixture between the 12 muffin cases and transfer to the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until well risen and cooked through. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. If any mixture adheres, bake for a further 5 minutes and test again.

7          When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Ooooooh yeaaaaah!

To make the fleur de sel caramel sauce you will need...

... to exercise caution – boiling sugar is very, very hot

180g caster sugar

1 teaspoon white malt vinegar

75g butter, cut into walnut-sized pieces

150mls pouring cream

½ teaspoon fleur de sel salt (or other large crystal salt)

1                   Place the sugar and vinegar in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. After 3 minutes or so, the sugar will start to become liquid. Stir until all the crystals have melted into an amber-coloured syrup.

2                   Add the butter and stir until melted - the mixture will bubble vigorously but will soon subside. Remove from the heat then add the cream and stir until smooth. Finally, stir in the fleur de sel salt. Allow the sauce to cool a little before transferring to a sterilised jar.

Le Salt


To serve, remove the cupcakes from their papers. Warm the cakes and the caramel sauce. Dust the cakes with icing sugar and add a generous puddle of caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream.

The first sticky toffee cupcakes of the year, with the first daffodils.

Pin It

Meet Some Stylish Bloggers

Pin It

Manu of Manu's Menu is a newly-minted and well-deserved Stylish Blogger. Having received this great accolade, Manu gets to confer 10 other Stylish Bloggers with the award.

I’m delighted that Alchemy was among the recipients. This badge of honour brings with it a number of responsibilities...

I too get to a) select 10 stylish bloggers, inform them and link to them; and b) I must divulge 7 things about myself.

I made my selection based on the passion and enthusiasm these bloggers have for food; their mouth-watering photos; and the fact that I am entertained every time I read their posts and often learn something new. I hope they will delight and entertain you too.

They are, in no particular order...

·          Koci at La Kocinera - http://lakocinera.blogspot.com/

‘The Culinary Adventures of a Quirky College Student’

·          Kimberly at Kimba’s Kitchen - http://www.kimbaskitchen.com/

‘Asian flavours with an Aussie twist’

·          Natasha at Five Star Foodie - http://www.fivestarfoodie.com/

‘Culinary Adventures’

·          michelangelo in the kitchen - http://michelangelointhekitchen.blogspot.com/

‘Artful Food Styling’

·          Anca and Gerard at Bistro Gerard - http://bistrogerard.wordpress.com/

‘Healthy Recipe Journal, (randomly) edited by Jerry the Parrot’

·          Tiffany at Como Water - http://comowater.com/

‘Simple, delicious, and sometimes decadent vegan and vegetarian cuisine’

·          Kim at Liv Life - http://livlifetoo.blogspot.com/

‘Our attempts at living life to its fullest through food, photography, and travel!’

·          Zerrin at Give Recipe - http://www.giverecipe.com/

‘Enjoy Turkish Dishes!’

·          Bromography - http://www.bromography.com/

‘Discoveries of New York Foodies!’

·          Brandon at Kitchen Konfidence - http://www.kitchenkonfidence.com/

‘Inspiration for the Home Cook’

Ok, 7 things about myself...

·          I don’t know who to vote for in the general election next week. Today, I spotted posters for two interesting candidates: Cow Pat, the lavender cow “can she make a bigger mess?” and Willy Cockalorum, “ruffling feathers”.

·          When I was 12, I auditioned for the part of Clara in Dublin City Ballet’s The Nutcracker Suite. I was partly successful, landing the dual roles of dancing bonbon, and cook.

·          I can live without email and internet – but not for very long.

·          I won a holiday to California – my tastebuds have very fond memories of that State.

·          When I am not writing recipes, I write short stories (everyone in Ireland does!)

·          An earthquake wouldn’t disturb me once I have my nose in a good book.

·          I don’t have a sweet tooth... unless there are nice things in the cupboard – things that are WTC - at which time I discover a temporary sweet tooth...

...which reminds me there is still half a jar of caramel sauce and a lonesome sticky toffee cupcake to deal with.

About to get into a sticky situation...

Pin It