400 g mince (my choice is pork mince)
150 g sour cream
~2 dl breadcrumbs
1 onion, grated
1 clove of garlic, grated
1 egg
salt, pepper
fresh chopped parsley Filling:
~100 g grated cheese
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients. Season with salt & pepper.
Make flat, thin patties with the mixture. Place a bit of cheese in the middle and roll into balls,about size of the walnuts.
Place the meatballs into the fridge for 30 min.
Fry in the small batches until golden brown all over.
You can also bake them in the oven.
Serve alone with sour cream or with mashed potatoes & white sauce or pasta..
Its time to get in mood with all these carved pumpkins, dancing skeletons, smiling ghosts & witches riding on brooms.
Samhain is the most important holiday of the Celtic calendar. It is the start of the Celtic New Year. This is a good time to make new year resolutions (I make them twice in a year now, just in case I fail, I'll still have 1.January for a second chance :)). In addition to celebrating the year’s end, it is also a celebration of the beginning of Winter.
The doors are opened between the worlds & the paths are travelled by the spirits going back & forth on this night. This world & the Otherworld become equivalent to each other & no barriers exist between the dead & the living, that is, the “Veil” is at its thinnest.
Light a candle for a loved one who has passed on.
Don't forget to leave out food for the fairies on Halloween night at home or at the nearest hawthorn or white-thorn bush to appease the spirits.
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds:
Whilst carving your Jack O’Lantern,save the seeds. Roasted pumpkin seeds are delicious & are rich in nutritious minerals such as zinc.
Preheat the oven to 120C.
Wash the pumpkin seeds to remove all the pulp & place in a bowl. Melt a bit of butter in a pan & then pour in the seeds slowly, tossing while you go. Do not use too much butter, but just enough to lightly coat the seeds. Add salt, spread the seeds out over a baking pan & bake, turning occasionally, until crisp & lightly golden browned. Overcooking causes the nuts to toughen and lose flavor.
Irish Champ:
Classic Irish recipe of mashed potato & scallions or spring onions (you can use leeks instead).
750 g-1 kg potatoes, peeled & quartered
1 cup scallions/spring onions
55-75 g butter
75-100 ml milk
Salt and pepper
Simmer the potatoes in lightly salted water until cooked.
Finely chop the white part of the scallion/spring onion & roughly chop the green part. Keep to one side.
Drain the potatoes & add the butter & milk & mash until smooth & creamy.
Add the finely chopped white part of the onion and mix well.
Season well with salt and pepper. Serve with the green part of the onion sprinkled on the top.
Colcannon also has a special meaning at Samhain. On Samhain, colcannon has divination properties, it contains charms -- a ring to symbolize a marriage, a coin to symbolize wealth, a pea to symbolize poverty, a thimble to symbolize spinsterhood & a stick to symbolize "one who will travel far."
1 kg (2 lbs) potatoes, freshly cooked & mashed
250 g ( ½ lb) kale or white cabbage, just cooked, drained & finely chopped
Milk, butter, salt & black pepper
Mix potatoes & kale or cabbage together. Heat some milk with a generous knob of butter. Beat it into the potato mixture until smooth & creamy. Season well.
Did You Ever Eat Colcannon?*
(Traditional)
Did you ever eat Colcannon
When 'twas made with thick'n'd cream
& the greens & scallions blended
Like a picture in a dream?
Did you ever scoop a hole on top
To hold the melting cake
Of clover-flavoured butter
That your mother used to make?
Did you ever eat & eat, afrain
You'd let the ring go past,
& some old married sprissman
Would get it at the last?
Gods be with the happy times
When trouble we had not
& our mother made Colcannon
In the little, three-legged pot.
Another Halloween treat is a Barmbrack, a rich Irish fruit bread. Again, the “charms” baked into each loaf would foretell the future of the recipient. Placed in the barmbrack were: a pea, a stick, a piece of cloth & a ring. Whoever received in their slice the pea, would be unmarried; the stick, would be a fighter; the cloth or rag, would be poor;& the ring, would get married within the year.
Barmbrack is usually baked in a round (20 cm or 8″) cake tin with a loose base.
2 tea bags, or 3 tsp. loose tea (a strong black blend works best)
350 g mixed dried fruit (raisins, golden raisins/sultanas, currants, candied peel)
240 ml milk
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. dried active yeast or 25 g fresh yeast
450 g strong bread flour
1 tsp. salt
25 g brown sugar
75 g butter
1 beaten egg
1 tsp. mixed spice
Make 2 cups of strong black tea.
Soak the dried fruit in the tea for few hours or up to overnight.
Warm the milk until it is hand-hot. Stir in the teaspoon of sugar & the yeast & leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes or until it becomes frothy.
Mix the flour, salt & brown sugar in a large bowl.
Rub in the butter or margarine.
Add the yeast, the beaten egg & the spice.
Drain any remaining liquid from the fruit, then add the fruit to the mixture.
Mix well to make a smooth dough (add extra flour if the mixture is too wet).
Turn the dough onto a floured board & knead it thoroughly.
Place it in a buttered tin, cover with a clean towel or cling film & leave in a warm place to rise for 45 – 60 minutes; the dough should have doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Place the tin in the oven & bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the loaf from the tin, turn it upside down & put it back in the tin or directly on the oven shelf.
Bake for another 20 minutes or so. The loaf will be ready when it sounds hollow when you tap on each of the sides.
Cool the loaf on a wire rack before serving.
1 large head of cabbage
500 g pork mince (or chicken, turkey or beef)
1 cup cooked rice
1 medium onion, chopped finely
salt & pepper
For a sauce:
1 cup of water
2 tbsp flour
2-3 tbsp sour cream or yogurt
salt, pepper
Core the center of the cabbage.
Carefully place the cabbage in a large pot of boiling water.
Remove the outer leaves as they become tender being careful not tear them.
In a large bowl mix together the meat, rice, eggs, onion, salt & pepper.
Place about 1 tbsp mixture at stem end of each leaf & roll the leaf around the filling, tucking in the sides.
Secure the rolls with toothpicks or thread.
In large pot brown the rolls on all sides.
Add hot water as needed to keep rolls just covered with liquid, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, then cover & simmer ca 40 min.You can also cook it in the oven.
If you used the thread to secure your cabbage rolls, then try to remove them now before making the Sauce:
Mix together all the sauce ingredients, season & pour over the cabbage rolls. Heat until sauce thickens.
Best if served with boiled potatoes or mash.
There are many variations & recipes for stuffed cabbage, I just described my recipe that I love the most.
The most important part of stuffed cabbage is the meat. Everyone has their own opinion about the type of meat to use & usually go with ground beef. I use pork which adds a bit more flavor & is really tender after cooking.
Though this is a very easy recipe, it takes some time to prepare & cook, but in the end, make them once & you'll be asked to make them again & again.
I also found very helpful video to show how to prepare the cabbage rolls:
2 onions,chopped
3 garlic gloves, crush
3 carrots, slice
ginger, about 1,5-2 cm piece, grated
1 green pepper, finely sliced, or cut into pieces
200 g green beans
1 small cauliflower, separate the little florets
4 tomatoes, cut into smaller pieces
200 ml yogurt or fresh cream
1 vegetable or chicken stock cube
1-2 tbsp curry powder
1kg potatoes, boiled, cooled, cut into ca 2 cm cubes
Fry onions & garlic in butter.
Add ginger.
Add carrots, get them browned.
Bring on the pepper, beans & cauliflower. Add about half cup of water & the stock cube, heat everything through until soft. I love everything al dente, to feel little crunch, so it takes only few minutes for me.
Now sprinkle in the curry powder, mix everything through, add tomatoes & yogurt or fresh cream. Let it gently boil until done.
At the same time fry the potatoes on the separate pan with generous amount of butter until nice & crisp. Mix potatoes with curry.
Ready to serve.
Instead of potatoes goes very well rice.
2-3 medium potatoes or leftover mashed potatoes
~1 cup chopped mixed vegetables (green peas, carrots, green beans, corn)
1 onion, finely chopped
~1 cup breadcrumbs+ 1 cup extra for coating
1 egg
chopped parsley,chives
salt & little bit of freshly grated rose pepper
Boil & mash the potatoes.
Boil the vegetables, drain.
Grate the carrots & chop the green beans.
Mix all ingredients together. Season.
To get the right texture you can add more breadcrumbs or some milk.
Shape the mixture into flat round patties & roll them in the bread crumbs, set aside.
Heat the oil on medium high heat in a frying pan.
Fry a few cutlets at a time until they are golden-brown on both sides.
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 bay leaf
1 small onion,sliced
1 carrot,sliced
salt,pepper
4 peppercorns
1 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots,finely chopped
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp tomato puree
juice of half lemon
300 ml mayonnaise
150 ml natural yogurt or sour cream
2 tbsp fresh parsley,chopped
Place the chicken breasts into the large sauce pan with the bay leaf,onion & carrot.
Cover with water & add 1/2 tsp salt & the peppercorns.
Bring to the boil over a medium heat,reduce the heat & simmer very gently 20 min.
Remove from the heat,lift the chicken breast out onto the plate & allow to cool.
Heat the oil in a frying pan & saute the shallots gently for 2-3 min until soft but not colored.
Stir in the curry powder,chicken stock along with carrots,the tomato puree & the lemon juice & simmer for 10 min until sauce is quite thick.
Slice the chicken into ca 1 cm pieces.
Mix together the mayonnaise & yogurt or sour cream,stir into the sauce,season to taste with salt & pepper.
Stir the chicken into the sauce until well coated.Allow to stand few minutes.
Serve on the rice.
Mix all ingredients well.Shape 24 balls,chill for at least 20 min.
Fry meatballs in a single layer,without overcrowding until nice brown all around.
If you wish you can boil meatballs in seasoned boiling water,until they rise on top of the water.
Cool.Serve with sour cream.
200 g trimmed Pork fillet, cut into strips
1-2 Bay leaves
30 g Butter
1 Onion, thinly sliced
100 g button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp smoked Paprika
100 ml Soured cream
1 Lemon, juice only
1 tbsp chopped Parsley
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
Season the meat & place in the pan, along with butter.
Fry quickly, stirring until lightly browned.
Add half the onion & soften on a low heat - about 3-4 minutes.
Add the mushrooms & paprika & fry for a further 2 minutes, until softened.
Spoon the soured cream into the frying pan & bring the mixture to a simmer for 10-15 minutes, until creamy.
Stir in the lemon juice & parsley,season to taste.
Serve with boiled potatoes,rice or pasta..
300 g chanterelles
1 onion
knob of butter
2 dl milk
1-2 tbsp flour
fresh dill
salt,rose pepper or white pepper
Saute chanterelles & onion with butter until cooked.
Mix flour and milk, pour it over & stir until it thickens. Season.
Sprinkle fresh dill over.
Serve with mashed potatoes & sticky ribs or pork medallions...
300 g pork mince(any kind you like)
1 onion,chopped,finely
1-2 carrots,grated with bigger grater
knob of butter
300 g cherry tomatoes(or crushed tomatoes will do,well it will give different texture & taste..)
2 tbsp tomato puree
cup of pineapple pieces in juice,drained
3-4 cloves of garlic
500 g macaroni
50 g cheddar cheese,grated
1 tsp chili powder
mince seasoning
Boil the pasta until al dente.
Brown on the hot pan with oil the mince,season.
Add the onion & carrots,knob of butter & fry until ready.
Now stir in the tomato puree,pineapples,tomatoes & crush in the garlic.Season well & cook for a few minutes,then mix with pasta.
Serve with grated cheese on top.
600-800 g chicken fillets,slice
0,5 cups of milk
1 cup flour
2 eggs
0,5 tsp salt
Mix the batter ingredients together.
Heat the generous amount of oil on the frying pan.Use the heaviest pan you have for this (cast iron is perfect) as you want something that will hold the heat.
Toss the pieces of chicken in the batter and then lift them into the oil.
Make sure that each piece is completely covered in batter.Don't crowd the pan as this will drop the oil temperature & you will get greasy chicken.
Fry the chicken nuggets turning them occasionally, until they are golden brown all over and crispy.Drain on the paper towels.
For the Curry Sauce:
1 dl sour cream or natural yogurt
0,5 dl mayonnaise
0,5-1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Mix it all together.
Serve everything on rice or just snack away dipping nuggets into the sauce.
ca 300 g fresh penny buns,clean & slice
1 onion,chop
30 g butter
1-2 tbsp flour
500 ml milk
salt,pepper
parsley
Brown the mushrooms in butter.
Add onion,saute until soft.
Season with salt & pepper.
Mix the flour with cold milk,pour over the mushrooms,bring to boil,season if needed.
Boil gently until sauce is thickened.
Sprinkle over some chopped parsley.
Serve with boiled potatoes.
Cursed Hellfire building in Dublin Mountains, with a spectacular views over the city!We love to go for a walks there,forests around are full of blackberries & some utterly delicious mushrooms!
Goes down well with
300 g pasta
1 big cauliflower
100 -200 g smoked streaky rashers or cabanossi sausages
1 onion
500 ml milk
1-2 tbsp flour
50 -100 g cheese
1-2 tbsp breadcrumbs
0,5 tsp rose pepper,freshly crushed
Boil pasta in salted water until al dente.Drain.
Bring the cauliflower florets to boil in salted water for about 5 min or less if you like it al dente,drain.
At the same time fry chopped onion & sliced rashers or sausages with butter.
Make the sauce:
At first heat the flour on the pan,cool.Mix it with little milk.Pour the flour mix through the sieve to the rest of the milk,stir.Bring the sauce to boil,season with salt & pepper.Add grated cheese.Stir until sauce is looking lovely smooth,season if you need to.
Mix together cauliflower & pasta,place it into the shallow baking dish.
Pour the sauce all over,sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Bake in the preheated oven at 180C for 30-40 min.
Best served with boiled beetroot or dill pickles..
My 5y son is terrified of broccoli,so he eats cauliflower with caution as well.This meal went down well & he asked for more,so it was the good sign.
Once he said,being very disappointed,"why they even sell the broccoli in the shops if they know that kids don't like it & everybody has kids!"
Place the haddock fillets onto the baking dish.
Mix together sour cream,herbs & grated cheese.Spread it over the fish fillets.
Arrange sliced onions & tomatoes on top.Season with salt & pepper.
Bake in the preheated oven at 220C for 30 min or until ready.
Serve with Dill Potatoes:
1-2 kg potatoes,new potatoes are perfect!
handful of dill
salt
Boil potatoes along with springs of dill.
I just love it,then fresher the potatoes are then more delicious its gonna be..with butter..
1 onion,chop finely
1 garlic,crushed
300 g smoked bacon,cut into strips
good pinch of chilli flakes
~250 g cherry tomatoes,halved
basil
500 g spaghetti
Fry with butter the onion,garlic & bacon.
Add tomatoes,sauté until everything is done,season with chilli.
Same time boil the spaghetti until al dente,drain.
Mix spaghetti together with tomato mixture,add basil.
Serve immediately.
Cut the chicken fillets into strips,season & fry in butter.Lift out onto the plate.
Place onions onto the pan,once they are golden brown, add potatoes,brown well.
Lift chicken back to the pan,add tomatoes,heat it through quickly.
Serve with:
Grate some cucumber.
Add some chopped dill,salt.
4 chicken fillets
3 tomatoes,sliced
salt,pepper
100 g soft cheese with garlic & herb
handful of basil leaves
50 g cabanossi sausages,sliced
50 g butter,cut in pieces
50 g grated cheddar,mature
Cut each chicken fillet in half & place on to the baking dish.
Place some bits of butter in between.
Spread the cream cheese over the chicken pieces.
Arrange tomatoes on top,season with salt & pepper.
Scatter the sliced cabanossi sausages,basil & grated cheese over.
Bake in the preheated oven at 220C for 35 min.
450g firm white fish fillet, skinned
3 tbsp plain flour
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or not
2 eggs
80g fine, fresh white breadcrumbs
2 tbsp sesame seeds,optional
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cut the fish fillets across their width into thick, finger-like strips, about 2cm wide.
In a shallow bowl, mix together the flour and cayenne with some salt and pepper to season.
Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl.
Mix the breadcrumbs with the sesame seeds in a third bowl or on a plate.
Toss the fish in the flour mixture, then dip each piece first in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs.
Fry in the hot oil until golden brown on both sides..
500 g mince
1 onion,grated
55 g breadcrumbs
1 egg
25 g fresh parsley,chopped finely
1,5 tsp salt
o,5 tsp ground black pepper
For breading:
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 egg
50-100 ml milk
Put the mince,grated onion,egg,breadcrumbs & parsley into a bowl,season with salt & pepper.Mix well.
Shape ca 1-1,5 cm thick oval steaks.
Put egg & milk into one bowl,whisk it through.
Put breadcrumbs into another bowl.
Turn each steak at first in the egg & milk mixture then in the breadcrumbs.
Place them onto the plate & chill for 20 min.
Heat the oil in the pan & fry the steaks from both sides until golden brown.
Serve with boiled vegetables & white sauce:
2 tbsp flour
500 ml water
1 onion,chopped
150 ml sour cream
salt,pepper
Fry the onions in the butter.
Mix flour with cold water until dissolved & pour over the onions,add sour cream.
Bring it to the boil for a few minutes until sauce thickens,stirring & season.
