The Irish Farmers’ Market Cookbook

An Irish Staple (#ulink_aaea2b47-5d80-5aab-b814-dcf1a0b89def)

Really good bread is a healthy, easily digestible, source of energy and one of the most nutritionally balanced foods available. It is full of carbohydrate, fibre, protein, calcium and B vitamins. I don’t mean the supermarket loaves that stick to the back of your teeth and line your stomach like glue. I mean great artisan bread with a beautiful texture, made from the finest flour and baked with true skill and care.

There is a world of difference in the taste and nutritional value of a good loaf and a bad one. So what makes the difference? The answer lies in the flour used, the milling and the way the bread is baked. Wheat grain is made up of bran (the outer layer), the endosperm, which contains the starch, and the germ, which contains the proteins, vitamins, oil and most of the flavour. When flour is stone ground it is a relatively gentle process that leaves most of the nutrients intact. Flour was ground this way for centuries before two things happened: white bread and mass production. Refined white flour might make better looking bread, but most of the goodness is extracted. The large factories that now produce 80% of our bread use a system that does an enormous amount of grinding under huge pressure. The flour ends up fractured and absorbs water like a sponge, which the factories love because water provides volume and weight. This system also uses double the yeast to make up for the short fermentation time, which makes the bread less digestible. Then there are the high levels of salt added to enhance the flavour, not to mention the additives, the improvers, the genetically modified enzymes, the hydrogenated fat, the preservatives…This cheap mass-produced white sliced bread is as nutritionally valuable as your inner sole.

The good news is we have always had a great tradition of quality bakers in Ireland. You will be astounded by the variety of artisan breads available at the farmers’ markets. Declan Ryan, who runs Arbutus Bakery, is typical of the passionate, skilled brigade of dedicated artisan bakers selling their loaves at the farmers’ markets. He uses the finest French and Irish stone-ground flours to produce a range of West Cork soda bread, rye, wholemeal, white sourdough and continental breads. Everything is hand-kneaded and slow-proofed to make crusty, chewy, flavoursome breads. And that’s what sorts the wheat from the chaff: passion, skill, care and respect for the ingredients. When you’ve eaten a really good loaf you won’t go back, and with so much choice you won’t have to.

Irish Soda Bread (or Cake, as it is known in Ireland) (#ulink_23f32f5a-9038-54ab-a22e-cc1c3ee8013b)

Soda bread was traditionally known in Ireland as soda ‘cake’ as it contains buttermilk. Traditionally this was a luxury ingredient and therefore would be served as a treat. During festive times, fruit would be added to the mixture. This is the easiest bread recipe that I have ever baked and is still my favourite! It bakes especially well in an Aga.

Makes 1 loaf

450g (1lb) wholemeal flour

450g (1lb) white flour

1½ tsp bread soda or bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

600 ml (1 pint) buttermilk or sour milk

Sieve the flours, soda and salt into a large bowl and make a hollow in the centre. Gradually pour in the buttermilk (or sour milk, see tip), mixing to form a dough.

Pat your hands with flour and shape the dough into one round. Place on a floured baking tray. Flour a large knife and cut the shape of a cross into the top of the dough about two-thirds of the way through, and then stab every quarter with the knife. This old Irish tradition was used to kill the fairies!

Bake in a preheated oven at 220°C, 425°F, Gas Mark 7 for about 25 minutes, then turn the bread over for a further 5 minutes. To test whether the loaf is cooked, tap the back with your knuckles; it should sound hollow. Leave to cool on a cooling rack.

Tip: If you are unable to get your hands on buttermilk or sour milk, you can add 2 teaspoons cream of tartar to the bread soda. Add this to the flour, then mix in half fresh milk and half water and continue as above.

White Soda Scones with Cheese and Thyme (#ulink_e8b1d4b9-a33a-5d72-8b89-ab4622e68ad2)

This delicious savoury scone recipe is fantastic served with soup. If you wish, try omitting the thyme and add some sun-dried tomatoes.

Makes 8 scones

225g (8 oz) strong white flour

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch of sea salt

50g (2 oz) butter

125g (4½ oz) mature Cheddar cheese, grated (e.g. Hegarty’s or Bandon Vale)

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

125–150ml (4½–5fl oz) milk

Sieve the flour, baking powder and sea salt into a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in two-thirds of the grated cheese, followed by the thyme. Gradually pour in sufficient milk to make a soft dough.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to a thickness of 1cm (½in). Cut into circles with a pastry cutter or an upturned glass. Place the circles on an oiled baking tray and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C, 400°F, Gas Mark 6 for 12–15 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then eat hot with lashings of Glenilen country butter – yum!

Short Scones with Glenilen Clotted Cream and Rhubarb (#ulink_e3d63fbf-a0fc-5a31-8339-b506ae0f87fe)

Glenilen is a wonderful dairy farm in West Cork run and owned by Valerie and Alan Kingston. They make the most delicious clotted cream, yogurts, butter and crème fraîche from the milk off their herd.

If you love shortbread and scones equally, then you are going to adore this recipe as it is a combination of the two. It can be served for brunch, afternoon tea or even dessert.

Serves 8

300g (10 oz) plain flour

50g (2 oz) caster sugar

1 tsp baking powder

130g (4½ oz) butter, cold from the fridge

1 egg

100ml (3½ fl oz) single cream

beaten egg, for brushing (optional)

For the filling:

500g (1lb 2 oz) rhubarb, cut into 2.5cm (1 in) pieces

150g (5 oz) caster sugar

50ml (2fl oz) water

200ml (7fl oz) Glenilen clotted cream

Prepare the filling. Place the rhubarb in an ovenproof dish and cover with the sugar and water. Cook in a preheated oven at 170°C, 325°F, Gas Mark 3 for about 30 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender.

To make the short scones, mix the flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Grate in the butter and mix together. Beat the egg and cream in a separate bowl and stir into the flour mixture.

Pat both hands with flour and transfer the dough to a floured surface. Roll out the dough, about 2.5cm (1in) thick, and cut out 8 rounds. Brush lightly with some beaten egg (optional) and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Transfer to a lightly floured baking tray and cook in a preheated oven at 220°C, 425°F, Gas Mark 7 for 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Leave the scones to cool a little before splitting them open, while they are still warm, and filling with the stewed rhubarb and a big dollop of Glenilen clotted cream.

Kaitlin’s Mini Focaccias (#ulink_26d88c57-2303-5a9a-876d-fd547937e757)