A Couple More Irish Delights!

We’ve had such a beautiful few months in Ireland, but it is time to return to America. I have a couple more Irish taste treats I want to share with you before we travel next week. First…Blackberries. Blackberry vines grow everywhere in Ireland and this year was a bumper crop.

BLACKBERRY CHUTNEY

I’ve been on a pork schnitzel kick. This time I coated the pork with Dijon mustard, Panko bread crumbs, Salt/Pepper and lots of caraway seeds. The Blackberry Chutney was the perfect accompaniment.

Ingredients:

2 cups blackberries

1/2 cup sugar

1 small shallot

1 clove garlic

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. water

Salt/Pepper

Preparation:

Put all ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer over low heat until shallot and berries have softened. Taste and adjust seasoning. This chutney was excellent with the Caraway Pork Schnitzel and local, organic Rainbow Chard.

I also recently made BLACKBERRY SYRUP and served with Irish bangers and home made pancakes.

To make the syrup, place 2 cups of blackberries, 1 Tbsp. water, pinch of salt, and 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about 20 minutes until blackberries are softened.  If the syrup is too thick add more water, 1 Tbsp. at a time until you have the right consistency. Taste for sweetness. Depending on how sweet your berries are you may need to add a bit more sugar. Cool. Push through a fine mesh sieve to make a completely smooth syrup.

My friend Brenna Reilly made me a big batch of beautiful plain yogurt; so smooth and creamy. I want to start making this yogurt myself as it was infinitely better than store-bought. I added about 1/2 cup Blackberry Syrup to 1 1/2 cups yogurt and made some very tasty parfaits with home made granola.

For contrast I used blueberries for the fruit.

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Served with peas and butternut squash seasoned heavily with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup diced onion

3/4 cup diced celery

1 clove garlic, diced

2 sage leaves, about 1 tsp. finely chopped

1 tsp. fresh marjoram

3 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

2 Tbsp. butter

Small piece, about 1 inch of chicken fat

2 Tsp. salt

3 blood pudding patties

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

Splash of red wine

Preparation:

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Saute onion and celery for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Do not brown. Add garlic and continue cooking for another couple of minutes. Add herbs and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from the pan. Add the chicken fat and increase the heat and cook 3 blood pudding paddies until very crisp on both sides. Blood pudding has a fair amount of fat, which is why 2 Tbsp. of butter is enough to keep the stuffing very moist. Crumble the blood pudding and return veg to the pan. Add 1 cup fresh bread crumbs and a splash of red wine. Stir to mix thoroughly.

Place about 2/3 cup stuffing on a lightly oiled pan. Lay the chicken breast on top of the stuffing. Dot the top with some chicken fat. Liberally salt and pepper the chicken.

Preheat oven to 350F and roast chicken for about 25 minutes until skin is nicely browned and internal temp is 165 degrees.