Recipe – Poached Woodcock Smoked Haddock ….with queens and greens

 

We’ve been selling Sally Barnes’ wonderful smoked fish in our shop for well over a decade. Sally is a true artisan and her produce is quite rightly celebrated not only in Ireland but across the culinary world.  Based in West Cork  and working only and always with wild fish, Woodcock Smokery has remained a stalwart of small-scale independent business for over 40 years.

Sally’s delicious Smoked Haddock is the main ingredient of this month’s recipe… a classic and comforting dish. We had the fish with some nice floury spuds and some beautiful Glasraí cabbage, topped with some fried Gubbeen bacon lardons.

https://www.woodcocksmokery.com/

Poached Woodcock Smoked Haddock – serves 2

750 ml of Gleann Buí or full fat milk

Small onion, Sliced

2 bay leaves

Graham’s Irish Dijon Mustard – dessert spoon

Plain flour – 2 tablespoons

50 g butter

Lemon juice and seasoning to taste

 

Method

Remove the Haddock from packaging and place

skin side down in a  medium saucepan,

add the bay leaves, slices of onion and put over the milk

so the fish is just covered – 500 – 750 ml should do it, depending on the width of the saucepan.

Heat the milk on a moderate heat and keep at a gentle simmer for no more than 5 minutes.

Turn the heat off and let the flavours mingle for about 10 minutes.

Carefully remove the fish from the sauce pan with a spatula , place on a plate and cover with parchment to keep warm.

To make your sauce, strain the warm milk into a jug. Melt the butter in the same saucepan, and whisk in the flour…cook this on a gentle heat  with the occasional stir for 2 or 3 minutes and gradually start to whisk in the milk…if the sauce is too thick, add some more milk or if you’re feeling indulgent, you can finish with some cream. Finally, whisk in the mustard, a small squeeze of lemon juice, plenty of pepper and taste for the salt…it might not need it.

The sauce is delicious on it’s own but you can  embellish it by adding any of the following – Some capers, Chopped dill , Spinach or parsley or fennel.

 

 
 

CAFÉ SKILLS PROGRAMME – EARN WHILE YOU LEARN

At Rua, we know that our team is our greatest strength and we’re always on the lookout for individuals with great energy and a genuine interest in good food.

This year, we’re offering a limited amount of positions in our front of house team that aren’t reliant on having any specific hospitality or restaurant experience. If your career or studies is at a crossroads or you’re thinking about taking time out, our 6-month CAFÉ SKILLS position might just be the opportunity for you.

This fully paid position will allow you to develop your skills and earn some money while you contemplate your next steps in life…

As well as getting to work with a fantastic team, Our training programme also includes:

  • Full and certified BARISTA training with our local and award-winning coffee roastery BEAN WEST COFFEE
  • Full service and hospitality/service skills programme in conjunction with SABOC training company
  • Other training essentials such as manual handling, Food safety programme with FOOD FLOW training company

So, if you’re thinking about a career in the food industry, looking to further develop your own talents, or taking a year out and looking to add to your own skillset, this is could be a great opportunity for you.

For more information about joining us, please visit our job section here and fill out the short application form and we’ll be in touch. Alternatively, please contact us with your name, contact details and your current CV by latest Friday, October 15th when applications close to jobs@caferua.com or give us a call on 0949286072.

Please note for our to be considered for our Cafe Skills position you must…

  • be over 18 years of age
  • be available for full-time employment from October 5th 2020 for a minimum period of 6 months
  • be available to work 5 days over 6, including some Saturdays
  • have fluent English
  • have a genuine interest in food.
  • be legally able to work in Ireland
 
 

‘Simply miles away from the nearest lemon’

Love that quote.

A complaint from the priest and humorist Sidney Smith who used it to describe a parish that he was sent to in deepest Yorkshire in1809.

There is no substitute for the flavour of a lemon. They’re not something that you want to find yourself without in a working kitchen. They’ll dress your salad, ice your cake, stuff your chicken and crown a proper gin and tonic. They are simultaneously unique and indispensable.

The Glasraí crew are currently supplying us with some particularly delicious and flavourful  Italian ones. The lemons are organic, and although not all unwaxed lemons are organic,  all organic ones are unwaxed. Lemons are usually waxed to extend their shelf life, but for the recipes below, or any recipe that uses the zest, you’re better off to use the unwaxed variety. If you’d like to read some more information about lemons and waxing, here’s a great article from The Guardian.

As well as lemons, we’ve also started to sell our own lemon curd.

It’s a great addition to a sponge cake or lovely on toast.

Here’s 2 of our favourite other lemon recipes…

 

 

Lemon Drizzle Cake

2 eggs

175 g Caster Sugar

75ml Double Cream

175 g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

175 g very soft butter

for the glaze

100g Icing sugar

juice of one lemon

 

Method

1- Set oven to 160 C. Great a 1kg /2lb loaf tin and line it with parchment paper.

2- Using a cake mixer or electric whisk, beat the caster sugar and butter until pale in colour, then add the flour and and eggs in incremental amounts and incorporate

3- Add all the other ingredients with a pinch of salt and beat until combined. Turn into the prepared tin and cook for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.

4- Combine sugar and lemon juice with a fork or thick being sure to smooth out any lumps.

5- Remove cake from tin and allow to cool for 30 mins or so before pouring the fondant over the cake.Leave to set before serving

 

Lemon Posset.

A true example of a recipe that is so much greater than it’s sum of parts – cream, sugar and lemons. It’s the perfect end to a meal, yet has become overshadowed by it’s European relations, the Panna cotta and creme brûlée. Once it’s set, it can be accompanied by a scatter of  seasonal berries or a some rhubarb as shown in picture.

300 ml Cream

75g caster sugar

finely grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp lemon juice.

Method

  • Put the cream, sugar and lemon zest in a small saucepan and warm over a low heat, stirring ll the time to make sure the sugar dissolves , and bubbles start to form around the edge. Cook gently without stirring for 2 minutes, and try to avoid a rolling boil.
  • Remove from the heated stir in the lemon juice
  • Pour into 4 small glasses (80 ml each)
  • Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or leave overnight.

 
 

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