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3 MEALS WITH OUR PEPPERONATA

This week’s column focusses on our own tubs of ‘Pepperonata’ and could better be described as inspiration information rather than an exacting and specific recipe. 

 

 

If you’ve recently been to our shop, you may already be familiar with this product. We originally developed the tubs as a short cut for putting together your own brunch version of the classic Turkish breakfast ‘Shakshuka’, and we also include a method for this below. However, ‘Shakshuka’ refers to the complete and finished dishes with eggs, so it was a bit lazy giving the same title to basic pepper stew that we sell. Although we follow a classic pepperonata method, we also, somewhat controversially, add some background spicing in the form of cumin seeds and smoked paprika. We like it and we hope you do too.

If you want to make a version of the classic Italian recipe, we include a recipe below.

All meal recipes are plenty for 2 main course dishes, but would also do as four side dishes or starters.

Breakfast – ‘Shakshuka’

For this, you’ll need…

  • Rua Peperonata, eggs, yoghurt, and some coriander.

Method

  1. Add Shakshuka to pan and heat gently
  2. Make a ‘well’ and add your eggs to poach in the sauce. You should comfortably get 4 in a large 28cm wide pan
  3. Cook/poach eggs in the sauce until the whites set and the yolks are still runny( or however you like your eggs cooked) – this should take about 8-10 minutes. If you’d like them done a bit more, flash the pan under the grill or put in a hot oven for a minute, being careful to use a dry tea towel when removing the hot handle.
  4. Delicious with some yoghurt drizzled over, some fresh herbs and served with warm flatbreads. Extra chilli, crumbled feta or creme fraiche are also great additions.

 

Lunch – Peperonata with chorizo, butter beans and feta on toast

For this you’ll need…

  • Rua Peperonata, a tin of butter beans (or chickpeas, haricots etc),
  • Some good quality cooking chorizo, a block of feta cheese, sourdough or suitable bread for toasting.

Method

  1. Heat the butter beans and Pepperonata together.
  2. Fry the chorizo separately and add to the warm Pepperonata/beans mix.
  3. Toast your slices of sourdough, drizzle with oil and spoon over the pepperonata.
  4. Finish with some crumbled feta, chopped herbs and another drizzle of your olive oil.

 

Supper – Penne with Pepperonata and Kylemore cheese

For this you’ll need…

  • 200-250g Penne or suitable pasta
  • A good, nutty hard cheese like Kylemore or Parmesan
  • Rua Pepperonata
  • Some basil leaves

Method

  1. Warm your pepperonata and set aside
  2. Boil a pot of water and add a teaspoon of salt,
  3. Add your pasta and cook until al dente
  4. Drain the pasta, reserving a small bit of the pasta water.
  5. Add the pasta to the warmed pepperonata, add the basil and loosen with your pasta water,
  6. Serve in warmed bowls, and generously grate your chosen cheese on top.

If you fancy making it yourself, Here’s a basic and classic recipe for the Italian style, that does not include the cumin and smoked paprika of our version

 

Pepperonata
Serves 8

  • 1 Kg  red peppers and yellow peppers
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and pressed
  • Salt, to taste
  • 
1 400g tin of good quality chopped tomatoes (or fresh when in season)
  • Red wine vinegar, to taste (optional)
  • A handful of chopped basil

Method

  1. Cut the peppers into strips, about 1cm wide and 6cm long, discarding the seeds, stalks and any pithy white bits.
  2. In a heavy-based pan with a lid, warm the olive oil over medium-low heat, then cook the onion and garlic until soft, translucent and fragrant (they should not brown), which usually takes about 10 minutes. Add the peppers and a pinch of salt, stir, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every now and then
  3. Add the tomatoes, stir and then leave, uncovered, at a lively simmer for about 20-25 minutes minutes. Stir occasionally, gently pressing the tomatoes against the side of the pan, so they break up.
  4. The pepperonata is ready when the peppers are soft and everything has come together into a thick stew. Add the basil, taste, season generously, and add a dash of vinegar to sharpen things up, should you want to.
 

Dilisk Bread Recipe

This week’s recipe is for a version of our Dilisk Bread.

Almost exactly a year ago to the day, Derek and Aran attended the Irish Breakfast Awards in Dublin, where the bread received the ‘ Irish Bread Award ‘ for 2020 from Georgina Campbell’s Ireland Guide.

This bread is originally a Gerry Galvin Recipe. As a chef, restaurateur and poet, Gerry was always an inspiration to us at Rua.

After his untimely passing in 2013, we decided to make a version of his delicious Dilisk bread which we had remembered enjoying at a family meal in Drimcong many years before. We still make the bread every week and sell it at our shop on Spencer Street every Friday where it is much loved by our customers.

Our delicatessen on Spencer Street sells the Dilisk, Achill Sea salt and other ingredients featured in the recipe.

Rua’s Dillisk Soda Bread
Makes one 2lb / 900g loaf.

  • 15g dried dillisk
  • 4 eggs
  • 50g sugar
  • 60g melted butter
  • 50 ml buttermilk
  • 250g self-raising flour
  • 150g grated carrot
  • ½ teaspoon of bread soda, sieved
  • Pinch of Achill Island Sea Salt (smoked)
  1. Pre-heat a moderate oven, 160° C.
  2. Soak the dillisk in water for 5 minutes, drain and squeeze dry. Check for any shells before finely chopping.
  3. Whisk the eggs and sugar by hand in a mixing bowl. Next, add the melted butter and buttermilk and whisk again until combined.
  4. Add all of the remaining ingredients and fold in lightly but thoroughly.
  5. Put the mixture in a lined 2lb/900g loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven at 160º C for 45 minutes. Remove from the tin return to the oven for 5 minutes.
  6. Allow to cool before slicing.

We also make a richer version of the dillisk loaf, with more butter but no bread soda or buttermilk: omit the bread soda and buttermilk, and increase the butter to 110g and the self-raising flour to 250g. All other amounts remain the same.

 

Christmas Gifts & Food

Our Gift and Food Guide for Nollaig 2020 is now available. You can download it from here or we’ve got printed copies at both Rua Delicatessen on Spencer Street and Cafe Rua on New Antrim Street.

Our Christmas Food can now be pre-ordered online.
We’re asking everyone to do this for any food collections for the 3 days in the run-up to Christmas, so that’s :

  • Tuesday 22nd
  • Wednesday 23rd
  • Thursday 24th December

We’re using a great new Irish website called Click & Collection to help facilitate this process. The site features all our Christmas essentials such as trifles, mince pies, roulades, red cabbage, pate, stuffing and much more. If you need to order food for collection on days before this (up to the 21st December)  you can just call us at Spencer Street on 094 9286072.

  

We’ve also got a selection of our Hampers and other gifts available for delivery in Ireland this year.

Our BOSCA NOLLAG for €50 is a perfect family gift box and is available to preorder and for shipping on three pre-selected dates in December.

Our BEST OF THE WEST HAMPER is available online this year. We’ve slightly amended the original and this version is without any perishable products. We can deliver it in Ireland – for €100 inclusive of delivery. Last day for shipping is 16th December.

As always, our GIFT VOUCHERS can also be bought online and we’ll post it out for you.

We also have some other great gifts available for delivery such as our Rua Shopping bags and reusable water bottles. You can see everything available for delivery here.

For lots more HAMPERS we are also offering a click and collect service this year.

Click here, and choose your hamper – we’ll have it ready for collection on your chosen date and time slot. If you don’t see what you’re looking for or want something particular,  you can always contact us on 094 9286072 and we’ll put together something to order. We can generally have most hampers ready with 24 hours notice.

We’ve also converted our upstairs cafe on Spencer Street into a Hamper and Gift Shop and filled it with lots of ready to go hampers as well as many Irish made gifts.

The Hamper shop opens from Tuesday, December 1st and will be open from 9am – 5pm.

At the time of writing, the entire restaurant industry is awaiting instruction and guidelines from the government on reopening in December. We hope to be open and operating an eat-in service at the original Cafe Rua on New Antrim street once clarification comes. Our Cafe on Spencer Street will function as an extended Hamper and gift shop and pick up point in the run-up to Christmas, and we hope to reopen here as a seated cafe immediately after Christmas. Please stay tuned for news on our social media.

We appreciate you for considering us for your gifts this year. Many of our gifts such as our chopping boards, food products and ‘Best of the West’ hampers are made by ourselves or come from local suppliers.

Your purchase directly supports local employment.

Go raibh maith agaibh. 

 

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