THE DARINA ALLEN COLUMN - Exploring Armagh

This month Darina recalls a fascinating Irish Food Writers’ Guild outing to the beautiful Orchard County

A lovely part of Northern Ireland was the destination for this year’s annual Irish Food Writers’ Guild voyage of discovery - which gave us an unusual opportunity to explore Armagh, the Orchard County, home of the Bramley Seedling apple and ecclesiastical capital of Ireland, how about that!
We drove past acres and acres of both old and new trees, laden with apples just before harvest. Needless to say there are many entrepreneurial businesses, making myriad products from the famous cooking apple and the pollinators scattered through the orchards, but there is also a bourgeoning artisan food sector.
Burren Balsamics, was a surprising find - you might expect it to be in County Clare, but there are several other Burrens around the country. Here the charismatic Hamilton-Stubber family and their super innovative team make a wide variety of small batch balsamic vinegars from a base of white balsamic, flavoured with local blackberries, wild garlic...They also make little pearls of balsamic vinegar, tiny flavour bombs of Blackberry and Thyme, that burst deliciously in the mouth.
During our short sojourn in Co Armagh, we visited two cider makers, both were on family farms. At AghniIig, James Mackle, a student with an impressive list of degrees has been experimenting with small batches of AghniIig Orchard Ice Cider aged in virgin chestnut casks and is fastidious in his quest for the perfect result. Armagh ice cider, a premium product is indeed worth seeking out. Watch this space....
Another warm welcome to Long Meadow Cider Farm from the McKeever family in Portadown, one of the leading food tourism experiences in County Armagh. This is a sixth generation family farm who supply virtually the whole of Northern Ireland with their famous apple juice, still and sparkling cider and apple cider vinegar with its many medicinal attributes. They continue to experiment and have recently introduced with great success, some flavoured ciders, including rhubarb and honey, Berry Blast and their latest, a Mango Cider for which they can scarcely keep up with the demand....
Longmeadow Farm also offer a tempting variety of tours and experiences for groups..
Another highlight was a visit to the Armagh Robinson Library. Established in 1771, it is home to a remarkable collection of books, manuscripts and archives including a first edition of Johnathan Swift's, Gulliver's Travels and has a lot of special features. It was created specifically for the people of the town, for a start, and nothing is behind glass – and you must ask about their uniquely simple (and very practical) cataloguing system, it’s a gem. We were given a special viewing of 18th century cookery related works and I could've stayed there all day long, it was truly fascinating.
Of course, we had many memorable meals, our first taste of Armagh was our lunch cooked over fire by Rory and his Mum, Fiona at On The Hoof located at Richhill.
The deputy Lord Mayor, Lavelle McIlwrath added to Fiona's warm welcome – and such fun to see a copy of my Forgotten Skills Book on the shelf almost in 'flitters' from constant use. We enjoyed many delicious dishes at On The Hoof including Beetroot Tzatziki, sprinkled with Marigold petals and a Summer Berry Pavlova to die for!
We also had a memorable dinner at the FE McWilliam Gallery and Studio on the main Dublin-Belfast road at Banbridge, which is currently undergoing an impressive extension. We were hosted by the excellent in-house café Quails at the Gallery, an award-winning restaurant (and sister to Quails butchers and café in the town) which is atmospherically located within the venue. Here we enjoyed a delicious celebration of local ingredients, artisan producers and Armagh ciders, many flavours of Northern Ireland Food Heartland – and very good company. Definitely a venue to have on your list when you plan your visit.
Our last meal before heading home was at Dante's Deli at the Palace Stables in Armagh City, where we particularly loved the Ham Bon Bons among the memorable tastes of Armagh – and thank you to Daniel Gallagher for sharing the recipe with our readers.
We loved the eclectic mix of food and culture chosen for us to experience by Tourism NI. Guess what, we were also introduced to road bowling by a couple of members of the Antrim team. Road Bowling is one of Ireland's most distinctive, traditional sports and such fun- but I don't think I'll make the A-Team. Think I'll stick to the pots and pans!
There are lots of good places to be based in the area, and we enjoyed a hospitable stay and a special locally-focused breakfas at the Armagh City Hotel, which has recently been taken over by the McKeever Hotel Group (of the historic Dunadry in Co Antrim among others) who have big plans for it.
A whistle stop tour but one that left me yearning to return to the beautiful Orchard County of Armagh.

RECIPES FROM ARMAGH

Ham Bon Bons
Thanks to Daniel of Dante's Deli Armagh for sharing this irresistibly crunch, and very moreish recipe. Makes approx. 40

Ingredients
1.5kg pork knuckle
500ml apple juice (Long Meadow Farm)
2 sliced white onions
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
1 star anise
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
100g brown sugar
100g sweet paprika
50g salt
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
100g chopped gherkins

Bread Crumb Coating
4 tablespoons white flour (plain or gluten free)
1 beaten egg
100ml whole milk
150g panko breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Mix all dry ingredients to make a rub.
Coat the pork in mustard and cover in dry rub.
Put cider, onions and pork into an oven proof dish.
Cover and cook at 160°C (320°F) for 6 hours
Allow the pork to cool.
Shred, weigh out 60-80g of pork mix, taste for seasoning and roll into walnut size balls.
Coat the bon bons in flour, dip in egg wash and coat in breadcrumbs.
Keep in the fridge or immediately deep fry until golden brown and piping hot through. Serve with a chosen relish or chutney.

Beetroot Tzatziki
Thank you to Fiona at On The Hoof for sharing this recipe.

To start.. Source a selection of beetroot, to use all the colours - pink , amber , white and red striped. At On the Hoof Fiona steams them to cook them through , but they roast or boil beautifully too. They are cooked when the peel will rub off easily.
Drain, allow to get cold, peel and dice.

Tzatziki
De-seed two cucumbers, grate them into a colander squeezing out the juice, set aside.
Mix the drained cucumber into 450 g (500ml) thick Greek yogurt, add the juice of one small lemon. Add salt to taste and a little good olive or rapeseed oil to loosen.
Add some finely chopped mint and dill.
Test for seasoning and adjust to your taste.
To finish, spread the Tzatziki over the base of a wide serving dish, decorate with the beetroot dice, top with some fresh mint and dill leaves.

Traditional Potato Apple Bread from Long Meadow Farm
A much loved and traditional Armagh recipe. Makes 2

Ingredients
175g self-raising flour
420g cold mashed potatoes
1 medium sized Bramley apple (peeled and thinly sliced)

Method:
Place the flour in a mixing bowl and gradually add in the cold cooked mashed potatoes.
Stir ingredients together to make a dough (I like to use my hands as its easier to mix both together).
If you find the mixture is too sticky add more flour.
Turn mixture out onto a floured board and knead gently into a ball shape. Divide into two pieces.
Dust a rolling pin with flour, using one piece of the mixture, roll into a circular shape about ½ inch thick.
Mark a thin slight line down the middle.
Arrange the sliced Bramley Apple to one side of the circle of dough to form a couple of layers (1 medium sized apples should be enough for both servings).
Fold the other side of the mixture over the apples and seal the edges with your fingertips and cut off any excess dough.
The apples should now be enclosed within the dough like an apple turnover.
Repeat with the other half of the mixture. Heat a griddle until hot, dust with flour.
Lay the potato apple bread onto the griddle for 2 – 3 minutes. Turn the griddle down to medium/hot.
Turn over onto the other side. The potato apple bread should have now formed a light brown skin.
Continue turning the bread every few minutes (you should be able to hear the cooked apples bubbling). By continually turning the potato apple bread it remains soft and prevents it becoming scored and burnt.
Take off the griddle, slice open, add lots of butter and sugar to taste.

Local tips
Keep an eye out for events coming up in County Armagh in the near future....
The Armagh Georgian festival will return from 26th to the 29th of November 2026 , for example - just two hours from Dublin. Check out this and other events at www.vistarmagh.com