Articles

Coming from areas such as Connemara, Kerry and West Waterford, where a rugged terrain with heathers, wild herbs and grasses produces a distinctive texture and herbal flavour, Irish hill lamb is smaller and leaner than its lowland cousins and its season is much later, running from late summer to early winter. During the last decade it has become recognised as a delicacy – and one with added health benefits at that - and is increasingly seen under regional branding.
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Sweetcorn (Zea mays convar. saccharata var. rugosa; also known as Indian corn, sugar corn, and pole corn) is a variety of maize with a high sugar content and antioxidant health benefits. Picked when immature, while the kernels are still milky, it is mainly used in Europe as a vegetable rather than a grain...
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“Seaweed has always been an important part of life for Ireland’s coastal communities, for use on the land and in the home,” says Sligo GP and Slow Food member Prannie Rhatigan in her book Irish Seaweed Kitchen (www.prannie.com). “Today, the shoreline is mysterious to many of us - but it’s as familiar as the back garden to families living along the coast or on islands, who have grown up with the rhythm of the tides and the briney harvest that is revealed every twelve hours.”
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Harbingers of summer, broad beans are among the earliest crops to be harvested in Britain and Ireland, and all the more welcome for that. Also known by different names in other cultures (notably fava bean and field bean), Vicia faba has been cultivated since the ancient civilisations and is still a staple crop in many countries today
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The aubergine (also known as eggplant) is related to the potato and tomato. Native to India, this exotic looking fruit with its beautiful glossy deep purple skin and fleshy texture, is a popular import but it has never been commercially grown in Ireland – until now. This year - in March 2012 to be exact – the north Dublin producers Keelings harvested their first crop of Irish aubergines.
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Sorrel is a rich green acidic-tasting salad herb or green vegetable that looks and behaves rather like a cross between a dock and a smallish pointed-leaved type of spinach. It grows abundantly in the wild in Ireland, and the tender young leaves are coming up everywhere in sun-dappled woodland and verges at this time of year (spring).
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As the winter vegetables near the end of their season and the new season outdoor crops are far from maturity, food grown under protection comes into focus. And what more reliable or useful allies could we have in the kitchen than mushrooms, in all their variety.
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Sprouting broccoli is one of my favourite vegetables and it’s a great crop to grow yourself because, strangely, it’s very rarely to be seen in the shops in Ireland. A brassica (member of the cabbage family), it is grown for its clusters of flower heads, which are harvested before the flowers open and used as a vegetable in a similar way to asparagus.
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As the New Year brings thoughts of restraint and good resolutions to eat more healthily, it is a happy coincidence that – although now available all year round – vitamin-packed citrus fruits are in their peak season in January and February, allowing us the opportunity to indulge with a clear conscience.
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Smoking is a popular preserving process for oily fish, with salmon being a particular delicacy made from sides of salmon (fillets) that are dry-cured or brined and then hot or cold smoked, typically over oak chips. Cold smoking is more usual and does not cook the fish, so it has a fine texture.
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