Taste of Cavan is on 11 and 12 August. I love this weekend and the celebration of great local producers. On the Saturday I will be cooking with people who attend the festival – which I’m really looking forward to. You can find all of the details on www.tasteofcavan.ie.

And if you’re spending the weekend at home, why not try this salmon. It is a super-healthy dish packed full of Omega 3, and the recipe gets some nice flavour into the couscous. I came across sumac a while back and I like the delicate citrus taste of this spice – it is very refreshing. You will find it in Asian markets and it is used a lot in the Middle East. You can get pomegranates almost all-year round now. I often cut them in two, remove the seeds, and then freeze them in a bag.

We have been lucky with a lot of warm days this year – and hopefully this weekend will be no exception. These homemade lollies are a good way to encourage the children to eat fruit. And you will see that there is no sugar added. I always like to know what is in food. Children will enjoy making these lollies. You can get moulds in most supermarkets, but you could easily improvise with an ice cube tray or freezer bags.

See you in Cavan!

Crispy salmon with pomegranate and watercress couscous

Serves four

4x150g (5oz) organic salmon fillets, pinboned and skinned

250g (9oz) couscous

2 tbsp rapeseed oil, plus a little extra, if liked

500ml (18floz) boiling water

75g (3oz) rice flour

1 tbsp sumac, plus extra to garnish

75g (3oz) toasted pumpkin seeds

2 tbsp flax seeds

Finely grated rind of 1 lemon

2 large handfuls fresh watercress

1 small pomegranate, halved and seeds removed (skin discarded)

For the harissa yoghurt:

2 tsp harissa paste

2 heaped tbsp thick Greek yoghurt

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon wedges, to garnish

1 Season the couscous, then stir in one teaspoon of the oil. Pour the boiling water over and season with salt. Cover tightly with cling film and then set aside.

2 Heat the rest of the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Put the rice flour in a shallow dish with the sumac and season generously with salt and pepper. Dust the salmon in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Add to the heated oil in the frying pan and cook for two to three minutes on each side, until crisp and golden.

3 Meanwhile, fluff up the couscous with a fork and then fold in the pumpkin and flax seeds with the lemon rind. At the last moment, roughly chop the watercress and toss through the couscous.

4 To make the harissa yoghurt, stir the harissa into the yoghurt and season to taste. Cover with cling film and chill until needed.

5 Arrange the crispy salmon on plates and add an extra light sprinkling of the sumac. Add the pomegranate and watercress couscous with pumpkin seeds, then drizzle over a little extra olive oil, if liked. Garnish with lemon wedges and add a spoonful of the harissa yoghurt to serve. CL

Tropical Mango Lollies

Makes four

2 medium mangoes

juice of 2 limes

1 Peel the mangos and cut the flesh off the stone. Place in a food processor or blender with the lime juice, then blitz until smooth. Transfer to a large jug and use to fill ice-lolly moulds, then freeze.

Blackberry and Orange Lollies

Makes four

300g blackberries

juice of 2 oranges

1 Place the blackberries in a food processor or blender with the orange juice. Blend until smooth, then press through a sieve into a large jug. Pour into ice-lolly moulds, then freeze.

Watermelon and Raspberry Lollies

Makes four

¼ watermelon

200g raspberries

1 Cut the flesh from the watermelon and remove the seeds. Place in a food processor or blender with the raspberries. Blend until smooth, then strain through a sieve into a large jug. Pour into ice-lolly moulds and freeze for at least four hours. To remove lollies from moulds, dip them briefly into hot water to loosen.