Gubbeen has long been regarded as one of Ireland’s best cheeses and in a new book, Gubbeen: The Story of a Working Farm and its Foods, Giana Ferguson and her family welcome the reader into their west Cork homestead.
While Giana and her husband Tom first started making cheese on their dairy farm in 1979, with their children Fingal and Clovisse now involved, Gubbeen farm produces more than 50 types of food, from charcuterie to vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers.
Gubbeen: The Story of a Working Farm and its Foods provides an exceptional insight into the running of a traditional farm, from animal husbandry to cheese-making, smoking meats and growing your own fruit and veg, with recipes in each section to illustrate and celebrate the farm produce.
Clafoutis
When I was growing up, we spent warm summers in France with an uncle and cousins and a great lady called Maurisette, who made clafoutis. She of course worked with spoonfuls and cups as she taught me, and for her it had to be made with black cherries. Being Irish, we use blackberries (blueberries and raspberries would work too). I have always rather admired people who cook confidently without scales, but as a cheesemaker I have a forensic interest in the science of food too. With eggs you need to get the balance right, or you can get that faintly sulphurous aftertaste.
Serves four
Large cup of blackberries
85g of unrefined golden caster sugar
A few drops of lemon juice, to hold the colour
25g of butter, plus a little for greasing
Seeds scraped out of one vanilla pod
2 large free-range eggs
40g of plain flour
60ml of full-cream milk
60ml of double cream
Small pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark four. Gently heat the blackberries with three tablespoons of the sugar, until they begin to soften and some juice starts to leak out, then add a few drops of lemon juice, just to hold the colour. Try not to make this into a sauce, but keep it as sweetened berries.Warm the butter to a liquid, then add the vanilla pod seeds. Whisk the eggs and the remaining sugar in a large bowl, then slowly add the sifted flour, milk and cream, whisking until smooth. Slowly whisk in the butter and vanilla seeds. Add a small pinch of salt.Grease an ovenproof dish with butter, put the blackberries on the bottom, then pour over the batter. Gently arrange the berries, but keep a clean colour to the overall dish. Cook in the oven until you have a lovely, raised, puffy clafoutis, with little blackberry dimples. It takes about 30 to 35 minutes. Eat it warm, served with cream.
Carrigeen pudding
Tom grew up eating carrigeen, the red seaweed that grows down on the strand here, just below the tidemark. We pick it from just under the water and dry it well. This is one of my favourite desserts and we do have it often, but you can change the fruit you serve with it to suit the season.
Adding the orange and marmalade, as in this recipe, makes it a warm winter pudding. The spiciness of cardamom and orange are great companions in a milky pudding.
Serves six
990ml of full-cream milk
A semi-closed fistful of clean, dry carrigeen (about 7-8g)
Grated zest of two large unwaxed oranges
6 green cardamom pods
2 tbsp of honey, or to taste.
Marmalade, to serve
Combine all the ingredients (apart from the marmalade) in a pan and bring gently to the boil, being careful not to scorch the milk. Simmer for 20 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a serving bowl or into pretty glasses for dinner, if you like. Cover and chill until it has a tantalising wobble when jiggled. Serve with a generous blob of marmalade.
Pulled pork sandwich
Pulled pork has been reinvented by the great southern states of America’s barbecue styles. It is the very essence of comfort food. It is certainly a dish that needs lots of premeditation as it cooks so slowly, but once it is there for you, everything works – it is tender, juicy and all the accompaniments are just delicious.
Makes 12–15 large sandwiches
1 shoulder of pork, hand removed, well hung, skin scored
For the remoulade:
1 head of celeriac
3 tbsp of Dijon mustard
1 tbsp of crème fraîche
2 tbsp of superfine capers or chopped capers
100g of flat-leaf or curly parsley, roughly chopped
2 x 47.5g tins of best-quality anchovies, drained and roughly chopped (Ortiz are perfect, but if you can’t get exceptional anchovies, omit them)
Squeeze of lemon juice
1 glass of cider (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf of malthouse sourdough, to serve
Preheat the oven to 90°C/gas mark ¼. Heavily salt the shoulder of pork all over. Place it on a rack in a baking tray and slow-roast in the oven. Depending on the size of the shoulder, this can take anywhere between eight and 10 hours, to get to the point where the meat will tear, or pull. If you wish to eat this in the afternoon, it’s a good idea to put the shoulder in the oven the night before. It is cooked so low that the shoulder never gets stressed – the meat must have totally surrendered before you remove it from the oven. Take the shoulder out of the oven and allow to cool on the rack in the tray. This will catch all the juices and fat that will seep out. Keep everything in the tray– you’ll need it later.When the shoulder is just finishing in the oven, or cooling, it’s the perfect time to make the remoulade. Peel the celeriac, cut into manageable chunks and thinly slice with a sharp knife. You should end up with large petals of thin celeriac. Stack the slices four or five high and cut into thin matchsticks.Combine the mustard, crème fraîche, capers and parsley in a large bowl and add the celeriac matchsticks. Mix together well and fold in the anchovies with care so the delicate flesh isn’t damaged too much. Adjust the acidity with the lemon juice to taste. Leave at room temperature if you intend to pull the pork and make the sandwich, or cover and refrigerate if you are organised and getting ahead.When the shoulder is cool enough to handle, you can start to pull the pork. Needless to say, very clean hands are imperative and gloves are very handy. Remove the skin (sadly the skin needs to be sacrificed in order to get fantastic pulled pork) and shred the meat into a large bowl.When all the meat is picked, add the fat and the juices from the roasting tray and mix gently. Taste the meat and add salt and pepper until you’re happy with the seasoning. A glass of cider lifts the mix, but it’s not imperative.Slice the whole sourdough and use to make sandwiches filled with as much pulled pork as you dare, followed by a layer of the celeriac remoulade.
Gubbeen has long been regarded as one of Ireland’s best cheeses and in a new book, Gubbeen: The Story of a Working Farm and its Foods, Giana Ferguson and her family welcome the reader into their west Cork homestead.
While Giana and her husband Tom first started making cheese on their dairy farm in 1979, with their children Fingal and Clovisse now involved, Gubbeen farm produces more than 50 types of food, from charcuterie to vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers.
Gubbeen: The Story of a Working Farm and its Foods provides an exceptional insight into the running of a traditional farm, from animal husbandry to cheese-making, smoking meats and growing your own fruit and veg, with recipes in each section to illustrate and celebrate the farm produce.
Clafoutis
When I was growing up, we spent warm summers in France with an uncle and cousins and a great lady called Maurisette, who made clafoutis. She of course worked with spoonfuls and cups as she taught me, and for her it had to be made with black cherries. Being Irish, we use blackberries (blueberries and raspberries would work too). I have always rather admired people who cook confidently without scales, but as a cheesemaker I have a forensic interest in the science of food too. With eggs you need to get the balance right, or you can get that faintly sulphurous aftertaste.
Serves four
Large cup of blackberries
85g of unrefined golden caster sugar
A few drops of lemon juice, to hold the colour
25g of butter, plus a little for greasing
Seeds scraped out of one vanilla pod
2 large free-range eggs
40g of plain flour
60ml of full-cream milk
60ml of double cream
Small pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark four. Gently heat the blackberries with three tablespoons of the sugar, until they begin to soften and some juice starts to leak out, then add a few drops of lemon juice, just to hold the colour. Try not to make this into a sauce, but keep it as sweetened berries.Warm the butter to a liquid, then add the vanilla pod seeds. Whisk the eggs and the remaining sugar in a large bowl, then slowly add the sifted flour, milk and cream, whisking until smooth. Slowly whisk in the butter and vanilla seeds. Add a small pinch of salt.Grease an ovenproof dish with butter, put the blackberries on the bottom, then pour over the batter. Gently arrange the berries, but keep a clean colour to the overall dish. Cook in the oven until you have a lovely, raised, puffy clafoutis, with little blackberry dimples. It takes about 30 to 35 minutes. Eat it warm, served with cream.
Carrigeen pudding
Tom grew up eating carrigeen, the red seaweed that grows down on the strand here, just below the tidemark. We pick it from just under the water and dry it well. This is one of my favourite desserts and we do have it often, but you can change the fruit you serve with it to suit the season.
Adding the orange and marmalade, as in this recipe, makes it a warm winter pudding. The spiciness of cardamom and orange are great companions in a milky pudding.
Serves six
990ml of full-cream milk
A semi-closed fistful of clean, dry carrigeen (about 7-8g)
Grated zest of two large unwaxed oranges
6 green cardamom pods
2 tbsp of honey, or to taste.
Marmalade, to serve
Combine all the ingredients (apart from the marmalade) in a pan and bring gently to the boil, being careful not to scorch the milk. Simmer for 20 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a serving bowl or into pretty glasses for dinner, if you like. Cover and chill until it has a tantalising wobble when jiggled. Serve with a generous blob of marmalade.
Pulled pork sandwich
Pulled pork has been reinvented by the great southern states of America’s barbecue styles. It is the very essence of comfort food. It is certainly a dish that needs lots of premeditation as it cooks so slowly, but once it is there for you, everything works – it is tender, juicy and all the accompaniments are just delicious.
Makes 12–15 large sandwiches
1 shoulder of pork, hand removed, well hung, skin scored
For the remoulade:
1 head of celeriac
3 tbsp of Dijon mustard
1 tbsp of crème fraîche
2 tbsp of superfine capers or chopped capers
100g of flat-leaf or curly parsley, roughly chopped
2 x 47.5g tins of best-quality anchovies, drained and roughly chopped (Ortiz are perfect, but if you can’t get exceptional anchovies, omit them)
Squeeze of lemon juice
1 glass of cider (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf of malthouse sourdough, to serve
Preheat the oven to 90°C/gas mark ¼. Heavily salt the shoulder of pork all over. Place it on a rack in a baking tray and slow-roast in the oven. Depending on the size of the shoulder, this can take anywhere between eight and 10 hours, to get to the point where the meat will tear, or pull. If you wish to eat this in the afternoon, it’s a good idea to put the shoulder in the oven the night before. It is cooked so low that the shoulder never gets stressed – the meat must have totally surrendered before you remove it from the oven. Take the shoulder out of the oven and allow to cool on the rack in the tray. This will catch all the juices and fat that will seep out. Keep everything in the tray– you’ll need it later.When the shoulder is just finishing in the oven, or cooling, it’s the perfect time to make the remoulade. Peel the celeriac, cut into manageable chunks and thinly slice with a sharp knife. You should end up with large petals of thin celeriac. Stack the slices four or five high and cut into thin matchsticks.Combine the mustard, crème fraîche, capers and parsley in a large bowl and add the celeriac matchsticks. Mix together well and fold in the anchovies with care so the delicate flesh isn’t damaged too much. Adjust the acidity with the lemon juice to taste. Leave at room temperature if you intend to pull the pork and make the sandwich, or cover and refrigerate if you are organised and getting ahead.When the shoulder is cool enough to handle, you can start to pull the pork. Needless to say, very clean hands are imperative and gloves are very handy. Remove the skin (sadly the skin needs to be sacrificed in order to get fantastic pulled pork) and shred the meat into a large bowl.When all the meat is picked, add the fat and the juices from the roasting tray and mix gently. Taste the meat and add salt and pepper until you’re happy with the seasoning. A glass of cider lifts the mix, but it’s not imperative.Slice the whole sourdough and use to make sandwiches filled with as much pulled pork as you dare, followed by a layer of the celeriac remoulade. 
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