Ciara's Country Flavours: welcome to our new food page

Welcome to our new food page, Ciara’s Country Flavours. Local, Irish food has featured in Irish Country Living every week for as long as we have been writing. We have Neven Maguire producing simply delicious recipes for nearly 10 years, Nessa Robbins has been keeping us healthy with her Home Nurse series and, each week, the team travel across the country highlighting the producers, chefs, restaurants and food festivals of Ireland. There are more food events taking place in Ireland than ever before and on our new food page we’ll be highlighting upcoming festivals not to be missed, the menus to sample, and we’ll follow Irish chefs as they fill us in on the ingredients of the season. If you would like to highlight the foodie focus of your local area, don’t hesitate to get in contact.

From tasty pancakes to warming winter stews, Brian McDermott talks us through his favourite February dishes Brian McDermott, Moville Cookery School.

Pancake Tuesday! There was a time when this was one of the few days of the year we would be enjoying pancakes. Now you’ll find them on breakfast and brunch menus around the country. Thick American-style pancakes topped with berries or melted chocolate, bacon and eggs. For me though, on Pancake Tuesday I’m quite a traditionalist and it is the simple squeeze of fresh lemon. Nothing beats rolling them up tight and getting that citrus hit.

Instead of sugar, I opt for a dollop of local honey for a little sweetness and it adds a beautiful toasted coating to the pancake. I use our local Moville Honey within Inishowen. There isn’t a lot of it around at this time of year but I always hold some back just for Pancake Tuesday.

This week I’ll be visiting a few local schools, showing them how to make the batter, prepare their pancakes and even how to flip them. It’s great fun and I feel it’s part of my duty and role as a chef to keep the tradition alive.

Apart from that, I am all about the warming winter stews at the moment, with rich beef cheeks and lots of mushrooms.

I have fallen back in love with Irish chestnut mushrooms. They are much more earthy than watery and really add depth to a meal. Pop the stew in the slow cooker and its heaven on a cold evening. Yes, I have embraced the slow cooker! I’m not really one for gadgets, I get a bit worried they will replace those important cooking skill sets but this is one gadget I love.

Prepare your meat, veg and stock, pop in a bay leaf and let it bubble away. Nutritious, warming, delicious and one that my wife Brenda and I enjoy with our girls, Niamh and Aoife.

Brian McDermott’s new book, Donegal Table, published by O’Brien Press, goes on sale on 5 March and will be available in all good bookshops for €19.99.

There is nothing like hitting the road with a good guidebook in tow for an Irish adventure. One book that should be a constant in the car is Georgina Campbell’s Ireland – The Best of the Best. Known as the glove box bible, the highly selective independently assessed guide highlights the best places to eat and stay. Whether you’re looking for a five-star hotel that will wow or a local pub that simply serves fresh, delicious, local food, this will guide you on your travels.

Georgina says that once the best was generally seen as high-end but now all that has changed. “Standards have been raised throughout the country and across the board. There’s now a special brand of excellence that covers a much broader spectrum and includes many very casual places to eat, drink and stay, so this selection reflects that changing perception and the fact that the ‘best’ experiences are accessible to all, regardless of taste and budget.”

Divided by county, each segment gives a little background on what to expect, highlighting extras such as music, directions and whether it’s advised to book in advance. Guide prices are also included in most as well as accessibility and directions. Yes, of course, we can always ask Google but there is something quite charming about a good old-fashioned guidebook.

Available now in bookshops and online from Ireland-guide.com, €20

You don’t have to be in a couple to enjoy a fancy meal out for Valentine’s weekend. In fact, grab a few friends and toast to friendship. To celebrate Valentine’s Day, the Limerick Strand Hotel has decided that love is all around and is hosting a “Love Food & Wine” event.

Taking place on Friday 9 February at 7pm, the night kicks off to a good start with a welcome drink followed by a four-course wine-tasting dinner served in their AA Rosette River Restaurant. Prepared by executive chef Tom Flavin, dishes will include produce such as Currachase pork belly, Attyflynn Estate apple, Doonbeg scallops carrot, burnt leek, Skeaghanore duck, nettles, damson and elderberry and forced rhubarb Dingle gin. Adding a bit of a rugby theme, the hotel is sharing the love with its ‘All Blacks’ rivals and invited the renowned Siefried Estates to match each dish with their wines.

Located in the Nelson region of New Zealand, they harvest grapes from over nine vineyard locations, the newest of which is the Seifried Lord Rutherford Vineyard, which was harvested for the first time in 2017, adding a unique taste to the night.

The Love Food & Wine event costs €39 per person including welcome drink. Pre-booking is essential. Contact the hotel on 061-421 800 or email events@strandlimerick.ie.