What a great success Bloom was once again. This was my 13th year and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I did six demos and enjoyed meeting a lot of people and had a chance to visit so many great producers. A big thank you to Bord Bia, to Tara McCarthy and Hilda Adams in particular, and to my own team who put in long hours to make it all happen. Roll on 2020.

I hope by the time you read this the weather will have improved and there will be the occasional barbecue. You will find koftas of all sorts from India to Asia to Greece made with beef, chicken, lamb and pork mixed with spices and usually onions. You even see vegetarian koftas made with potatoes. These kebabs are a little firmer than meatballs and I hope you enjoy them. Butter beans are ideal. I always keep a few cans in the kitchen. They are great to add into soups.

It is the season for mackerel and myself and my son Connor have been trying our best to catch a few in Mullaghmore. It is hard to beat the taste of a fresh mackerel and we live in hope!

Happy cooking,

Neven

Kofta kebabs

Serves four

For the koftas:

450g (1lb) lean minced lamb

125g (4 1/2oz) trimmed lamb neck fillet, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, grated

1 tsp ground cumin

a good pinch chilli flakes (optional)

1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley

For the salad:

a handful pickled green chillies

1 large carrot, grated

400g (14oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed (such as haricot)

1 little gem lettuce head, trimmed and shredded

good squeeze of lemon juice

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

lemon wedges, to garnish

  • 1 To make the koftas; place all the ingredients in a bowl and season with salt. Mix until well combined and then shape into four large sausage shapes and put on to soaked wooden or metal skewers that are about 25cm long.
  • 2 Cook the koftas on the barbecue, under a medium grill or a cast iron griddle pan also works well for about 15 minutes, turning regularly to ensure they cook evenly.
  • 3 Meanwhile, put the salad ingredients on plates and once the koftas are cooked add one to each plate to serve. Garnish with the lemon wedges.
  • Barbecued mackerel baguette

    Serves four

    4 large fresh mackerel fillets, trimmed and pin bones removed

    3 tbsp rapeseed oil

    1 large baguette

    good handful soft lettuce leaves, shredded

    1 large vine-riped tomato, chopped

    For the dressing:

    6 gherkins, drained and finely chopped

    1 small bunch chopped fresh mint

    4 tbsp plain yoghurt

    good pinch ground cumin

    good squeeze of lemon juice

    1 green chilli, thinly sliced

    sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 To make the dressing, place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined. Season to taste. Set aside until needed.
  • 2 To cook the mackerel, heat a large cast iron griddle pan or a barbeuce. Brush the mackerel fillets with the oil and then add to the griddle pan or barbecue, flesh side down. Cook for a few minutes until crisp and golden brown and then flip over and cook for another few minutes until just cooked through and tender – you may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan.
  • 3 While the mackerel is cooking, cut the baguette into four even-sized pieces and split each one in half. Fill with the lettuce and chopped tomatoes. Once the mackerel is cooked, add one to each split roll and then drizzle over the mint and yoghurt dressing. Serve immediately on plates.