Coconut oil has really taken off as the trendy new ingredient to use in the kitchen. It’s great for stir-frying, as cooking it at high temperatures doesn’t turn it into a nasty trans fat, as you’ll discover in our delicious Coconut Grove chicken curry stiry-fry.

Other fabulous high-temperature cooking oils are sunflower, grapeseed and rapeseed. High in dietary fibre, protein, essential fats, selenium, vitamin C and B vitamins. Low GL.

This Irish lamb stew is my mammy’s recipe, God rest her soul. She would always prepare this on very cold winter nights when your hands were cold, your nose was cold and your feet were cold. You would be warmed up in no time at all, from the feet upwards.

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I know that using a little cocoa powder sounds weird, but it makes a really tasty stew with a lot of depth and character. You can buy horseradish relish in a gourmet or health-food shop in the chilled section.

Lamb is an excellent source of protein, zinc, selenium and vitamin B12. High in protein, iron, B vitamins and dietary fibre, it’s also low GL.

Select Stores Irish Lamb Stew

Serves four

(Allergen guide: contains gluten, sugar free, dairy free, nut free)

4 tablespoons rapeseed oil

1kg lean Irish stewing lamb, cut into chunks (you can tenderise the meat by wrapping it in cling film and pounding it with a mallet)

2 large onions, sliced

1 red onion, sliced

1 clove of garlic, crushed

4 tablespoons white spelt flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

½ teaspoon Himalayan fine rock salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon dried marjoram

850ml boiling water

150g carrots, diced

4 large floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 teaspoon horseradish relish

1 Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, then add in the meat in batches and brown it on all sides. This should take about 10 minutes per batch. Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2 Add the onions and garlic to the frying pan and cook for five to eight minutes, until soft. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and add the flour to the oil remaining in the pan. Add the cocoa, seasoning and herbs and stir until slightly thickened.

3 Return the meat, onions and garlic to the pan along with the boiling water. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.

4 Add the carrots, potatoes and horseradish relish and top up with additional water if necessary to cover the ingredients. Simmer for another 30 minutes, until the carrots and potatoes are tender. Serve hot.

Coconut Grove Chicken Curry Stir-Fry

Serves three

(Allergen guide: sugar free, gluten free, dairy free, nut free)

For the stir-fry:

2 tablespoons coconut oil

500g chicken fillets, diced

400g broccoli florets

150g canned sliced water chestnuts, drained

Cooked brown basmati or short- grain brown rice, to serve

For the coconut curry sauce:

2 tablespoons creamed coconut

2 tablespoons natural coconut yoghurt

20g toasted coconut flakes

2 large cloves of garlic

5 stalks of fresh coriander, finely chopped

1 small finger of fresh root ginger, grated

250ml water

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 ½ tablespoons mild curry powder

1½ teaspoons Himalayan fine rock salt

1 To make the sauce, add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend for 15 seconds.

2 Heat the coconut oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the chicken and brown it on all sides. Add the broccoli and water chestnuts along with the curry sauce and let it simmer for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.

3 Serve with brown basmati or short-grain brown rice and enjoy.

The Fuel Food Cookbook by Oliver McCabe is published by Mercier Press, RRP €22.99. CL