First of all, a big thank you to the many people who supported the St James’s Hospital target lung cancer event in Clontarf last Thursday. I appreciate all of the support for this cause that is close to my heart. The many sponsors were very generous

This is a great time for our beautiful bramley apples. This soup is an unusual combination with the apples, potatoes and blue cheese, but it works. It is a variation on a classic French onion soup and uses cider instead of white wine to deglaze the caramelised onions. Some people are nervous of blue cheese and you could make it without, but I think it is worth a try. Baked apples with medjool dates is a classic old-fashioned dessert and it is always worth keeping some dates in the cupboard. They are great for things like sticky toffee puddings. To vary the taste, you could use rum instead of the sauterne wine.

Bramley apple and onion soup with crumbled Cashel blue

Serves six

50g (2oz) butter

1 kg( 2 1/4lb) onions, roughly chopped

2 Bramley apples

500ml (18 fl oz) medium dry cider

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Pinch of dried thyme

1/2 bay leaf

2 litres (3 1/2 pints) chicken stock from a cube is fine)

225g (8oz) potatoes, peeled and diced

1 onion, thinly sliced (to use as a garnish)

75 g (3oz) Cashel blue cheese

Handful fresh chervil sprigs or flat leaf parsley

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Heat a heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add 40g (1 ½oz) of the butter, then tip in the chopped onions and allow to cook gently for about 15 minutes, or until they are softened and lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

2 Peel the apples and remove the cores, then roughly chop and toss in a little of the cider to prevent discoloration. Deglaze the pan with the remaining cider and the apple cider vinegar. Add the apples and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the cider has reduced by half.

3 Add the thyme to the pan with the bay leaf, the stock, potato and season with a little salt.

4 Bring to a simmer and then cook for another 15 minutes or until the potato is completely tender, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaf from the pan and whiz the soup to a puree with a hand blender or in batches in the food processor. Season to taste.

5 To make the garnish, heat the remaining butter in a pan and sauté the onion slices until softened and just beginning to colour around the edges. To serve, reheat the soup gently and ladle into warm bowls. Crumble a tablespoon of the Cashel blue into each bowl. Garnish with the fried onion slices and chervil sprigs to serve.

Baked apples with medjool dates

Serves four

4 Bramley cooking apples, each about 300g (11oz)

50g (2oz) butter

50g (2oz) Medjool dates, finely diced

2 tbsp light brown sugar

2 tbsp Sauterne wine

Custard, to serve

Icing sugar, to decorate

1 Preheat the oven to fan 180oC (350oF/gas mark four). Remove the centre core from each apple and then run the tip of a sharp knife around the circumference of each one, just piercing the skin – this helps stop them bursting whilst cooking. Grease a 23cm (9in) square ovenproof dish that will fit the apples comfortably with 15g (½oz) of the butter.

2 Place the remaining butter in a mini blender or food processor with the dates and brown sugar. Whizz to a thick puree and then use to fill the prepared apples. Arrange in the buttered dish and sprinkle around the sauterne wine.

3 Bake for 45 minutes to one hour until the apples are completely tender but still holding their shape. Cover the tops of the apples with small pieces of foil if they start to brown too quickly.

4 Transfer the apples to warmed wide-rimmed bowls set on plates and spoon around the custard. Decorate with a good dusting of icing sugar to serve. CL