Chicken Thigh Hot Pot in Tomato, Fennel & Lemon Sauce

The time is nigh; celebrate the thigh! These days we don’t cook nearly enough with chicken thighs. Somewhere in the passing of time, the breast was given a gold star and red carpet treatment, wings followed in second place, leaving the thigh trailing behind and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why!

Chicken Thigh. It’s like a bigger, juicier, crispier wing.  Rich, dark, juicy chicken, wrapped in a crackled, crispy, salty skin. What. Is. Not. To. Like.?!

This recipe was inspired by Spanish tapas I had in Barcelona when I was there for non-maid duties (I’m a Scientist, and my job forces me to travel to sunny places like Spain… do your homework kids!! It’s worth it, I tell ya!). The dish they served to share was overflowing with prawns, mussels & cockles in a tomato sauce with fresh coriander and lemon juice, but I do love a chicken thigh and I thought they’d make a great substitute for this dish when I was cooking for family who suffer from death by prawns.

It’s fresh but smokey, warm but zesty and is simple but full of flavour, give it a go! It pairs well with a side dish of potatoes, peas and black pudding (recipe over here!)… I hope it inspires you to embrace the thigh; it’s time!

Chicken Thigh Hot Pot in Tomato, Fennel & Lemon Sauce

Ingredients

Serves 4: 

8 Chicken Thighs (Skin on)

2 Medium Fennel Bulbs, Sliced

250g Passatta Sauce

250mL Chicken Stock

1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika

1 Tsp Cinnamon

1 Tsp Sea Salt

1 Birdseye Chilli, Chopped

3 Cloves of Fresh Garlic, Thinly Sliced

1 Tsp Brown Sugar

30g Fresh Coriander, Chopped

30g Fresh Basil, Chopped

Grated Rind & Juice of 1 Lemon

2 Tbsp Broighter Gold Lemon Oil

 

Method

Preparation time: 1 hour 

Cooking time: 45-50 minutes 

Calories per serving: 301 Calories per serving (5.2g sugar)

 

Marinade the chicken, paprika, cinnamon, salt, lemon rind & 1 tbsp of oil in a bowl in the fridge for 1 hour before cooking.

In a hot, oiled pan, brown the marinated chicken thighs, skin side down first before turning to brown on the other side.

Remove the browned chicken thighs from the pan and leave to one side.

Add the fennel to the pan and cook until it softens.

Add the brown sugar, garlic, chilli, passata, stock and lemon juice to the pan and stir well.

Place the chicken thighs skin side up into the tomato sauce. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for an additional 25-30 minutes.

Garnish the dish with freshly chopped coriander and basil before serving with Black Pudding, Fried New Potatoes & Peas…!

Bueno!

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SculleryMade produces artisan goods using quality, local ingredients in Belfast. For recipe ideas using local ingredients check out our blog http://scullery-made.com 

For SculleryMade goods & other local artisan produce, come and find the maid at Inns Market on the last Saturday of every month!

SculleryMade – Ormeau Rd, Belfast                                                

Contact: Caoimhe@scullery-made.com

Baked Cavanbert; be my cheesy Valentine!

Romance is in the air…My dear Cavanbert, it’s time I tell you how I really feel. You wheeled on into my life on a crisp September Saturday morning, all mouldy and a little stanky. I thought you were a once-off. A visitor on my cheeseboard, perched up next to a piece of Young buck and a tangy goat’s cheese. That was before I knew what I now know. And, well… now, you’re that wheel in the distance I hope to recognize.

Cavanbert, made by Silke Cropp, outside Belturbet, Co. Cavan is made with raw cow’s milk, and pays a fine tribute to the soft Camembert style. It’s a beautifully creamy, pungently lactic raw cheese. In my humble opinion, it is best served baked. A baked ‘bert is hard to beat but a baked Cavanbert, with thin slices of raw garlic and sprigs of fresh rosemary is the greatest union and served up with a rich Stout, like Boundary Brewing’s chocolate-heavy Stout will melt you to the core!

This dish tests patience and requires restraint… when you unwrap your Cavanbert you’ll be tempted to cut through the chalky white skin and sneak a bite of it’s delicious creamy centre… don’t! Patiently place thin slices of raw garlic and sprigs of fresh rosemary throughout the cheese and leave to bake at 150oC or lower for 40-60 minutes until the centre bubbles up like a white-hot liquid lava. Serve immediately with thinly sliced crusty baguettes for dunking and wash it down with an equally flavoursome beer like a rich stout, an imperial stout or an aged porter and feel the love!

 

Baked Cavanbert; be my cheesy Valentine!

Ingredients

Serves 2 or one if you’re lonely.

 

1 Wheel of Cavanbert Cheese (Corleggy Cheeses, Cavan)

2 Cloves of Garlic, Thinly Sliced

1 Sprig of Fresh Rosemary

 

To serve:

1 Crusty Baguette, sliced

Cracked black pepper

A couple of bottles of Boundary Brewing Stout

 

Method

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Calories per serving: it’s melted cheese, from Cavan. It doesn’t calorie.

 

 

Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius.

Pierce the cheese and insert the thin slices of garlic and individual pines of rosemary throughout the wheel.

Bake the cheese in the pre-heated oven for 40-60 minutes.

Serve bubbling hot with thinly sliced, crusty baguettes and wash it down with Boundary Brewing’s export Stout.

Share your baked Cavanbert recipes with us on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook.

   

SculleryMade produces artisan goods using quality, local ingredients in Belfast. For recipe ideas using local ingredients check out our blog http://scullery-made.com 

For SculleryMade goods & other local artisan produce, come and find the maid atInns Market on the last Saturday of every month!

SculleryMade – Ormeau Rd, Belfast                                                

Contact: Caoimhe@scullery-made.com

 

Abernethy Butter Pancakes with Smoked Salmon & Dill Creme Fraiche

Pancake Tuesday is upon us! Growing up, it was the greatest thing, for one day a year, to be allowed to eat Pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner and as a snack any hour in between. As a kid, one pancake Tuesday stands out for me above all others. Like this year, it fell early in February and we’d had a heavy snowfall making our road unsafe to drive, so school was out for all us kids on the road! We spent our pancake-fueled day sledding, building snow men and avoiding snowball grenades launched by my brother and his mates…we finished the day with all the Forest Rd. neighbours gathering in our warm kitchen to tackle mountains of home-cooked pancakes for one final feast! Those endless pancake-peaks were never finished … we were defeated in the end. Stuffed, satisfied and sorry to see the day’s end.

Back then, we all favoured sweeter toppings like butter & golden syrup, icing sugar & lemon juice or chocolate spread over savoury toppings; so as a tribute to that sweeter palate, I’ve shared a sweet strawberry pancake recipe over here. But these days, I’d prefer a savoury topping so, below I’m sharing a recipe for pancakes with Dulse Abernethy Butter, smoked salmon, dill & lemon creme fraiche. The recipe calls for melted butter in the pancake batter, so I’ve used plain Abernethy Butter in the batter as I split this batter for a sweet and a savoury recipe, but there’s no reason you couldn’t use Smoked Abernethy Butter or Dulse Abernethy Butter instead. To add to the savoury & salty flavour of this recipe, I spread a knob of their Dulse butter on the warm pancakes before topping with the smoked salmon and dill creme fraiche.

The pancake recipe below is traditionally called a “drop scone” recipe and makes a risen, fluffy pancake with little air pockets throughout; a note to butter-lovers, those little air pockets form great butter wells!

With Super Bowl Sunday also coming up, this pancake batter could also make a great base for savoury Super Bowl snacks and, if you’re thinking of making some pulled pork, or pulled beef brisket you could serve it up on these pancakes and use Smoked Abernethy Butter on the pancakes to add to a smokey flavour of the snack!

Abernethy Butter Pancakes with Smoked Salmon & Dill Creme Fraiche

Ingredients

Serves 4:

 

For the Pancakes:

100g Self Raising Flour

30g Caster Sugar

1 Egg, Whisked

50g Melted Abernethy Butter

125mL Semi-Skimmed Milk

Rapeseed oil for frying

 

For the Creme Fraiche Dressing:

100mL Creme Fraiche

Chopped handful of fresh Dill

Zest & Juice of 1 Lemon

 

1 Knob of Dulse & Sea Salted Abernethy Butter

150g Smoked Salmon to Serve

 

Method

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 6 minutes 

Calories per serving: 333 Calories per serving (2 x pancakes each)

 

Mix the flour & sugar in a bowl and make a well to whisk in the egg, melted butter and a dash of milk.

Gradually whisk in the remainder of the milk to form a smooth batter.

Pour a tablespoon of batter onto a lightly oiled pan on a medium heat and cook for 3-4 minutes until air bubbles start to appear on the surface.

Flip the pancake and cook for another 2 mins until golden brown underneath.

To prepare the creme fraiche dressing, roughly chop the fresh dill and mix into the creme fraiche before adding the zest and juice of one lemon.

To serve, butter the warm pancakes, top with smoked salmon and a spoonful of creme fraiche dressing.

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SculleryMade produces artisan goods using quality, local ingredients in Belfast. For recipe ideas using local ingredients check out our blog http://scullery-made.com 

For SculleryMade goods & other local artisan produce, come and find the maid at Inns Market on the last Saturday of every month!

SculleryMade – Ormeau Rd, Belfast                                                

Contact: Caoimhe@scullery-made.com

Abernethy Butter Pancakes with Creme Fraiche & A Sticky, Tart Strawberry & Lemon Sauce

 

Delicious, fluffy golden pancakes topped with tangy creme fraiche & a sticky, tart strawberry & lemon sauce. Yours. For keeps. For Pancake Tuesday, or any day! Bon appetit!

Abernethy Butter Pancakes with Creme Fraiche & A Sticky, Tart Strawberry & Lemon Sauce

Ingredients

Serves 4: 

For the Pancakes:

100g Self Raising Flour

40g Caster Sugar

1 Egg, Whisked

50g Melted Abernethy Butter

125mL Semi-Skimmed Milk

Rapeseed oil for frying

 

For the Sticky, Tart Strawberry & Lemon Sauce:

150g Strawberries, Sliced

Zest & Juice of 1 Lemon

1 tbsp Dark Muscovado Sugar

1 tbsp Water

100mL Creme Fraiche to serve

 

Method

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Cooling time: 15 minutes 

Calories per serving: 363 Calories per serving (2 x pancakes each)

To prepare the sticky, tart strawberry & lemon sauce, on a high heat, cook the strawberries, sugar, water, lemon juice and zest in a pan until the strawberries soften. Leave to cool in the fridge for 15 minutes before serving.

To prepare the pancakes, mix the flour & sugar in a bowl and make a well to whisk in the egg, melted butter and a dash of milk.

Gradually whisk in the remainder of the milk to form a smooth batter.

Pour a tablespoon of batter onto a lightly oiled pan on a medium heat and cook for 3-4 minutes until air bubbles start to appear on the surface.

Flip the pancake and cook for another 2 mins until golden brown underneath.

To serve, place a dollop of creme fraiche on the warm pancakes and cover with the chilled, sticky, tart strawberry and lemon sauce. Enjoy!!

Share your Pancake recipes with us on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook.

   

SculleryMade produces artisan goods using quality, local ingredients in Belfast. For recipe ideas using local ingredients check out our blog http://scullery-made.com 

For goods and produce that inspires our SculleryMade blog visit Inns Market on the first Saturday of every month!

SculleryMade – Ormeau Rd, Belfast                                                

Contact: Caoimhe@scullery-made.com

Belfast Black Pudding Bites

Black pudding in a crunchy shell. Smooth, soft, spicy centre. Can’t be good for you…

Wrong! The word is out; black pudding is good for you! So we’re sharing a wee recipe for some bite-sized, super-snacks to keep you going, at the gym*, in the kitchen, or during a marathon … beer session!

*Not advised. Don’t trust any nutritional advice from this Scullery!

This recipe came about to use up some left-over pudding after making some delicious Black Pudding Scotch eggs (that recipe is on it’s way). Here we’ve used our own SculleryMade Belfast Black Pudding, Black Lava which has a blend of chilli, smoked paprika, coffee and cocoa. If you can’t get some of our pudding in your hands, we’d suggest using a soft black pudding as a substitute, or mixing a solid pudding with equal portions of sausage meat and seasoning with chilli and smoked paprika.

These are quick and easy to make and with Superbowl Sunday just around the corner, they’ll make the perfect half-time super-snack!

Belfast Black Pudding Bites

Ingredients

Serves 6:

1 Whisked Cavanagh Free Range Egg

80g Plain Flour

300g Belfast Black Pudding – Black Lava (The Chilli One)

180g Breadcrumbs

Oil for frying

Salt & Pepper to season

 

Method

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 3 minutes 

Calories per serving: 92 Calories per piece 

Soften the pudding with your hands and shape into small balls.

Heat the oil in the deep fryer to a high heat.

Coat the balls in flour, then in egg wash, followed by breadcrumbs and repeat the egg wash and breadcrumbs a second time to double-coat the pudding.

Fry the pieces until crispy and golden brown.

Season before serving warm with home-made mayonnaise.

 

Share your Black Pudding recipes with us on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook.

   

SculleryMade produces artisan goods using quality, local ingredients in Belfast. For recipe ideas using local ingredients check out our blog http://scullery-made.com 

For SculleryMade goods & other local artisan produce, come and find the maid at Inns Market on the last Saturday of every month!

SculleryMade – Ormeau Rd, Belfast                                                

Contact: Caoimhe@scullery-made.com

Popcorn Pavlova with Sea Salted Caramel Sauce

Exactly a year ago today we launched this blog from our scullery to share recipes celebrating local produce and the people who put their time, effort and skill into creating them. To celebrate, we’re sharing our sea salt caramel & popcorn pavlova recipe fit for a Birthday party! This gluttonous, gorgeous, sweet, salty, sticky, crunchy dessert will satisfy any sweet tooth.

Growing up in Forkhill no family BBQ was complete without heavy rain and a fruit Pavlova expertly baked by one of my Aunties to have a chewy gooey centre  and while my fondness for sweet treats has waned over the years in favour of savoury cheeses and meats, I can never pass on a Pav!

Aussies claim to have first created the Pavlova, although my Kiwi friends will dispute this to the death! The recipe below, is slightly modified from a recipe shared with me by an Irish-Australian, Owen and I daren’t dispute the origins of the Pav with this man!!

Owen’s tips for the perfect Pavlova base:

1. Use a clean copper bowl to whisk the eggs (metal if copper isn’t available).
2. Take your time adding the sugar and ensure the sugar granules are well-beaten into the egg whites. You can check for a glossy sheen on the peaks and the texture of the sugar granules will become less apparent (and less crunchy) when it’s well-beaten.
3. Keep the temperature low and when the base has cooked let it come to room temperature over time, don’t immediately expose the cooked base to cooler air in the kitchen. Let it cool gradually in the oven and then move it to the bench in the kitchen.

Hopefully you’ll get the chance to try this recipe and you enjoy it as much as we did! Like anything shared in the Scullery, it tastes best in great company!

A big thanks to Owen for imparting these Pebbles of Pavlova wisdom!

 

Popcorn Pavlova with Sea Salted Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

Serves 8:

 

For the meringue:

8 Egg Whites @ Room Temp

400g Granulated Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1 tsp Cornflour

1 tsp White Wine Vinegar

1 sheet of Greaseproof Baking Paper

For the topping:

400mLs Whipping Cream

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1 pot of En Place Salted Caramel Sauce

150g Salted Popcorn

150g Toffee Popcorn

150g Chocolate Pieces

 

 

Method

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 3 hrs 10 minutes (including 2hr cooling time)

Calories per serving: 501 Calories (59.5g sugar)

Pre-heat the oven to 150*C.

Whisk the egg whites until firm. Gradually add the granulated sugar 50g at a time and whisk into the egg whites. When the mixture takes on a glossy appearance, and the crunch from the sugar granules disappears, sprinkle in the cornflour, vanilla essence and white wine vinegar, whisk in to mix well and the meringue mixture is ready to bake.

Transfer the meringue mixture onto a piece of greaseproof paper and smooth into a circle before baking for one hour and 10 minutes at 150*C.

Once baked, switch off the oven and without moving the meringue, leave it to cool in the oven for 1 further hour before removing to cool at room temperature for 1 hr.

While the Pavlova cools, melt the jar of En Place Salted Caramel on a high heat in a pan until it comes to the boil.

Mix the popcorn and chocolate in a large mixing bowl and pour over the melted caramel, mixing thoroughly. Leave to cool at room temperature.

Whisk the cream until stiff and add the vanilla essence before spreading it over the Pavlova base and covering with the cooled popcorn, chocolate and salted caramel topping.

Immediately serve your chewy, gooey, salty, sweet, delicious popcorn pavlova!

Share your popcorn pavlova recipes with us on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook.

   

SculleryMade produces artisan goods using quality, local ingredients in Belfast. For recipe ideas using local ingredients check out our blog http://scullery-made.com 

For SculleryMade goods & other local artisan produce, come and find the maid at Inns Market on the last Saturday of every month!

SculleryMade – Ormeau Rd, Belfast                                                      Contact: Caoimhe@scullery-made.com

Sticky Ginger Beer Brownies

These rich sticky ginger brownies take me back to one of my favourite deserts as a wee girl. Maybe after dinner on a Saturday, I can’t remember, we’d get a warm slice of McVities Jamaica Ginger Cake swimming in Bird’s custard made thick or runny depending on who made it and how generous they were with the custard powder. The ginger bread with it’s chewy, dense texture would stick to the roof of my mouth and the warm, spicy ginger flavour would hang about until a cold glass of milk washed it down… perfect cold-weather comfort food. I wanted to try baking a ginger brownie with a similar texture and flavour after first trying Pokertree’s ginger beer!

Pokertree’s ginger beer is full of spicy ginger flavour, and a lick of chilli, making it a great liquid base for this warm, ginger spiced brownie recipe. Used in the caramel glaze, it gives great colour to the brownies and the ginger & chilli heat come through in the sweet & sticky sauce.

The base for this ginger brownie recipe is similar to the recipe used to make these Sticky Stout & Treacle Brownies and it was shared with me by an excellent home-baker, way out west in Strandhill, Co. Sligo, Peggy McDermott!

Make sure you’ve got a few extra bottles of Pokertree ginger beer in the house, to help wash down these moreish little morsels!

Sticky Ginger Beer Brownies

Ingredients

Serves 12:

100g Abernethy Butter

225g Black Treacle

150mL Pokertree Alcoholic Ginger Beer

225g Plain Flour

50g Dark Brown Sugar

2 Tsp of Ground Ginger

1 Tsp Freshly Grated Ginger

1 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

2 Eggs

For the Salted Caramel and Ginger Glaze:

1 Jar of En Place Salted Caramel (100g)

1 Tbsp Black Treacle

150mL Pokertree Alcoholic Ginger Beer

Sea salt flakes

Method

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 35-40 mins

Calories per serving: Barely a twitch on the scale!

In a pan on medium heat, warm the butter, black treacle and sugar to dissolve.

Add the beer to the warmed butter, treacle and sugar and remove from the heat, stirring to mix well.

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger into a mixing bowl.

Add the eggs, freshly grated ginger and half of the beer, warmed butter, treacle and sugar and beat the mixture.

Continue to beat the mixture until smooth, gradually adding the remainder of the liquid.

Pour the mixture into a lined 7″/18cm square tin and bake in a pre-heated oven @ 150oC for 35-40 minutes.

For the Salted Caramel and Ginger Glaze:

Melt the salted caramel in a pan, add the treacle and sugar and heat to dissolve the sugar.

Add the beer to the pan and hold at a medium heat, simmering to reduce to a sticky glaze.

Spread the glaze over the brownies and sprinkle with salt flakes. Serve warm with a large glass of Pokertree Ginger Beer.

Share your ginger beer brownie recipes with us on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook.

   

SculleryMade produces artisan goods using quality, local ingredients in Belfast. For recipe ideas using local ingredients check out our blog http://scullery-made.com 

For SculleryMade goods & other local artisan produce, come and find the maid at Inns Market on the last Saturday of every month!

SculleryMade – Ormeau Rd, Belfast                                                      Contact: Caoimhe@scullery-made.com