Paula Mee

Continuing her series on healthy meals, independent dietitian Paula Mee sings the praises of olive oil and shows how to put it to good use with a mouth-watering seafood casserole.

Week 8
Recipe — Just Cooking, Firies, Kerry
Olive oil is an important heart-healthy monounsaturated fat (oleic acid). It’s fabulously versatile and provides a delicious flavour in cooking or in salad dressings. Try not to overheat and therefore lessen the goodness of your ‘everyday’ olive oil when cooking, and keep the more expensive extra-virgin olive oil for dressings.

Several dietary trials have shown that diets enriched with monounsaturated fat reduce total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels to the same degree as low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets (such as the AHA Step I and Step II diets). However, the olive oil-enriched Mediterranean diet has a more favourable effect on triglyceride and HDL cholesterol levels.

In addition to improving the lipid profile, olive oil may contribute to the cardio-protective effect of the Mediterranean diet in several other ways.

Research is looking at its effects in lowering blood pressure, inhibiting oxidation of LDL cholesterol, providing antithrombotic effects, and improving insulin sensitivity.

The strong taste of extra-virgin olive oil is partly caused by the presence of significant quantities of flavonoids, which are polyphenolic antioxidants that have been shown to inhibit LDL cholesterol oxidation.

Mediterranean diet
Our recipe this week contains foods rich in antioxidant flavonoids (onions, scallions, leeks and fennel), which are also part of the heart-friendly Mediterranean diet.

This fish casserole is pretty low on the calorie front, when enjoyed with a crunchy green summer salad. It’s big on taste, antioxidants and flavonoids too and a great way to introduce seafood to younger family members.

Herb and lemon fish and prawn casserole

Serves 4
Ingredients:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 red onions, sliced
• Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
• 1 red pepper, cored, cut into strips
• 1 yellow pepper, cut into strips
• 50ml white wine (optional)
• 1 bunch scallions, finely sliced
• 1 leek, trimmed and sliced
• 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 2  x 400g tins of good quality chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• 500g skinless firm white fish fillets (such as cod, haddock or
halibut), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 200g raw tiger prawns, peeled and de-veined
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method:
1.    Heat the oil in a shallow casserole dish over a medium heat and add the onions and garlic.
2.    Cover and cook slowly, without allowing them to brown, for about 6 minutes or until the onions are beginning to soften.
3.    Add the peppers, leek, lemon and fennel and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
4.    If using, add the wine and allow to evaporate until there is a tablespoon left.
5.    Add the chopped tomatoes and black pepper.
6.    Bring to the boil, add the fish, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
7.    After 10 minutes, add the prawns and cook for a further 4-5 minutes or until the fish is fully cooked.
8.    Stir in the chopped fresh herbs and serve.

Paula Mee

Continuing her series on healthy meals, independent dietitian Paula Mee praises the humble potato, and recommends some turbot as its perfect partner

Week 7
Recipe — Edward, Dunbrody House

Turbot with crushed potatoes with sauce vierge — Serves 4

Why is the potato so maligned? Rich in carbohydrates, potatoes are a good source of energy. Yes, if you over-eat them, those extra calories become body-fat stores. But that same principle applies to all excess calories, no matter where the calories come from.

The nutrient profile of the new potato puts it head and shoulders above its competitors for space on your plate. A medium serving of boiled new potato has less calories and more potassium than a medium portion of rice or pasta. In fact, the new potato has 11 times more potassium than pasta. Neither pasta nor rice contains vitamin C, whereas the potato is a rich source of this antioxidant. The new potato also has 3.5g fibre per medium serving, more than twice the amount found in a medium serving of either brown rice or pasta.

The blood pressure-friendly DASH diet includes potassium-rich foods like the potato, but without the butter and salt! And here’s how to do it — turbot and crushed parsley potatoes with sauce vierge/salsa verde. Delicious and nutritious!

DASH tips to reduce salt/sodium

• Choose potassium-rich fruits (banana) or vegetables (avocado dip) instead of salty snack foods.
• Choose low-salt versions of foods and condiments when available.
• Use fresh fish and lean meat and poultry, rather than canned, smoked or processed types.
• Choose ready-to-eat breakfast cereals that are lower in sodium, e.g. porridge oats.
• In cooking and at the table, flavour foods with herbs, spices, lemon, lime, vinegar or salt-free seasoning blends. Start by cutting salt in half.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 fillets of turbot
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Pepper

Method:
Heat a pan with a little oil and pan fry fish on both sides until they are golden brown (2-3 minutes on each side should be sufficient). Season the fish on the pan with a little lemon juice.

Crushed potatoes with olive oil:

• 12-16 baby potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Method:
Cut the potatoes into cubes — no need to peel them — and place them in a large saucepan of water. Bring to the boil and simmer until tender. Drain the potatoes well, and then add in the chopped parsley and the olive oil and mash gently with the back of a fork.

Salsa verde:

• Bunch of fresh parsley
• A handful of basil leaves
• A handful of mint leaves
• 2 plum tomatoes, de-seeded and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp capers, rinsed (optional)
• 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 200ml olive oil
• Pepper

Method:
Tear or finely shred the parsley, mint and basil. Add in the chopped tomatoes and capers, if using. Mix in the three cloves of garlic. In a separate bowl, mix together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, sugar and seasoning. Pour these over the chopped herb mixture and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes. Store in your fridge for up to three days.

Paula Mee

Continuing her series on healthy meals, independent dietitian Paula Mee brings IMT readers a taste of the Orient with a quick and flavoursome chicken and vegetable stir-fry.

Week 6
Recipe — Edward, Dunbrody House

Oriental chicken, mild vegetable stir-fry

Serves 2
This dish works really well and has an absolutely fantastic burst of flavour.

Oriental chicken:

• 2 well-sized chicken breasts, skinless
• ½ red chilli
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 inch root ginger
• Grated zest of ½ lime
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Vegetable stir-fry:

• ½ red chilli, diced
• ½ inch root ginger, peeled and chopped
• ½ green pepper, sliced
• 2oz/50g mangetout
• 2oz/50g green beans
• 2oz/50g broccoli, broken into spears
• 1 tablespoon water

Method:
Begin by marinating the chicken breasts. Finely dice the chilli, garlic and ginger and add to a small bowl with the lime juice, cayenne pepper and olive oil. Mix well until thoroughly combined. Meanwhile, take the chicken breast and, using a sharp knife, make two or three incisions in the breast to allow the marinate to penetrate through.

Put the chicken breast in the marinade and leave for anything from 20 minutes up to three hours.

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5.

Meanwhile, heat a pan with a little oil and place the chicken breasts onto the pan and brown on both sides for 2-3 minutes. Then transfer to a small baking tray and pop them into the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until they are cooked through.

Reheat the pan on which you cooked the chicken, add the diced chilli and ginger and cook for 2-3 minutes. Next, add the green peppers, broccoli, mangetout and green beans and cook for a further 4-5 minutes. If necessary, add in the water during the cooking process to prevent the vegetables from burning.

Serve the vegetables on a large serving platter with the chicken breast on top. Garnish with a sprig of coriander.

Oriental chicken, mild vegetable stir-fry — nutritional information
This Dunbrody recipe is quick, easy and bursting full of flavour. And it’s far tastier than any old monosodium glutamate-laden Chinese takeaway, for that matter! The garlic, ginger, chilli and lime replace salt and fat, and without a serving of rice or noodles, this little oriental dish comes in at only 233kcal per person. Seconds, anyone?

Back in the 1950s, the Japanese had one of the highest death rates from stroke. In 1960, the government initiated a campaign to reduce the national salt intake. In the next 10 years, intakes reduced from 13.5g per day to 12.1g per day, and in northern regions, intake fell from 18g to 14g per day. Paralleling this reduction were falls in blood pressure in adults and children, and an 80 per cent reduction in stroke mortality. This was despite increases in fat intake, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and rising obesity levels.

Closer to home, the Finns (in 1975) initiated a similar drive to reduce salt intake in the entire population. They educated the public and worked closely with the food industry to develop reduced-salt products. Over the next 30 years, salt intake fell by a third. This was measured using the gold-standard 24-hour urinary sodium output. A fall of more than 10mmHg in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and a remarkable 75 per cent to 80 per cent reduction in stroke and CHD mortality, were observed.

The Finns also significantly reduced saturated fats in the diet and smoking in their population at the same time, which would have significantly impacted on the results, yet it is interesting that body mass index and alcohol consumption actually increased during that time period.
Reducing salt is without a doubt a major contributing factor to the fall in blood pressure and risk of stroke.

Continuing her series on healthy meals, independent dietitian Paula Mee introduces a braised beef dish with the added bite of a hot grain salad.

Among the 1,500 adults (aged 18-to-90 years) who participated in the Irish National Adult Nutrition Survey (NANS) 2011, mean daily intakes of salt (estimated from the sodium content of foods consumed during the recording period, but excluding discretionary salt added in cooking and at the table), exceeded the Food Safety Authority of Ireland intake target, which is 6g/day. The main contributors to salt intakes in the population were breads, along with cured and processed meats.

Among 18-to-64 year olds specifically, the largest contributor to sodium intake was meat and fish (30 per cent), of which 18 per cent came from cured/processed meats.

The greatest contributors to fat intakes in adults aged 18-to-64 years were meat (24 per cent), spreads (including butter and oils) (11 per cent) and milk and yoghurt (8 per cent).

Replacing cured and processed meats with smaller amounts of lean meats and legumes benefits not only blood pressure, but our waistlines too.
Moreover, the NANS found that the current intakes of dietary fibre are generally inadequate, with 81 per cent of 18-to-64 year olds not meeting the European Food Safety Authority recommendation of 25g/day.

This is similar to the findings of the North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey, in which 77 per cent of the population was estimated to have inadequate fibre intakes. Inadequate fibre intake can lead to impaired bowel function and constipation, which in turn may contribute to increased risk of gastrointestinal disease.

Our recipe today is an iron-rich, lean beef dish, fleshed out with protein and fibre-rich lentils.

Hot grain salad
Recipe from the Sarah Baker Cookery School, Cloughjordon. Call 087 9690824
Serves 4

Ingredients

• Equal amounts of the following (100g each used for recipe analysis): brown rice/wild rice/brown lentils/pearl barley;
• Water;
• Black pepper;
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped;
• 1 tsp chopped fresh mint;
• 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley;
• Dash of olive oil (1 tsp for analysis);
• Juice of half a lemon;
• Sesame seeds and parsley to
• garnish (1 tsp for analysis)

Method:
1.     Rinse both rices, lentils and barley under running water.
2.     Combine the brown rice and barley in a saucepan and add 3 cups of water. Bring to the boil. Simmer until cooked.
3.     Combine the lentils and wild rice in another saucepan, add 3 cups of water, and bring to the boil. Simmer until cooked.
4 .    You will know when the grains are cooked when they are soft to the bite. This should take about 20 minutes.
5.     Pour the grains into a colander and allow to drain.
6.    While the rice and lentils are cooking, chop the parsley, mint and spring onions.
7.     Mix in the chopped parsley, mint, spring onions, oil, lemon juice and pepper in with the grains.
8.     Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped parsley.

Braised beef with mushrooms
and rosemary

Serves 4

• 1 kg topside of beef or another fairly lean cut;
• 1 medium onion, sliced;
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely;
• 2 carrots, sliced into rounds;
• 3 sticks of celery, chopped;
• 1 tablespoon olive oil;
• 1 x 400ml tin of tomatoes;
• 1 tsp tomato puree;
• 1 bay leaf, 3 sprigs of rosemary;
• 100ml red wine;
• 200g mushrooms;
• Pepper

Method:

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 120 degrees Celcius.
2.   Heat a thick enamelled casserole; add the oil when it is smoking add the meat to the pan. Fry the meat on each side until brown.
3.    Remove to a warm plate.
4.    Add the vegetables to the pot. Turn down the heat and cook slowly for 1- 2 minutes.
5.    Stir in the wine and cook for a minute.
6.    Add the puree, tinned tomatoes and herbs.
7.    Bring to the boil, season with pepper.
8.   Replace the meat in the pot.
9.   Cover and transfer to the oven for 1.5 – 2 hours, or until tender.
10. Remove the bay leaf. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve.

Continuing her series, independent dietitian Paula Mee introduces a dish of pork escalopes with caponata , and stresses that its the quality not just the quantity of fat that’s of concern.

For years, all fat was vilified. The assumption was that eating fat made you fat, which was bad for the heart.

The effort to reduce fat in the American diet has led to a gradual increase in caloric consumption, which many experts such as Harvard Professor Walter Willette believe has caused higher average weights and a significant increase in obesity.

Perhaps we need to focus more on the quality of the fat we eat, rather than focus solely on the quantity of fat in the Irish diet too.

The heart-protective Mediterranean diet has higher levels of healthy monounsaturated fats (found in olives and olive oil) and polyunsaturated fats (found in fish) than the less healthy saturated and trans fats.

Pork is a relatively lean meat. It does contain some fat. However, the predominant type is monounsaturated fat. Olives and rapeseed oil also contain largely monounsaturated fat, which helps to lower LDL cholesterol and raise healthy HDL cholesterol levels.

Get cooking!

Recipe 4
Contact Mark Doe, Just Cooking, Firies, Kerry.
Tel: 066 979 3660.

Crispy Parmesan pork escalopes with a red onion, chilli and green bean salsa served with Caponata.
Serves 4

For the salsa

• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
• 100g green beans, trimmed
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• Black pepper to season

Method:
1. Bring a pan of boiling water to a rapid boil.
2. Add the green beans, bring back to the boil and cook for two minutes.
3. Drain well and run under cold water until the beans are cold.
4. Cut the beans in half and place in a bowl.
5. Mix in the rest if the ingredients and store in the fridge.

For the pork

Ingredients:

• 60g fresh breadcrumbs
• 20g  parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon of garam masala spice blend
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4  pork loin chops, fat removed
• 25g plain flour
• 2 free-range eggs, beaten
• 4  tbsp rapeseed oil for cooking
• 1 lemon, juice

Method:
1.    Place the pork chops between two sheets of clingfilm and bat out with a rolling pin until thin.
2.    In a large bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, garam masala and black pepper.
3.    Put the flour and beaten eggs in separate bowls.
4.    Pass the escalopes through the flour, then the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs.
5.    Take a large non-stick pan and add the rapeseed oil. Heat over a medium heat.
6.    Add the pork escalopes and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden and cooked through.
7.    When cooked, drizzle over the lemon juice and serve with the salsa and caponata.

For the caponata
Ingredients:

• 3 peppers (yellow/green/red) de-seeded
• and small dice
• 1 courgette, small dice
• 1 small onion, peeled and cut in to a small diced
• 2 celery sticks, peeled and cut into small dice
• 50g pitted black or green olives cut in ½
• 5g small capers
• ½ packet cherry tomatoes, cut in to ¼s
• 4 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of caster sugar
• 2 tbsp of chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds

Roast baby potatoes with rosemary

Serves 4

Ingredients:

500g  baby potatoes, washed

2 tablespoons  chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Method:
1.    Pre-heat your oven to 200c/400f/gas mark 6.
2.    Cut the potatoes in ½, place into a roasting tray and sprinkle with the rosemary.
3.    Drizzle with the rapeseed oil.
4.    Season with some freshly ground pepper and toss well so that the potatoes are evenly coated.
5.    Place the potatoes in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are golden and cooked.

Continuing her series on healthy meals, independent dietitian Paula Mee brings IMT readers a flavourful lamb salad, with a zingy dressing with no added salt.

Roast spiced sweet potato and lamb salad with a lemon and mixed-seed dressing

Serves 4

For the dressing

• 50ml rapeseed oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• Pepper
• 4 tbsp mixed seeds
• 2 tbsp clear honey
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:
1.  Whisk the vinegar, lemon juice, and pepper  together.
2. Whisk in the rapeseed oil slowly.
3. Dry fry the seeds in a frying pan and then grind in a mortar
and pestle.
4. Add the seeds to the dressing.

For the salad

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 250g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
• 2 tsp Thai red curry or harissa paste
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed
• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 1 packet of cherry tomatoes
• 250g mixed salad leaves
• 1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and cut into fine strips
• 1 celery stick, peeled and finely sliced
• 25 g sultanas
• 200g lamb loin, trimmed of all fat
• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil for cooking the lamb

Method:
1.    Preheat the oven to gas mark6/200c/fan 180c.
2.    Place the potato wedges in a bowl with the Thai curry paste, coriander seeds and rapeseed oil.
3.    Toss well, so that the potatoes are covered with the oil.
4.    Place on a baking tray and cook in the oven until tender (approx 20-25 minutes).
5.    Heat a pan over a medium heat and add a little rapeseed oil. When the pan is hot, place the lamb in the pan and brown on all sides.
6.    Remove the lamb from the pan and place on a baking sheet. Cook to the desired degree – as a guide, medium: approximately 8 minutes and well done: approximately 15 minutes.
7.    When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 3-4 minutes.
8.    One the potatoes are cooked, place all of the other ingredients in a large bowl and dress with a little of the dressing.
9.    Place the salad in bowls and top with the sweet potato.
10.    Slice the lamb and place over the dressed salad.

Try your hand at a zingy salad dressing with no added salt!

Salt intakes are currently about 10g per day, whereas the target is 6g per day (about one teaspoon). This reduction could potentially result in a 17 per cent decrease in the prevalence of hypertension.

The sweet potato lamb salad compliments two well-studied eating plans. Firstly, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet can lower blood pressure within two weeks. The effects are significantly greater in individuals with high blood pressure. It includes eight to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables and two to three servings of low-fat milk and dairy products daily. It also emphasises whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts, and is low in saturated fat, red meat, sodium and sweets.

Secondly, the Optimal Macronutrient Intake diet to Prevent Heart Disease (OmniHeart study) compared three healthy diets: a high-carbohydrate DASH-like diet, a high-protein diet, and a diet high in unsaturated fat. All lowered blood pressure compared with the typical American diet. But researchers found that replacing some carbohydrates with protein (half from plant sources) or unsaturated fat (mostly monounsaturated) can lower blood pressure even further.

Another hearty reason to enjoy a small portion of poultry, lean red meat or fish with your salad.

Recipe — Mark Doe, Just Cooking, Firies, Kerry

Paula Mee

In the second of a new series, independent dietitian Paula Mee brings IMT readers a delicious salmon offering with an avocado, sunflower and mixed bean salad side dish to lower cholesterol.

Salmon en
papillote with ginger and
scallions, served with an avocado,
sunflower and mixed bean salad

Dietary fat is not the single primary cause of weight gain. What matters more is total calories, not so much the source of calories. Fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, when consumed in excess, can all contribute to weight gain. So it’s not about no fat, it’s about the right type of fat.

For cholesterol lowering, the best approach is to replace saturated fats with monounsaturated fats like those found in avocado and seeds.

Over  35 years ago, scientists noted that Greenland Eskimos, who subsisted largely on fish, had a low rate of heart disease. This finding led to research on the benefits of fish and the discovery of omega-3 fats, polyunsaturated fats that are particularly heart-healthy.

Oily fish such as salmon contain forms of omega-3 fats known as EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

Numerous studies show that omega-3 can reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, or sudden cardiac death.  An analysis of data from 11 studies tracking a total of 222,364 people found the risk of death from coronary artery disease fell as fish consumption increased.

Eating fish a few times a month reduced risk by 11 per cent, two to four times a week by 23 per cent, and five or more times a week by 38 per cent.

Enjoy!

Salmon en papillote with ginger and scallions
Recipe — Cooks Academy
(Serves 4)

• 4 x 150g salmon fillets, skinned (or sea bass fillets)
• 4 spring onions
• 2cm fresh ginger, grated
• A dash of vermouth (or white wine)
• A tablespoon of olive oil
• Pepper
• Lemon wedges, to serve

Equipment: Greaseproof paper cut into four squares approx. 25cmx25cm

Method:
1. Remove skin from fish, if not already done.
2. Place each piece of fish onto separate squares of parchment paper.
3. Sprinkle fish with pepper, grated ginger and chopped spring
onion.
4. Drizzle with a little olive oil and vermouth.
5. Fold over greaseproof paper over fish and seal the edges by turning    greaseproof over on itself.
Place in a hot oven at 170°C and cook for approximately 10-12 mins.
6. Serve in the bag on a plate with a wedge of lemon and let your guests open the parcel at the table, giving off the most wonderful aroma.

Avocado, sunflower and mixed bean salad

Serves 4

• 250g mixed leaves, washed and dried
• 2 ripe avocados, peeled and sliced
• 180g packet of sprouts and beans
• 3 spring onions, peeled and sliced
• 70g sunflower seeds
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Half tsp honey
• Freshly-ground black pepper

Method:

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Spread the sunflower seeds on a baking tray and place them in the oven for 10 minutes to toast.
2.    To make the dressing: Place the mustard in a small bowl and whisk in the vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Season with pepper.
3.    Assemble the salad leaves with the sprouts and beans, spring onions and avocados. When the sunflower seeds are still hot, sprinkle them over the salad. Immediately pour over the dressing.
4.     Toss well, then transfer to a clean bowl to serve.

Paula Mee

In the first of a new series, independent dietitian Paula Mee brings IMT readers a delicious puy lentil salad — with the extra ingredient of reducing our risk of heart disease.

Protein — more than what ‘meats’ the eye!

Legumes, like lentils and green beans, are good alternatives to meats, particularly for lunch. Vegetable proteins are often lacking in certain essential amino acids, but can be partnered with complementary foods like eggs, not just for the vegetarian.

Patients with high blood cholesterol levels are encouraged to enjoy two to three eggs per week, and that’s without allowing for eggs contained in prepared foods.

Lentils and beans are also naturally low in saturated fat, unlike red meat. In fact, eating large amounts of red and processed meat (including bacon, sausage, salami and cold cuts) may increase the risk of heart disease or cancer, according to a 2009 report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The study involved more than half a million adults aged 50 to 71, divided into five groups.

Based on their descriptions of their meat-eating habits in a diet questionnaire, researchers estimated that men could cut their risk of death from heart disease by 11 per cent and women by 21 per cent if they ate only modest amounts of red and processed meats.

Puy lentil salad with sun-blushed tomato and French beans
Recipe from Kitchen in the Castle, Howth.

Serves 6
200g puy lentils
2 bay leaves
500ml water
150g French beans, cut in 3
150g sun-blushed tomatoes
1 red onion, finely chopped
20g chopped basil
2tbs white wine vinegar
2tbs capers, roughly chopped
1tbs Dijon mustard
60ml extra virgin olive oil

Method:
1.    Place the lentils into a saucepan with the bay leaf and water. Bring to the boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the lentils are tender. Drain the lentils and cool under running water, remove the bay leaves.
2.    Blanch the beans in boiling water for about 3 minutes, drain and cool under running water.
3.    In a bowl, whisk together the red onion, mustard, capers, white wine vinegar and olive oil.
4.    Mix together the lentils, sun-blushed tomatoes and beans. Pour over the dressing and half the basil, mix together. Sprinkle the rest of the basil over the top.

Suggestion: Serve with a wedge of Frittata.

• Paula Mee, Dietitian, BSc Dip Diet, MSc in Health Sciences, MINDI

Foodies braved the threat of bad weather to sample what Dublin’s best restaurants are offering at the Taste of Dublin festival, writes Niamh Mullen.
Food heaven is the best way to describe the Taste of Dublin festival. Now in its fourth year, the festival took place from Thursday, June 11 to Sunday, June 14 — a weekend when the weather held up and it was ‘the place to be seen’, according to a friend in the know.

Twenty high-end Dublin restaurants took a tent at the Iveagh Gardens, including Roly’s Bistro, L’Ecrivain, Chapter One, The Saddleroom at the Shelbourne Hotel, Ely, Saba and King Sitric, to name a few.
h4. Special menu
The way it works is the public pays an entrance fee of E28.50 and then exchanges euros for ‘florins’ to buy samples at the tents. Each restaurant had a special ‘Taste Menu’ of starters, main courses and desserts, all priced between five and seven ‘florins’.
L’Ecrivain had the longest queue all weekend and its lamb burger (more full-size than taster) was one of the food highlights of the festival. Ely’s organic beef burger, steak frites with bearnaise sauce from The Saddle Room, Bang Café’s roast king scallops with potato puree and bacon oil, and the Valrhona hot chocolate pudding with vanilla-bean ice cream from Roly’s Bistro were other very popular dishes.
h4. Beer Naturally Academy
But it wasn’t just the food that lured in the crowds of around 30,000. Alcohol was also on the menu and another friend commented that drinks tents seemed to outnumber food tents this year. A new addition for 2009 that drew the crowds was the Beer Naturally Academy. For five florins, you got to take part in a beer tasting, while matching beers to favourite foods.
A master beer sommelier, Mark Stroonbandt, presented classes on how to go about matching beers with appropriate foods during eight 30-minute tastings each day.
Anthony Worrall Thompson was among a host of celebrity chefs slagging off the skills of punters who were brave enough to volunteer to take part in a demonstration, for the benefit of a crowd of onlookers.
Ballymaloe Cookery School’s Darina Allen was also there for the weekend, offering a cookery class and one-to-one advice — for a fee.
h4. Supermarket-sized taster
As well as all that, more than 100 artisan producers were there to promote their products and offer ‘supermarket-sized’ tasters. Your ticket bought you a four–hour slot to spend at the festival, leaving plenty of time to wander around chomping on limitless amounts of free Lindt and Green and Black’s chocolate, while enjoying the bands who played on a central stage.
h4. Expensive afternoon
One complaint repeated after the festival was that the standard ticket price was steep and you got nothing for it other than entrance to the venue. Others spent an additional E20 to E70 on food and drink while they were there – making it an expensive afternoon or evening excursion.
A separate event, A Taste of Ireland, takes place as part of the Irish Derby in The Curragh on June 27-28.
* For more information log on to www.tasteofireland.com.

Berna Cox is a dab hand with a shovel when it comes to whipping up a dinner for the family.
If myself and the ever-loving other half were ever to find ourselves on that awful TV programme Mr and Mrs, the awfulness would be immediately increased. Even after almost three decades of cohabitation, he’d probably struggle with my favourite colour, wouldn’t know my favourite Mr Man and certainly wouldn’t know whether I put my lipstick on my top or bottom lip first.

We’d be shamed. We’d walk away empty-handed. No matching watches or fondue sets for us.
But if he was asked what my most impressive quality is, I know exactly what he’d say. He’d say I was a great woman to get a bit of dinner. That doesn’t mean he’d say I was a great cook – there’s a chasm of difference between being a good cook and being ‘a great woman to get a bit of dinner’.
h4. Still impresses him
What impresses him about my culinary abilities is my speed. I can get the meat and two veg dished up in record time. There’s no faffing about, no fanciness or frills. It’s dinner, pure and simple. And, even after the almost three decades, it still impresses him.
Other couples might whisper romantic endearments to each other and pledge their undying love; the closest we come to that is that he frequently tells me I’d win a gold medal in the speed event at the dinner Olympics.
h4. A ‘plain cook’
I am what my mother’s generation would have called a ‘plain cook’. Competent with the basics but quite unadventurous. It’s not that I haven’t ever attempted adventurous – I have, but it just doesn’t work.
I watch all the TV cookery programmes and am occasionally inspired to try something fancy. It never works. My fancy and adventurous attempts end up in the bin.
On one memorable occasion, fancy and adventurous ended up in the garden. It was actually the first dinner I ever cooked as a married person. The honeymoon was literally over and we were settling in to the everyday routine of married life. He went to work and I was still on leave.
It suddenly occurred to me that I’d never actually cooked him a meal. Prior to the wedding, I’d been living at home and he’d been living in on the job. Yes, we went out for meals or he’d come to my mother’s for dinner (that she cooked) but we’d never cooked for each other.
I decided I had to impress him. I attempted to make a proper chicken curry. It was not a good idea.
In fairness, some of the problem was the lack of equipment. As a brand new household, we weren’t comprehensively equipped. I had no kitchen scales and naively thought that it didn’t really matter.
Surely I could judge an ounce of this or a pinch of that? Whether I overdid it or underdid it, I still don’t know. All I know is that after a whole afternoon of slaving, I ended up with inedible, sticky gloop and a very badly burnt saucepan.
h4. Cheese sandwiches
And I panicked. I’d never even thought about it before but now it seemed that I couldn’t cook. How could I admit that? How scary would it be for him to come home on the first day of a new lifestyle to discover he was doomed to a lifetime of ‘Cup-A-Soup’ and cheese sandwiches?
I couldn’t admit defeat and couldn’t let him know about the disaster in the kitchen. Throwing it in the kitchen bin wouldn’t work because he’d smell it and see it.
Throwing it in the outside bin wouldn’t work either for the same reasons. And we didn’t have a dog. (Not, indeed, that even the dumbest of mutts would have eaten it.) I needed a more inventive, cunning solution.
So I buried it. I chose a secluded area of the garden and got busy with the coal shovel. I intended to bury saucepan and all but soon realised there was more to this digging malarkey than I thought.
Particularly when you’re doing it with a coal shovel. I managed to make a hole deep enough to take the gloop and covered it up with clay and grass. I rescued the saucepan with a Brillo pad and a lot of elbow grease. A generous squirt of air freshener in the house and nobody need ever know.
In hindsight, I think that was the day my speed-cooking skills were born. When you’re standing in your garden with a coal shovel after burying your evening meal, it fairly gives you focus. He will be home from work soon… there will be dinner.
A quick phone call to the mother to find out what’s quick, what’s easy and what doesn’t demand a load of saucepans. A nice T-bone with a few chips and mushrooms never goes astray.
And so I became a plain, speedy cook. I am the queen of the roast dinner and I do world-class cauliflower cheese. I make great shepherd’s pie (the trick is to get the mash nice and creamy with good old-fashioned butter and cream) and bacon and cabbage is a firm favourite.
Desserts don’t get any fancier than apple crumble (or ‘crapple umble’ as my children insist on calling it) or a fresh fruit pavlova on special occasions. From time to time I do a bit of baking, but that too is plain and simple. Buns and Madeira cake; mince pies and sausage rolls at Christmas. My average skills seem to hit the spot with the family at least.
I occasionally get text messages from my children along the lines of ‘how do u make gravy?’, quickly followed by another asking ‘how do u get lumps out of gravy?’. It’s the modern equivalent of me ringing my mother so many years ago. Plain cooking endures.
But sometimes I wish I were more adventurous and talented. Heston Blumenthal, the king of the celebrity chefs, intrigues me. With his three Michelin stars at the Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire in the UK, food is science, religion and art all rolled into one.
One of the dishes on his menu at the restaurant is called ‘sound of the sea’. The dish is presented on a glass-topped box containing sand and seashells.
The dish itself consists of fried breadcrumbs and tapioca that resemble sand; crushed fried baby eels, cod liver oil and langoustine oil topped with abalone, razor clams, shrimps and oysters and three kinds of edible seaweed.
Juices from the shellfish are whipped up into foam and placed beside the tapioca to look like the sea hitting the shore. The completely innovative thing about this dish is the addition of sound. Diners are given a spiral conch shell that contains an iPod.
h4. People actually cried
As they eat, they listen to the sounds of the ocean. According to Blumenthal, people have actually cried at the experience. When I see things like this, it tempts me. Maybe I should branch out. Maybe I should be a little more adventurous than the meat and two veg. Maybe I should aim for satisfying the soul as well as the body. Maybe I should attempt something that will make him cry.
But sense and experience prevails. He’ll cry if there’s no dinner. I’ll stick to the tried and trusted. I won’t be going the Blumenthal route. I haven’t got a big enough shovel.