A Calling From County Kerry
British/Irish/Scottish cuisines suffer from a generalization of blandness. Meat and potatoes is the abject disdain with which the entire landmass food is painted.
The reality is the stuff tastes so good to begin with, over there, that you need little more than salt and pepper to bring out the best in it! In the UK, despite the industrialization of agriculture, the average meat or produce tastes so much better than in the US.
Hop over to Ireland where many farms and fisheries are still family operated and backyard husbandry abounds, it is simply an insult to the ingredient to douse it in seasoning or sauce. The meat or vegetable shines in its own glory!
Oh and the potato... Ah the potato!
Roast Cauliflower and Fennel Soup
I wanted to leave you with a warming, flavorful Cauliflower and Fennel Soup to keep you nourished for the week. For vegans or even if you are not, this makes a great replacement to cream of broccoli soup. With all the rich creaminess of the latter, it packs home the full punch of vegetable strength without the distraction of the cream.
I really like serving this soup with pickled vegetables; the acidity breaking into the creaminess and awakening your palate. You can find the recipe for Rosemary and Garlic Preserved Zucchini here.
A Chicken Story and A Summer Salad
It is natural that as the Summer haze sets in, there is less and less inclination to spend in the kitchen. Yet, the desire for tasting the splendor of the season does not abate. So, we all find ways to get around it - from barbeques to salads, outdoor fun and rooftop joys to easy dinners, cooking big and making the most of leftovers. Summer offers the best chance for making magic with mere leftovers.
Recently, I have taken a partiality to whole roast chicken.
The chicken giveth in spades and every bit of edible or can be made into something edible. A farm, pasture raised chicken typically weighs about 3.5 lbs and you can get a fair bit of meat from it, even though not as much as its larger industrial cousins. What I like is that the leg and thigh is about the same size as the breast and I have always the darker and juicier meat from here! The first meal from the roast is always the thigh with a side of vegetables.
Then, I peel every bit of the meat off the carcass and use it over a week in several dishes, from salads to tarts to sandwiches to curries to rice toss, oh, endless...! The carcass itself becomes ideal for stock with a bunch of vegetable scraps. The jus, becomes gravy or vinaigrette based on what I am making. All savored, nothing lost.