Derry Clarke

Well known and much loved chef, Derry Clarke is the owner of Michelin starred l'Ecrivain restaurant in Dublin. A regular on television, Derry trained in the classical French tradition in the Man Friday in Kinsale. He came home to Dublin to continue his training under the direction of John Howard in Le Coq Hardi for four years. He then spent 8 years as Head Chef in le Bon Appetit Restaurant where his aspirations were always to open a place of his own. He and his wife Sallyanne (a partner in business and life) are opening up a brand new venture in Temple Bar, once the restrictions are lifted.

Cream of Spinach Soup with Nutmeg and Poached Egg

The trick with this dish is not to add the spinach too early. If the spinach is cooked too long,

it will lose its wonderful green colour and turn greyish. You want to keep all the vibrance of

the fresh leaves. If the soup is not as green as you would like, add some more spinach

towards the end of the cooking time. As an alternative to the poached egg, you could serve

some garlic croûtons with the soup.

4 eggs (for poaching)

2 onions (sliced)

4 potatoes (peeled and diced)

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

100g butter

200g fresh spinach leaves

1 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated)

1 litre chicken stock

200ml cream

For the poached eggs

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to simmering point.

2. Gently break the eggs into the saucepan, one at a time.

3. Cook for 1 minute, and then take the saucepan off the heat.

4. Allow the eggs to sit in the water for 6 minutes.

This gives a translucent egg with a soft, creamy yolk.

5. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon.

For the soup

1. Slowly sweat the onion, potato and garlic in the butter for 10 minutes.

2. Add the spinach, nutmeg and chicken stock.

3. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Liquidise and add the cream.

5. Serve with poached egg and a little grated nutmeg.

Seared scallops with black pudding, fennel, apple and candied fruit

The first chef who tried this combination of scallops and black pudding was the late Michael

Clifford, and what a great combination it is. The fresh taste of the sea from the scallops

Combined with the richness of the black pudding is superb.

8 large scallops (roe removed,

cleaned and cut in half)

4 large slices black pudding

2 heads fennel (outer skin

removed and sliced very

finely)

2 green apples (cored and

diced)

50ml olive oil

50ml Chardonnay vinegar

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon vanilla seeds from

a pod

130g candied fruits (whatever

fruit you like)

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1. On a non-stick, lightly oiled hot pan, brown the

scallops on both sides (1 minute each side).

2. Grill the black pudding.

3. Toss the fennel and apple in a bowl with the oil,

vinegar, fennel seeds, vanilla, candied fruits and

chives.

4. Season.

Main Courses

Honey – Glazed Ham Hock with Green Cabbage

This is an adaptation of the classic Irish dish of bacon and cabbage: it’s a great low cost main course that would satisfy a family of four. Braising the ham slowly makes the meat beautifully tender. Honey and mustard together are fabulous.

4 ham hocks

1 carrot (peeled and chopped)

2 sticks celery (chopped)

1 onion (chopped)

4 bay leaves

1 sprig thyme

1 sprig rosemary

50g English mustard

150ml honey

50g brown sugar

1tbsp cloves

1 large head green cabbage (shredded)

2tbsp grain mustard

100ml cream

1. Soak the ham hocks overnight in water to remove excess salt.

2. Strain, cover with water and bring to boil.

3. Strain again and add enough fresh water to cover the hocks.

4. Add the carrot, celery, onion, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary and simmer very gently for 1 ½ hours.

5. To check whether the ham hock is cooked, look for the little bone at the end of the hock; if you can remove this bone easily, the hock is cooked.

6. Remove the ham from the cooking broth, strain the broth and retain.

7. Remove the outer skin from the ham.

8. Brush with the mustard, honey and sugar and stud with cloves.

9. Bake in a preheated oven at 160oC for 10 minutes, until golden (baste once or twice while cooking).

10. Using some of the cooking broth, boil the cabbage until tender.

11. In a small pit, simmer a little of the cooking liquid with the grain mustard and cream. Season lightly and serve with the ham hock and cabbage.

Chargrilled spiced lamb chops with ratatouille and feta cheese

Adding spices to lamb chops really brings them into a different league. Ratatouille is delicious served with lamb, pork or indeed beef. The feta in this dish rounds off a great plateful of flavour.

For the lamb chops

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped thyme

12 lamb cutlets

1 tablespoon curry powder or

spice mix (whatever you have)

For the ratatouille and feta cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 shallots (diced)

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

2 punnets cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1⁄2 glass white wine

1 red pepper (diced)

2 courgettes (diced)

1 aubergine (diced)

1 tablespoon oregano

100g feta cheese (diced)

For the lamb

1. Mix the oil and thyme and coat the lamb cutlets with the mixture.

2. Season with the spices and salt and pepper.

3. Sear on both sides on a hot griddle pan for about

3 minutes on each side.

For the ratatouille

1. Sauté the shallot and garlic in the olive oil for

1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2–3 minutes.

2. Add the tomato paste and wine. Season and simmer for 2 minutes.

3. Add the pepper to an oiled pan and sauté for 2 minutes.

4. Add the courgettes and aubergine and cook for 2 minutes.

5. Season and add the tomato sauce and oregano.

6. Just before serving, crumble the feta over the ratatouille and mix gently.

Dessert

Mocha mousse with sables and chocolate sauce

This is a deliciously light recipe for people who find chocolate too rich and heavy at the end of a meal. It looks great layered in a glass and topped with the mascarpone.

For the mousse

100g whole eggs

(about 3 eggs: 1 egg = 40g) 6 egg yolks

50g sugar

1 shot espresso

150g plain chocolate

2 leaves gelatine

250ml whipped cream

For the sable

225g chocolate

225g butter

300g cream flour

For the chocolate sauce

250ml cream

200g plain chocolate (chopped)

Chantilly cream (to serve)

For the mousse 

1. Whisk the egg and egg yolks.

2. Make a stock syrup by boiling the sugar with a little water. Add the espresso. Pour the stock syrup onto the egg mix and whisk until light and fluffy.

3. Melt the chocolate, either in a bowl over simmering water or in the microwave.

4. Soak the gelatine in warm water. When it has softened, strain off the water. Mix the chocolate and gelatine into the egg mixture. Fold in the cream.

For the sable

1. Blend all the ingredients in a blender until the mix forms a dough. Rest the mix in the fridge for 4 hours.

2. Roll out the mixture thinly (about the thickness of a coin).

3. Cook in a preheated oven at 140˚C for 20–30 minutes, or until golden brown.

4. Allow to cool, then crush to form a crumble.

For the chocolate sauce

Bring the cream to the boil, pour onto the chocolate and stir.

To serve

1. Spoon the mousse into martini/cocktail glasses, drizzle with chocolate sauce and top with the crumbled sable.

2. Leave the glasses in the fridge until ready to serve.

3. Serve with Chantilly cream.

Bread & Butter Pudding

Bread and butter pudding is a great way to use up bread that has gone slightly past its best. For a twist, you could use brioche or croissants in place of bread. The combination of sultanas and nutmeg (or cinnamon) make this pudding very tasty. Always serve this warm, with custard. A dash of Baileys will give the custard a bit of a kick.

8 slices white bread

50g butter (more if required)

50g sultanas

Ground nutmeg or cinnamon

2 eggs

450ml full-fat milk

50g granulated sugar

Custard (to serve)

1. Remove the crusts from the bread.

2. Butter each slice on one side only and cut into triangles.

3. Use some of the butter to grease an ovenproof dish.

4. Cover the base of the dish with one layer of bread triangles, laying the buttered side down.

5. Sprinkle some of the sultanas on the bread with a little nutmeg or cinnamon.

6. Repeat with another layer of bread, sultanas, and spice, finishing with a finishing with a layer of a bread with the buttered side up.

7. Beat the eggs with the milk and sugar and pour over the bread layers.

8. Let the pudding sit for 30 minutes so that the bread soaks up the liquid.

9. Bake at 180 ° for about 30 minutes or until golden and puffy.

10. Serve warm custard.