Rachel Allen is the darling of the Irish cooking world. A television cooking show host in Ireland and the U.K. for more than six years, she has written six cookbooks (since 2003) with a seventh, on entertaining, due out in September. An American version of her “Favorite Food at Home: Delicious Comfort Food from Ireland’s Most Famous Chef,” (William Morrow; $24.99), published in Great Britain in 2006, was recently released in this country.
“I love this book because it has all of my favorite recipes, the ones I make at home all the time and keep going back to,” says Allen during a call from England, where she was filming a TV show.
“The recipes in the book reflect how Irish people eat now. We’re more cosmopolitan than we used to be.
“People think of Irish food as very heavy and basic, but it (has become) a lot more interesting — light and diverse — in the last couple of decades. We don’t have a cuisine like France or Italy.
“To me Irish food/cooking is about the amazing products we have — dairy, meats and meat products, cheeses, fresh fruits (blackberries, apples, pears, plums, berries) and vegetables (root vegetables — cabbages, kales, potatoes, parsnips, turnips),” she points out.
“In the last 10 to 20 years, we have more ethnic communities than we did before, which have influenced everyday food.”
In the ’80s and early ’90s, inspiration came from nouvelle cuisine. “We got a lot more confident in our own local ingredients and products.”
On St. Patrick’s Day, a lot of people will eat corned beef and cabbage (although the Irish don’t eat a huge amount of it).
“People are patriotic and will include a bit of green somewhere — spinach or nettle soup or cabbage on the side.” They will also make traditional Irish soda bread.
Allen always includes something green like nettle soup or bacon with colcannon (delicious buttery mashed potatoes with cooked kale or cabbage that has been sauteed in butter, not boiled, so it tastes fresher) with a parsley sauce.
“Potatoes are still part of a lot of meals for a lot of people because they are a staple.” They use them in traditional dishes like colcannon, champ, farls (potato cakes), soup and Irish stew.
Homemade Pork Sausages With Colcannon and Applesauce is another very easy and comforting choice, good for St. Patty’s Day dining.
“For me there is nothing quite so comforting as bangers and mash — sausages and mashed potatoes — and these homemade sausages are ever so tasty and can be made in a flash because they have no casing.” You can serve the colcannon with pork chops and caramelized apples, too.
For other occasions, Allen might whip up pan-fried mackerel, a delicious fish the Irish eat often during spring and summer. Her family also enjoys a frittata, fantastic hot or cold, made with plenty of eggs from their farm. For a vegetarian option you can leave out the chorizo.
Like elsewhere in the world, farmers markets have been sprouting up everywhere in the country in the past decade, she notes. They’ve definitely played a role in preparation of lighter, fresher dishes, using seasonal, local food, artisan cheeses, salamis, smoked fish, smoked meats, breads and the like.
“It’s easy to make something divine and delicious with local and in-season food when you don’t do much to it. I’m into doing things quick as I am busy like so many people and don’t have much time.”
With her accessible recipes, she turns out dishes in no time and is adamant about recyling and not wasting leftovers. Once a week she collects all the veggies in the fridge and makes soup.
While Allen likes to present food attractively, she’s not into “big architecture on plates. There’s a time and place for that in some restaurants.”
Allen, who enjoyed European food while growing up in Dublin (her mother is from Iceland), now lives on an organic farm in County Cork, on the southern tip of Ireland with her husband, Isaac, and three children ranging in ages from 1 to 10. “We farm fruits and vegetables and have hens.” There are also pigs, sheep and cows on the adjacent Ballymaloe cooking school farm land, and they are lucky enough to share in the some of the bounty.
She didn’t grow up cooking much, with the exception of a little cake-baking, as her “mum” did most of the cooking at home, she admits.
“When I turned 18 (in 1990), I went down to take a cooking course at Ballymaloe Cookery School,” co-owned by Darina Allen (now her mother-in-law; Rachel married Isaac Allen in 1998).
“I stayed there three months in the countryside of County Cork. My parents kept saying that I wouldn’t last long in the country. ‘You are such a city girl.’ But I loved being in the country, and I loved the whole way of life at Ballymaloe.”
She stayed on, working in the kitchen at the highly esteemed Ballymaloe House Restaurant — in the middle of an organic farm — where the emphasis in the kitchen is “hugely on fresh, local ingredients.” The Ballymaloe House and Restaurant were opened more than 40 years ago by Myrtle Allen, who became known as the grand-dame of Irish country house cooking, and her husband, Ivan.
“Throughout the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s, Myrtle bucked the trend — and (the hotel restaurant) was about seasonal food and local producers. The concept is cool now, but it wasn’t then,” adds Rachel Allen. Myrtle also taught cooking classes at the hotel.
“Darina came from the midlands in Ireland after finishing catering college to help with the classes” and went on to marry Myrtle’s son, Tim, and open the cooking school a few miles down the road. The hotel, restaurant and cooking school are still going strong today with Allen family members at the helm.
After almost two years in the restaurant hotel kitchen, Rachel left to travel and work on other food projects (including testing recipes for the school).
“I love food and didn’t want to leave it completely, but I realized I loved teaching (more than working in the kitchen). I found it so inspirational when I went there that I wanted to share that with others.”
Allen’s husband now works with her, handling the business side of her ventures — and she still teaches at Ballymaloe Cookery School once or twice a week.
Potato, Chorizo and Feta Frittata
From “Favorite Food at Home: Delicious Comfort Food From Ireland’s Most Famous Chef,” by Rachel Allen. Makes 8 servings.
Ingredients
9 ounces (about 2 medium) potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
8 eggs
6 tablespoons half-and-half or light cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram
1/4 pound (4 ounces) chorizo, sliced
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Directions
Place potatoes in a saucepan, cover with boiling water and boil 5 minutes or until just cooked. Do not overcook or they will go mushy. Drain and set aside.
Heat a 10-inch ovenproof frying pan or skillet. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and onion, cover and sweat over low heat until soft and slightly golden. Set aside.
Whisk eggs in a bowl, add cream, salt and marjoram. Stir in chorizo, cooked onion and potatoes. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in frying pan until hot. Pour in egg mixture and stir briefly to distribute ingredients evenly. Top with crumbled cheese.
Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven 25 to 35 minutes or until set in center. Remove from oven and allow to cool a little before sliding onto a large serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: Butternut Squash, Chorizo and Feta Variation: Follow the recipe above replacing potato with the same weight butternut squash, peeled (with a knife), seeded and cubed.
Pan-fried Mackerel with Herb Butter
From “Favorite Food at Home: Delicious Comfort Food From Ireland’s Most Famous Chef,” by Rachel Allen. Makes 4 main course or 8 starter servings.
Ingredients
Herb Butter:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as dill or thyme
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Mackerel:
8 fillets of mackerel, with the skin on
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Lemon wedges, to serve
Directions
First, make the herb butter. Cream butter in a bowl. Mix in herbs and lemon juice until well blended. Roll into a sausage shape and wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap. Place in freezer to chill quickly.
To make mackerel, place a frying pan or a grill pan over high heat. When pan is very hot, dip fish fillets in seasoned flour and shake off excess. Spread the flesh side (not skin side) with a little soft butter and place butter side down in hot pan. Cook for a couple of minutes, until crisp and golden, then turn and cook other side another 2 to 3 minutes, turning down the heat if pan is getting too hot. Serve on hot plates with 1 or 2 slices herb butter slowly melting on fish, and a wedge of lemon on the side.
Homemade Pork Sausages with Colcannon and Applesauce
From “Favorite Food at Home: Delicious Comfort Food From Ireland’s Most Famous Chef,” by Rachel Allen. Serve with colcannon and applesauce. Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients
Sausages:
1 pound fatty ground pork
2 ounces fresh bread crumbs
1 egg, whisked
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or marjoram
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil
Colcannon:
3 pounds floury potatoes (such as Russet, scrubbed
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 pound green cabbage, outer leaves removed
2 tablespoons water
1 cup hot milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Applesauce:
1 large cooking apple (12 ounces) peeled, cored and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon water
2 to 4 tablespoons superfine sugar
Directions
For sausages, mix together pork, bread crumbs, egg, garlic and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Fry a tiny bit of the mixture in a skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil, heated until hot, to see if seasoning is good. Then divide the mixture into 12 pieces and shape each into a sausage. Place on a baking sheet or plate; set aside until cooking them. (Chilling them for a day in the fridge is fine or you can freeze them.)
To make colcannon, cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender, draining 3/4 of water after 5 to 10 minutes and continuing to cook over a low heat. Avoid stabbing potatoes with a knife to keep from breaking up. When cooked, drain off remaining water, peel and mash with 4 tablespoons butter while hot.
Meanwhile, cook the cabbage. Cut cabbage into quarters, then cut out core. Slice cabbage finely across the grain. Heat a saucepan, add 2 tablespoons butter, water and sliced cabbage. Toss over a medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, until just cooked. Add to potatoes, then add hot milk and parsley, keeping some of milk back in case you do not need it all. Season to taste and beat until creamy and smooth, adding more milk if necessary. Serve piping hot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter melting in the center.
To make applesauce, place apple in a small saucepan with water. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until apple has broken down to a mush. Add sugar to taste.
To cook sausages, heat a frying pan or skillet on low to medium heat. Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and gently fry sausages 12 to 15 minutes, until golden on all sides and cooked through.
Serve all together warm or at room temperature.
