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McCarthy’s Bramley Apple Bangers with Parsnip and

Jack McCarthy’s black pudding is championed by some of the best Irish chefs – it was served to the Queen on her state visit in 2011 and his Bramley apple sausages are made from free-range pork. Fortunately they are now becoming more widely available in specialist stores and online.

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Apple Frangipane Tart with Apple Brandy Syrup

A beautifully decadent winter warmer dessert.

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Sourdough Tartine with Blue Cheese and Roasted Hon

Tartines – open sandwiches are absolutely adored by the French. Because they are simple, you need good bread, preferably sourdough, and the best, ripest blue cheese you can find. Serve it with the watercress tossed in vinaigrette made with walnut or hazelnut oil, and some toasted nuts.

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Goats Cheese, Red Onion and Thyme Quiche: Donal Skehan

Goats Cheese, Red Onion and Thyme Quiche: Skehan

This quiche uses a soft curd goat’s cheese, which is wonderfully smooth and light with clean lemony flavours with hints of flowers and sweetness that develop when pared with the caramelised red onions.

Quiche • 16 Mar 17

Baked Indian Spiced Yoghurt Chicken with Cardamom,

This is a great way to jazz up a traditional Sunday roast where the chicken is marinated in yoghurt and spices making it meltingly tender. . The flavours here are really fantastic and really penetrate the flesh of the chicken. Try to by a free-range or organic chicken, as the flavour is always so much better.

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Cheese & Onion Tart

This simple but very tasty tart makes an elegant dinner party starter served with some lightly dressed bitter leaf salad. This savoury tart is a wonderful way to celebrate a mature Cheddar cheese and pared with the caramelised onions is a match made in heaven!

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Rosemary Rib-Eye Steak with Horseradish Sauce & Fe

These days I hear there is less fillet and striploin being sold and rib-eye has become more popular. It is good value. I always bring steaks to room temperature by removing them from the fridge 30 minutes before I want to cook them.

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Moroccan Goat Tagine with Bulgur Wheat Salad

Goat lends itself wonderfully to rich spicing and punchy aromatics, as this tagine demonstrates. It is particularly good if made ahead of time and reheated a day or two later.

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Donal's Chocolate Orange Tart

This decadent and delicious chocolate orange tart is perfect for a dinner party dessert. Serve up generous slices on its own or with a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream and cups of coffee!

Recipes • 06 Oct 17

Middle Eastern Spiced Beef and Pickled Cucumber Mi

Use the best dry aged steaks you can afford and make sure you give them plenty of time to rest before serving them to allow all the juices to settle.

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Apple Cakes with a salted caramel sauce

A sweet ending to any meal!

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Christmas Feast: Black Forest Brownie Trifle

This recipe might look a little complicated but in fact it's incredibly easy. If you're very short of time use shop-bought brownies, a carton of readymade custard that you stir the melted chocolate into and a couple of posh jars of cherries in kirsch. Whatever way you decide to do it always use the best quality dark chocolate you can afford. It's best to leave the final part of the assembly to the last minute for the most spectacular impact.

Recipes • 19 Nov 15

Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Peas and Mozzarella

If you find the thought of making homemade pasta daunting, gnocchi is a good stepping-stone. You could use store bought gnocchi, though, if you don’t feel up to it. Either way, the combination of golden gnocchi nuggets with creamy mozzarella, sweet garden peas and a drizzling of flavoured butter is a breath of summer air. This makes a superb starter or a light supper.

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Crispy Squid and Chorizo Salad with Deconstructed

This has to be one of the most delicious salads I’ve ever tasted. It packs a powerful flavour punch that you’ll find yourself craving. You have been warned!

Recipes • 19 Aug 16

Affogato al Caffè with Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut

Affogato is good at any time of year and it is an incredibly easy dessert to prepare. Choose the best vanilla ice cream you can find and make sure you use good, strong espresso (regular brewed coffee will not work here). The recipe for the biscotti makes about 30 but they keep very well in an airtight container.

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Crispy Golden Eggs with Black Pudding, Pan-Fried B

A starter or light supper dish that puts a modern twist on the traditional combination of boxty, black pudding and eggs. The eggs can be prepared well in advance and just deep-fried at the last minute.

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Beer Batter Fish Tacos with Cherry Tomato Salsa

This is a great recipe of tortillas filled with shallow fried fish goujons, tomato salsa, a little soured cream and some salad. Perfect served with ice cold beer for the grown ups…

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Carrot & Courgette Cake with Rosemary & Orange Crè

Carrot, courgette and cardamom are a wonderful combination of flavours. The cake itself is moist enough but for that extra special touch you can add the delicious rosemary & orange crème fraiche. If you want to go all out, you can make mini carrots and courgettes out of marzipan with a little orange and green food colouring and angelica root for the stalks. This cake will keep in the fridge for 3–5 days.

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Bloody Mary Oyster Shooters with Raw Oysters and a

This is a fantastic recipe to showcase fresh oysters, the shooters add a bit of fun to the dish and will ensure that your evening starts well!

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Crispy Golden Eggs with Black Pudding, Pan-Fried B

A starter or light supper dish that puts a modern twist on the traditional combination of boxty, black pudding and eggs. The eggs can be prepared well in advance and just deep-fried at the last minute.

Recipes • 18 Nov 15

Christmas Feast: Roast Turkey with Stuffing

For an easier to carve option this Christmas Day, try this rolled turkey breast, which is stuffed with a sweet and aromatic stuffing. I love the combination of maple, orange, smoked bacon and apple spiked with the cranberries, but you can easily adapt this with your own favourite flavours.

Christmas recipe • 11 Dec 17

Christmas Feast: Goose Fat Roast Potatoes with Gar

For really crunchy roast potatoes with fluffy middles choose a floury variety of potato, such as Irish Roosters and try to make sure that they are all similar in size. To ensure really crispy roast potatoes drain off any excess fat about 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time. This will help them to go really crispy and golden brown around the edges.

Recipes • 19 Nov 15

Christmas Feast: Swedish Crisp Bread

In Sweden these are eaten with most meals of the day. Making them at home is incredibly easy and, best of all, crisp bread can be stored for months in an airtight container. The Swedes use a kruskavel (a rolling pin with large studs) to roll out their crisp bread, resulting in small dimples all across the surface. A similar effect can be achieved by dotting the surface with a fork.

Recipes • 19 Nov 15

Christmas Feast: Honey Mustard Beetroot Gravadlax

If you are looking for a slightly different starter this Christmas, this salmon gravadlax recipe is an ideal solution and can all be made well in advance, leaving very little to do last minute.

Recipes • 19 Nov 15

Christmas Feast: Honey and Soy Sesame Carrots

Of course, these carrots could also be roasted in the oven in the glaze but Christmas is a time when oven space is often at a premium so I've decided to blanch them first and then finish them in a hot wok.

Recipes • 19 Nov 15

kitchen hero donals irish feast

McCarthy’s Bramley Apple Bangers with Parsnip and

Apple Frangipane Tart with Apple Brandy Syrup

Sourdough Tartine with Blue Cheese and Roasted Hon

Goats Cheese, Red Onion and Thyme Quiche: Skehan

Baked Indian Spiced Yoghurt Chicken with Cardamom,

Cheese & Onion Tart

Rosemary Rib-Eye Steak with Horseradish Sauce & Fe

Moroccan Goat Tagine with Bulgur Wheat Salad

Donal's Chocolate Orange Tart

Middle Eastern Spiced Beef and Pickled Cucumber Mi

Apple Cakes with a salted caramel sauce

Christmas Feast: Black Forest Brownie Trifle

Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Peas and Mozzarella

Crispy Squid and Chorizo Salad with Deconstructed

Affogato al Caffè with Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut

Crispy Golden Eggs with Black Pudding, Pan-Fried B

Beer Batter Fish Tacos with Cherry Tomato Salsa

Carrot & Courgette Cake with Rosemary & Orange Crè

Bloody Mary Oyster Shooters with Raw Oysters and a

Crispy Golden Eggs with Black Pudding, Pan-Fried B

Christmas Feast: Roast Turkey with Stuffing

Christmas Feast: Goose Fat Roast Potatoes with Gar

Christmas Feast: Swedish Crisp Bread

Christmas Feast: Honey Mustard Beetroot Gravadlax

Christmas Feast: Honey and Soy Sesame Carrots