Oldcastle – Page 2 – Hungry Breton

Buko’s Bean Burger

Choice 1 — Chick Pea and Halloumi burger

I had a strange dream last night; I was in a Californian pub when Charles Bukowski invited me for a bite to eat in one of his favourite place. There, were musicians and dancers, a dark wooden environment, a bit like an old fashioned Irish joint I guess. We ordered some beers first, then my companion hailed the waitress – without asking me – for a chickpeas burger and a plate of tomato and garlic beans for himself… The entertainment of my psychedelic night experience was going well. Charles and I, or Hank Chinaski as he likes to portrait himself, were enjoying ourselves… Until I asked him, in our alcoholic fogginess, if it was OK to take a selfie… He didn’t mind, but I felt I had let myself down on that one! I was so ashamed with my move, that I woke up… Leaving my host to pay the bill. Man, I have to stop eating Parmigiano Reggiano in the evening!

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Marie Lou’s Marengo Stew

Recipes, Stories

Choice 23 — Marie Lou’s Beef Marengo ( revisited by Hungry Breton)

My aunt often says to me that my mother was great at cooking meats; her beef Bourguignon was to die for and the treat for my father, on a cold Sunday, was her osso buco with flageolet beans and boiled potatoes. I guess I took it for granted, as children do, with a nonchalant face while playing with their fork, unaware of the love that was actually put before them. When she passed in 1997, I was only 25; at that stage, I had made my first baby steps in the kitchens of Sligo and Galway, before I got a phone call, before I had to sail away to say farewell, but that moment was never to be as she left before me. I inherited though, some lovely memories and a scrap book full of tender mess and quirky recipes from days long gone. My only regrets? I wish she could have seen Ireland, an Island she loved and supported through the “troubles”, through the struggles… She really did! The other one I guess is, that I would have really loved to have cooked for her… Just once. “But hey! Listen to me! This wasn’t meant to be no sad song” as legend Paul Brady puts it so well… We’ve heard too much of that before… We sure did!

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Breton Cake with Apples

Recipes, Uncategorized

Choice 7 — Apple Breton Cake with Espresso

My boss is sending me on a Special Mission; it happens once in a while, either dropped discreetly around a cup of coffee between a “well, how are you?” and “how would you feel about going on a road trip?”, or an email, extrapolated by my over active imagination which can clearly read: ” Your mission, should you choose to accept it, involves extracting some of our newest staff from Dublin, bring them to West Cork to see some of the original producers and actors of the Irish cheese and food revival, bring them back with plenty of stories and dreams to share. This message will self-destruct in five seconds”. I swear, that is what I get, this is what I hear, this is what I read.

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Mother of Pearl Clouds

Stories, Uncategorized

Ok, I know, this is not a food post but still! How often do you get such a rare phenomenon over the Isle of Ireland? I received a text in the early hours of this morning from my friend Morag who lives “Up the road”: ” Polar stratospheric clouds in the sky this morning! Look up!” it read as my upper left eye lid was still stuck to the bottom one and jumped out of bed, still in my pajamas, put my snow boots on ( they are easy to put on in case of an emergency… You can imagine the fashion disaster here…) and grabbed my camera which is always at reach… I wasn’t going to be disappointed!

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Stormy Baked Milleens Fondue

Recipes

As I write those lines, the day could turn into quite a memorable one! As storms go, we are going through the alphabet like there is no tomorrow! Introducing the letter “H” with storm Henry today; the polar vortex is actually hovering over Ireland( it should be over the North pole). The lights this morning were amazing, ghostly and so out of character that I decided to get out of the house to take a few pictures around the area… Bad idea! I could barely get out of the car and when I made it back home, two heavy pine tree branches were leaning closer and closer over the whole width of the road, losing altitude as they were being tossed around like lifeless rag dolls. There was no time to lose, I grabbed a rope and my best handsaw, managed to hold on, dropped to the ground and sawed them free one after another.

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Beet, Blood and Halloumi

Recipes, Uncategorized

Choice 11 — Beetroot, Blood orange and Halloumi

I have been selling cheese for over 15 years… Yes, 15 years, pretty sure. As I have escalated and passed to the “Super Wise Man’s” gap of forty ( I am cool with that) and I am still getting to grips with what life is throwing at me. Bring it on, you old bitch, you have given me so many challenges before my worrisome nature turned into a “whatever” attitude… Saying that, the older I get, and apart from the ecological impact on our Blue Home, I am growing less and less attracted to meat and fish. I have always had a huge sense of philanthropy, I love people in general and see the best in them.

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Roast Chicken Pie

Recipes

Hey, we’ve all been there. Roast chicken on Sunday can last a few days; I like to recycle the dish into a curry or a “Blanquette” ( https://hungrybreton.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/blanquette/) but this time, I wanted to do something new, like a pie. I love the idea of using whatever is in the fridge and this time, I was in luck; no trip to the local shop, this is pure survival stuff that will see our wee cottage fed for another couple of days… I had 1/2 a savoy cabbage, a leek, an onion, few peas and a carrot. I thinly sliced the lot of them and sautéed them with a bit of cubed pancetta I had bought at the end of December… Once every ingredients sweated with a bit of salt, I made a cheesy white wine béchamel sauce… Here is the wee story of how it went…

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Verduzzo Pear and Fourme d’Ambert

Recipes, Uncategorized

This has to be my little Masterpiece, I designed that recipe over 10 years ago, making it a bit more special every time. The idea behind was to make and marry cheese and dessert together; if you have ever been asked for the option in a French restaurant, you will understand. That way, you keep everyone happy… First, you need to get yourselves some pears, but since they are going to be cooked in wine, make sure they are not too soft!

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Apple and Caramel Pie

Recipes, Uncategorized

I love apple compote. It reminds me of my grand parents’ house, where we used to make batches and batches with the apples of the garden. Where I am from, apple compote is mostly used at breakfast, on bread instead of jam, to flavour a natural yogurt or inside those wonderful “turnovers” my mother used to buy after school… Another thing that is synonymous with Brittany, is a love for salty caramels… Oh yeah. I got some beautiful cooking apples at the weekend and decided to put the two together; sure, what could go wrong with those flavours?

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Marie Lou’s Paupiettes

Recipes, Uncategorized

My mother passed away in 1997 this month, only three years after I had moved to Ireland, an untimely and very quick November harvest as she was only three weeks in her 50th birthday. In these short years, I visited a couple of times, in the summer of 96 and April 97. I would always ring a couple of days before sailing, to build up the excitement on both sides I guess and the question from the Gallic side of the channel, and like a good French mother, was always the same: “ What would you like to eat?”… The answer came out bizarrely honest that it even surprised me: “Paupiettes please!” a dish made of sausage meat wrapped in a thin layer of veal or chicken escalope. It is stewed in a mushrooms, white wine and tomato sauce and served with rice. A comforting classic in our house; it wasn’t “cupboard love”, I was never that kind of a young lad, too proud maybe? But my friends, when your Ma asks you what do you want to eat, you better think fast and tell her nice, as I think in the 25 years we’ve known each other, she only popped the question twice…

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