weekend bites

This week I’ll be eating… winter radish. They are big, slightly peppery and very crunchy, bringing a lovely taste of freshness to this rather cold and often wet time of the year. You can slice in butter on a pan but I prefer it grated into a winter salad, perhaps with ginger and garlic, lime juice and roasted sesame oil. There are various sorts but the commonest is the white version which is variously known as daikon or mooli. Good greengrocers stock them. Aldi has announced a major sponsorship deal with the youth organisation, Foróige, worth almost €1m over three years. This will include the Youth Citizens Award and – very dear to my heart – the Junior Baking Competition, the finals of which are helding at the National Ploughing Championships each year. Foróige works with over 50,000 young people and has been operating for almost 70 years. Spanish Wine Week will take place between 23rd and 29th April and will feature lots of tastings and events. Highlights include a sherry showcase led by expert Paddy Murphy at the Instituto Cervantes, John Wilson will host a wine dinner in Greystones, Tomás Clancy will lead a wine tasting at Whelehan’s Wines, there will be a Spanish dinner at No. 1 Pery Square in Limerick, a Rueda dinner at The Twelve Hotel and a great deal more. Full details at spanishwineweek.ie If you have never been to Blacklion in Co. Cavan to eat at Neven Maguire’s outstanding restaurant, I suggest you make good the omission. Neven, right, and his team cook like angels but they also do hospitality in a uniquely warm, welcoming and holistic way that is genuinely uplifting. Johann and I dined and stayed there last week and we are still glowing. nevenmaguire.com