FISH + CHIPS = PIE

The Farmette Cookbook celebrates Irish food and features this intriguing entree,

American city gal Imen McDonnell had never even visited a working farm when she was swept off her feet by an Irishman and dropped everything to move to his 200-year-old family farm in County Limerick.

Today, Wellies are part of her wardrobe and she sees cows grazing out her window. The Farmette Cookbook: Recipes and Adventures from My Life on an Irish Farm documents her transformation from a fast-paced life in broadcast media to country living — and cooking. The book: The Farmette Cookbook (hardcover, $39.95) celebrates the raw milk, eggs, honey and fresh fruits and vegetables McDonnell finds at her doorstep with recipes for basics such as Country Butter and Irish Farmhouse Ricotta. It includes classics made with a few simple ingredients, multi-course feasts with foraged wildflowers and greens, and recipes with a contemporary twist, like salmon tacos. The quote: “There’s more to Irish food than Guinness and beef pie,” writes McDonnell, who began chronicling her countryside culinary adventures in her Farmette blog in 2009. The tester: I grew up cooking for a family of eight, then went on to feed a household of four sons. No experience with leftovers. Operating principle: you can never have too much bread, potatoes or cake. Recipes I’m dying to make: Irish Stout and Treacle Loaf, Bangers and Mash (with gravy made from mushrooms and stout), a Wild Spring Lamb feast and, for dessert, Mile-High Banoffee Pie an eyepopping caramel cream concoction made with bananas and whipped cream.

CHRIS SO/TORONTO STAR Andrea Gordon adapted the recipe to add more mushed peas and mint. She also used a large pie pan rather than four small tart pans.

The Farmette Cookbook by Imen McDonnell includes traditional Irish fare and country cooking with a modern twist.