weekend bites

THIS WEEK I’LL BE EATING...

... smoked haddock, the undyed, naturally smoked version not the hi-vis orange day-glo kind that looks as if it could be radioactive! I like it poached gently in milk, served with a soft-poached egg and some crumbled black pudding (something that Ray D’Arcy cooked on The Restaurant years ago and I’ve been doing ever since). I also like to flake it, combine it with chopped tomato and scallion, put in a ramekin, moisten with cream, top with cheesy breadcrumbs and bake.

CHOC FULL OF DELIGHTS

During the week I had some of the best chocolates I’ve ever eaten and I don’t say this lightly. Arcane Chocolates are made in Dublin by Belgian chocolatier Erik Van der Veken. They were sublime little spheres of real chocolate containing utterly delicious and inventive fillings. Each one is a thing of beauty. Erik also does beautiful little handmade chocolate Christmas trees. Seriously, these will make brilliant gifts this festive season. Rush to arcanechocolate.ie.

THERE WAS SOME PRAISE!

It seems that Clodagh McKenna was devastated by my review of her first restaurant in Blackrock back in 2013. She mentioned this in an interview on RTÉ radio last week and was quite gracious about it. I did write, at the time that there were ‘some excellent things about Clodagh’s Kitchen, even if it comes across as a prototype for a franchise operation. It has utterly charming staff, some great ingredients and an original wine list.’ I also remarked that it was ‘bang on the marketing money’.

GET AHEAD IN THE GARDEN

It may seem a slightly mad thing to do, but smart gardeners are sowing two crops this weekend, weather permitting. These are hardy varieties of peas and broad beans that will have a head start in spring, cropping during the ‘hungry gap’ in late April, early May. My choices would be Claudia Aquadulce for broad beans and either Kelvedon Wonder or Meteor for peas. Just make sure the beds are well-drained or the seeds could rot.