St Patrick's Day: 24 hours celebrating Irish flavours: lunch
Did you know that Ireland has one of the longest grass-growing seasons in the world?
Well, all the 'soft days' and gentle sun seemingly provide the best growing conditions that produce the many shades of Irish green the Irish love to sing about. The rains, which fall as the Gulf Stream hits land straight off the Atlantic, are also some of the cleanest in the world. In fact, thanks to the Gulf Stream, Ireland enjoys a temperate climate all year long, thus it gets perfect grass-growing conditions.
All of which is good news for irish cattle. Irish beef and dairy products are renowned internationally and last year provided exports of €9 billion. A better grass-growing season means more grass-fed herds, which in turn means good milk. As a consequence Irish artisan cheesemakers are springing up all over. Unlike many european countries Irish cheesemakers are known by their individual cheeses as opposed to a regional cheese. This gives rise to the unusually large variety of cheeses that is to be found in a country so small.
One of the earliest modern Irish cheesemakers were Jane and Louis Grubb who produce Cashel Blue (pasteurized cow's milk and vegetarian rennet) and more recently, Crozier Blue (pasteurized sheep's milk and vegetarian rennet). Cashel Blue is now a well established member of any good cheeseboard both at home and away. It's a natural-rinded blue cheese with a creamy texture that has been winning awards and admirers since it was first made in 1984.
St Patrick's Day is the perfect excuse for a celebration and if you've already followed my St Patrick's Day breakfast suggestion of Irish Brown Soda Bread then you may like to continue your 24 hour celebration with this lunch of Cashel Blue, Pear, Spinach & Hazelnuts Salad. The apple and pear orchards of the 'sunny south east' of Ireland are the inspiration for this blue cheese pairing, while hazelnuts have appeared in traditional Irish dishes for centuries. This salad may not be 'traditional' in the aged sense but it does provide an opportunity to showcase some fabulous irish ingredients.
Once again there is an illustrated a recipe guide for the meal that you can download by clicking through the link at the bottom of this post. Print out, follow and enjoy!
St Patrick's Day Celebration Menu
Lunch:
Cashel Blue, Pear, Spinach & Hazelnut Salad
Serves 2
(or 4 as a side to a main)
70 g Cashel Blue
100 g baby spinach leaves, washed, dried and with stalks removed
60 g hazelnuts (shelled with or without skin)
2 firm ripe pears (I used William pears but any eating pear will do)
1 lemon for juice
Honey vinaigrette
3 tblsp olive oil
1/2 tsp honey
2 tblsp cider vinegar
salt & pepper
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
Method
Dry fry the shelled hazelnuts in a pan (or roast in a hot oven) for around 5 mins till they begin to brown. If the nuts are still skinned then place them in a clean tea towel and briskly rub them to remove most of the skin. Crush or chop the nuts roughly.
Dice the Cashel Blue. Peel and core the pear then slice lengthways into approx 5 mm slices. Toss the sliced pear in a squeeze of lemon juice to prevent it turning brown.
Make the dressing by blending well all the dressing ingredients above.
Layer the spinach, cheese and pear in a serving platter.
Scatter with the chopped nuts and drizzle with the honey dressing before serving with slices of traditional Brown Soda Bread and a glass of something suitably chilled.
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Click on the link to download your illustrated recipe guide of
Cashel Blue, Pear, Spinach & Hazelnut Salad
Coming up: St Patrick's Day 24 hour celebration:Dinner: Bacon & Creamy Cabbage