Paul, my year 2017

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2017 a year in review.

From my eyes anyway it was an eventful year with huge highs and lows throughout the year. Both in the kitchen and in my own personal life. I look back and hope yo share with you through my eyes the year 2017.
I suppose starting at the start with a busy month of work and a small amount of foraging to be honest about it February to April of the year I would rather forget to be perfectly honest about it. The best part of these months was starting a new job in late March with Marcus in Nick’s restaurant in Kilorglin, it was a great experience for me I loved every minute of it there while my personal life is rather park that and forget it. Leading from that a sense of despair amongst other emotions that I don’t do so well with then May happened and which saw the opening of Croi and the arrival of the gangsters into the real world and there is where the year really takes a turn, June and July as much as I try are a blur a completewhirlwind adventure with the 2 best men that you could ask for in Kevin and Noel “consummate professionals as always” (thinking about it now I’m laughing). Kevins dancing to the Spotify and Noel’s attempt to dance,(baby groot you legend). August saw the rose festival and an emotional weekend for me where I had am absolute disaster and would have seen the door and P45, had I not been in the position I hold in the restaurant, recovering from this seemed harder that it was. September saw the food festival and a busy few weeks for us which continued October, and food on the edge and a trip to Galway and the inspiration from done of the best chefs in Europe and the world, while in the restaurant we had expected to be “quiet”, like sbow in July that didn’t happen as ever we pushed on inside and out of the restaurant from both a service and a foraging point of view I had to look a bit harder to find different items on our menu, but in my search I stumbled across other patches of something else, (silver linings). That brings us nicely to December and the haze that ensued, a difficult time in our house anyway,, as I’m sure in many households across the country Christmas wasn’t the same without someone, yet the tales of the past bring tears and smiles laughter and silence of thought and wishful thinking.
So here we are at the beginning of January once more and this year sees pending nuptials for my fiancee Jenny and I, amongst other plans in the restaurant and the foraging seems like it’s going to be a great, and looking forward to the year growing as much as I can and foraging through the seasons once more with more of an eye on the preservation of herbs fruits and vegatable while hoping to increase my knowledge of edible and foraging of mushrooms.
Here’s to 2018 let’s see how it goes. Wild food to the forefront of my agenda anyway.
Follow my journey @chefpaulc on twitter and Instagram and the restaurant on all social media platforms @croitralee

preservation

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Restaurant preservation

As a chef in the restaurant I want to learn and as much as I can, I’ve a particular interest in preservation, on fish, herbs and vegatable, im not brave enough to go after meat just yet then again I’m gonna leave the cueing of meat to the professionals, plenty of them around. In Listowel and Rathmore as the best ones I know of curing pork and bacon products, plenty of the older generation still curing their own hard salt bacon., tasty stuff when done right and it’s not for everyone.
Preservation of fish started for me weeks ago when I botched a mix for gravalax so I had to cure in pickled beetroot liquid, it worked a treat and attempt 2 had more appealing results so I decided I need to perfect this and get better and I’m now on another batch of gravalax just waiting for it to cure.
I love pickling vegatables from beets to carrots and from cucumber to mushrooms. A huge thanks to the people of mooncoin beetroot for the selection this year the colours of the pickle mix was amazing. The flavors were also unbelievable. I’ve began fermentation also in the restaurant with Sauerkraut a German dish I know using Irish produce, thinking slightly outside the box on the next one but turnip I’m not sure how its gonna turn out so fingers crossed. Stay tuned for more experiments and an update on the current status of the turnip kraut
Follow me on twitter and Instagram @chefpaulc and the restaurant on all social media platforms Facebook Twitter Instagram and snapchat @croitralee don’t forget to like the Tralee culinary gangsters page on Facebook also

Winter foraging

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Winter time forage

As many of you know we forage year round and for just about anything edible. Recently we decided I’m the restaurant that a dish needed more theatre so we added smoke in the for of smouldering pine needles. Smell the forest eat scallops, we have been toying with the amount of smoke and how to get more to hold as it leaves the kitchen.
Back to the reason I’m here writing this, I started growing this year doe the first time and to my surprise with a hectic schedule a wide variety of stuff blossomed and grew throughout the year, I also had to do more foraging which meant seeking out other sources and places where a plant grows wild. Discovering wild mushrooms along the way with thanks to Marcus of Nick’s in Kilorglin. As the winter fastens its grip more things are coming on in my tunnel weeds though they may be, edible they are thank you very much into my salad and a pesto you go. The weed I’m referring to is hairy bitter cress. My beetroots and carrots still producing leaves which are also edible, the chard still holding strong.
Whole the autumn was good to us on the restaurant with wild Berries and flowers etc. This winter has been an eye opener for me as I’ve never done so much foraging, I quite enjoy the wilderness and solitude the forest offers I’ve got to explore more of the forest than I previously needed to, and from a different route I found a wider selection for the restaurant. I still get stopped every now and again by people who are curious about the tub I’m carrying usually full with a plethora of different leaves or at one stage nuts and mushrooms.
For the winter I’m turning to gorse for my floral creations, coming soon to the restaurant menu and yes you read that right gorse or furze bush, I get constant funny looks when I’m picking the flowers for between the thorns.
As this winter continues I’ve to get more creative with my leaves, stay tuned for more.
Follow me directly @chefpaulc on twitter and Instagram. If your on snapchat @croitralee for behind the scenes look at restaurant life, or the restaurant on all social media platforms @croitralee

osso buco

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(Serves 4)
2 tbsp olive oil
25g flour, to dust
4 pieces of veal shin, about 4cm thick
50g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 head of garlic, cut horizontally
2 strips of lemon zest
4 sage leaves
200ml white wine
200ml good chicken stock
For the gremolata
1 unwaxed lemon, zest finely grated
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Pinch of sea salt

Set a casserole dish wide enough to hold the meat in one layer over a high heat, and add the oil. Put the flour on to a small plate and season generously, then use to coat the meat. When the oil is hot, add the meat to the pan and brown well on both sides until golden and crusted. Set aside on a plate.

Turn the heat down and add three quarters of the butter to the pan. When melted, add the onion, carrot and celery, plus a sprinkle of salt, and cook until soft. Add the garlic halves, lemon zest and sage to the pan and cook for a few minutes more.

Turn up the heat then add the wine to the pan. Return the meat, standing it on top of the vegetables, and bubble until the wine has reduced by half. Pour in the stock and bring to a simmer.

Turn the heat right down, cover and simmer for one and a half to two hours, carefully turning the meat over every 30 minutes, until it is tender enough to cut with a spoon. Meanwhile, mix together the gremolata ingredients.

Dot with the remaining butter and allow to melt into the sauce, then serve with the gremolata and risotto alla milanese or wet polenta.

 

 

Guest piece by Jenny

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This piece is a bit different. I will be talking about the other side of the gangster lifestyle. The side of living with a gangster.
Being the other half of a gangster can be challenging. A lot of time you dont get to see your other half and their time if very valueable so you have to grab every moment you have and use it wisely.
The plus side it’s a great learning experience and I am learning new things everyday. Now a days I can’t go anywhere without spotting little things on the side of the road that can be picked to use in food, it’s drilled in my brain at this point. It can be frustrating at times though because I would have no idea what to do with them 😛
Although it’s hard to spend quality time alone, being even a somewhat accosiated with the gangster s is actually very fun. Getting up early is a pet peeve of mine but discovered going to the beach early on a winter morning picking clams is not only relaxing but calming and you feel better just getting the fresh air. Being able to see the demos they do is inspiring. You learn many simple tricks to make simple dishes look like you spent days making them 🙂 also having the receipts on the blog is handy to see and also having one at home is handy to experiment with the food I tried to make (he hadn’t got sick yet so I’m getting somewhere with the cooking i guess).
I couldn’t cook a thing 4 years ago. Not a thing. I burnt a boiled egg ( I still don’t know how) and made myself sick making a sandwich (it’s a skill I swear) I was a mess when it came to cooking, I swore that I wasnt made to cook. Since meeting a gangster things changed..I will make a full roast no question asked. He can now come home to cooked meal with out fear or any poising. Spices were scary, very scary I wouldn’t go near them. Now if I don’t have spices in my food I feel it’s not complete. Also making sauces from scratch adding in foraged goods is something I’m trying ( if 20 year old saw me now she be so proud). It’s actually a great feeling. My palette is being explored from all the explosive flavours, flavours in which I didn’t know exsisted. You can pick from the side of the road, found at the coast and generally around the place we just walk past to add in to dishes to make them perfect.
But the best thing about living with a gangster is seeing the progress and watching them learn as they progress forward. The joy when they discover new things to work into dishes, new plants just outside the door they can use and the general excitement within their careers , it’s inspiring …but also living with a gangster I get to try all the yummy treats and test new food, who doesn’t want that 😛
Thank you gangsters for showing me anyone can cook if you put your mind to it.

Gnocchi by Max

Handmade Gnocchi

 

1Kg Rooster potato
300 grams plain flour
50 grams semolino flour
1 egg
salt

Method :

Put the potatoes in a pot with cold water
add a spoon of salt
bring the water to boil temperature and live boil for 15/20 minutes
check the potatoes with toothpick if it go in easy they are ready !!
Drain the potatoes and peel it when are hot,
Smash the potatoes with the masher on a wood board, leave until the mash is cold.
At this point we begin to make the dough
Add a generous pinch of salt all over the mash, make an hole in the middle and open in it the egg,
pour half of the plain flour all over the mash and start mix it with the hands,
when all the flour is absorbed keep add the rest of the plain flour gradually until the dough is no stick any more.
Live the dough to rest 5 minutes on a cotton cloth previously sprinkled with semolino flour.
Clean the board and sprinkle it with plain flour.
Now we start making Gnocchi,
cut a slice of dough and roll it with the hands on the board until you make a long sausage dough with the diameter around 1 centimeter,
now get a sharp knife and start cut the sausage in a piece long around 2 centimeters and sprinkle all over the semolino flour.
At this point we only need the shape for the gnocchi, to do that get a fork put one of the cylinder of dough and with a thumb press gently on it and let it slide on the fork, sprinkle all over with semolino flour.
Your gnocchi are done!!

How to cook :

Bring to boil a pot of water,
add salt,
add a drop of seed oil to avoid the gnocchi stick together.
Put the gnocchi in the boiling water and when they come on float are ready!!!
drain and toss in your favorite sauce.
*Note “it is advisable to cook the gnocchi not all together but roughly two full hands of them per time”

Buon Appetito