Darina Allen: Three recipes inspired by my trip to England, including a twist on Irish soda bread

We loved these bhajis which our wonderfully colourful hostess with her wildflower tiara shared with us. Following the party, we spent a night in Ramsgate. Nearby, Margate is really rocking – it’s all happening in the seaside town with lots of independent shops, cafés, markets and clubs. 

A highlight for us was to see the mysterious Shell Grotto, a series of underground passages and little rooms lavishly embellished with sea shells. It was discovered in 1835. There are lots of intriguing theories but as yet despite much diligent research no one seems to know who is responsible for this wonderful creation. The shells are somewhat discoloured from many years of gas lighting, but the patterns are still evident.

How about making a beautiful folly at home or in your garden from mussel, periwinkle, cockle, scallop and oyster shells which are mostly discarded so save your shells, even if it’s only to embellish a picture frame or a mirror. The beautiful Shell House that Blot Kerr-Wilson embellished in Kinoith gardens here at Shanagarry in 1995 is open to the public every day, year round except on Sundays.

Next day, we made a pilgrimage to The Sportsman in Seasalter, Stephen Harris’s pub with a well-deserved reputation for some of the best pub food in the UK. As ever they were totally fully booked, but I pleaded for a table or even a stool. The meal was so worth the detour with one delicious plate after another plus a couple of superb desserts.

There was a summer herb panna cotta, and also a fruit salad of summer berries including Kent cherries, loganberries and little green gooseberries scattered on top of a scoop of lemon verbena granita in a crisp basket. There were also several homemade breads, including this riff on Irish soda bread with home churned butter from Stephen Harris’s cookbook, The Sportsman published by Phaidon in 2017 is now sadly out of print, but I’ve managed to track down a copy in a West Cork bookshop. 

It’s got a Michelin star but mercifully none of the fluff and foams and skid marks on plates that one expects from these starred restaurants. Our final night was spent at Uptown Farmhouse near Deal, a beautiful country house with extensive gardens. Just six bedrooms and irresistible food.

This is quite the find, owned by London chef Rowley Leigh’s daughter Ruth and son-in-law Ali. Both dinner and breakfast were memorable. Fresh beautiful produce, carefully sourced from the garden and local area. Juicy roast pork with borlotti beans and warm cherry tomatoes was particularly memorable as was a salad of buffalo mozzarella with chunks of ripe, doughnut peaches, basil and a whisper of chili. 

It’s close to the town of Deal with its beautiful long sandy strand and numerous indie shops, cafés and the multi award winning Black Pig Butcher owned by Lizzy Douglas, winner of the BBC Radio 4 Food Programme’s Food and Farming ‘Food Producer’ Award in 2022. Lizzy specialises in nose-to-tail eating and artisanal butchery and buys her superb naturally reared meat locally. 

The trip was far too short. We discovered a part of England that we had not previously visited. Miles of beautiful coastal footpaths to explore, we even saw the legendary White Cliffs of Dover. I can’t wait to return to explore at a more leisurely pace.

Savannah’s Vegetable Bhajis

Allen Recipe By:darina

A For Made Bhajis Can Potato Or These Sweet Carrot Thank Delicious Of Both You Or With Mix Sharing, Jo Be

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Time Cooking

 10 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

ingredients

• A Large 600g On Sweet Grated Grater A Potato/carrot In Magimix

• Spinach, Or 300g Chard Baby Chopped

• Chopped Chives Finely Tbsp 3

• Tbsp Turmeric 1

• Milder It Mild You 2 Paprika Or Or Pepper Prefer Chilli Kashmiri Aleppo If Tsp

• 5 Eggs

• Plain Gluten 200g Or Flour Free Flour

• Powder Baking Tsp 2

• And Salt Taste Pepper To

method

1. Ingredients To Dry To Eggs Batter, Rest 20 And Ingredients Minutes Mix Firm Add For And Together All Other Allow

2. Pan Or Frying A Deep Oil In Heat Wok

3. Golden Together In Fry Minutes Correct About Hold Crisp Temperature, Bhajis 2 Your Oil A To If Should And At 2 3 Bit It Is Shape The But A Of Shape Is Rough The Tablespoons Add Until Messy Brown, And Hands Oil Mixture Into Ball The Mixture Hot The Approx

4. Small Fritter Up Paper Of You Mixture Puff A Batter The Drain Only Will On Bhajis Kitchen Per Amount So Need

5. Serve A With Dip Based Yoghurt

The Sportman’s Soda Bread

Recipe By:stephen Harris

Board Soda The Left And Used On Some When Snacks As Serving And Me, Local It Our Bread The On I I Him, It Dublin Always As Dad We A Ate Lasting Bread Use During For 1980s, It My Lived In Starters, Impression And Now Well Visit To

Time Preparation

 15 mins

Time Cooking

 45 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Baking

ingredients

• Flour 125g Wholemeal

• Flour 65g Raising Self

• Pinhead 65g Oats

• 30g Bran

• Wheatgerm 15g

• Bicarbonate Soda) (baking Tsp 1 Of Soda

• Tsp 1 Salt Sea

• 1 Tbsp Treacle

• 300ml Buttermilk

method

1. A Generously 7 Gas 220c/ The Mark Baking Oven And Heat Tray To Flour

2. The All Dry Mix In Large Together A Ingredients Bowl

3. The Incorporated Treacle Buttermilk Until Add And Together Fully Mix And

4. Loaf Longer Out Just Until Well Form A Dough Knead Lightly, Onto Sticky Lift Into Sticky The The Turn A Work And Onto Floured No Baking Tray Prepared Shape Counter And

5. The Minutes 40 Bake Oven, Loaf Gas Cooked, And Should The The Lower Then Bake Soundhollow Tap Heated Underside Is 30 5 You It When Temperature Minutes Mark For To The 4 180c/ When For In

6. The Inserted Out Which Should When Of The Clean Test E A Bread With Skewer, Into Or Centre

Plaice or Lemon Sole with Herb Mussel Butter

By:darina Recipe Allen

For Fish, Like Classic This Sole Roasting Turbot, Only Brill, Very Which For And A Sole Not Simple Technique’ Plaice Fresh Dabs, All Very Is Flat Ballymaloe But And Can ‘master Be Flounder Lemon Used

Servings

4

Time Preparation

 15 mins

Cooking Time

 35 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Main

ingredients

• Sole Or Plaice The 4 Bone Lemon Very Fresh On

• Depending Fishfor On The Size 20 The Mussels, Butter The Of Herb 28

• 50 110g Butter

• 4 Chopped Fresh Chives, Parsley, And Mixed Fennel Leaves Finely Thyme Tsp

• Salt And Ground Pepper Freshly

method

1. 190°c/gas Oven The 5 Mark To Preheat

2. Head Sharp And To Neatly It Later The Cut Remove Tail With A Meets Cut Its The Fish Round Thoroughly The Will Careful Through To Cross Clean ‘fringe’ Be The Dark Slit Or Where Turn Remove At Skin And The Fish, Difficult The On Knife, Be Skin To Side And Side Cuts Right The Fish The The Just On Wash The The Flesh Very

3. Of Evaporated Oven Salt And Minutes In Fish Generous The 20 The Water Water Ground According Cooked For Freshly The Hot To A Moderately In Is With Tin Should Shallow Roast As Fish Size Pepper Baking The Lay A The Have A And Sprinkle Of Fish In 5mm Them Just 30

4. It Whether Trace The With Bone Of The Lifting At Check See Bone White Cooked The From Fish And Flesh Off Be Quite Easily By The Is Head; Should No The Pink To Lift

5. And The Wash Drain Under Mussels Cold Well Water

6. Shells Mussels Be Enough, And Put Shells Pan, As The Make Medium Should As Liquid Cook Open Into Some Mussels The Soon From Minutes By Cover After And Their The Folly) Given Off Heat Check Saucepan, To A Or Time The On Extract Have A A (save Remove From 3 2 Are Which Cool

7. The Strain Mussel Liquid

8. In Herbs, Mussel Melt The Serving, And The Little Just Butter Add Chopped And Mussels The Liquid Before Cooking Freshly Stir A

9. Cut) Catch The Serving Pull Will Before And If Badly The Tail Gently It Properly Near Not Skin (the Tear Down Skin Off Just

10. Butter Lift Over Onto Mussel Hot One Herb Plates And And The Fish Spoon The Each

11. Immediately Serve

Waterford Harvest Festival