Fall In Love With Dairy This Valentine's

Impress your loved one this Valentine’s Day with a delicious three course menu created by Irish Chef Clodagh McKenna and the National Dairy Council.

Start your meal with Crab toasts and spiced yogurt followed by a delicious Spring herb spatchcock chicken and finish your meal with a light and fruity Orange pistachio yogurt cake.

FRESH CRAB TOASTS WITH SPICED YOGURT

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices sourdough bread, toasted
For the crab
220g fresh cooked crabmeat
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus more for serving
juice and zest of 1 lemon juice
For the spiced yogurt
100ml plain yogurt
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:

1. Mix together the crabmeat, sliced scallions, chopped fresh dill, lemon juice and zest in a bowl. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Stir together the yogurt and crushed dried red pepper flakes in a small bowl and season with sea salt.
3. Slice the sourdough toasts into quarters, spoon the crabmeat mixture on the toasts and drizzle the spiced yogurt on top. Sprinkle the remaining fresh dill on top.

SPRING HERB SPATCHCOCK CHICKEN ON FENNEL

It’s so easy to spatchcock a chicken, but if it seems complicated then ask your butcher to do it, alternatively roast as normal and increase the cooking time by double. That is the great thing about spatchcock chicken it cooks much faster. Getting the herbed butter up under the skin of the chicken gets all the flavour into the meat. You can also add one teaspoon of dijon mustard and honey to the herbed butter for sweet peppery flavour. You can prep the chicken, including adding the herbed butter the night before and prepping the fennel.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole chicken
100g salted Irish butter, softened
3 tablespoons fresh spring herbs (flat leaf parsley, tarragon,  garlic leaves if available), finely chopped
1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
4 whole fennel bulbs, cut in half, lenghways
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:

1. Pre-head the oven to 190oC / Gas 5.
2. To spatchcock the chicken place the whole chicken breast-side down, with the legs towards you. Using sturdy scissors cut up along each side of the backbone to remove it, cutting through the rib bones as you go. Open the chicken out and turn over. Flatten the breastbone with the heel of your hand so that the meat is all one thickness. You can ask your butcher to do this for you if you want.
3. Next make a spring herbed butter, by placing the softened butter in a bowl and mix in the chopped spring herbs, juice and zest of one lemon and the crushed garlic cloves. I find it easiest to use the back of a spoon to mix all the ingredients together.
4. Use your fingers to gently separate the skin of the chicken from the breast and thigh meat to create pockets. Spoon half of the flavoured butter underneath the skin of the chicken breast and wings, and over the skin of the chicken. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Place the remaining half of the butter in a saucepan over a low heat to melt. Then toss the halved fennel bulbs in the melted herbed butter, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
6. Arrange the fennel bulbs on a baking sheet or roasting tin. Place the spatchcock chicken on top of the fennel, and into the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes.
7. Once the chicken is cooked, spoon the juices from the pan over the chicken and fennel until all the juices in the pan (or most of them) have been absorbed.

CELERIAC AND POTATO GRATIN

Serves 6           

INGREDIENTS:

50g butter, softened, plus a little extra for greasing
2 garlic cloves, crushed
900g potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
500g celeriac, peeled, cut into quarters and thinly sliced
500ml creamy milk (half milk and half cream)
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas Mark 5.
2. Grease a baking dish with butter and sprinkle the crushed garlic on the bottom of the dish.
3. Drop the sliced potatoes and celeriac into a saucepan of boiling water for five minutes, then drain and make layers in the dish, overlapping the slices a little and seasoning each layer.
4. Pour cream and milk mixture over the potatoes and use your hand to push down the potatoes until they are completely immersed in the milk. Sprinkle the nutmeg and fresh thyme leaves over the potatoes and celeriac.
5. Roast in the pre-heated oven for 25 minutes if you are using individual dishes and if you are using one large dish roast for 40 minutes.

ORANGE PISTACHIO YOGURT CAKE

This is one of my favourite cakes at this time of the year. It’s a much needed burst of sunshine. Deliciously light, and moist due to the natural Irish yogurt. You can make a gluten free version by simply using gluten free breadcrumbs. You can substitute the pistachios with hazelnuts, roast the hazelnuts before you add them to the cake, it enhances their flavor. It will last for one week, but not sure you will have any left for to test me on that!

Makes 1 Cake 

INGREDIENTS:

50g slightly stale white breadcrumbs
100 g ground almonds, ground
100g pistachios
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
150 g caster sugar
125 ml sunflower oil
200ml natural Irish yogurt
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
For the citrus syrup
juice of 1 orange
juice of 1 lemon
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick

To serve

Decorate with 50g roughly chopped pistachios and the zest of one lemon on top. Serve with a dollop of natural Irish yogurt

METHOD:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190oC / Gas 5.
2. Grease a 20.5cm (8in) round and 5cm (2in) deep tin and then lightly dust with flour.
3. In a large bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, almonds, pistachios and baking powder.
4. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs with the caster sugar. Continue to whisk while pouring in the vegetable oil, followed by the natural Irish yogurt.
5. Next stir the liquid pour into the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the orange and lemon zest. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and into the pre-heated oven.
6. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the cake is golden brown. To ensure cake is done, insert a skewer into the center – if it’s ready, the skewer should come out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a plate.
7. Meanwhile, make the citrus syrup. Put all of the ingredients into a saucepan and bring gently to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely. Simmer for 10 minutes or until thick.
8. While the cake is still warm, pierce it several times with a skewer, then spoon the hot syrup over the cake, allowing it to run into the holes. Leave to cool. Spoon any excess syrup back over the cake every now and then until it is all soaked up.
9. Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top, and the zest of one orange. Serve with natural Irish yogurt