AS PART 2 of my “there’s plenty of fish in the sea” post, here’s the second recipe associated with my love and encouragement of those to cook fish at home.
This dish is adaptable to any type of fish and that is what makes it so universal. I will say that it is somewhat luxurious so go easy on the sauce when serving if you are watching the calorie count.

Roast hake and butter bean stew

THERE’S a distinctive maritime flavour to the recipes this week but I have tried to incorporate some earthy flavours into the dishes for a little balance. And I know that I harp on about having fish a lot but I can not stress the importance of it in your diet. It’s cheap, very tasty and very good for you and given that we are an island nation, we should be eating a hell of a lot more of it than what we are.
Last year, figures were produced in surveys and studies that indicated over 60 per cent of the fish market in Ireland was tied up in salmon and cod purchases. Ireland’s low cod catch quotas means that over 40 per cent of it is imported.
Take the fact that the waters around Ireland are filled with over 40 different species of fish, species that are considered delicacies in Spain and France, and the question is, why are they not landed and eaten here?
It is time that we got a little bit more adventurous with our fish eating habits.

Forum calls Limerick foodies to head west 

MID WEST foodies will make a dash to GMIT on Thursday February 2 next for a day packed with interactive experiences that will showcase the abundant variety of excellent local food and artisan produce available in Ireland. The “Foodie Forum” will include a series of master classes with leading chefs and seminars by well known and established industry professionals.
In addition visitors can experience micro-brewers and participate in food and wine workshops coupled with an indoor market of local producers. An impressive line up of contributors have joined The Foodie Forum team in their quest to educate on the importance of the providence of food, the support of local suppliers and the use of seasonal Irish food. The event will conclude with a celebratory culinary dining experience, prepared by Hotel School Lecturers and Students.
Cáit Noone, Head of Hotel School believes that this event is an excellent opportunity to showcase the excellent work being done by Local and Artisan food & beverage producers in the West of Ireland and beyond and is an appropriate prelude to the Volvo Ocean Race which will arrive in Galway in the summer of 2012. “At the launch of the countdown to the Volvo Ocean Race the LDIG team announced the four main pillars of the race next summer – marine, green, innovation and food. The food pillar will provide Ireland with a global showcase opportunity to share with the world our food experiences and the outstanding locally sourced produce we have to offer.”

RECIPES usually come from the internet or print, but inspiration comes from all around us. That’s of course if you are looking for it. I’ve found that when I am cooking, I like to think of just one thing that I want to use and build around that. Be it from another dish, a supplier I’ve interacted with or just something that I’ve always wanted to try, the dishes always come as a collaboration of ideas, textures and contrasts.
This week, it was beetroot acquired from a farmer proud to sell his produce at market. I’ll have to come back to you with his name and details as I was consumed by these little vibrant tubers.
Accompanied by a succulent fillet of duck, a zingy cherry reduction and some sprouts and the dish was made.   Here’s what I did.

THIS week, I thought I would share a recent email to the food for thought page regarding wine.
Mary writes;

“Dear Andrew
I read your column on wine with great interest this week and with some nostalgia. I love a glass of wine but have not drank it for nearly a year now because it began to give me dreadful migraine after one small glass and that was white wine. Red wine is a definite no no. I am just wondering if there is any wine that is known to be less likely to cause migraine. It would be nice to have the occasional one with a meal. I have heard that organic wine might be good but I wonder if you have any advice”.

In response to Mary’s query, I recalled a conversation I had some time back with a knowledgeable wine man in the South of France. Needless to say, this winemaker in had a lot of passion to offer but ironically, he suffered from something very similar.

I know the title is probably somewhat nondescript but it does amount to something to do with fish and food.

IT’S all in the sauce they would say… True, but to be fair, it really is all in the quality of the produce in the first place. To that I will say a dish is about the sum of the parts and how well you can match and marry the whole lot to make more than just food on a plate.

A caveat to that little statement – I love simplicity, and simplicity that will give you something that is more than just the sum of the parts.

Puttanesca is that simplicity and thank God I found it.

Bringing together the flavours of Southern Italy will go nicely with any firm white fish and indeed you can adopt it to many other things.

I THINK it’s about time I rejoined the blogging world and whatever about my contributions to the world of print, it’s online is where I have neglected. New Year’s resolution 101, is, no doubt the same for everyone, but to do more, be better and achieve the goals set out. Sometimes I set that bar very high and if I fail, I sink. I am certainly not going to pour my heart out on a blog posting about food, but I would like to think that I will be attaching a more humane approach to what I share with the world.

To that end, I have decided to kick off the first post of 2012 (albeit over a fortnight late) with the roasting of a bird. A recipe that has certainly not reinvented the wheel but one that lifts the good to a better place. I suppose that in essence epitomises what 2012 can and will be about.

Complete, this dish has all the elements to satisfy the needs