Roasted Root Vegetables with herb yogurt and hot honey Now that it’s March our our lovely green island is beginning to wake up. More local produce is beginning to appear in our Farmer’s markets and on shop shelves. Mostly root vegetables but also some lovely early wild garlic, dandelions and the first of the rhubarb. A foraging trip for spring greens like wild garlic, early nettles and dandelion leaves is always great fun. You can make them into a delicious soup, risotto or pesto. Root vegetables are always so convenient and store so well too. There are so many possibilities from mash to soup ..read more

I’m so thrilled that my 3rd book, The Homemade Year, is finally in all good bookshops! Its 300 pages jam packed with creative inspiration to guide you joyfully through the year with over 70 projects. I’m still amazed when I see stacks of these in bookshops! You won’t find a pipe cleaner in this book! With a basic arsenal of sticky tape, paper, glue stick and twine you can create magic. Egg boxes, twigs and old clothes can all be transformed into hot water bottle covers, table centrepieces and scented diffusers. Creativity can often be a spur of the moment thing, you feel like making something ..read more

This is my second pumpkin based creation that I’ve devised with Knorr to combat food waste. I love a warm winter salad and this recipe is a really modern way to enjoy roast pumpkin. Use any small pumpkin or squash. You can dust the pumpkin with smoked paprika or spices before roasting if you want. The Middle Eastern seven spices mix, baharat, is perfect for this. I use bulgar wheat but you could use couscous or quinoa too. The chicken stock pot from Knorr adds loads of flavour and makes this the perfect salad to serve with leftover roast chicken. It’s a great meal prep salad for making on a s ..read more

When I was about 8 years old, my three older siblings would go to music lessons on a Thursday night and my three younger siblings would go to bed. It was the perfect opportunity for myself and my mother to spend quality time together in what was a very busy house. She would make a big pot of tea and bring it down to the living room with toast, apple slices and cheese. I remember sitting on the couch looking at the flames of the fire and the sparks as it collapsed upon itself listening to her boiling the kettle and making the toast. We would chat away eating our tea and assembling our cheese an ..read more

Knorr want to champion better ways to cook and eat for a more sustainable food future. Recent research commissioned by Knorr has found that three quarters (76%) of Irish people buy Halloween pumpkins, yet almost one third (28%) of these people throw the innards straight in the bin. Knorr want to help people combat this food waste by providing the perfect way to use up pumpkin innards and feed the family. I’m delighted to be cooking with Knorr and have created this delicious Pumpkin recipe using knorr stockpots for a shortcut to great flavour. #ad This pumpkin rotolo is a classic Italian dish ..read more

This delicious dish is so many nostalgic treats layered into one amazing dessert. There’s something so comforting about bread and butter pudding, it’s pure nursery food. Serve this with thick vanilla flecked custard or cold whipped cream. The perfect dish to welcome 2019’s rhubarb crop. x Rhubarb Bread and Butter Pudding Serves 6 4tbsp butter 10 slices stale white bread, crusts removed 300g chopped rhubarb 3tbsp soft brown sugar 150ml cream 350ml milk 3 eggs 70g caster sugar 2tsp vanilla paste or extract 1 tbsp soft brown sugar To serve: Cold softly whipped cream Butter the sides ..read more

This is my second recipe (#ad) for the Bord Bia #FlexYourMussels campaign and it’s a real favorite of mine. I always order mussels when I’m at a restaurant and am delighted to be rediscovering them over the length of this campaign, reminding me what a quick and easy option they really are. There’s loads of inspiration on the Bord Bia website and check out their handy ‘How to Prepare Mussels’ video too on www.bordbia.ie/fish. Paella is the ultimate one pan dish, everything goes into the pot and an amazing paella is revealed half an hour later. The mussels are added at the last minute and the c ..read more

I’m delighted to be working with Bord Bia again this year for their #FlexYourMussels campaign that gets underway today, Monday 4th June! I’ve always been a big fan of mussels, they’re the ultimate nutritious fast food being easy to prepare, high in protein and iron and packed full of flavor. I’m amazed at how cheap they are too. I bought a 1kg net of organic Irish mussels in my local supermarket for less than four euro. It still feels like a treat to cook them at home though, they’re always the first thing I look out for on a menu when I’m in a restaurant. A huge pot of steamed mussels with a ..read more

Whipped Pea dip with Quick Dukkah Here are my recipes from today’s demo at John and Ann Coughlan’s farm in Buttevant. It was a fantastic day with glorious sunshine and fantastic support from the local community with approx. 1500 people attending. Thanks so much to Agriaware for organizing such a great day and to the Coughlan family for opening the gates to their fantastic farm and welcoming us all! Whipped Pea Dip with Quick Dukkah  Serves 2-6 250g peas, fresh or frozen 10g basil leaves 10g mint leaves Zest and juice of ½ lemon Salt For the dukkah: 50g hazelnuts, toasted and skins remo ..read more

I’m so thrilled that my 3rd book, The Homemade Year, is finally in all good bookshops! Its 300 pages jam packed with creative inspiration to guide you joyfully through the year with over 70 projects. I’m still amazed when I see stacks of these in bookshops! You won’t find a pipe cleaner in this book! With a basic arsenal of sticky tape, paper, glue stick and twine you can create magic. Egg boxes, twigs and old clothes can all be transformed into hot water bottle covers, table centrepieces and scented diffusers. Creativity can often be a spur of the moment thing, you feel like making something ..read more