Donal Skehan - Home Cooked

HarperCollinsPublishers
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Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2013

Text and photography Donal Skehan 2013

Donal Skehan asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Food stylist: Sharon Hearne Smith
Props stylist: Sofie Larsson

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

Source ISBN: 9780007518289
Ebook Edition OCTOBER 2013 ISBN: 9780007518296
Version 2013-09-18

There is nothing I love more than a good home-cooked meal. For me, the atmosphere and sentiment goes beyond anything you could have eating out and the idea of sharing food with family and friends is what home cooking is all about.

This book is a collection of 100 tasty and achievable recipes, which I hope are going to encourage people to get into the kitchen and get cooking. The recipes I love to write are ones that I just know will be used time and time again, and in this book Ive combined family favourites with new and exciting recipes, which Im so excited to add to my collection.

Inspiration for the recipes I write come mainly from my travels in Ireland and abroad. I always carry a notebook with me to write down any new and exciting ingredients I might come across or memorable meals that I just have to share. Recipes like Crusty Croque Madam from my summers in Paris and my Griddled Beef & Mint Salad from a recent trip to Vietnam are great weekday meals and they are both exciting and easy to prepare.

Every good home cook knows there are many different types of meals that have to fit into busy lifestyles and so the recipes in this book are broken up into chapters based around the different types of meals that I like to cook throughout the year.

From everyday dinners like Maple Pork Chops with Griddled Baby Gem Lettuce or Chilli & Lemongrass Chicken for snappy weekday meals, to food to share with friends like my Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa and Mexican Fish Tacos and, of course, big dinners like Roast Beef with Salsa Verde and Sticky Pork with Crackling & an Apple & Ginger Sauce for those family Sunday lunches with all the trimmings. Cooking at home is a great way to stay healthy with the right sort of dishes and in my fast and healthy chapter, Ive put together some of my favourite healthy dishes, which certainly arent lacking on the flavour front. Lime & Coconut Chicken, Blackened Salmon with Green Goddess Avocado Salad and Butterflied Rosemary Chicken with Romesco Sauce certainly wont leave you hungry.

For colder darker days there is a whole chapter on comfort food that is filled with the type of recipes that will bring some warmth when you need it most. Braised Shoulder of Lamb, Three-cheese Lasagne, Howth Head Seafood Chowder and Boeuf Bourginon tick all the boxes.

Weekends are covered, too, and there are lots of recipe ideas for lazy Saturday and Sunday mornings when breakfast becomes brunch. Caramelised Banana Pancakes, Eggs Benedict and Brioche French Toast with Berries & Chocolate what a way to wake up!

When I was growing up, my favourite recipes to make were sweet, so I couldnt write a book without satisfying my sweet tooth and Ive included two delectably delicious chapters full of desserts, sweet treats and baking recipes. Classics like the my Profiterole Mountain dripping with chocolate sauce and a super sweet Lemon Meringue Pie oozing with lemon curd sit quite happily beside my childhood favourites, which Ive given a bit of a makeover to, like my Mikado Coconut Cream Cake and Salted Caramel Biscuits.

I hope that this book provides you with lots of inspiration for cooking at home and that you will be reaching for it again and again, splattered, dog-eared and full of wonderful food memories.

Happy Cooking!

MAPLE PORK CHOPS WITH GRIDDLED BABY GEM LETTUCE

Sweet maple syrup, tangy vinegar and salty soy sauce with a kick of freshness from coriander really make for an extra special pork chop in this recipe. I particularly love serving them with griddled Baby Gem lettuce (a trick I picked up in America), which turns this humble salad green into something smoky, meaty and fresh.

SERVES 4

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp rapeseed oil, plus extra for brushing

4 large pork loin chops on the bone, 2.5cm thick

Sea salt and ground black pepper

1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

4 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp light soy sauce

4 tbsp apple juice

4 Baby Gem lettuce, cut in half lengthways

Large handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped, plus extra to garnish

5 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 190C (375F), Gas Mark 5.

Melt the butter with the oil in a large ovenproof frying pan over a high heat. Pat the pork chops dry with a little kitchen paper and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Add the chops to the pan and brown on both sides.

When the meat has a good colour, add the onion and fry for about 30 seconds. Then pour in the vinegar, maple syrup, soy sauce and apple juice and heat until the sauce is bubbling. Baste the meat well with the sauce and then place the pan in the oven on the middle shelf and cook for 10 minutes.

While the pork chops are cooking, place a large griddle pan over a high heat and brush the lettuce halves all over with a little of the oil, and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Place the lettuce halves onto the griddle and cook for about 2 minutes on either side until they have nice deep char marks but still hold their shape. Remove from the heat and set aside.

When the chops are cooked, transfer to a warmed plate and reduce the sauce over a medium heat for a few minutes until slightly thickened. Add the coriander and stir through, then add the chops and the Baby Gem and coat generously in the sauce.