Autumn pizza

Invited some neighbours over for alfresco pizza evening, a bit casual a bit cold, Irish are used to the weather. Very proud to create pizza from what I can still harvest from the garden and those stored in the freezer. 

Pizza with roasted garlic, olive oil, spring onion and sesame

Pizza with pesto sauce, cherry tomatoes, carrots, cheese, when ready add semi-dried cherry tomatoes and fresh basil

Pizza with tomato sauce, mince lamb, cooked runner beans, cheese, when ready add dill 

Pizza with tomato sauce, goat cheese, apple, when ready add fresh coriander 

Restaurant Lignum

Went in our camping car to Lignum on the outskirts of Galway in the countryside for dinner, an hour and half from home, make it hard to drive back in the dark. So far better to eat, drink and sleep comfortably afterwards in their carpark in the camper. 

The second time to this restaurant this year, last one in June. We like it so much that we decided to come back to taste the October autumn menu.

A lot of new dishes with seasonal ingredients, like game duck, mushrooms, pickled veg, shellfish, berries etc. Equally satisfying as last time and will be happy to come back regularly. 

 

 

Success with chestnut cream

Dessert of seafood feast is Sucess, a French pastry with 2 layers of Dacquoise filled with chestnut cream, decorate the top with raspberry coulis flavoured whipped cream. A light dessert, have a crunch and a soft light filling.

To make chestnut cream, boil shelled chestnut in milk, blend to puree. If too thick, soften with cream. 

Squid with spring onion

Main course of seafood feast is squid, blanched first after cleaning to be ready to cook fast. 

First sweat ginger and carrot until fragrant, next add a lot of spring onion and sweat until soft, season with salt. Last add squid and mix well. Very fast to prepare in front of guest and very tasty dish.

Baked lobster and homemade linguine in bisque

Invited friends over for a seafood feast, antipasti are Carlingford oysters, Connemara shrimps and raw marinated mackerel. Pasta course is lobster with linguine, great to polish the skill of making pasta once in a while. 

Bake lobster at 200˚C for 13 minutes, removed head and shell to make bisque. First cut shells into small pieces, stir-fry in butter until fragrant, add water and simmer for an hour. Reduce broth, season with salt, pepper and tomato paste. 

Prepare linguine, 1egg for 90 pasta flour, using pasta machine to roll thin, then cut into size, toss with flour and dry on the table. 

To serve, reheat bisque with cream, warm lobster tail, place on heated plates. Cook linguine in a pot of water, then transfer to bisque with remaining lobster meat. Serve next to tail. 

When pasta is rolled thin and cut narrow, a little goes a long way to feel satisfied, and useful to absorb the delicious bisque.

 

 

Foie gras

Too busy to eat shellfish in France and did not have a chance to have foie gras. So bought a whole raw one to cook at home. 

Cut into 1.5cm thick slices for searing, the rest mi-cuit to enjoy later. 

Sear foie gras
Season slices with salt, pepper and sprinkle flour on top. Sear in stainless steel pan on high heat, without any fat. Fat will ooze out from foie gras, turnover after a minute, reduce to medium heat and sear for another minute, should be golden both sides. Rest in the pan for a minute to warm through. Serve with seared cooking apple. 
Use of flour gives a crust to contrast with very soft middle of the slice of foie gras. 

Mi-cuit foie gras
Place remaining pieces of foie gras in a terrine dish with lid, season with salt, rice wine, pepper and honey. Place in 60˚C steam oven for 1 hour, or longer if foie gras layer is thick. 

Serve when cooled down, so fragrant when you open the lid, silky smooth texture, like it better than seared version. 

October harvest

Very happy that there are still a few veg to harvest well into mid October. Other herbs like basil, coriander, dill and spring onion, cherry tomato is the last tomato plant that is still fruiting.  The cut and come back beet leaves and Staghhorn plantain are real life saver. 

Dug out the last lot of carrot, parsnip and beetroot, the trio that I like to sow together, as the earlier mature carrot and beetroot will free up room for parsnip to grow fat. 

2025年10月16日 烤栗子

在法國市集見到老人家賣栗子，大大粒的，即刻湧現美食回憶。香港街頭的糖炒栗子、母親的水煮栗子、來到法國住時買下古老有窿的烤栗子長柄鍋，方便在柴火上烤….

秋冬季的食物，在法國郊野很容易執到栗子，只是大粒的在野外少見，細粒的剝到指甲痛。

栗子不適應愛爾蘭天氣，所以已多年未嚐，這回看到，自然買了一袋回家。

那專用的栗子烤鍋留在法國，找到這個克羅地亞古老烤肉鍋代替，有點大材小用。

現在習慣，先上網參考烤栗子的各種建議，最容易地連那毛毛皮一齊撕走。決定在果殼上鎅十字，然後浸水一會兒，鍋熱後放入栗子，加蓋，久不久翻動，近廿分鐘左右殼略黑取出，放濕毛巾內滋潤十來分鐘兼降溫，往後就容易剝。

的確好方法，栗子粉糯甜美，如記憶中一樣好滋味，但已不能多吃，脹胃兼口乾。

Duck breast

Brought back duck breast from France, better quality than those from Ireland. Score skin and season with salt and pepper. 

Sear in medium heat skin side down, to render out fat. Place thick slices of apple around to sear at the same time. Use kitchen towels to mop excess oil. This takes quite a while until skin golden and no fat layer left, turn over to cook the meat side until med rare inside. 

Slice duck breast and serve with seared apple. 

Searing scallop

Learned a trick in searing scallop from a restaurant in France. Score criss-cross pattern 1mm deep into the flat surface of scallop, on one side. Sear in butter, until the scored side is brown, flip to the other side and just warm through. 

The browning of the scored side gives a fantastic umami flavour compared with normally mild tasting scallop. The texture will be a bit hard but the rest of the scallop is still very tender. 

2025年10月12日 鮮美價平蛤貝

法國西北岸Brittany 區淺灘多，是各品種蛤和螄蚶的主要產地，每個漁市場都可買到，有不同大小、殼厚殼薄、殼有紋或平滑等等分別，價錢由每公斤七至廿幾歐羅不等，差異頗大。

起初看到眼花撩亂，也不知那個品種好味些，所以就什麼品種都買些少試味。我們習慣是價錢高的好味些，發覺在這裏，有些貴的，味鮮但肉薄，又有些價錢平的，肉甜厚身好質感。

印象最深是這區最大隻的蛤Vernis, 即北寄貝，是喜歡的刺身之一，肉爽口厚身甜美，只要一歐羅一隻，覺得平到笑。

吃多了才弄明白，估計價錢和味道無關，那是各人的喜好而已，價錢和殼的重量有絕大關係，殼厚重的平、薄而輕的貴。大約可以說是付的錢，不用擔心殼厚殼薄，可以買到差不多重量的蛤肉，不理是什麼品種的蛤。

然後，又奇怪，在海灘拾蛤，不是容易的工作，有大有細，在西方人工貴的地方，應該收天價。例如這裏的小花蝦，在海岸石灘旁用網捕捉，分大小出售，比較大的就要六十多歐羅一公斤，工夫多也。

然後來到蛤場試食，就在大淺灘旁，看到裝置，才明白為何價錢大眾化。

各品種的蛤和螄蚶，就如蠔一樣，在孵化場出世後，分門別類放在網中，排放在淺灘上，潮水一天兩回進退，灘淺，潮退露出沙灘，海水每回帶來養分，撒退時帶走廢物，蛤、螄蚶就如此長大，功夫不太多，價錢就實惠過小花蝦了。

Tour of Brittany France 8/8 La Roche Bernard, Guipry-Messac

Went to La Roche Bernard, a classy town with character old stone buildings and a harbour with a lot of pleasure boats.
Excellent Thursday market with 2 well stocked and presented fish stores, also a few good bread cake shop, all these point to a wealthy community here.

4pcs 18 euro sea urchin 19/kg
10 pcs 11euro scallop 3kg for 18euro
Chestnut 4/kg

 

Unfortunately it must be the beginning of sea urchin season, the shell is big, heavy.... but is full of water and not much to eat. 

On the way north to Roscoff ferry pier, stop at Guipry-Messac to cycle along the canal, very calm and relaxing atmosphere.

Changed to this new ergonomic bicycle saddle, really more comfortable than the traditional design!