I was recently grilled (sorry, no pun intended) about my death-row meal and the answer to it always sounds a bit lame when you read it in print. It’s a bit like reading people’s answers to their “ideal dinner party guests”. I can never think of a really good answer when I’m put on the spot – although I think Stephen Fry seems to make it onto most lists and therefore is the only name I could conjure up in answer to that question.
So back to my death-row meal . . . For some reason, my most recent choice included a really good steak with Béarnaise and all the trimmings a la posh American steak house (along the lines of Shanahan’s). But as soon as I said it, I instantly regretted my rather pedestrian and dull selection.
If I gave it some serious thought, I’d pick a cuisine (rather than actual dishes), which might sound rather clever: how about Middle Eastern with a splash of the Mediterranean? Or how about French-Japanese crossed with Connemara? At least that sounds a little more interesting than a big steak.
The point is that dishes like the ones on these pages are just very tasty, which is what I’m always keen to achieve when cooking. They look good, smell good and taste good. There’s also a nice simplicity to them, when simple isn’t just a euphemism for being dull. Some marinating, charring and slicing. Some mixing of flavours, textures and colours. A good balance of astringent and richer edges. It’s also very suitable for communal eating.
It’s time to get the barbecue out, and this lamb is a good one for it, although it came out perfectly well from the oven, roasted at a really high temperature (220 degrees/gas 7), for about 15 minutes until starting to char and crisp on the outside.
The chickpea salad is great for parties but also makes a satisfying mid-week supper. You could mix a bag of baby spinach in with it and make it a marvellous one-pot supper wonder. Also, try frying a few cubes of halloumi and throwing them in, instead of the feta or goat’s cheese.
Labneh is just strained yoghurt that turns into something resembling a ball of mozzarella, but much creamier.
For some reason, new mothers often buy endless packs of muslin – myself included. I think it's because we're told it's very handy but very hard to find. As a result, I ended up buying packs of it every time I saw them in a supermarket, "just in case". It may have been elusive in the 1860s, but I can assure you, muslin is now widely available. This stockpiled muslin that never got used can now be repurposed for making labneh. Got to remember, there's always a silver lining.
dkemp@irishtimes.com
