Hugo Arnold COOKING INThe other night, at the supermarket, I scooped up some carrots and potatoes, plus a couple of steaks, for a quick meal.
None of it tasted of much, even though I cooked the ingredients as I had many times before, braising the carrots with butter and roasting the potatoes with rosemary. I normally buy organic vegetables. Could the difference in taste be down to the fact that that night's vegetables weren't?
The next day, to test my theory, I bought some Irish organic carrots and potatoes and cooked them alongside what I'd bought at the supermarket. The organic produce was far tastier. If you don't normally buy organic food, you should use the excuse of National Organic Week, which starts on Monday, to try it. But look for food that is local and seasonal as well as organic. This is the time of year not for strawberries or melons but for autumn fruit, vegetables and nuts.
For details of National Organic Week, see www.bordbia.ie
Recipes serve four
TAGINE OF LAMB WITH POTATOES, PRESERVED LEMON AND SAFFRON
1kg boned shoulder of lamb, cut into 2cm cubes
generous pinch saffron stamens
1 tsp ground ginger
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
bunch parsley, finely chopped
vegetable oil for frying
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
5cm piece of cinnamon bark
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp chopped preserved lemon
Combine the lamb with the saffron, ginger, garlic, onion, parsley and three tablespoons of the oil. Cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 90 minutes, or until tender. Remove the meat and let it cool, then remove as much of the fat as is practicable. Return to the pan, add the potatoes and cinnamon, then simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked. Stir in the honey, then simmer for a final five minutes. Stir in the lemon and serve with couscous or rice.
AUTUMN CRUMBLE
100g quinces, peeled, cored and cut into 2cm dice
350g apples, peeled, cored and cut into 4cm dice
1 tbsp butter
100g soft brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
4 cloves
2 star anise
5cm piece of cinnamon bark
1 tbsp pine nuts
For the topping
50g butter
25g brown sugar
75g plain flour
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/gas 4. Combine the quinces and apples in an ovenproof dish and toss with the butter, sugar and spices. Sprinkle with five tablespoons of water. Toast the pine nuts in a hot dry frying pan until golden. Add to the fruit mixture. Combine the topping ingredients and rub lightly with your fingers until you have a mixture with a consistency similar to that of breadcrumbs. Sprinkle it over the fruit and bake for 40 minutes, or until brown and bubbling. Serve with cream or creme fraiche. harnold@irish-times.ie