The fascinating thing about Ireland's artisan producers is not just the excellence of what they create, but the steady improvement over the years as their experience develops and they gain greater maturity and understanding.
And, in recent years, I think the producers who have shown the greatest advancement are Rosarie and Kevin O'Byrne, of the West Cork Herb Farm, a few miles out of Skibbereen, in West Cork. The O'Byrnes now produce an impressively large list of flavoured oils, vinegars, marinades and jellies, as well as their celebrated green peppercorn mustard - a total of 14 different products, quite a feat for a two-person operation.
The herb farm produces the herbs and, using these, Rosarie O'Byrne creates the flavoured oils, jellies and whatnot which then make their way on to shop shelves all over the country.
The most impressive feature of West Cork Herb Farm products is the extraordinary vivacity and completeness of their flavour. The extraction of herb flavour which Rosarie O'Byrne manages to achieve is stunning - and in no oil more so than with her basil oil, which recently won a gold medal in the Great Taste Competition, in London. Quite simply, nothing else matches these foods in terms of purity and power of flavour. Commercial flavoured oils taste artificial and tricked-up in comparison to the West Cork oils - many commercial oils use only essential oils for flavouring, rather than fresh herbs - for the cook, the West Cork oils are a marvellous filip in the kitchen, for their flavour is truly natural. I still remember the day I bought a ciabatta-to-go from Jim Tynan in The Kitchen, in Portlaoise, and when I unwrapped it, the aroma of basil oil was intoxicating. There is no mystery as to how Rosarie O'Byrne produces such marvellous flavours - it's lots, and lots, and lots of herbs. "I use vast quantities of the fresh herbs," she says. "If we didn't grow the herbs, it simply would not be economic to produce the oils. I will use a kilo of basil for every 18 bottles of basil oil, which are 250 mls each."
Such strong flavours allow one to use the oils in the simplest ways: "I like to make an open sandwich with brown bread, warm sliced tomatoes and some feta cheese, and just drizzle the basil oil on top. And Eilis Gough, who makes Mileeven honey, tells me that she likes to chase everyone out of the kitchen, and she then takes brown bread and bananas and speads geranium jelly on top. She says its bliss, it's so exotic!"
For anyone who wants an introduction to these marvellous foods, here is a quartet of recipes which use just some of the West Cork herb farm foods: two of the recipes are my own, and two are from Jim Tynan, of The Kitchen in Portlaoise.
Roasted Peppers with Basil Oil and Green Peppercorn Mustard
Here, we put two of the West Cork herb farm products to use, to add to the sweet Mediterranean flavours of roasted peppers, garlic and anchovies. Roast two red and one yellow pepper in a hot oven until the skins are blackened and blistered, about 20 minutes (you can also do this over a flame or on a barbecue). Remove to a deep bowl, and cover the bowl with cling film. Leave for at least 10 minutes, and then peel the skins off (they should slip off easily if the peppers have been fully roasted). Open out the peppers over the bowl, discarding the seeds, but keeping the juices (a sieve is useful for this task). Tear the peppers into pieces.
In a mortar, pound two cloves of garlic with a sprinkling of sea salt until reduced to a puree. Add two anchovy fillets and pound until fully assimilated. Add in the peppers and juices, and a teaspoon of WCHF green peppercorn mustard, and pound until the mixture is fully assimilated. This is fairly messy, and you might like to do it in a food processor - but if you do, use the jump mechanism and don't overprocess; this is a condiment, not a sauce.
Finally, add in WCHF basil oil, a tablespoon at a time until you have achieved the consistency you want: it should be something like chutney.
Shredded Spinach with Green Peppercorn Mustard
The green peppercorn flavour is perfect with fresh spinach. Wash 2lbs of spinach leaves well and detach the stems from the leaves. Roll the leaves tightly together, then shred them into medium fine strips. Put two tablespoons of water in a pot, bring quickly to the boil, then stir in two teaspoons of green peppercorn mustard and swirl it around. Quickly toss in the shredded spinach and toss repeatedly for 1 minute, when it will be ready: you want the leaves simply to wilt and pick up the peppercorns.
Jim Tynan's Ciabatta with Roasted Vegetables, Melted Brie, and Basil Oil
This is the quintessential showcase for West Cork Herb Farm Basil Oil.
For the oven-roasted vegetables, place slices of tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes and wedges of red onion on a tray with olive oil and garlic and roast in the oven until slightly charred.
Slit the ciabatta lengthways and spread with some garlic butter. Place the roasted vegetables on top, then lay slices of the brie cheese (Abbey Brie from Pat Hyland's Abo Cheese) on top. Drizzle some West Cork Herb Farm Basil Oil on top and place under the grill or in the oven until the cheese is nicely melted. Serve on warm plates with a good green salad - and pour over some more basil oil, if you dare!
Free Range Egg Sponge with Geranium Jelly and Fresh Cream Filling
A lovely, eggy sponge, which revels in the sweet taste of the geranium jelly.
For the cake:
4 oz caster sugar
4 oz sieved flour
4 large free range eggs
For the filling:
Whipped cream, strawberries, geranium jelly
Place the eggs and the sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until at the ribbon stage (the whisk leaves a mark in the mix). Grease two eight-inch sandwich tins. Line them with washed and dried geranium leaves if you have them. Fold the flour into the egg and sugar mixture with a metal spoon. Divide the mix between the two tins. Bake at 160C for 20 minutes. Leave the sponges to cool. When cool, peel off the leaves and spread with geranium jelly and the whipped cream. Chop some strawberries and place on top of the cream. Place the second sponge on top and dust with icing sugar. Enjoy every mouthful!
Note: Jim recommends geranium jelly as also being good served with roast pork and roast turkey, either on the plate or spooned into the roast gravy, or with a slice of runny Cambozola with crackers.