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INSIDE DONAL’S FAMILY KITCHEN
Donal Skehan needs no introduction, he’s known and loved as a food writer, photographer and television presenter from Ireland to LA. He’s also a family man, Instagrammer and all round nice guy. Having just shared an amazing dish on our all new Arnotts Cooking Club on IGTV, we caught up with him to find out why he and his recipes are the kitchen heroes we all need in our lives right now.
Donal on...learning to cook
Both my parents were involved in the food industry when I was growing up but it was my mum who taught me how to cook. My granny was also a brilliant cook too, she had a wonderful book of handwritten recipes. I remember her roast dinners and soufflés being standouts. Her recipe notebook is full of handwritten notes laid out in her beautiful handwriting, it’s also full of letters and mementos so I love leafing through it now for inspiration and it's a lovely family keepsake.
On Pantry Favourites
I always think you can create a great meal if you have good quality pasta in your cupboard, the added bonus being that it cooks quickly! Gnocchi is another one which is a favourite. I love making it with a simple ragu sauce as it cooks in 2-3 minutes. Tinned tomatoes are also pantry essentials. Top tip: buy really, really good tomatoes, you won’t regret it, they are great bases for soups, stews and sauces. Lentils can also be transformed into so many meals, from chickpea burgers to dahls and soups. Don’t forget all the flavour-makers your pantry needs too from white wine vinegar, harissa paste, soya sauce - these enliven salads, make great marinades and pep up stir fries. If you are Dublin based the Asia Market now deliver some of these key ingredients so you can keep your cupboards well stocked.
"I always think you can create a great meal if you have good quality pasta stocked up in your cupboard, the added bonus being that pasta cooks quickly!
On Easy Spring Recipes to Try
Two favourite recipes from this time of year are my Tortellini Spring Green Drop Stew, which is a great one for when you are looking for a soup for warmer weather that’s fresh and light but full of flavour, and my Middle Eastern Bread Salad which is a quick but satisfying salad worked up with a sharp, roast red pepper dressing, it's a great way of using leftover bread.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 2 litres good quality chicken or vegetable stock, hot
- 150g frozen peas
- 100g asparagus, trimmed and roughly chopped
- 8 spring onions, trimed and sliced in 5cm pieces
Method
- Place a medium pot over a medium high heat and add the oil. Once hot, sauté the onion and celery for 4 minutes until just tender.
- Add in the stock and bring to a steady simmer.
- Add in the peas, asparagus, spring onions and savoy cabbage. Allow to cook gently for 3-4 minutes before adding the tortellini. Cook for a further 4 minutes until the pasta is cooked and season to taste. Serve in deep bowls with a dollop of pesto, fresh basil leaves, shaved pecorino cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
Ingredients
- 5 large mixed peppers
- 300g sourdough bread, torn into rough bite-sized pieces
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- 500g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1⁄2 cucumber, peeled, deseeded and diced
- 1⁄2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 radishes, thinly sliced
- Large handful of fresh parsley, roughly torn
- 150g black olives, pitted
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 ̊C/400F/Gas mark 6.
- Place the peppers on a large baking tray and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until blackened and charred on all sides. Remove the peppers from the tray while still hot, place in a bowl and cover with cling film. The steam in the bowl will allow you to remove the skins easily. When cool enough to handle remove the skins and cores of the peppers and slice into chunky pieces.
- Place a small handful of the peppers in a food processor with the ingredients for the dressing and blitz until smooth. Season to taste, transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Lay the bread pieces out on the same baking tray that you cooked the peppers on, drizzle with a little oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 5–6 minutes until just toasted.
- Place all the remaining salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl and add the peppers, toasted bread and dressing. Toss until completely coated and serve.
For the dressing:
- 1 roasted red peppers from a jar, seeds removed
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated
- 1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
- 1 tsp sumac
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepp
YOU'LL NEED
- Baking tray
- Mixing bowl
- Food Processor
On the kit every good kitchen needs
Every good kitchen needs some great kit but I’m all for keeping things simple and choosing great cookware and gadgets that last the test of time. Cookware from Le Creuset for example are such work horses, they are a great investment, and take meals from oven to table stylishly. I grew up with them, both my mum and my granny were fans of the brand and still have the pieces they bought years ago.
It’s always a good idea to have a selection of nice bowls to hand while cooking as they save time on cleaning up the scraps and help you prepare ingredients too, it stops chaos and the big clear up in the kitchen afterwards. Good kitchen knives are a smart buy too. As a beginner cook you don’t need lots of knives, just invest in a really good 6-inch or 8-inch knife as this can be used for everything. Gadgets to help you blend and chop are also worth adding to your kitchen. A Pestle and Mortar is great for blending spices and marinades while a handheld stick blender (the Kenwood comes with lots of great attachments) speeds up preparation time and are quick and easy to store. Myself and Sofie love coffee and we have a machine from Sage which is much-loved in our house and has been a winner throughout lockdown, it’s almost like we have a barista at home.
On his family’s favourite food…
All my family are great eaters and my sons Ollie and Noah will try anything, favourite meals are probably sausage ragu or gnocchi – and these can be ready in an instant. We are always trying to mix things up and keep things interesting – noodles and stir fries are great ways of getting veggies into your little one’s diet too. When myself and Sofie get some time to ourselves when the boys go to bed I like to make something special like Steak Frites, I slow cook the beef in the oven with garlic and rosemary and make the chips with waxy Ballymakenny potatoes.
On parenting…
It’s only when I became a parent that I realised how limited my time is, the plus side is we have more structure to our days, becoming a parent has also allowed me to understand how people need meals to be easy to prepare and cook especially when there are hungry faces looking for their dinner.
On his hopes for 2021?
My hopes are to see more of my family here and to see Sofie’s family in Sweden with the boys. I can’t wait for some normality to return. There is still a lot of hope out there, we just need to get through the next while…
Donal Skehan is part of our all new Arnotts Cooking Club, inspiring us all in the kitchen, you can cook along with him and try out one of his favourite dishes on Arnotts IGTV and why not check out Donal’s new brainchild www.donalskitchen.com the ultimate everyday meal planner – this subscription-based, interactive online platform allows users to view step by step videos to over 100 recipes, you can also generate weekly meal plans and access automated shopping lists; making it effortless to cut back on food waste and track what food you need to re-stock each week.
