Portlaoise Masterchef shares his favorite winter warming recipe

Winter is the season for richer, heartier foods. On a cold, dark evening, nothing can warm you up like a home-cooked meal.

We asked Portlaoise-born head chef Eugene McSweeney about the best “winter-warming” recipes this season.

His response? A hearty stew of beef and vegetables with colcannon.

“This year’s seasonal dish should be a simple beef and vegetable stew with bacon and cabbage colcannon,” said Chef McSweeney.

“It’s a healthy winter dish and can be made from all Irish produce. The colcannon with the stew would make a nice addition,” he said.

Head chef Eugene McSweeney (77) grew up on Mountrath Road in Portlaoise. Chef McSweeney’s choice of an easy, family-friendly dish stems from fond memories of cooking with his mother and grandmother.

“Back then, all of our food came straight from our garden,” he said. “I have very fond memories of making jam with my grandmother and cooking potatoes right in a field in the garden. I never forgot these potatoes, it was really the beginning of my sixty years in the profession! he said.

Mr McSweeney has a long and highly successful career, winning Ireland’s first ever Olympic culinary gold medal in 1980. He was also awarded the prestigious Chevalier de Chaîne de Rôtisseurs award in 1981.

Mr McSweeney was also the owner and head chef of the popular Lacken House in Kilkenny for 18 years, which won numerous awards and was visited on several occasions by the President’s Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese.

With such busy workdays in the kitchen, Chef McSweeney’s favorite quick dinner is a stir-fry.

“Something really quick would be a stir-fry. I love my vegetables: carrots, celery and leeks,” he said.

“If you can also get organic chicken, it’s even better. Most of the time, I prepare my meals in batches, especially in the winter. I’m starting to make carrot and ginger soup, as well as tomato and pepper soup,” he said.

The chef says preparing large quantities to freeze is much easier and just as tasty.

“The soup with a little soda bread is delicious and nourishing. It’s a big hit with my wife and me!” » said Chief McSweeney.

During the winter months, many people want to eat quickly and easily. Mr McSweeney recommended that readers buying ready meals include fresh vegetables.

“People don’t always have time to peel potatoes and cook stews,” says McSweeney.

“If you buy ready meals, I recommend adding some fresh vegetables to the meal.”

Although he himself has a strong presence on the Irish culinary scene, Mr McSweeney takes great inspiration from his fellow Irish chefs and pays particular tribute to Myrtle Allen of Balymaloe.

“I’m always impressed by young chefs and what they’re doing these days. In the 1960s and 1970s there was no strong food scene in Ireland,” the head chef said.

“Then Myrtle Allen came along and everything changed. My training is classical French, like everyone who trained at the time. Myrtle was the first Irish woman I saw rise through the ranks in this way, and I had a wonderful time working with her,” he said.

“We worked together in Euro-Toques, which aimed to preserve Ireland’s culinary heritage. We have Myrtle Allen and Ballymaloe to thank for our food scene.

To help our readers truly understand the chef, I asked Mr. McSweeney the age-old question: If you weren’t a chef, what would you be?

“I think I would have gone into travel writing,” Mr. McSweeney replied after some thought.

“I loved geography, traveling and reading. I wasn’t great at school, I went to CBS in Portlaoise. I left school after fifth year and gained my Leaving Cert later in life. My father asked me one day if I wanted to become a chef, I said yes and that was that. I loved cooking and my parents had the foresight to see me as a chef! Mr. McSweeney finished.

Here’s Chef Eugene McSweeney’s recipe for his “Seasonal Dish,” a simple beef stew with bacon and colcannon cabbage.

Stew and colcannon recipe

Simple Winter Beef and Vegetable Stew

For 6 people

Ingredients.

750 g stewing beef cut into 2 cm cubes.

2 tablespoons of sunflower oil.

2 onions, sliced.

4 large carrots, peeled and chopped.

3 stalks of celery, chopped.

40g of flour.

450 ml of good quality stock, hot. Made from good quality beef stock cubes.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Chopped fresh parsley to garnish.

Method.

Sprinkle the meat cubes with flour and shake well.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large ovenproof pan and fry the meat over high heat until cooked.

golden everywhere. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Do this in batches (this will be

Easier).

Do not clean the pan, as you will need it to fry the vegetables.

Heat the rest of the oil in the same pan and brown the onions, carrots and celery. Fry a few

minutes or until onions are tender.

Advice; do not heat the pot but just enough so that everything browns. Scrape off all the bits

at the bottom of the pot; this will add flavor to the stew.

Incorporate the beef with the vegetables. Add the hot broth. Season lightly.

Stir very well and slowly bring the stew to a boil.

Simmer for about an hour and a half or until the beef is tender.

Advice; using slow cooking is ideal for preparing this stew.

Check the seasoning after the stew is cooked and change it if necessary.

Serve in deep bowls with the buttered cabbage and bacon mash.

Collar barrel

Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Cabbage and Bacon

For 6 people

Ingredients.

1 kg of floury Coq type potatoes or

140g butter

140 ml of cream

Salt and pepper to taste

4 large green cabbage leaves, cooked and chopped.

6 slices of cooked and chopped bacon or use bacon bits.

Pre-cook the cabbage leaves and bacon (bacon strips can also be used).

For the mash, put the peeled and chopped potatoes in a saucepan of salted water and bring to

boiling.

Reduce heat and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Drain the water and return the potatoes to the pan, then place over low heat for a

minute or two to dry off any excess moisture.

Pass through a potato masher or mash with a fork or any potato masher. Then add the butter and

cream, beating until smooth.

Season as needed.

Chop the cabbage leaves and mix them with the bacon cooked in a little butter.

Serve the puree in a bowl and make a well above the puree and fill the well with the

reheated cabbage and bacon.

Serve with the beef and vegetable stew.