In this week’s Something for the Weekend series, we’re featuring Conor Bofin from One Man’s Meat and his recipe for a Big Ass Salad.

My friend the Wicklow Hunter is a passionate man. This year, he has taken to growing vegetables and herbs in his expansive spread in the Garden County. He does not do things by half. So his first crop of vegetables has started to come into season over the past few weeks. He is discovering that growing the vegetables can be easier than giving them away. He very generously gave me a food parcel containing the following:

A vegetable marrow
A cucumber (It looks and tastes like nothing you have ever bought in a supermarket)
Tomatoes (also looking and tasting unlike the insipid shop bought variety)
Spring onions (see notes above)
Potatoes
A range of herbs including thyme, dill, rosemary, mint, lemon thyme, bay, flat leaf parsley, regular curly parsley and some others that I can’t remember right now.

This prompted me to buy a nice wedge of Stilton and make what my youngest daughter referred to as a “Big Ass Salad”. I couldn’t think of a better name for it.

Here’s what I did:
Parboiled the potatoes and cut them up. Added olive oil, rosemary sea salt and black pepper. Then I roasted these until crisp.

While this was going on, I peeled and cut the cucumber, sliced, salted and drained the marrow before giving it a spell on the griddle. I also griddled some sweet peppers that were lying in the fridge. Washed, trimmed and chopped everything else, adding some pine nuts for a bit of nuttiness. The result is in the pictures. It was a beautiful Big Ass Salad, perfect for a late summer weekend lunch.

I am not a professional chef and I have no direct links with the food industry. I cook what I like and write what I like about it over at www.conorbofin.com. Come on over and see if you like it too.

You can find Conor online at:

• Blog: One Man’s Meat
• Email:
• Twitter: @conorbofin

Want to share your favourite recipe and have your blog featured in our Something for the Weekend series? Read about it here – we’d love to hear from you!

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In this week’s instalment of the Something for the Weekend series, we’re featuring Ana Martin from Cooking Spain and her recipe for Ensaladilla Rusa (Russian Salad).

I’ve chosen this dish for a weekend because it´s a versatile dish. It can be used to feed a crowd and also can be part of a sophisticated meal as a side dish or first course. It´s easy to prepare, we usually have the ingredients in the kitchen and also other ingredients can be added, to your taste. It can be prepared beforehand, leaving it in the fridge (especially in summer) ready to be served. This is a very popular dish in Spain during our long and hot summers. I hope you enjoy it!

I´m a Spaniard passionate about food. When I first moved to Ireland four years ago I thought it would be a difficult task to cook Spanish food in Ireland. But I was wrong!!! Not only have I found most of the Spanish products here but also I added to my dishes the good quality and tasty Irish ingredients. My blog is about cooking easy and tasty Spanish food dishes in Ireland, combining Spanish ingredients available here with Irish products: Cooking and enjoying Spain in the Irish weather!!!

You can find Ana online at:

• Blog: http://www.cookingspain.blogspot.ie/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/anamonard
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004013609225&sk=wall

Ensaladilla Rusa (Russian salad)
(4 servings)

Ingredients:
-4 medium size potatoes (boiled with the skin)
-2 boiled eggs
-2 roasted red peppers (sliced)
-1 tin of green olives (pitted)
-1 tin of white asparagus (optional) for decoration
-Gherkins (small jar)
-1 jar of mayonnaise

Any other ingredients can be added as well such as peas, onion, beetroot…

Boil the potatoes without peeling them for about 25 minutes. (it depends on the size of the potatoes). They should be thoroughly cooked but firm. When they cool down, peel them and cut them in small size cubes. Place them in a big tray, season them with salt and pepper. Keep some olives, red peppers and the boiled eggs for decoration later.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the potatoes: gherkins (cut in half), tuna, red peppers, olives (cut in half). Mix the mayonnaise with all the ingredients (keeping half of the mayonnaise for decoration). Finally, spread the mayonnaise over the salad.

For decoration place the rest of peppers, gherkins, olives, sliced boiled eggs and asparagus.

Done! Ready to go to the fridge!

Homemade Mayonnaise 

Ingredients:
-1 glass of sunflower oil
-1 egg
-1 pinch of salt
-1 tablespoon of white vinegar
-1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Place the sunflower oil in a high glass. Add the egg, salt, pepper, lemon juice and vinegar. Place the blender at the bottom of the glass, switch it on and leave it in that position for about 1 minute. When the mixture starts to thicken, lift the blender a bit for a few seconds, keep doing the same (lifting it little by little)till tthe mayonnaise gets the proper consistency. Ready!

It might need more than a try to get the perfect mayonnaise, but believe me, it´s worth it!

Want to share your favourite recipe and have your blog featured in our Something for the Weekend series? Read about it here – we’d love to hear from you!

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In this week’s Something for the Weekend series, we’re featuring Sean O’Tuama from Fun Fresh Food and his recipe for Garlic, Chilli and Ginger Burgers.

I’m Sean O’Tuama, a 23 year old nearly qualified electrician. I’m on a mission to get people back in the kitchen cooking simple dishes which taste delicious, are quick to make and are a lot healthier than anything you are gonna get down at the local take-away. I always say a bit of salt and pepper can go a long way and I don’t believe when people say they can’t cook, it’s just a matter of putting a bit of effort and thought in. I’ve applied for the full immersion chefing course in CIT next year and all going well I will get that but if not, I might try to do the Ballymaloe course.

This burger is the perfect weekend treat for those who are looking to try something new. The classic combination of the ginger and garlic give it a mouth watering aromatic taste which follows up with a kick from the chilli. Homemade wedges are the perfect side dish with this and I always add some roasted peppers and freshly made guacamole to the burger which really makes for an explosion of flavours.

You can find Sean online at:

• Blog: http://www.funfreshfood.ie/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/funfreshfood.ie
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/FunFreshFood

Garlic, Chilli and Ginger Burger

Serves 4

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

500g of mince (as lean as you can get)
1 small egg
2cm squared ginger
3 large garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of chilli flakes
Salt & pepper

1. Put your mince into a large bowl and break it up with your hands.

2. Dice your garlic and ginger and add to the bowl along with the chilli flakes and some salt and pepper. Whisk the egg and add it to the bowl and then give it a good mix. You don’t want large chunks of mince so try to break it up as best you can so the seasoning spreads through it evenly.

3. Once mixed take about quarter of the mince into your hand and start pressing it together. Keep doing this for a minute or so to make sure the patty is well formed so it doesn’t fall apart while cooking. Repeat this with the rest of the mince.

4. Heat up a pan to a high heat with a bit of rapeseed oil and add your patties. Leave cook for a minute then flip over to the other side and turn down to a medium heat. I do this to seal the burger so the juices can’t escape.

5. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side, depending on how thick you’ve made it, and ensure to press down on the burger every couple of minutes with a spatula to squeeze out any excess fat.

6. Once there ready take them out of the pan let them rest for 4-5 minutes.

7. While there resting you can get whatever else you want for the burger the ready i.e. buns, onions, cheese, guacamole, roasted pepper, ketchup etc. Enjoy.

Want to share your favourite recipe and have your blog featured in our Something for the Weekend series? Read about it here – we’d love to hear from you!

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For our first blogger in our new Something for the Weekend series, we’re featuring Holly Kenna from Holly’s Pantry and her recipe for Roasted Asparagus, Spinach and Pesto Salad with Roast Chicken Wrapped in Bacon.

I’m Holly Kenna, a 21-year-old Culinary Arts Student with a love for all things food. Especially blogging about it and taking photographs of everything I eat! My philosophy is to keep things as simple as possible and not to overcomplicate things. I would encourage people not to get hung up about cooking and following a recipe. It’s supposed to be creative, an art form, an outlet. It allows you go places you’ve never been before based on the ingredients you are cooking with. I couldn’t be happier doing what I do. I wake up in the morning and the first thing I think is ‘Oh, I wanna cook that and blog about it!’ If I can share my love for what I do with people, it would make me the happiest person on earth.

I chose this dish because it echoes spring and summer. It’s just as easy to make for 10 as it is for 2. My philosophy is to keep things as simple as possible but to add a twist here and there. I believe this salad showcases this. Here you are eating a salad and then BOOM you get a mouthful of roast asparagus. Not something you expect in a salad! The fresh pesto is a lovely alternative to a regular salad dressing and definitely gives the dish a sophisticated edge. It’s new, exciting, totally mind blowing in flavour without being the slightest bit complicated!

You can find Holly online at:

• Blog: http://hollyspantry.blogspot.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HollysPantry
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/HollyKenna
• Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/44288571@N06/

Roasted Asparagus, Spinach and Pesto Salad with Roast Chicken Wrapped in Bacon

Serves 5

5 Chicken Breast
5 Pieces of Streaky Bacon, unsmoked
1 Avocado
3 Tablespoons Fresh Basil Pesto
1 Red Onion, thinly sliced
Bag of Spinach, washed
250g Asparagus
50g Parmesan, shaved
An assortment of Cherry Tomatoes halved, I used Red and Yellow
Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper

Preheat the oven to 220. Wrap the chicken in bacon. Place on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes.

Lay the asparagus on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Remove.

When just about ready to serve, in a bowl mix together the spinach, sliced onion, tomatoes, pesto and roasted asparagus. Place in a big bowl. Halve the avocado and using a baby spoon, scoop out the flesh on top of the salad and garnish with the shaved shards of parmesan cheese.

Serve alongside the Roasted Chicken Breast and a lovely glass of White Soave.

Want to share your favourite recipe and have your blog featured in our Something for the Weekend series? Read about it here – we’d love to hear from you!

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