Myself and the family are thoroughly enjoying our break away from the restaurant this month, and I’m sure our staff are as well. Closing for a short while in June is probably one of the best decisions I have ever made for the business.
After a few days in Medjugorje the four of us travelled to nearby Croatia for a break by the sea.
Medjugorje is a wonderful place which has become very meaningful for our family; going back to a time shortly after my father passed away and my mum, Vera, went to the pilgrimage site for a visit. She loved it and found peace and solace there after what was a very difficult time. She spoke about it often.
Since then, we have visited on three separate occasions and I completely understand what my mother meant when she spoke so fondly about it. I love spending a few days there. It is very peaceful and the people are so friendly. Over the years, it has become a part of who I am; my mother, of course, having been such a huge inspiration to me.
While we were there, we of course met a good few Irish people who were also on their holidays. They said such nice things about my TV series; I really appreciate their kindness. As a general rule, I find the women I speak with always comment on the food, while the men I speak with comment on the travel! I always tell everyone I have the best job in the world, and this is the truth. I get the chance to travel, learn and experience new cultures and that is very hard to beat.
In nearby Croatia, we also took a few days to visit the beautiful, vibrant seaside – where, of course, we came across more Irish visitors! My batteries are definitely feeling recharged after such a wonderful time with my family and I am now looking forward to getting back into the restaurant.
What is it about food on a stick that always makes it taste so good? I love a good skewer, especially at this time of year, when we spend lots of time outdoors in front of the barbecue.
Admittedly, we haven’t had the best weather for grilling in recent weeks, but we still have the rest of the summer ahead of us and we can live in hope.
These pork and pineapple skewers are not just delicious – they are a super quick recipe to throw onto the grill or barbecue. Pork is quite inexpensive, and most of the other ingredients in this recipe are pantry staples, so this works well for a quick weeknight dinner. For these skewers, you could use pork shoulder or loin instead of the fillet which will work well. Pork and sweet ingredients go together nicely, and the grilled pineapple is juicy and adds a dose of flavour.
The juices naturally create a delicious glaze as the skewers cook. If you’re not a fan of curry powder, you could try some smoked paprika or harissa spice blend instead. The mango salsa makes for the perfect bite when you have a bit of the pork and pineapple together. You could make the salsa a day ahead of time and it goes really nicely with fish, chicken or steak. I particularly like to have it with salmon or prawns. If you’re not sure where to buy the mangos, the Simply Better range offer pre-ripened ones which take away a bit of the guess-work. We actually use these mangos in the restaurant, where we are serving them alongside a lobster dish.
If you’re looking for something with a bit of a spicy kick, these piri-piri prawn skewers will be right up your street. They are deeply flavoured and spicy, but not too hot, so they are still ideal for anyone with a low spice tolerance. If you don’t want to use prawns here, you could use monkfish cut into nice, large cubes, or if you want to avoid seafood, try chicken.
Again, this is an ideal recipe to grill on the barbecue, with a bit of char adding nicely to the smoky flavours of the paprika and chorizo.
Sticky pork and pineapple skewers with mango salsa
Neven's sticky pork and pineapple skewers with mango salsa. \ Phillip Doyle
Ingredients:
Serves 4-6
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp mild curry seasoning or curry
powder
500g boneless pork fillet, trimmed and cut into long strips
250g fresh pineapple chunks
2 Little Gem lettuces
Freshly ground black pepper
For the mango salsa:
1 small red onion, finely diced
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of caster sugar
1 small ripe mango, peeled and diced
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 fresh mild green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Handful of fresh mint leaves
Method
1 Preheat a griddle pan until it’s smoking hot.
2 Whisk the soy sauce and curry seasoning, then season with pepper and stir in the pork strips. Leave to marinate for 2 minutes, then thread the pork pieces onto 8 to12 15cm bamboo skewers with the pineapple chunks.
3 Place the skewers on the hot griddle pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10–12 minutes, turning once or twice, until the pork is cooked through.
4 Meanwhile, to make the mango salsa, place the red onion in a medium-sized bowl with the lime juice and sugar. Set aside to pickle for 5 minutes.
5 Stir in the mango, spring onion and chilli. Tear in the mint leaves and gently fold together to combine.
6 Tear the Little Gem lettuce leaves and divide between plates. Spoon over the mango salsa, then arrange the sticky pork and pineapple skewers alongside to serve.
Piri-piri prawn and chorizo skewers with chargrilled
little gem wedges
Neven's piri-piri prawn and chorizo skewers with chargrilled little gem wedges. \ Philip Doyle
Ingredients:
Serves 4-6
4 Little Gem lettuces, each one trimmed and cut into 6 wedges
2 uncooked chorizo sausages (each about 100g)
2 × 200g packets of wild Atlantic jumbo prawns, peeled and with tails still intact
For the piri-piri sauce:
2 long fresh red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
6 tbsp lemon juice
6 tbsp rapeseed oil, plus a little extra for brushing
2 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp cayenne pepper
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
2 lemons, cut into wedges
Method
1 To make the piri-piri sauce, place the chillies, garlic, lemon juice, rapeseed oil, sugar, paprika and cayenne pepper in a small food processor and season generously with salt and pepper.
2 Blitz until you have achieved a coarse paste. Using a spatula, transfer to a bowl. Set aside until needed.
3 Heat a griddle pan over a medium to high heat. Brush the Little Gem lettuce wedges lightly with rapeseed oil and quickly chargrill. Arrange the wedges on plates and add a small dipping bowl of the piri-piri sauce.
4 Cut the chorizo sausages into 24 even-sized slices, discarding the ends. Wrap each prawn around a slice of chorizo and thread two prawns onto each skewer.
5 Brush all over with the remaining piri-piri sauce and cook the skewers on the griddle pan in batches over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes on each side, until the prawns and chorizo are cooked through and tender.
6 Add the prawn and chorizo skewers to the plates with the Little Gem wedges and lemon wedges to serve.
Read more
Neven Maguire: easy, cheesy and so tasty
Neven Maguire: lamb chop ...and change
Myself and the family are thoroughly enjoying our break away from the restaurant this month, and I’m sure our staff are as well. Closing for a short while in June is probably one of the best decisions I have ever made for the business.
After a few days in Medjugorje the four of us travelled to nearby Croatia for a break by the sea.
Medjugorje is a wonderful place which has become very meaningful for our family; going back to a time shortly after my father passed away and my mum, Vera, went to the pilgrimage site for a visit. She loved it and found peace and solace there after what was a very difficult time. She spoke about it often.
Since then, we have visited on three separate occasions and I completely understand what my mother meant when she spoke so fondly about it. I love spending a few days there. It is very peaceful and the people are so friendly. Over the years, it has become a part of who I am; my mother, of course, having been such a huge inspiration to me.
While we were there, we of course met a good few Irish people who were also on their holidays. They said such nice things about my TV series; I really appreciate their kindness. As a general rule, I find the women I speak with always comment on the food, while the men I speak with comment on the travel! I always tell everyone I have the best job in the world, and this is the truth. I get the chance to travel, learn and experience new cultures and that is very hard to beat.
In nearby Croatia, we also took a few days to visit the beautiful, vibrant seaside – where, of course, we came across more Irish visitors! My batteries are definitely feeling recharged after such a wonderful time with my family and I am now looking forward to getting back into the restaurant.
What is it about food on a stick that always makes it taste so good? I love a good skewer, especially at this time of year, when we spend lots of time outdoors in front of the barbecue.
Admittedly, we haven’t had the best weather for grilling in recent weeks, but we still have the rest of the summer ahead of us and we can live in hope.
These pork and pineapple skewers are not just delicious – they are a super quick recipe to throw onto the grill or barbecue. Pork is quite inexpensive, and most of the other ingredients in this recipe are pantry staples, so this works well for a quick weeknight dinner. For these skewers, you could use pork shoulder or loin instead of the fillet which will work well. Pork and sweet ingredients go together nicely, and the grilled pineapple is juicy and adds a dose of flavour.
The juices naturally create a delicious glaze as the skewers cook. If you’re not a fan of curry powder, you could try some smoked paprika or harissa spice blend instead. The mango salsa makes for the perfect bite when you have a bit of the pork and pineapple together. You could make the salsa a day ahead of time and it goes really nicely with fish, chicken or steak. I particularly like to have it with salmon or prawns. If you’re not sure where to buy the mangos, the Simply Better range offer pre-ripened ones which take away a bit of the guess-work. We actually use these mangos in the restaurant, where we are serving them alongside a lobster dish.
If you’re looking for something with a bit of a spicy kick, these piri-piri prawn skewers will be right up your street. They are deeply flavoured and spicy, but not too hot, so they are still ideal for anyone with a low spice tolerance. If you don’t want to use prawns here, you could use monkfish cut into nice, large cubes, or if you want to avoid seafood, try chicken.
Again, this is an ideal recipe to grill on the barbecue, with a bit of char adding nicely to the smoky flavours of the paprika and chorizo.
Sticky pork and pineapple skewers with mango salsa
Neven's sticky pork and pineapple skewers with mango salsa. \ Phillip Doyle
Ingredients:
Serves 4-6
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp mild curry seasoning or curry
powder
500g boneless pork fillet, trimmed and cut into long strips
250g fresh pineapple chunks
2 Little Gem lettuces
Freshly ground black pepper
For the mango salsa:
1 small red onion, finely diced
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of caster sugar
1 small ripe mango, peeled and diced
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 fresh mild green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Handful of fresh mint leaves
Method
1 Preheat a griddle pan until it’s smoking hot.
2 Whisk the soy sauce and curry seasoning, then season with pepper and stir in the pork strips. Leave to marinate for 2 minutes, then thread the pork pieces onto 8 to12 15cm bamboo skewers with the pineapple chunks.
3 Place the skewers on the hot griddle pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10–12 minutes, turning once or twice, until the pork is cooked through.
4 Meanwhile, to make the mango salsa, place the red onion in a medium-sized bowl with the lime juice and sugar. Set aside to pickle for 5 minutes.
5 Stir in the mango, spring onion and chilli. Tear in the mint leaves and gently fold together to combine.
6 Tear the Little Gem lettuce leaves and divide between plates. Spoon over the mango salsa, then arrange the sticky pork and pineapple skewers alongside to serve.
Piri-piri prawn and chorizo skewers with chargrilled
little gem wedges
Neven's piri-piri prawn and chorizo skewers with chargrilled little gem wedges. \ Philip Doyle
Ingredients:
Serves 4-6
4 Little Gem lettuces, each one trimmed and cut into 6 wedges
2 uncooked chorizo sausages (each about 100g)
2 × 200g packets of wild Atlantic jumbo prawns, peeled and with tails still intact
For the piri-piri sauce:
2 long fresh red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
6 tbsp lemon juice
6 tbsp rapeseed oil, plus a little extra for brushing
2 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp cayenne pepper
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
2 lemons, cut into wedges
Method
1 To make the piri-piri sauce, place the chillies, garlic, lemon juice, rapeseed oil, sugar, paprika and cayenne pepper in a small food processor and season generously with salt and pepper.
2 Blitz until you have achieved a coarse paste. Using a spatula, transfer to a bowl. Set aside until needed.
3 Heat a griddle pan over a medium to high heat. Brush the Little Gem lettuce wedges lightly with rapeseed oil and quickly chargrill. Arrange the wedges on plates and add a small dipping bowl of the piri-piri sauce.
4 Cut the chorizo sausages into 24 even-sized slices, discarding the ends. Wrap each prawn around a slice of chorizo and thread two prawns onto each skewer.
5 Brush all over with the remaining piri-piri sauce and cook the skewers on the griddle pan in batches over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes on each side, until the prawns and chorizo are cooked through and tender.
6 Add the prawn and chorizo skewers to the plates with the Little Gem wedges and lemon wedges to serve.
Read more
Neven Maguire: easy, cheesy and so tasty
Neven Maguire: lamb chop ...and change
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