At last! Tomorrow, Aldi are opening up in Sandyford, south county Dublin. If, like me, you refused to drive past several branches of Lidl to get to Aldi in Nutgrove, this will be very good news indeed. Aldi don’t stock the very amazing Fruchtsaft or cheap organic potatoes – until they do, I won’t be [...]

I was in The Port House on South William Street over the weekend which is one of my favourite tapas places in the city. They do a delicious dish of Deep fried cubed potatoes served with a selection of sauces for €3.95 each. My favourite is the Patatas Mojo which is potatoes served with a [...]

Bread doesn’t have to mean sandwiches and breakfast toast. As these Nigel Slater recipes show, bread can make a summer salad more substantial or make a side dish more filling. His ‘Salad of peas, beans and bread’ is an unusual combination and the perfect dish if the usual leafy salad doesn’t quite satisfy or fill [...]

Sometimes the simplest of dishes can be the trickiest. I have always found homemade garlic bread a difficult one to get right. It always tastes nice but not perfect. It either has too much garlic or too little, drenched in butter or lacking and dry or just too herby. The margin for error is surprisingly [...]

I experienced an extremely pleasant picnic recently. This wasn’t a ‘hang’ sandwich affair but a proper picnic on a river bank with lots of lovely food and company. It got me thinking about interesting picnic ideas and the best way to serve them up. A good picnic should be on the fancy side and include a variety [...]

Has anyone noticed how the country is carpeted with dandelions at the moment – it’s totally nuts. They are a controversial weed that bring disdain to those longing for the perfect green lawn and also conjure up strange childhood memories of bedwetting if left under a pillow – that was my excuse anyway. I have [...]

I was one of the plebs caught up in the travel chaos the other week and marooned abroad because of the plume of ash. An extra week in the sun sounds rather nice doesn’t it? Well it was complete hell and there was no sun in the south of Spain because it was busy shining [...]

Getting the roast potatoes right on Christmas day is always a challenge because there are a million and one other things to do. I have the answer – or at least Heston does. From his book ‘In Search of Perfection: Reinventing Kitchen Classics’, Heston Blumenthal’s recipe for roast potatoes is the best I have come [...]

I limit my meat consumption for financial and environmental reasons, but I can’t resist Aldi’s Specially Selected steaks, which I first tried earlier this year. Last week, I treated myself: steak with pepper sauce and home-made chips and onion rings. The rib-eye steak is more than enough for two big pigs. It’s only €11.99 and [...]

Keeping with my ginger Christmas theme, this stuffing makes a refreshing alternative to the usual sage and onion or parsley and thyme. Gingerbread Stuffing by Nigella Lawson Ingredients: 3 tbsp butter 1 tbsp vegetable oil 500g onions, finely chopped 2 eating apples peeled, cored and finely chopped 750g streaky bacon, finely chopped 2 clementines or [...]