Cooking at County Tyrone

It's always nice to sample cuisine from around the globe when travelling, Neville took a cooking lesson with Norah at The Grange Lodge in County Tyrone. She cooked a few traditional Irish dishes, including a lamb stew.

• Grange Lodge is a unique accommodation experience offering country house hospitality and cooking classes.
• The house has been refurbished and extended and is set in 20 acres with over 3 acres of well manicured gardens.
• Get cooking in the kitchen with Norah. The specially arranged morning or afternoon classes reflect the best use of seasonal local produce.

RECIPES

Wheaten Bread

This is one of the healthiest and satisfying breads. Just great to be able to make your own!

Makes one loaf

Ingredients:
12 ozs (350g) course wholemeal flour
4ozs (100g) soda bread flour
1 good teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 oz (25) demerara sugar
- oz (13g) butter
16 fl ozs (450ml) buttermilk
2ozs (50g) pinhead oatmeal
1 loaf tin 8 in X 4 in (21cm X11cm X6cm)

Method:

• Put both flours, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and half the pinhead oatmeal into a large bowl

and mix well.

• Add the buttermilk gradually and stir to a soft dough.
• Warm the loaf tin and grease with the butter. turn the dough into the tin, cover with the remaining 1 oz of pinhead oatmeal and press in lightly with the fingertips.
• Cook in preheated oven 200C/ for first 30 minutes, then at 175 C/ a further 30 minutes...turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
• The cooked bread should have a hollow sound when tapped on the base.

Soda Farls

These are the most basic of the soda breads and are cooked on a griddle, electric or cast-iron fry pan. The farls are served cut in half with butter and jam or fried in bacon fat as part of an Ulster Fry.

Ingredients:
275g/10oz soda bread flour
250-300ml/8-10 floz buttermilk

Method:

• Put the flour in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the buttermilk gradually. Mix to a stiff dough with a wooden spoon, then turn onto a lightly floured

work surface and knead gently to form a smooth round.

• Roll out into a circle 20cm/8 in diameter and no more than 1cm thick. Cut into 4 farls.
• Cook on the pre heated griddle or heavy fry pan sprinkled with flour at a medium heat

for 6-8 minutes on each side until light beige in colour and hollow sounding when tapped.

• Wrap in a clean cloth and allow to cool before using.
• Test the griddle or fry pan to see if the temperature is correct by sprinkling a little flour over its surface, when the flour begins to turn a pale golden colour the griddle is at the correct temperature for cooking the soda farls.

Ulster Lamb Stew

With all the natural goodness and taste of this one pot stew, it's worth its weight in gold
to arrive home after a hard days work and find there is not only a delicious smell in the kitchen,
but a good family meal to go with it.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
900g/2lb cubed shoulder of lamb
white part of 1 leek
green part of 1 leek (blanched)
1 large onion chopped roughly
2 large carrots peeled & diced
small turnip peeled & diced
1 small parsnip peeled and diced
750g/1lb11oz peeled sliced potatoes
600ml/1pt lamb stock
25g/2oz pearl barley soup mix (optional)
salt & black pepper to taste

Method:

• Using a heavy base large casserole, layer the cubed lamb, carrots, turnip, parsnip, onion, white part of leek and pearl barley mix, beginning and ending with the sliced potatoes.
• Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Pour over the lamb stock, bring up to boiling point and cook for two hours in a pre heated oven 175 C/375 F , 3-4 hrs in the simmering oven of your Aga (8-9 hrs in plate warming oven 4 oven Aga) until the lamb is tender and potatoes well cooked.
• Remove from the oven and sprinkle over with the blanched green part of the leek.
• Note : Can be prepared the day before and kept in a cool place until required.
• The soup mix is optional but will thicken the stew and give it a good bite. If you do have any left over, it can be frozen for another day

Grange Lodge
7 Grange Lodge, Dungannon, County Tyrone BT71 7EJ
Tel: +61 (0)28 87 784212
Fax: +61 (0)28 87 784313
Email: stay@grangelodgecountryhouse.com
Website: www.grangelodgecountryhouse.com