Griddled Haddock on Potato & Bacon Salad

with Soft Poached Egg

We have this dish on the current set price menu as starter, but you could easily adapt it for a main course at home simply be making the portion size a bit larger or having some fresh crusty bread with it.

Small salad potatoes are best for this dish or some left over boiled potatoes; just a handful will be enough. Cut the potatoes into about half inch pieces and mix with one dessert spoon of mayonnaise and one teaspoon of whole grain mustard. Grill a couple of rashers of bacon until crispy and leave to go cold, then roughly break up and add to the potato mix. Check for seasoning but be careful, as the bacon will make it quite salty!

Place a large spoonful of the potato mix onto your serving plate.

Now take your haddock fillet only a small piece 3-4oz or a piece of tail fillet skinned. Your fishmonger will be happy to do this.

A very hot pan, griddle pans are good for this, just a little spot of olive oil and place you piece of haddock on top, season with salt and pepper. Turn over after thirty seconds, as it will cook very quickly. When its cooked place it directly on top of you salad and place the warm poached egg on top, you can sprinkle it with some chopped parsley to add a touch of colour.

I poach my eggs very lightly in advance in hot water, with seasoning and a splash of wine vinegar, take the eggs out and put them directly in very cold water and keep them there until your ready to use them. Then simply drop them into the original cooking pan for one minute to warm them up.

Braised Shank of Lamb on Colcannon with Vegetable Broth

This is a real hearty dish particularly during this cold time of the year and one of the most popular on the menu at Vision, it brings together some of the best Irish flavours which of course always involves potatoes.

For this dish you will need one shank of Lamb, which you simply season and cook gently in vegetable stock for about one hour. Be sure to use some fresh vegetables in the stock and a little bit of garlic. Skim the top of the stock while it’s cooking. When it’s cooked take out the Lamb and leave to cool.

Strain the stock through a sieve and put back on the heat bringing it to the boil, and let it reduce to the amount you require for the sauce. To make it a little richer add a knob of butter and a glass of red wine.

Colcannon is made many different ways throughut Ireland but this is the one I was brought up on!

Twice the amount of Potatoes to Cabbage, so if you use 4 large potatoes you will use about half a medium size cabbage. A handful of sliced leeks, one clove of garlic, salt and pepper to taste and a knob of butter.

Boil and mash the potatoes, keep them nice and dry, boil and drain the cabbage, finely slice the leeks and sauté them in a little butter, keep them crisp. Add the cabbage and the leeks into the potato and mix together thoroughly. Put to one side and keep warm. A good way to keep things like this warm is to put it into a preheated dish and cover with cling film!

For the broth simply chop up a few carrots, parsnips, leeks and a little onion into about quarter inch pieces and cook them off in the Lamb gravy which you left reducing on the heat, the vegetable will cook in a bout 15 minutes flavouring the gravy as they cook. We’re almost ready to serve so have your oven warmed up to a moderately hot temp. Take your lamb shank spoon a little gravy over it and pop it in the oven it will only take about 10 minutes, when its all most ready put a large spoonful of Colcannon onto your serving dish and put this in the oven as well, the edges of the potato will just crisp up leaving the inside soft.