Portlaoise Masterchef shares his favourite ‘winter warmer’ recipe

Winter is the season of richer and heartier food. On a cold, dark evening nothing can warm you up quite like a home cooked meal. 

We asked Portlaoise born Masterchef Eugene McSweeney on the best ‘winter warmer’ recipes this season. 

His answer? A hearty, beef and vegetable stew with colcannon.

“This year’s dish of the season would have to be a simple beef and vegetable stew with bacon and cabbage colcannon,” said Chef McSweeney.

“It’s a wintry dish that’s wholesome, and can be made using all Irish produce. The colcannon with the stew would make a lovely addition to it,” he said.

Master chef Eugene McSweeney (77) grew up on the Mountrath road in Portlaoise.  Chef McSweeney’s choice of an easy, family orientated dish stems from fond memories of cooking with his mother and grandmother.

“All of our food back then was straight from our garden," he said. "I have such fond memories of making jam with my grandmother, and cooking potatoes straight from a patch in the garden. I’ve never forgotten those potatoes, this really was the start of my sixty year profession!” he said.

Mr McSweeney has a long and highly successful career, winning Ireland's first ever Olympic Cooking Gold Medal in 1980. He was also conferred with the prestigious Chevalier de Chaîne de Rôtisseurs award in 1981.

Mr McSweeney was also owner and Head Chef of the much praised Lacken House in Kilkenny for 18 years, which won numerous awards and was visited on several occasions by President’s Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese.  

With such busy days working in the kitchen, Chef McSweeney’s go-to quick dinner is a stir fry. 

“Something very quick would be a stir fry. I love my vegetables- carrots, celery and leeks,” he said. 

“If you can get some organic chicken too, it’s even better. Most days I meal prep in batches, especially coming into the winter. I’m starting to make carrot and ginger soup, and tomato and pepper soup,” he said.

The chef maintains that making large batches for freezing is much easier, and just as tasty.

“The soup with a bit of soda bread is lovely and nourishing- it’s a great hit with my wife and I!” Chef McSweeney said.

In winter months, many people want food that’s quick and easy. Mr McSweeney recommended that readers buying ready-made dinners should include some fresh vegetables.

“People don’t always have the time to peel potatoes and cook stews,” Mr McSweeney explained.

“If you are buying convenience food, I would recommend throwing a few fresh vegetables in with the meal.”

Though a strong presence in Ireland’s culinary scene himself, Mr McSweeney is greatly inspired by fellow Irish chefs, and pays particular homage to Balymaloe’s Myrtle Allen.

“I’m always in awe of the young chefs and what they do these days. Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s, there wasn’t a strong cooking scene in Ireland,” said the master chef.

“Then Myrtle Allen came along, and that all changed. My training is classical French, as were all who trained back then. Myrtle was the first Irish person I saw to rise through the ranks like that, and I had a wonderful time working with her,” he said.

“We worked together in Euro-Toques, which was to preserve Irish culinary heritage. We have Myrtle Allen and Ballymaloe to thank for our culinary scene.”

To get a real understanding of the masterchef for our readers, I asked Mr McSweeney the age old question; if you weren’t a chef, what would you be?

“I think I would have gotten into travel writing,” Mr McSweeney answered after some thought.

“I loved geography, travelling and reading. I wasn’t great in school, I went to the CBS in Portlaoise. I dropped out after fifth year and did my Leaving Cert later in life. My father asked me one day if I wanted to be a chef, I said yes, and that was it. I had a love of cooking and my parents had the foresight to see me as a chef!” Mr McSweeney finished.

Here is Master Chef Eugene McSweeney’s recipe for his ‘Dish of the Season’, a simple beef stew with bacon and cabbage colcannon. 

Recipe for stew and colcannon 

Simple Winter Beef and Vegetable Stew

Serves 6

Ingredients.

750g stewing beef cut into 2 cm cubes.

2 tbsp sunflower oil.

2 onions, sliced.

4 large carrots peeled and chopped.

3 celery stalks.chopped.

40g flour.

450 ml good quality stock, hot. Made from good quality beef stock cubes.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Chopped fresh parsley to garnish.

Method.

Dust the cubes of meat with the flour and shake well.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large ovenproof pot and fry the meat over high heat until

browned all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Do this in batches (it will be

easier).

Don’t clean the pan, as you will need it to fry the vegetables.

Heat the remaining oil in the same pot and fry the onions, carrots and celery. Fry for a few

minutes or until the onions are soft.

Tip; do not have the pot very hot but just hot enough to brown everything. Scrape any bits

on the bottom of the pot; this will add flavour to the stew.

Mix in the beef with the vegetables. Add the hot stock. Season lightly.

Stir very well and slowly bring the stew to the boil.

Allow to simmer for about an hour and half or until the beef is tender.

Tip; using a slow cooked is ideal to make this stew.

Check the seasoning when the stew is cooked and amend as necessary.

Colcannon

Creamy Mash Potatoes with Cabbage and Bacon

1 kg floury potatoes, such as Rooster or

140 g butter

140ml cream

Salt and pepper to taste

4 large leaves of green cabbage cooked and chopped.

6 slices of streaky bacon cooked and chopped or use bacon lardons.

Have the cabbage leaves precooked and the back bacon (bacon lardons can also be used).

For the mash place the peeled and chopped potatoes into a pot of salted water and bring to

the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Drain off the water and return the potatoes to the pot, then place over a low heat for a

minute or two to dry off any excess moisture.

Pass through a potato ricer or mash with a fork or any masher. Then add the butter and

cream, beating to a smooth mash.

Season as required.

Chop the cabbage leaves and toss it with the cooked bacon in a little butter.

Serve the mash in a bowl and make a well in the top of the mash and fill the well with the

reheated cabbage and bacon.

Serve with the Beef and Vegetable Stew.