Stone Bass

New wall art for Oscars

The new print for Oscars by Michael

Seafood coddle

A tasty seafood coddle, one of the dishes produced by Michael O'Meara for the TBS Japanese travel documentary

Eggs, real local Galway food

Text and photography
By Michael O Meara

Eggs a local food for any time

With all the talk of an economic meltdown it’s easy to consider locally produced food as a luxury that is for many beyond reach. The truth of the matter is fortunately far different, it’s possible to walk into almost any shop in Galway and find locally produced free range eggs. Eggs are possibly the ultimate fast food and are considered a nutritionally whole food as all essential nutrients can be found in an egg. A freshly laid hens eggs boiled simply for 3 minutes and served with hot buttered toast is a feast fit for any person and any occasion. Also due to eggs containing a high proportion of protein a simple boiled egg is an excellent way to keep hunger at bay. Interestingly when it comes to boiling an egg the one rule to follow is not to let the egg boil, but rather allow the water simmer in a very gentle way.
The colour of an egg is totally irrelevant be the egg white, brown, or speckled. A bigger issue and a good reason to always eat your eggs as fresh as possible is because the carbon dioxide which is present in an egg when it is hatched tends to diminish as the egg is stored. This increases alkalinity and can affect the protein of the egg. There are countless recipes and ways in which to cook eggs but I thought I’d keep things simple and explain some of the main ways in which to cook an egg.

To poach an egg
Bring a medium pot of water to boil, reduce the heat so there is no movement in the water. Add a dash of vinegar, the vinegar helps with coagulation and also cuts down on long stringy bits of egg white forming. Break the eggs into a small cup or container before you place them in the water, this will prevent any risk of the yolk breaking. Stir the water into a whirlpool just before adding the eggs and pour the eggs into the centre of the vortex, this will allow the egg to cook more evenly. Poach the eggs for around 3 minutes and serve straight away.

Frying eggs
The term frying eggs should be banned as to make perfectly fried eggs you really poach the eggs at around 90 degree centigrade in a little butter. A good non-stick pan is essential also as the egg is cooking it’s a good idea to place a lid on the pan to produce steam and allow the egg cook more evenly.

Boiling eggs
As the ultimate way of describing a poor cook is the saying ‘they can’t even boil an egg’. The one rule to follow is please make sure the water has come to the boil before you start timing the cookery of the egg. A soft boiled egg will take three minutes.

Scrambling eggs
Chefs have fought wars over the best way to scramble an egg. Break 3 eggs into a pot with a knob of butter and a little milk. Whisk well and place over a moderate heat, with a wooden spoon continuously stir the eggs until lightly scrambled, season and serve.

Eggs en Cocotte
Break the eggs into small egg sized dishes which have been lightly buttered, cook in a pre-heated oven at 200 degree centigrade for 5 minutes approximately.

Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse


Bouillabaisse is a Mediterranean dish which makes the best possible use of a wide selection of fresh seafood, and we love it at Oscars. Bouillabaisse is kind of a soup and stew hybrid which takes full advantage of a days catch like no other one pot dish can. This is a meal, which when made well and with the best possible ingredients is pure bliss on a warm spring evening. Additionally this dish is rarely made for less than ten persons in one serving making it a great idea for a late together.
Marseilles is the city which is most associated with bouillabaisse with the dish being regarded as a traditional fisherman’s meal. Fish is cooked in two ways in a bouillabaisse with some fish being cooked to the point of disintegration in order to make the sauce, these are normally smaller fish. The larger fish are more lightly cooked in the broth and commonly served separately. What distinguishes this stew is the selection n of herbs and spices used in flavouring the broth which is always parsley, and saffron the broth being made of onion, garlic and tomato. To serve a bouillabaisse in the traditional manner a rouille is required which is a garlic olive oil mayonnaise type sauce with a little saffron. The rouille is spread over thick fresh slices of bread and placed into serving bowls. The bouillabaisse is then poured over the bread and rouille at the table.

For this recipe I’ll give the basics of the dish but feel free to experiment with different fish. Conger eel is very traditional as is sea bass, monkfish, weever fish, octopus and gurnard.
• 1 kg potatoes
• ½ garlic
• 2 large onions
• 6 ripe tomatoes
• 200 ml of olive oil
• Bunch of fresh parsley and a little thyme
• 30 gram fennel
• 9 strands of saffron
• 10 slices of good sour dough bread
The Rouille
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 cup of olive oil
• 10 pistils of saffron
• salt and Cayenne pepper
1. Cut fish into large slices, leaving the bones.
2. Put the olive oil in a large casserole. Add the onions cleaned and sliced and garlic crushed; add tomatoes peeled and quartered, without seeds, brown at low heat.
3. Add the sliced fish, beginning with the thickest to the smallest. Cover with boiling water, and add the salt and the pepper, the fennel, the herbs and saffron. Simmer at a low heat, stirring from time to time so the fish doesn't stick to the casserole. Correct the seasoning. The bouillabaisse is cooked when the juice of the cooking is well blended with the oil and the water which takes around 25 minutes
4. Prepare the rouille: Remove the stem of the garlic, crush the cloves into a fine paste with a pestle in a mortar. Add the egg yolk and the saffron; blend in the olive oil little by little to make a mayonnaise, stirring it with the pestle.
5. Cook the potatoes, peeled and boiled and cut into large slices
6. Arrange the fish on a dish. Serve the sauce very hot with the rouille in bowls over thick slices of bread rubbed with garlic. Then serve the fish and the potatoes on a separate platter

Irish lamb and stew

Text and photography by Michael O’ Meara


Connemara Hill Lamb / Uain Sleibhe Chonamara

Parma ham, Feta cheese, Champagne, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Roquefort cheese and Connemara hill lamb. So what do these and a select number of other great foods have in common? PGI or Protected Geographical Indication in other words the lamb reared in exclusive designated areas of Connemara is recognised as being unique, and as such is protected under EU law. The achievement of gaining this unique status is such that Greece has fought a legal battle for the past 20 years to gain this status for Feta cheese. Now that’s something for each and every person in Galway to be proud of. Any one familiar with Connemara hill lamb will have little difficulty verifying why hill lamb is so special. The lambs tend to mature at a slower rate which allows the meat develop a deeper, fuller flavour. Also the diet of the lamb which includes a distinctive selection of herbs and heathers adds considerably to the succulent taste and texture of the meat.
Lamb can be an expensive meat, but only if you have a preference for the prime cuts. The leg when roasted is delicious but can be time consuming so tends to be used mainly for Sunday roasts and the like. However there are many cuts of lamb which are great value for money. A well made Irish stew, although slow to cook when made in quantity this traditional stew is a real winner of a dish. A purist may argue that a real Irish stew simply contains mutton, onions and potatoes but I find the extra vegetables add to the dish.
Have great St. Patrick’s days from all of us at Oscars

Traditional Irish Stew, serves 6
1.5 kg. Shoulder of lamb diced
4 Onions chopped into medium sized pieces
4 carrots chopped medium slices
3 leeks washed well and chopped
4 sticks of celery chopped
6 large potatoes peeled and chopped into large pieces
A sprig of rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the meat into a large pot, cover with cold water, bring to the boil & drain off water. Place aside.
2. Place the meat into the pot with all the vegetables and herbs apart from the potatoes, allow boil. When boiling reduce the heat and simmer gently for around one hour.
3. After an hour add the potatoes and simmer for a further 30 minutes, season and serve.









Simply grilled lamb cutlets.
Season the cutlets with salt and pepper. Brush them with a little melted butter. Cook under a pre-heated grill for around 7 minutes on each side. Serve with a simple mint sauce


Home made mint sauce.
25mm balsamic vinegar
25gram sugar
25 gram fresh mint chopped fine
Simply mix the ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved.

Roast leg of lamb.

Stud the leg with 3-4 cloves of garlic and season the meat with salt and black pepper. Cook in a pre-heated oven on a roasting pan at 220 centigrade, allowing 22 minutes for each 1 kg weight. Allow the lamb stand for 20 minutes before carving; this will cook the lamb pink. For well done lamb reduce the oven to 190 centigrade when placing the lamb into the oven and allow 45 minutes per 1 kg of meat plus 20 minutes in total.