GROUND HOG DAY As part of a Slow Food event in Nenagh, Co Tipperary next weekend, Peter Ward (who runs the shop and restaurant, Country Choice), and food writer, Hugo Arnold, will be cooking a whole pig on Saturday evening
The five-course menu costs €50 and tickets are available from Country Choice (067-32596). The weekend will also feature a mushroom hunt, talks on home alcohol production and organic farming, as well as a pig husbandry workshop, a woodland walk and buffet. www.slowfoodireland.com
A WAY WITH: POMEGRANATES These exotic fruit with their jewel-like seeds are now appearing in the shops. Top tip – bash the fruit gently on a hard surface to loosen the seeds before you cut the fruit in half; the seeds should then be easy to shake out into a dish. Make sure you squeeze out the fragrant pulp, too. If the fruit is fully ripe, the seeds should be ruby red and fragrant. Mixed the seeds with some chopped cucumber, cubes of feta cheese and shredded mint to make a refreshing and pretty salad that tastes as good as it looks. Marie-Claire Digby
SHAKE YOUR BOOTY Not one to rest of his laurels, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver lookslikely add to his millions with the release of his new invention – The Flavour Shaker (€29.95 from Brown Thomas, Roches Stores, Clerys, Arnotts, and kitchen shops nationwide). This gadget claims to crush, mix, puree, blend and release flavour from whole spices, herbs, garlic, nuts and citrus rind. A ceramic ball inside the container does all the work, and liquids can be added to make dressings and marinades.
SCARY STYLE Superquinn's pumpkin carving kits (€2.99) were a sell-out last year, so if you want your Halloween lantern to be stylish as well as scary, pick one up today, along with the essential pumpkin (€3 each or two for ¤5). Thislabour-saving ceramic version comes filled with nuts (€9.99).
SUNSHINE ON A PLATE A Taste of Sunshine (Blackstaff Press, €9.99), Jenny Bristow's new book to accompany her TV series which begins on UTV in December, will have you planning your next getaway. Not all the recipes are high summer ones, however, and with fennel, apples and nuts in season at the moment, now is the time to make this salad.
SALAD WITH CARAMELISED APPLES, FENNEL AND NUTS
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ red chilli, deseeded and chopped
50g walnuts
50g pine nuts
10g butter
2 green apples, unpeeled, cored and sliced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 head Florence fennel
6-8 leaves radicchio, torn
small bunch rocket
small bunch oak-leaf lettuce
50g Parmesan, shaved
To make the dressing put the olive oil, two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and the chill in a screw top jar and shake vigorously.
Place the walnuts and pine nuts on a baking tray and roast in the oven at 170 degrees/gas three for 10-15 minutes to intensify their flavour.
Melt the butter in a griddle pan. Add the apples and cook for two to three minutes until they are golden and caramelised. Sprinkle with a little balsamic vinegar during cooking.
Remove the fronds from the fennel and set to one side. Cut the bulb into matchsticks and steam them gently for two to three minutes, then set aside to cool.
Mix the radicchio, rocket and oak-leaf lettuce and arrange on a large platter. Scatter the fennel, caramelised apples and toasted nuts over the top and drizzle with the dressing. Garnish with the Parmesan, and fennel fronds.