Around Ireland in 30 dishes
Aoife Carrigy and Pól Ó Conghaile serve up 30 dishes worth travelling for. It’s Ireland’s foodie bucket list.
Years ago, the notion of an ‘Irish cuisine’ or foodie scene would have had tourists choking on their bacon and cabbage. Today, there are Michelin-star restaurants in Belfast, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny and Waterford.
All has changed. World-class produce, confident chefs and restaurants, tasty trails and festivals have combined to create a distinctly Irish food and a distinctly Irish way of serving it. The results are inspiring travel like never before.
Here’s our bucket list. Pack an appetite!
1. Smoked salmon sandwich with seaweed pesto
Eithna O’Sullivan at Eithna’s by the Sea, Mullaghmore. Photo: Pól Ó Conghaile
Where: Eithna’s by the Sea, Mullaghmore, Co Sligo
What: With views of the harbour and blackboard specials declaring the daily catch from Donegal Bay and beyond, this is a prime spot to savour the fruits of the sea. Owner Eithna O’Sullivan brings something special to the simplest of dishes. Her open sandwich of sliced Donegal smoked salmon, served with capers, lemon and tossed salad leaves from the organic Tattie Hoaker Farm in Cliffoney, is transformed by Eithna’s Wild Atlantic Seaweed Pesto. It’s a brilliant taste of the ocean. – AC
Details: The Harbour; 071 916 6407; eithnasrestaurant.com
How much: €9.75
If you like that, try this: Capture the surfer spirit of Strandhill in Shells Café (shellscafe.com) – a dreamy seaside café, bakery and good food store.
Click here for full article as appeared in independent.ie
by Aoife Carrigy & Pól Ó Conghaile