Food Market Strawberry Shortcake
As most foodies do, I love going to food markets. We've been very lucky in Dublin over the last few years with multiple choices available every weekend.
When I was living on the Northside, I loved going down to the one in Howth on Sunday's and it was with pleasure I watched it grow over the last few years from a few lonely stalls to the thriving place it is now.
The one in Temple Bar is another great choice, with a great variety on offer to peruse or pick up some specialist ingredients if you so desire.
But the one on every Sunday until 4pm in the People's Park in Dun Laoghaire is my favourite and not just because it's now my local one!
Housed in the manicured gardens, a stones throw from the sea and Teddy's ice-cream, it's a great place to spend an hour or more.
The coast is very close to the park
Myself and himself did just this last Sunday. The sky was blue, the sun was beaming, so we took the dog and headed down for a nose.
It was heaving with people on this particular day, the good weather being a draw to many. Fallon & Byrne have had a place in the park the last few months and although we haven't had a chance to go in yet, I did grab some snaps of the menu and I plan on sticking the head in soon, so expect a review.
The food market in the park attracts so many different kinds of people. Families enjoying the greens and the playground, the freshly hungover seeking some soakage for their pain, shoppers picking up some truly fresh produce and people like me, just pottering around for enjoyment.
Some baked goods on offer
In saying that, I never leave empty-handed, mainly because I can't resist. I was however more restrained on this visit than I have been.
The smell of sausages cooking was divine
While I might not have bought a lot, I did pay a lot of attention - vendors like Arctic Stone Ice Cream and The Truffle Fairy in particular come to mind and I hope to organise some profile interviews with the people behind both of these soon.
I also made a mental note to drag myself out of bed sooner (so hard on Sunday's!) to get down early and grab some fresh fruit and vegetable for the coming week before things get busy.
As we walked around though, I did pick up a punnet of gorgeous, ruby red strawberries from Kearns Fruit Farm along with a jar of their homemade strawberry jam - the two combined costing me 6.50, which was well worth it. The two of us (plus dog) nibbled on them with delight as we found an empty bench space and soaked up the sun for a few minutes.
We then decided to make the most of the day and walked down to Dalkey, stopping into Wanderlust for a well deserved drink. New to the scene, the restaurant seems to have a nice space (although we did stay outside) and a decent menu. Their cheeseburger spring rolls have already garnered them attention, but I'm looking forward to going back and giving the menu a good go. But for the moment, I settled for some Dingle Gin and Fever Tree Tonic in a chilled goblet.
In some carved out time on Monday afternoon, I decided the strawberries needed to be paired with something homemade, baked and deeply satisfying. Strawberry shortcake was just the ticket.
For once, I was patient enough to let them cool before I scoffed one with a cup of tea in front of the new Game of Thrones.
The natural sweetness of the strawberries pair beautifully with the rich, dense shortbread and for that extra bit of indulgence, a dollop of cream or vanilla ice-cream.
My only problem at the moment is containing myself to just one.
Xoxo
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
125g of cold Irish butter
55g of caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
180g of plain flour
Strawberry jam
Strawberries
(Makes 9 small cakes)
- Preheat oven to 180 celsius. Cream butter and sugar together until fully combined. This is best done in a large, deep bowl with an hand held mixer, but it can be done with a spoon and some effort.
- Sift in flour and stir until mixed through. Using your hands, begin to mould dough into a large ball
- Taking a handful at a time, shape little patties of pastry and place into a greased muffin dish/baking tray
- Cook in oven for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack and allow to cool.
- Place a dollop of strawberry jam on each cake. Slice the stalk off a strawberry then make thin slices across the strawberry, about 3/4 of the way down in order to fan each one out before placing on top of the jam
- Serve on its own, with cream or ice-cream.
When I was living on the Northside, I loved going down to the one in Howth on Sunday's and it was with pleasure I watched it grow over the last few years from a few lonely stalls to the thriving place it is now.
The one in Temple Bar is another great choice, with a great variety on offer to peruse or pick up some specialist ingredients if you so desire.
But the one on every Sunday until 4pm in the People's Park in Dun Laoghaire is my favourite and not just because it's now my local one!
Housed in the manicured gardens, a stones throw from the sea and Teddy's ice-cream, it's a great place to spend an hour or more.
Myself and himself did just this last Sunday. The sky was blue, the sun was beaming, so we took the dog and headed down for a nose.
It was heaving with people on this particular day, the good weather being a draw to many. Fallon & Byrne have had a place in the park the last few months and although we haven't had a chance to go in yet, I did grab some snaps of the menu and I plan on sticking the head in soon, so expect a review.
The food market in the park attracts so many different kinds of people. Families enjoying the greens and the playground, the freshly hungover seeking some soakage for their pain, shoppers picking up some truly fresh produce and people like me, just pottering around for enjoyment.
In saying that, I never leave empty-handed, mainly because I can't resist. I was however more restrained on this visit than I have been.
The smell of sausages cooking was divine
While I might not have bought a lot, I did pay a lot of attention - vendors like Arctic Stone Ice Cream and The Truffle Fairy in particular come to mind and I hope to organise some profile interviews with the people behind both of these soon.
I also made a mental note to drag myself out of bed sooner (so hard on Sunday's!) to get down early and grab some fresh fruit and vegetable for the coming week before things get busy.
As we walked around though, I did pick up a punnet of gorgeous, ruby red strawberries from Kearns Fruit Farm along with a jar of their homemade strawberry jam - the two combined costing me 6.50, which was well worth it. The two of us (plus dog) nibbled on them with delight as we found an empty bench space and soaked up the sun for a few minutes.
We then decided to make the most of the day and walked down to Dalkey, stopping into Wanderlust for a well deserved drink. New to the scene, the restaurant seems to have a nice space (although we did stay outside) and a decent menu. Their cheeseburger spring rolls have already garnered them attention, but I'm looking forward to going back and giving the menu a good go. But for the moment, I settled for some Dingle Gin and Fever Tree Tonic in a chilled goblet.
In some carved out time on Monday afternoon, I decided the strawberries needed to be paired with something homemade, baked and deeply satisfying. Strawberry shortcake was just the ticket.
For once, I was patient enough to let them cool before I scoffed one with a cup of tea in front of the new Game of Thrones.
The natural sweetness of the strawberries pair beautifully with the rich, dense shortbread and for that extra bit of indulgence, a dollop of cream or vanilla ice-cream.
My only problem at the moment is containing myself to just one.
Xoxo
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
125g of cold Irish butter
55g of caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
180g of plain flour
Strawberry jam
Strawberries
(Makes 9 small cakes)
- Preheat oven to 180 celsius. Cream butter and sugar together until fully combined. This is best done in a large, deep bowl with an hand held mixer, but it can be done with a spoon and some effort.
- Sift in flour and stir until mixed through. Using your hands, begin to mould dough into a large ball
- Taking a handful at a time, shape little patties of pastry and place into a greased muffin dish/baking tray
- Cook in oven for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack and allow to cool.
- Place a dollop of strawberry jam on each cake. Slice the stalk off a strawberry then make thin slices across the strawberry, about 3/4 of the way down in order to fan each one out before placing on top of the jam
- Serve on its own, with cream or ice-cream.
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