In Organico Bantry more and more people are discovering our spelt breads, cakes and scones. the most recent addition to our range is a variety of savoury scones made with spelt flour. These are delicious with soup or with salad, and can be made in miniture for a party.
We follow a normal scone receipe but leave out the sugar. Instead we use a little salt, and add either chopped black olives and thyme, red onion and cheddar or corriander seeds, or onion and a little green chilli. It’s hard to give amounts because in some cases it depends on the saltiness (with olives say) or the strength of the chilli flavour you want to achieve, but in general you want to err on the side of caution as often these savoury scones are made to be eaten along side another dish and you don’t want their flavour to be too dominant.
Other favourites include fetta and sweet chilli and black pepper and tomato. Watch out for more receipes over the next months!
Ireland is one of those countries where vegetarians can often be left with one option on the menu, most often a pasta dish. Luckily for those living in the West Cork area we in Organico Cafe are trying to change all that! Our menu aims to cater for vegetarians who like organic food and also for non-vegetarians who are interested in health and in a lighter, more positive diet.
On our website you can see some of our receipes, and reports of some of the differents events we have held in our Cafe. We also have a health food shop so one of the things we focus on is experimenting with all the ingredients we sell. All our fruit and veg is supplied by the shop so it is all certified organic, as are all the pulses and grains we use in our cooking.
We are always looking for customer feedback and receipe suggestions so please feel free to let us know what you like and what you think!
We always reccommend organic ingredients, but in this case they are more important than ever for taste reasons. Organic carrots are a superior product by far than conventionally grown carrots – sometimes in our shop we have ‘dirty’ carrots which are covered in sand and which in the winter keep their flavour very well.
Ingredients
6 large Carrots, peeled (the only time I peel organic carrots is for salad as they discolour if just scrubbed)
50g dessicated coconut
Juice and zest of 1 orange
Handfull of sultanas
Good pinch of sea salt
Add the juice and zest to the coconut and sultanas and allow to soak for 30 mins.
Grate the Carrots and put into a large bowl, add the coconut, sultanas and juice and combine. Add the sea salt to taste.
Leave to chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator and serve.
5 Ripe tomatoes
1 Cucumber, diced
250g Feta cheese, crumbled
a handfull of black olives, kalamata if possible
125ml olive oil
4 tbsp lemon juice
freshly black pepper
small bunck of Oregano, finely chopped
Chop up the tomatoes and put into a large salad bowl, and add the cucumber, feta cheese and olives.
Pour over the olive oil and lemon juice. Season with freshly ground black pepper, add a little salt if necessary bearing in mind that the feta is very salty. Toss gently to mix. Serve with some crispy lettuce sprinkling with fresh oregano.
Organic food is set to become one of the beggest food trends in Europe in this century, according to an article published in the Sunday Business Post (September 2005 By Suzanne Mitchell). She points out that Organic Baby Food now accounts for almost half of all baby food bought worldwide ( a figure which does not reflect how many parents feed their babies organically because many parents use organic ingredients to make their own babyfood). Furthermore, Mitchell points out that in Itlay local authorities are oblidged to include organic and quality products on their school menus. In the Uk over the last year many schools are trying to use organic suppliers in an attempt to clean up their image after Jaime Oliver lambasted them in his TV programme.
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In Ireland, the organic sector is growing by 10% per year (Mitchell got these stats a year ago – I think it has sped up since then.) Apparently this represent only 1% of the entire Irish food industry – worth an estimated 38 million in 2003. However if we follow European treads then it will be worth 4 times that by the end of this year.
Mitchell’s article is not entirely complimentary to the ‘organic philosophy’. She quotes many sources that question whether organic agriculture is better than conventional agriculture, and whether the resulting foods are better for consumers. She quotes the British Food Commission (2000) as saying:
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”Hundreds of organic products are coming on to the market, including highly processed jelly sweets, sugar-laden organic cereals, organic chicken burgers and even organic cigarettes.”
In Organico, we clearly do buy into the Organic Philosophy; but we also welcome articles of this sort that encourage consumers to question what they are being fed. Unfortunately many organic products are coming onto the market now that are just as harmful to health, if not to the environment, than non-organic foods. We still have to read labels and choose brands that w believe in, not just brands that shout the loudest through their adverts.
When buying for a Wholefood Shop you carry a weight of responsibility in terms of what you choose to stock, as many customers believe that if a product is on a Wholefood Shop shelf it is going to be beneficial for their health. Also, many of us are in this business because we want to sell positive products, so naturally we select the products we sell for their organic credentials – not just their packaging!
This recipe was given to me by a great friend and fellow cook, it has been enjoyed by all our customers and remains a firm favoriate in the cafe. At the moment the beetroot that is available is amazingly sweet yet still earthy and the simply ingredients in the following recipe complement it perfectly.
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