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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In Organico Cafe yesterday a customer commented on her roasted aubergine and chickpea curry saying that it smelt and tasted amazing. ‘I know why’ she said ‘it’s because it is un-polluted food’.
As I carried on serving lunch I reflected on her comment. I think it is an excellent way to describe our food. We are not trying to serve Cordon Bleu. What we are trying to do is serve tasty, nutritious, clean ‘un-polluted’ food.
Today, our menu contains the following:
Organic Lentil and Pumpkin Stew served with Spelt Bread
Roasted Organic Aubergine and Chickpea Curry served with Organic Brown Rice
Spelt Pizza with sundried tomatoes and Fetta served with 2 Salads
Lentil and Seed Loaf served with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Rice and 1 Salad
Shepherd’s Pie (topped with Organic local potatoes and a red lentil and vegetable base) Served with 2 Salads
Fetta Cheese Salad with either Organic Bulgar Wheat or Quinoa, Organic Tomatoes, Cucumber and Lettuce
Cheese sandwich: Local Gubbeen Cheese or Dubliner
Salad Selections: Wild rice, Quinoa, Bulgar, red Cabbage and Pumpkin Seeds, Beetroot and yoghurt, Potato, Thai Noodles (all made with organic vegetables, sprouts and seeds).
A selection of cakes and cookies from our Bakery, all made with Organic Spelt Flour and served with organic cream.
A selection of Fair Trade Organic Coffees and Teas.
Come over for Lunch sometime – and be sure to let us know what you think!
Organico Bakery produces one of the biggest ranges of Spelt breads, cakes and scones in West Cork, possibly in Ireland. We have been baking with spelt for nearly 5 years, and we now make 4 different kinds of bread (white & brown yeast; white & brown sourdough; white & brown soda & french sticks, which are a mix of regular yeasted spelt dough with some sourdough mix thrown in for added texture & taste). We also make spelt scones, spelt chocolate chip cookies, spelt oat & raisin cookies, spelt chocolate fudge cake, spelt ginger cake, spelt lemon drizzle cake, spelt Christmas fruit cake, spelt banana cake, spelt Tarte Tartin, spelt chocolate tart & spelt pasties.
We have a regular bread stall in Bantry Market from April through to December, and from the stall we sell our breads and cakes as well as Spelt Pizza, Spelt Focaccias with all kinds of yummy toppings.
The flour we have found to be the best for the cakes and breads is Hildegard Health Organic Spelt Flour, which we also sell for home baking in our healthfood shop. We also sell Hildegard pastas, as well as the excellent Biona Spelt Pastas and Finestra de la Cielo cookies and crackers.
Drop in and enjoy! More receipes and tips for cooking and baking with spelt to follow.
Organic food has traditionally had a reputation for being “good for you” but a bit boring! Organico Café (Bantry, West Cork, Ireland) turns this on its head offering food that is both exciting and delicious. Rachel Dare, who trained with Darina Allen at Ballymaloe, supplies the inspiration behind the menu in Organico Café. Rachel has a distinctive style, fusing a combination of ingredients that are primarily organic and locally grown to create menus that are both lifestyle conscious and tasty. To take full advantage of what’s fresh and in season, the menu changes daily – but it’s always creative and interesting.
The café is surprisingly large, light and spacious, and is located next door to the shop but upstairs. It has a lively buzz at lunchtime, when you can enjoy a salad plate from the extensive salad bar, a summer courgette and rice noodle soup or one of the specials such as Gubbeen and leek frittata. So if you’re looking for an alternative place to have lunch that’s new and exciting or simply want a quite cup of Bantry’s best coffee (or green tea!) just pop up to Organico Café and treat yourself. Go on! You’re worth it!
Rachel’s Summer Salad
Throughout the summer we are all looking for lunch ideas that are light, fresh and tasty. We are lucky in our shop to have people from all walks of life bringing us their own lovingly grown fruit and vegetables, so we have the best of local produce to choose from. I am using Quinoa (pronounced kee-no-wah) as the base for this salad, because it can be used as a substitute for couscous as it is wheat-free. Quinoa is often called a ’supergrain’ as it is also a very good source of vitamins, minerals and protein, and has a light delicate flavour which appeals to all.
Two cups of quinoa grain, cooked as shown below.
1/3 cucumber (can be replaced with baby courguettes, diced)
10 cherry tomatoes, diced
A handful of finely chopped fresh mint, fresh basil, and fresh parsley
100 g fetta cheese, crumbled
One small red onion or a bunch of scallions, chopped finely
1 ripe avocado, peeled and diced (a little lemon juice stops it discolouring)
Dressing
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt and fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon of honey or concentrated apple juice
Rinse the Quinoa grain well under cold water in a sieve, To cook, place two cups cold water to one cup quinoa in a sauce pan and bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the grains are translucent and the sprout has spireled out of the grain (about 15 minutes). While this is cooking, prepare the rest of the ingredients. When the Quinoa is ready allow to cool slightly, add to the other ingredients and dress to taste. Serve on its own as a light lunch or with chicken or fish as a more substantial meal.
If you want to buy Quinoa grain or the other fresh salad ingredients, we stock them in Organico!
Organico Cafe, Glengarriff Road, Bantry, Co. Cork Ireland. Tel 00 353 (27) 55905.
1 cup quinoa grain
2 cups water
100 g parsley and mint
100g cherry tomatoes
dressing
100 mls olive oil
300 mls water
50 mls balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 dessertspoon apple concentrate
Rinse the Quinoa grain well under running water (this is beacuse there is a bitter coating on the grains) Bring to the boil then simmer checking after twenty minutes quarter tomatoes, chop mint and parsley add the dressing ingredients and let stand for 30 minutes.
This is a lovely simple salad that works really well with a combination of different herbs so have fun with it, adding sundried tomatoes, olives, fetta cheese, toasted seeds, the list is endless…
1kg dried chickpeas
400 mls olive oil
2 lemons
5 cloves of garlic minced
1 inch piece of ginger minced
200 mls red wine vinegar
2 lrg red onions
3 teaspoon salt
2 tsp pepper
Soak dried chickpeas over night then cook for about 1 to 2 hours(you know when its done as you will be able to crush one easily). Take out about a quarter and mash then zest both lemons and juice, add the cloves of garlic, minced ginger and finely diced red onions combine all the dressin ingredients then mix well with chickpres and allow rest for at least an hour. This is really necessary to develop the flavor and it can last for anything up 3-4 days if refridgerated. When serving garnish with a handful of chopped parsley. This is large quantity as it was being made up for the cafe however it works just as well done in half quantities.
MIXED BEAN SALAD
500 g kindey beans
500 g cannolinni beans
½ cucumber
1 pkt parsley
1 pkt coriander
300 g red onion
dressing
125 mls sweet chili sauce
100 mls vinegar
200 mls olive oil
1 lemon zest and juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Soak the kidney and cannolinni beans for over night or at least 12 hours in separate pans this is because the color of the kidney beans will stain the others) with lots of water then cook them both at a slow simmer for 1 to 2 hours checking after 1 hour every 10 minutes, drain and allow to cool slightly. Mix up the dressing and add to the warm beans and allow to soak in for 30 mins. Dice the cucumber, celery and onion finely and add to the beans. This is another recipe that works well if left for a day and will keep for up the 3-4 days in the fridge.
If you use a good quality olive oil and organic red cabbage, carrots and seeds, this salad is very nutritious and high in fiber as well as healthy fats. Eat with some fresh poached or oven roasted fish or tofu and a small amount of Quinoa or brown rice for a light lunch or evening meal.
500 g red cabbage
250g grated carrot
50 g sesame seeds
100 g sunflower seeds
small bunch parsley
Dressing
2 tblsp Apple juice concentrate
2 tblsp Olive Oil
1 tblsp Lemon juice
pinch salt and pepper
750 g white cabbage
500 g carrot
250 g apple
200 g onion
make dressing in measuring jug
200 g mayonaise
250 g yoghurt
50 g olive oil
50 g white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Thinly slice white cabbage cutting out any tough stalks out first, peel or scrape carrots (if using non organic or making it ahead of time) and grate, thinly slice onion, quarter apples and grate with skins unless they are tough and put all ingredients into a wide mixing bowl, combine everything then add half the dressing at first then add more to taste.
Spelt is an essential ingredient in Organico Bakery and in our view is an essential component in the armoury of anyone who wants to bake organically with an view to improving diet.
Spelt is an ancient grain which has not been intensively bred for increased yields. It is particularly of interest because of it’s low gluten content and is an important grain for lots of people who have wheat allergies. For more information on the history and benefits of spelt invesigate further at Doves Farm who mill the Spelt we use every day.
We use spelt far more than we use conventional wheat: for baking all our cakes, cookies, brownies, pizza and many types of bread. Spelt gives a delicious nutty flavour to brown breads, and combines very well with herbs and seeds. For cake baking we use a white spelt flour that comes from Hildegard Health in Germany.
Organico Cafe, Glengarriff Rd., Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland. +353 (0)27 55905