Sit the family around the table and enjoy Clodagh McKenna’s easy supper menu — packed full of seasonal gems, everyone will be asking for more
These green spears look so beautiful on the table. And the combination of the roasted asparagus with the fluffy sieved (or finely chopped) hard-boiled egg flecked on top, finished with the sweet and citrussy flavours of the lemon and basil in the dressing, is so delicious! You can serve this up on one or two big platters if you are feeding a large crowd and the eggs and dressing can be prepared the day before, so it’s quite an easy starter to pull together. I’ve also made this just as successfully using stemmed purple sprouting broccoli in place of the asparagus.
20 asparagus spears, woody
ends trimmed
1 tbs olive oil
2 hard-boiled eggs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbs finely chopped shallot
1 tbs torn basil leaves
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
80ml extra virgin olive oil
The flavours of the herbs and hazelnuts roasted along with the lamb cutlets are utter heaven here, but you could use almonds or pine nuts instead if you prefer. The last time I made this dish was at my good friend and London theatre queen Sally Greene’s house. As it was a large supper gathering, I prepared the pea and wild garlic purée ahead in the morning, along with the lamb cutlets right up to the stage of putting them in the oven, so it was very easy to serve.
3 French-trimmed racks of lamb
(about 6 cutlets per rack)
2 tbs finely chopped mixed rosemary, thyme and flatleaf parsley
120g blanched hazelnuts, toasted
and crushed
2 tbs olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
600g frozen peas
75g wild garlic leaves, thoroughly
washed and chopped
75g salted butter
wild garlic flowers and pert leaves,
thoroughly washed, to garnish
I love making this dish during the spring because it’s so light and fragrant. During the remainder of the year, I simply replace the wild garlic with other fresh herbs that are in season, such as basil, mint or oregano. I sometimes add grilled Dublin Bay prawns (langoustines), prawns or chicken to this dish for a weekday one-course supper
2 tbs olive oil
4 courgettes, cut into ribbons using
a vegetable peeler
500g fresh tagliatelle
4 tbs chopped wild garlic leaves
200g soft goat’s cheese
100g blanched almonds, toasted
and chopped
50g Parmesan cheese, shaved
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
I had kind of forgotten about possets until recently when I was at my favourite Italian restaurant in London, Trullo. it had lemon posset on the dessert menu, which I ordered, served with buttery shortbread for scooping into the posset. It reminded me just how good a posset can be. This recipe is the closest I have come to capturing the Trullo moment. I have added lemon verbena, as it gives it such a delicious lemon depth, but don’t worry if you can’t find it as you can just leave it out. You can make this dessert up to two days before serving, keeping it in the fridge.
2 lemons
125g caster sugar
6 lemon verbena leaves, plus
4 leaves to serve
425ml double cream
Clodagh’s Suppers by Clodagh McKenna, published by Kyle Books, £20.
Photography by Dora Kazmierak