Readers like you keep news free for everyone.
More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.
For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away.
# food envy
'The oven does almost all the work': 5 recent must-try meals from a Donegal foodie
Including a surprisingly simple ice cream cake.
EACH WEEK, WE ask a home cook about the dishes they’ve been whipping up of late. The kind of food you don’t need a recipe for, from quick snacks to empty-the-fridge dinners.
This week, Donegal foodie Daniel Diver (@danieldiver9) shared five of his most-loved dishes.
“My cooking style is very informal,” says Daniel. “I strive to create recipes that are easy on the washing up, have time-saving shortcuts and are full of flavour.”
From ice cream cake to crispy garlic chicken, below are five of Daniel’s failsafe dishes:.
1. Maple French toast: This is a weekend breakfast favourite in my household. French toast is an easy way to use bread that isn’t quite the freshest and it’s a bonus that it is such a doddle to make. I use two eggs, 1 tbsp of milk, 60ml of maple syrup, four slices of bread, and butter and olive oil for frying.
2. Garlic chicken and potatoes: This one-pan meal is a fantastic everyday easy recipe. The oven does almost all the work and what you end up with is crispy skinned chicken with tender buttery garlic infused flesh and potatoes. It is a recipe I turn to a lot when I get home late and have a million things to do. By the time the oven is heated, all the prep is done and the oven takes care of the rest.
3. Halloumi, mint and pomegranate salad: I’m often asked where I get my inspiration for recipes and it is difficult to answer as I get them from everywhere. This recipe came about as a result of a dream – yes, the perils of being food-obsessed, I even dream of it! This is a dish that super quick to make although you’d never know it from the vibrant and delicious flavours.
4. Rocky Road ice cream cake: Who ever thought making ice cream could be so easy? This dreamy, creamy ice cream cake is full of good things. It does contain some alcohol but if you want to make an alcohol-free version, simply replace the alcohol and cream with vanilla ice cream. You can use your favourite liquor here as there isn’t enough in it that it will impart flavour. The main purpose is to keep everything from freezing too much and losing its creamy texture.
5. Old fashioned chocolate cake: This cake has become the go-to cake in my family for any celebration. When I first set out to make it, I wanted to make a chocolate cake that was fairly simple to put together, and contained ingredients that most of us have in the store cupboard at any given time. The result was a rustic chocolate cake, conjuring nostalgic memories of the sort of cakes we had to celebrate birthdays as children.
