Bacon with cabbage is a great traditional combination and this is a modern twist on it. It is hard to beat some Irish bacon and Irish potatoes and cabbage and maybe even your own homegrown onions. Boiled bacon is great in a wrap or sandwich for a school lunch. You don’t have to shape the potatoes into cakes if you do not have time, but it is a good recipe to get help from children and at this time of year the homework may not be as heavy as later in the term. You never know what is going to spark a child’s interest in cooking and this is a good one to try.

I just love the flavour of chicken thighs. They are just so succulent. If you have difficulty finding them boneless in the supermarket just ask the butcher to do the job. Or it is an easy task to tackle yourself with a sharp knife. Just take care.

I love the butter bean mash and I always keep a variety of beans in the cupboard as they are so useful. Beans are very nutritious and a nice change from potatoes, but they are bland so you need the flavour of the cheddar. Beans are also very handy to give body to a soup, or with mince.

Happy cooking,

Neven

Recipes

Bacon with colcannon cakes

Serves four

600g (1lb 3oz) lean bacon joint

1 small onion, sliced

2 fresh thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

few peppercorns

For the colcannon cakes:

675g (1 1/2lb) floury potatoes

350g (12oz) savoy cabbage, cores removed and thinly sliced

1 tbsp Dijon mustard, plus extra to serve

4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped

25g (1oz) butter

50g (2oz) plain flour

2 tbsp olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 Put the bacon in a heavy-based saucepan with a lid and cover with water. Add the onion, thyme, bay leaf and peppercorns, then cover with a lid. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes until cooked through and tender.
  • 2 Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in a pan of salted water for 20-25 minutes. Five minutes before the end of cooking, add the cabbage so that it has time to be just cooked through. Drain well, return to the pan to dry out, then mash together until the potato is smooth. Season to taste and stir in the mustard, spring onions and butter until well combined.
  • 3 Drain the bacon and leave to rest for 10-15 minutes in a warm place. Put the flour on a plate. Shape the potato and cabbage mixture into eight even-sized cakes, then roll them lightly in the flour, shaking off any excess. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the colcannon cakes in two batches for three to four minutes on each side until golden brown.
  • 4 Carve the bacon into slices and arrange on warmed plates with the colcannon cakes. Add a dollop of mustard to each one to serve.
  • Sage chicken skewers with butter bean mash. \ Photgraphy: Philip Doyle. Food styling: Sharon Hearne-Smith

    Sage chicken skewers with butter bean mash

    Serves four

    For the chicken skewers:

    4 large boneless chicken thigh fillets, trimmed

    20 fresh sage leaves

    2 tbsp olive oil

    2 garlic cloves, crushed

    For the butter bean mash:

    1 tbsp olive oil

    knob of butter

    1 onion, finely sliced

    400g can butter beans, drained and rinsed

    100g (4oz) Cheddar cheese, grated

    sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

    steamed tenderstem broccoli, to serve

  • 1 To make the skewers, cut the chicken thighs into large chunks and thread on to soaked bamboo skewers (or use metal ones) with the sage leaves wrapped around each chunk. Combine the oil and garlic and brush all over the skewers. Heat a cast-iron griddle pan over a medium heat. Cook the chicken skewers for four to five minutes on each side or until cooked through.
  • 2 Meanwhile, make the butter bean mash. Heat the oil and butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the onion and sauté for three to four minutes until softened. Tip in the butter beans and continue to cook for a couple of minutes until warmed through. Add the cheese and then quickly blitz with a hand blender until you have achieved a smooth purée. Season to taste.
  • 3 Arrange two skewers on each warmed plate and add the butter bean mash alongside to serve with some tender stem broccoli if liked.