A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway - Recipe by Jp McMahon
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Not sure I can say anything about this book that hasn’t already been written.
It’s on the reading list of most schools, is one of the best sellers for ‘classic’ books and has been reviewed by so many people, it’s become almost boring to read what’s written, no matter how well written it is!
So, I’m not going to preach to the converted, I’m just going to skim over the theme of the book and write a little about Ernest Hemingway himself, and the recipe by Jp McMahon, of course
Born in a suburb of Chicago in 1899, Ernest Hemingway was the second of six children.
Hemingway had a colourful life, a lot of which he wrote about.
1917, Hemingway started working for the Kansas City Star as a cub reporter, but that didn’t last very long. The very next year, he was on the Italian front driving an ambulance. He was decorated after a being wounded in 1919 which saw him back in the USA.
Marrying in 1921 it wasn’t long (1922) until he was off again on his dangerous journalistic adventurous, this time reporting on the Greco-Turkish war.
Not sure why, but soon after he abandoned journalism to devoting himself to writing fiction.
After settling in Paris, he met up with old friends – Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound. These friends played a huge part in Hemingway finding his writing style!
It was his work, The Torrents of Spring, that got noticed, but the next three books - Fiesta, Men Without Women and A Farewell to Arms out his name on everyone’s lips.
Following the publication of The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway was
recognised for his work in contemporary literature when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.
Hemingway died in 1961.
As I said, I’m not going to rehash this book, so many reviews out ther, but just to say A Moveable Feast is fascinating account of Hemingway time in 1920s Paris, his memoir of his days as a young writer in Paris.
I give a 4 egg rating
A Moveable Feast - I give it 4 eggs
4 Egg Rating
Read on to hear just a little bit about these months featured chef, and recipe
Chef Jp McMahon
Chef Jp McMahon is a star in Galway and Ireland, co-owner of three amazing restaurants the Michelin-starred Aniar, Cava Bodega, and Tartare café and wine bar as well as running the Aniar Boutique Cookery School with business partner Drigín Gaffey.
Now, as if that wasn’t enough to keep Jp busy, he founded the Galway Food Festival, last year published The Irish Cookbook and then there is the annual Food on the Edge symposium.
A boutique symposium on the future of food, featuring the best international and national chefs, an amazing gathering set up to discuss the future of food.
Jp sets the agenda for this amazing gathering and the talks aren’t limited to the cooking of food, taking on subjects of the environment, food waste and mental health.
There is the Aniar School Project which teaches children about the importance of food and the Cookery school which instructs chefs on how to cook local ingredients , sustainably
A family man, proud dad of two daughters , 42 year old Jp is passionate about wild, seasonable and sustainable ingredients and is committed to promoting the food of Galway by producing world class contemporary Irish food.
He does this in all of his restaurants, but he also does much more, if that’s possible!
Jp not only believes in promoting local food, he also believes in his community and putting as much back as he can.
Born in Dublin, Jp talks about one of his first family food memories.
While out eating on a holiday in Tipperary, he chose spaghetti Bolognese instead of a burger, he was smitten and knew what he was going to do for the rest of his life.
After working in kitchens around Ireland, it was 2008 when he and his wife, opened their first restaurant, Cava, a Spanish tapas.
This was only the beginning!
Jps cooking at Aniar (meaning ‘west’ in Gaelic), has been described as food ‘using methods of the past in order to inspire future sustainability’, with ingredients native to the local region or from other places in Ireland.
Getting a Michelin star is hard enough, keeping it is even harder!
Aniar has kept theirs since 2013, but once again, the award seems to be just another way for Jp to help the community.
As you can see, Jp McMahon is lot of things to a lot of people and not just about making money or making great food, but to his community, the country that he loves and to the wider environment!
Now to his recipe!
Steamed Treacle Pudding
By Jp McMahon
Steamed puddings were very popular in Ireland. This one is made with treacle. I’ve used butter, but you can use beef suet instead, if desired. According to Florence Irwin, this pudding should be made a month before Christmas. This allows the flavours of the cake and the alcohol to merge and develop. You can keep it moist by pouring brandy or whiskey over it once or twice a week. Though the tradition of making Christmas pudding had waned in the last few decades, it seems younger people are taking up the mantle again.
Jp McMahon
Yes please !
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves 8
Ingredients:
175 g/6 oz Butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
175 g/6 oz caster sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
3 Eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons whiskey
3 tablespoons Treacle (molasses)
3½ Tablespoons milk
175 g/6 oz Self-raising flour
a pinch of Sea salt
whipped cream, to serve
Method:
Grease a pudding basin or bowl with a lip around its rim.
Cut a double layer of greaseproof (wax) paper 5 cm/2 inches larger than the dish and make a pleat in the centre
Grease the paper. Cut a piece of aluminium foil to the same size.
Cut a length of string to four times the dish’s circumference.
Fill a large pan halfway with water, place a trivet or upturned heatproof saucer in the bottom and bring the water to the boil.
Cream the sugar and butter together in a large mixing bowl with the lemon zest. Add the beaten eggs, whiskey, treacle and milk and mix.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Pour the batter into the greased dish, leaving a 2.5-cm/1-inch space below the rim.
Cover with the greaseproof paper, butter side down, followed by the foil. Tie the string below the protruding rim of the dish, then make a loop to form a handle. Trim the paper just under the string and wrap the foil over it.
Use the handle to lower the pudding into the boiling water, cover and steam for 1 hour 30 minutes until cooked and a skewer (toothpick) inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Top up with more water as necessary.
Serve with whipped cream.
Cream or custard?
