Cookbooks

Conrad Gallagher is helping to create a renaissance in Irish cooking. He is developing a modernist cuisine in a country where modernism arrived quite early in literature and the visual arts, but very late in the kitchen. Traditionalists do not necessarily like him for this, but they have to admire his consistency and his talent. He does not adhere to the traditionalist assumption that cooking is primarily about simplicity, or that flavours should be restricted to two or three on the plate.

Above all, he has no sympathy for the view that the diner should never be assaulted by complex dishes. In the end, Gallagher follows his instincts, which have given him a profound conviction that he can be the best at what he does. In that respect, his mentors are the modern Irish writers and artists - the Wildes and Joyces and Becketts - all of whom dealt with the petty criticism that their work was ambitious and over the top.

Conrad Gallagher is helping to create a renaissance in Irish cooking. He is developing a modernist cuisine in a country where modernism arrived quite early in literature and the visual arts, but very late in the kitchen. Traditionalists do not necessarily like him for this, but they have to admire his consistency and his talent. He does not adhere to the traditionalist assumption that cooking is primarily about simplicity, or that flavours should be restricted to two or three on the plate.



Above all, he has no sympathy for the view that the diner should never be assaulted by complex dishes. In the end, Gallagher follows his instincts, which have given him a profound conviction that he can be the best at what he does. In that respect, his mentors are the modern Irish writers and artists - the Wildes and Joyces and Becketts - all of whom dealt with the petty criticism that their work was ambitious and over the top.

The idea for this book is a simple one. The recipes are designed so that with a little thought and preparation - and sometimes even with none at all - they can be cooked using just one pan. In many cases you can even serve them in the pan.
The reasoning behind this is simple. By imposing the one-pan discipline I forced myself to simplify some of the more complicated dishes we serve in our restaurants. I feel that this makes the dishes less intimidating to people who would like to try something different, but who do not necessarily possess a huge kitchen and a massive arsenal of cookware.

Plus it saves on the washing up. After all, when you are cooking at home for friends and family, no matter how much you enjoy it you should aim to spend more time eating the food than you do cooking it - or clearing up afterwards. It is an essential part of my philosophy that food can be sophisticated, yet simple, that meals can be classy, without being complicated.
In our restaurants we are blessed with a large staff, lots of space and an impressive array of equipment. And even when we are under immense pressure we still have plenty of time to devote to preparation. At home you may not have any of that, but just because you are short of time, space or equipment doesn\'t mean that you can\'t produce great-tasting, good-looking food which is fun to cook and enjoyable to eat.
I\'ve always believed that food - whether eating out in a restaurant or at home - should be an enjoyable experience. When you cook at home there\'s a reason why it\'s called entertaining - it should be! I hope that One Pot Wonders will help with that, and that it encourages you to experiment further in your own kitchen.

The idea for this book is a simple one. The recipes are designed so that with a little thought and preparation - and sometimes even with none at all - they can be cooked using just one pan. In many cases you can even serve them in the pan.
The reasoning behind this is simple. By imposing the one-pan discipline I forced myself to simplify some of the more complicated dishes we serve in our restaurants. I feel that this makes the dishes less intimidating to people who would like to try something different, but who do not necessarily possess a huge kitchen and a massive arsenal of cookware.

Plus it saves on the washing up. After all, when you are cooking at home for friends and family, no matter how much you enjoy it you should aim to spend more time eating the food than you do cooking it - or clearing up afterwards. It is an essential part of my philosophy that food can be sophisticated, yet simple, that meals can be classy, without being complicated.
In our restaurants we are blessed with a large staff, lots of space and an impressive array of equipment. And even when we are under immense pressure we still have plenty of time to devote to preparation. At home you may not have any of that, but just because you are short of time, space or equipment doesn\'t mean that you can\'t produce great-tasting, good-looking food which is fun to cook and enjoyable to eat.
I\'ve always believed that food - whether eating out in a restaurant or at home - should be an enjoyable experience. When you cook at home there\'s a reason why it\'s called entertaining - it should be! I hope that One Pot Wonders will help with that, and that it encourages you to experiment further in your own kitchen.

To cook is to have fun. I\'m a chef so I would say that, but cooking for family and friends is a real treat so long as you don\'t have to assemble a huge list of ingredients before you get to put a pot on the stove. That\'s why I\'ve written this book - to show what can be done with just a few ingredients and which make really delicious meals.

Oh well, you\'ll cheat and have a load of store cupboard ingredients too, I hear you cry� oh, how I wish! Time and again I was brought back to my original concept by firm editors. Some people have written books on the concept of 3 ingredients, but I maintain that it\'s difficult to create interesting dishes with such constraint. I fought for eight or ten and, in the end, settled for that magical A. A. Milne figure of 6. There\'s sufficient scope yet little to make you feel a slave to the kitchen.

In my store cupboard are three ingredients which I hope are contained in your store cupboard too: they are salt (preferably Maldon sea salt); black pepper (preferably freshly ground peppercorns which you\'ve bought in the last two weeks) and olive oil (preferably the best quality you can afford). Beyond that, no recipe in this book will command more than 6 ingredients.

If you don\'t have to spend time digging out ingredients (or hopping off to the shops to buy endless lists of them), you will have more time to enjoy assembling those few that you do have. And I hope that you will buy the best quality that you can find. One of my favourite shellfish is the scallop and nowhere is freshness and quality so obviously seen; a tired beast from the supermarket shelf is a Michelin-star away from those I go diving for - hand picked scallops fresh off the coast of Cork and Donegal - light years away from the dredged ones in terms of flavour. Organic is important. Being a chef I shoot for the best, and that brings me to pace and variety in a meal. I hope that, in these 100+ recipes, you will find dishes with simple flavours - Roasted Poussin with just a flavour of chorizo and a side dish of parsnip puree is sheer delight - to more complex dishes such as Tagliatelle with Roasted Chicken Leg, Mushrooms and Chilli, where the shiitake combined with the chilli and fresh coriander give the dish a real depth and zing which makes you go back for more and more and more.

Cooking as I am now in New York gives me chances to experiment even more - bold flavours, a rich palette of wonderful fresh vegetables and fruits, and an excitement that springs off every sidewalk I go down and every bar and local restaurant I frequent.

The chapters are organised by course of the meal. Straightforward and simple, I hope. Enjoy making these recipes as much as I\'ve enjoyed devising them.

Conrad Gallagher

To cook is to have fun. I\'m a chef so I would say that, but cooking for family and friends is a real treat so long as you don\'t have to assemble a huge list of ingredients before you get to put a pot on the stove. That\'s why I\'ve written this book - to show what can be done with just a few ingredients and which make really delicious meals.

Oh well, you\'ll cheat and have a load of store cupboard ingredients too, I hear you cry� oh, how I wish! Time and again I was brought back to my original concept by firm editors. Some people have written books on the concept of 3 ingredients, but I maintain that it\'s difficult to create interesting dishes with such constraint. I fought for eight or ten and, in the end, settled for that magical A. A. Milne figure of 6. There\'s sufficient scope yet little to make you feel a slave to the kitchen.

In my store cupboard are three ingredients which I hope are contained in your store cupboard too: they are salt (preferably Maldon sea salt); black pepper (preferably freshly ground peppercorns which you\'ve bought in the last two weeks) and olive oil (preferably the best quality you can afford). Beyond that, no recipe in this book will command more than 6 ingredients.

If you don\'t have to spend time digging out ingredients (or hopping off to the shops to buy endless lists of them), you will have more time to enjoy assembling those few that you do have. And I hope that you will buy the best quality that you can find. One of my favourite shellfish is the scallop and nowhere is freshness and quality so obviously seen; a tired beast from the supermarket shelf is a Michelin-star away from those I go diving for - hand picked scallops fresh off the coast of Cork and Donegal - light years away from the dredged ones in terms of flavour. Organic is important. Being a chef I shoot for the best, and that brings me to pace and variety in a meal. I hope that, in these 100+ recipes, you will find dishes with simple flavours - Roasted Poussin with just a flavour of chorizo and a side dish of parsnip puree is sheer delight - to more complex dishes such as Tagliatelle with Roasted Chicken Leg, Mushrooms and Chilli, where the shiitake combined with the chilli and fresh coriander give the dish a real depth and zing which makes you go back for more and more and more.

Cooking as I am now in New York gives me chances to experiment even more - bold flavours, a rich palette of wonderful fresh vegetables and fruits, and an excitement that springs off every sidewalk I go down and every bar and local restaurant I frequent.

The chapters are organised by course of the meal. Straightforward and simple, I hope. Enjoy making these recipes as much as I\'ve enjoyed devising them.

Conrad Gallagher