Cooking with coffee... it’s not just brew, sip and slurp anymore!

WHERE once Ireland was a nation of tea drinkers, the past decade has seen us match our fervour for a ‘raking pot of tea’ with tiny shots of espresso. Or should that be a latte, macchiato, cortado, ristretto, flat white, cold brew or just a plain old-fashioned Americano?

Where once a cappuccino with a scone of a morning was considered the height of sophistication, our coffee preferences are increasingly specific; the language of coffee is a minefield: do I want an espresso, cortado or ristretto, and what’s the difference anyway?

With every new coffee trend that comes around, I purchase the accoutrements to give it a go at home. In a kitchen press that could be put to better use, shelves are stuffed with coffee equipment of all kinds: pour-over, filter, AeroPress, French press, a Moka pot for Italian espresso; even a long-handled pot called a cezve for making Arabic or Turkish coffee at home.

I gave away my Nespresso a few years ago, replacing it with a Wilma filter coffee machine. We have, so far, resisted plans for a Sage machine, but resolve is weakening.

After learning the art of ‘coffee cupping’ and how to taste different flavours and styles of coffee, I’ve settled on a style I like - washed with hints of any of the following: cherry, date, fig, chocolate, caramel, vanilla. In other words: coffee that’s easy to drink and not challenging my taste buds to a duel or stripping my mouth dry.

When it comes to brewing the perfect coffee with the perfect serve in the perfect cup, Cork has it nailed with its library of staunchly independent coffee shops and equally successful independent coffee roasters.

Corkonians brew, sip and slurp their way to a great caffeine fix every day, all day.

So, what comes next for coffee? Cooking with it, of course! I’ve been doing just that at home for a few years now. It started with some left-over coffee, not enough to brew anything with, but I didn’t want to throw it away. From that, I developed a brilliant dry rub for steaks, featured in my 2021 Echo series, A Year Of Flavour (recipe below).

Spiced Coffee Rub

Amazing on steaks, venison loin, rubbed onto buffalo burgers and duck breast.

Ingredients

· 2 tbsp of ground coffee powder / espresso powder

· 1 tbsp brown sugar

· 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

· 1 tsp ground cumin

· ½ tsp garlic powder

· ½ tsp celery salt

· ¼ tsp fermented chilli powder / cayenne pepper

· 1 tsp smoked sea salt

· 2 tsp ground black pepper

Method:

• Mix everything together. Use the spiced coffee rub generously on meats, also great on carrots and beetroots before roasting. Keep any leftover in an airtight container.

We’re used to seeing coffee showing up in sweet treats, such as a classic Tiramisu or a Coffee and Walnut cake, but things are starting to get a little more adventurous.

Chefs, food and drink producers are all finding great ways to make use of coffee, showing us it isn’t just for breakfast.

Every day across the city and county, thousands of cups of coffee are roasted and brewed, and that brings a problem of waste – coffee grinds, to be precise. Efforts to reduce waste are no longer considered faddish, but rather should be built into the way we do everything from the beginning.

Coffee grinds make a great addition to composting systems because they’re full of nutrients. Worms love it and work their magic to unleash all that goodness to turn grounds into nutrient rich soil. But what else?

Cork-based baker, Good Fortune Cookies, bakes a cookie flavoured with leftover espresso coffee grounds, 70% chocolate, rye, and topped with West of Dingle sea salt flakes.

“There’s a nice subtle coffee flavour that pairs really well with the maltiness of the rye and browned butter, and the coffee grinds add a nice texture to the cookie, too,” says founder Sarah Cremin.

The grinds are a way for Sarah to reuse something that would otherwise be thrown away.

“In baking, where possible, I prefer to use the actual ingredient,” she says. The coffee grounds felt more appealing to use than an extract and luckily this was an experiment that went right!

“I’m always looking for ways to apply elements of the circular economy to my businesss, and this was a good way to repurpose something that would have ended up in compost. This way, we can have our coffee and eat it!”

Over in Miyazaki Japanese Takeaway on Barrack Street, head chef Mike McGrath has expanded his team with a new patisserie chef, Róisín King.

“We had never focused on sweet things before so we said we would test ourselves and see what happens,” explains Mike.

One such creation currently rocking the menu is a Coffee Mochi Ice Cream, a kind of Japanese-style ice cream sandwich.

“Mochi is a dough made from glutinous rice flour that can take many forms,” explains Mike.

“We started making different ice creams for a filling using coffee roasted by West Cork Coffee. We found the flavour notes in that particular coffee perfect with our idea of mochi. The coffee-style mochi is a deadly way to finish after a big bowl of glorious ramen!”

Coffee is versatile in savoury cooking too.

I love twisting up a classic Tuna Niçoise Salad by incorporating coffee into the dressing. It’s simple to do and will transform your salad. I add sun-blushed tomatoes for extra sweetness and to balance out any bitter notes from the coffee.

Coffee Balsamic Vinaigrette

Drizzle generously over your assembled Tuna Niçoise Salad.

Ingredients

· 2 tbsp brewed and cooled espresso coffee

· 1 tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar (I use Wildwood Damson Balsamic)

· 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

· 2 tsp honey · 60ml extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Place everything, except for the olive oil, into a bowl and mix to combine.

2. Slowly pour in the EVOO while continuing to whisk until thickened.

3. Season with salt and ground black pepper.

Back at the bar, our love for a good Espresso Martini shows no sign of slowing down. Some insist it should be sipped as an after-dinner digestif, while others, like Foxglove Cocktail Company, insist they are the only way to get a party started.

“We use different varieties of coffee beans depending on the Espresso Martini recipe,” says Foxglove Cocktail Company co-founder Tara Copplestone.

“Currently, we have been using South and Central American Arabica beans as the bitter cocoa notes really enrich the flavour of our espresso martinis.”

Choosing the right coffee to shake in your cocktail is important for the right balance of flavour. But temperature is also a critical ingredient for the perfect martini, according to Tara.

“Our three top tips to making Espresso Martinis at home are:

“1. Make sure the espresso is completely cold before using. Freshly brewed hot espresso will create an unsavoury bitter flavour when you add ice, as the ice melts too quickly.

“2. Use a large cocktail shaker and leave at least half the shaker empty so all the ingredients have space to combine and plenty of air can get in to create that rich foamy finish.

“3. Play around with your simple syrups (equal parts water and sugar, combined). For example, brown sugar will bring a rich deep flavour to your espresso martini, in comparison to making the simple syrup from a lighter sugar like caster sugar.”

Proving that this is only way to kick off a great night, Foxglove Cocktail Company have unveiled their new cocktail truck, including ‘The Espresso Martini Bar’ - cheers!

One of my favourite cocktails is a classic Negroni, and coffee adds a delicious twist to this slow sipper.

Italian coffee brand, Caffè Vergnano, are rolling out in seven new locations in Cork, including Hayfield Manor, Dolce Bun House, Fly Coffee and Dwyer’s Garden Café, and they have shared their recipe for Cold Brew Negroni to recreate this elegant cocktail at home.

Caffè Vergnano Cold Brew Negroni

The secret to brewing the perfect Cold Brew concentrate is to use the right coffee blend. Here we’ve used Caffè Vergnano Espresso Crema 800.

Ingredients

Cold brew concentrate

· 75g Caffè Vergnano coffee

· 400ml water

Cold Brew Negroni

· 12.5ml Tequila

· 12.5ml Gin

· 25ml antica formula vermouth

· 25ml Campari

· 5ml Cocchi americano bianco

· 25ml Caffè Vergnano cold brew concentrate

· Smoked salt

Method:

Cold brew concentrate

1. Put 400ml cold water into a large jug and add 75grams of Caffè Vergnano. Do not stir! Cover and leave to steep for 24 hours.

2. After 24 hours, gently stir the mixture then pour through a sieve lined with filter paper into another jug. This batch will last in the fridge for up to 3 days and is the perfect base for an iced coffee.

Cold Brew Negroni

3. Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and gently stir.

4. Strain into a rocks glass over ice.

Whether you’re looking for something sweet, savoury, or the perfect cocktail, you have everything you need!