Ciaran’s Peculier [sic] Blog

I am delighted to be able to tell you all about the great time we had in Cabra Castle, Kingscourt. The buildings are spectacular, looking for all the world like a medieval fortress. Rosie was surprised to learn that most of the buildings only date from the nineteenth century.

As an older building though, access for people in chariots can be problematic, yet it was never a serious issue thanks to the unfailing helpfulness and courtesy of the hotel’s staff. Our room was spacious – extremely spacious – and on the ground floor.

The highlight was our evening meal. I started with a remarkably velvety carrot and parsley soup. The carrot flavour was not over-powering and was nicely combined with the herbs. Rosie had seafood fish-cakes which she pronounced excellent. She opted for beef fillet accompanied by black pepper sauce. She also ordered a side dish of red cabbage, which was delicious. I could not resist the medallions of monkfish served with a white wine beurre blanc accompanied by wilted spinach. I love monkfish, but it is a difficult fish to cook. Its flavours can be overly assertive. The idea of serving it with an equally tricky beurre blanc might have struck some as suicidal, but the two were very well-matched and the balance of textures and flavours was perfect. The wilted spinach was proper spinach with a wonderful metallic taste, not the green, amorphous sludge that comes from freezer compartments.

Rosie was so sated that she had to forego a dessert, but I was only getting going. I opted for some French crepes served with vanilla ice-cream and toffee sauce. They were heavenly. A nice touch to the menu is the opportunity to round off one’s meal with a small drink of port or a liqueur. I chose a glass of Benedictine.

But one of the nicest aspects of the menu was the way in which the produce was actually sourced, so I knew that my monkfish had only come from Kilkeel Co. Down while Rosie’s beef had come from Co. Cavan supplier Donal Dawson. Not only does this mean that local produce is show-cased but it does allow diners to consume with a clearer conscience, in that their food has not left a dirty big carbon foot-print on its journey from producer to plate. So well done Cabra Castle. We will be back.