Rachel Allen’s latest culinary adventure, along Ireland’s wild west coast, wasn’t all plain sailing. But, the chef tells Jeananne Craig, the trip reminded her how much she loves the Emerald Isle

THE sun didn't always shine during Rachel Allen's recent road trip along Ireland's stunning Atlantic coast, but the chef and writer insists that was all part of the charm.

"When the weather wasn't great, it was wild and dramatic and windy. We had a couple of boat trips that did more than clear out the cobwebs," says Allen, who spent a month journeying along the rugged western terrain from Ballymaloe in County Cork to the rugged headlands of Donegal.

She visited numerous foodie locations along the route - and each stop-off forms a chapter in her new book, Coast, which is packed full of recipes inspired by her 'culinary odyssey'.

There was Sneem village in Kerry, where she met black pudding-producing butchers; Galway City, to stock up on farmhouse cheese, and Rathmullan House in County Donegal, where Allen sampled some locally-brewed Kinnegar beer.

"The characters you meet along the way and their passion is just wonderful," says the author and TV presenter, who teaches at the acclaimed Ballymaloe Cookery School.

Allen believes Ireland's gastronomic output in recent years has helped reverse the opinion that it houses a "nation of potato and cabbage eaters".

"Our produce is just the best in the world - when you think of our amazing seafood, our dairy, our meat, because of all our wonderful green grass and our grass-fed animals - it's just fantastic," she enthuses.

Raw beetroot, feta and avocado salad

(Serves four to six as a starter)

30g whole almonds, cut lengthways into three slices

180g raw beetroot, peeled and sliced on a mandoline or a vegetable peeler 1-2mm thick

One large ripe avocado, halved, stone removed, peeled and flesh cut into about 18 slices

30g watercress, separated into little sprigs

30g red onion, peeled and sliced on a mandoline or vegetable peeler 1-2mm thick

90g feta cheese, crumbled

Few pinches of sea salt flakes

For the balsamic dressing:

1tbsp balsamic vinegar

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil (the best you have)

Pinch of fine salt

Twist of black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas mark 6. Combine all the ingredients for the balsamic dressing and set aside.

Put the almonds on a baking tray and cook in the oven for three minutes until golden under the skins. (You can also do this in a frying pan on a medium-high heat.) Set aside.

Arrange the salad ingredients evenly on the plates: a layer of beetroot, about three slices of avocado, sprigs of watercress, red onion slices, crumbled feta, a pinch of sea salt flakes and a scattering of toasted almonds.

Drizzle each plate with a generous one to one-and-a-half teaspoons of dressing and serve immediately.

Irish Cream liqueur baked cheesecake

(Serves eight)

For the base:

300g dark chocolate digestive biscuits

50g unsalted butter, melted

2tbsp double or regular cream

For the top:

500g full fat cream cheese

150g caster sugar

4 eggs

100ml strong coffee

100ml Irish cream liqueur

Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas mark 3.

Put the base of a round 25.5cm (10in) spring-form cake tin upside down into the tin and secure the clasp.

Put the biscuits in the bowl of a food processor (or in a plastic bag) and whiz (or bash with a rolling pin) until they reach the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs.

Tip out into a bowl, add the melted butter and cream and stir to combine. Press firmly into the bottom of the tin to create an even layer and flatten the top. Place on a baking tray, just in case any mixture leaks onto the floor of the oven while the cheesecake is cooking.

Put the cream cheese, sugar and eggs in a large bowl and whisk well to combine and get rid of any lumps in the cream cheese. Mix in the coffee and liqueur and pour into the tin on the tray.

Place the tray in the oven and cook for 35 minutes or until almost set. There should still be a thick wobble when you give the cheesecake a little shake. Turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside to sit for 30 minutes, then remove and leave to cool in the tin.

To remove the cheesecake from the tin, run a small sharp knife around the side of the cake, carefully unclip the tin and, with the help of a palette knife, slide the cheesecake off the base onto a serving plate (it should slide off easily because you have turned the base upside down).

Cut into slices to serve.

  • Coast: Recipes Inspired By Ireland's Wild Atlantic Coast by Rachel Allen is published by Harper NonFiction, priced £25 (eBook £12.99)