Seasonal suppers: the plate can be as important as the food

Sometimes good food centres on finding the right plate. I know it may seem absurd, but these are the things that worry me at night. What plate will I use to serve the fish? Will I use the green or the white bowl for the broth? Plates (and bowls for that matter) are important. More than 70 per cent of our eating is done with our eyes.

You may not agree, but when was the last time you didn’t like the “look” of a dish and so didn’t taste it? Our eyes are our safety nets. They provide us with an alarm bell so as not to put nasty looking things into our mouths.

With over 70 million Instagram food photos a day, we are, as a global society, obsessed with how food looks. Plates contribute to this desire to arrange and represent food as beautifully as possible.

How does this relate to one’s cooking at home? A beautiful dish can relax us: think of a warm roast chicken with brown, caramelised crispy skin and new season potatoes positioned handsomely around the chicken so as to absorb as much of its fat as possible. Now imagine it on a brown wooden board, ready for sharing.

I love to visit the local potter at the Galway Farmers’ market on Saturdays to see what fine wares she has just cast and fired in her kiln. Recently, I found a green bowl ideal for a ham hock and squid broth. It was crying out for it.

I slowly cooked the ham hock in water overnight (covered, in a 90 degree oven with some carrots, leeks and onions). In the morning, I strained off the liquid. It was a wonderful unctuous broth.

To this I added some pan-fried squid tentacles and rings and some blanched baby leeks. Finally, a handful of baby coriander leaves gave it just the right amount of heat.

I flaked the leftover ham hock and folded in some mayonnaise, mustard and parsley. Sandwich filling for the week.

Now, where’s the sourdough?