3 Iconic Aniar Dishes You’ll Never Forget

When Aniar opened its doors on Dominick Street in 2011, Jp McMahon had a deceptively simple ambition: to put the West of Ireland on the plate. The name says it all: Aniar, meaning ‘from the west’ in Irish. Within a year, the restaurant had earned a Michelin star; fifteen years later, it has never lost it.

To mark the milestone, Jp is bringing back some of the dishes that defined those years — alongside a summer of collaborations, a limited-edition sparkling rosé developed with David Llewellyn of Lusca Wines, and guest appearances at restaurants across Ireland. “15 years of Aniar,” he says. “15 years of service, seasonality, stories and the West of Ireland on the plate. What we’ve built has always been about more than food. It has been about place, people, and the possibility of seeing Irish cuisine differently.”

Here, we share three of those iconic dishes, with recipes, so you can try a little Aniar magic at home.

Oyster with Seaweed and Sea Herbs

"This dish is Aniar’s west coast in miniature: oyster, seaweed, and sea herbs. It speaks of shorelines and the particular flavour of the Atlantic. The oyster is lightly charred, then sharpened with seaweed jelly and softened with an oyster emulsion. Sea purslane, arrowgrass, sea lettuce, channelled wrack and sea truffle bring the dish back to the coast, making it both raw and refined, ancient and contemporary."

Ingredients

• 4 oysters, shucked and rinsed of any grit
  Seaweed vinegar
• Cold pressed rapeseed oil
• Sea salt

For the oyster emulsion

• 3 oysters, shucked
• 200ml rapeseed oil2
• Sea salt

For the seaweed jelly

• 300ml cider vinegar
• 200ml water
• 100g sugar
• 20g dried sugar kelp
• 6g agar

To garnish

• A few sea purslane leaves, blanched
• Arrowgrass
• Fresh sea lettuce
• Pickled channelled wrack
• A little milled sea truffle seaweed
• Achill Island sea salt

Method

1. To make the seaweed jelly: bring the vinegar, water and sugar to the boil. Place the sugar kelp in a suitable container and pour the hot vinegar solution over the seaweed. Chill and then strain. Reserve a little vinegar for the garnish. Bring the rest of the vinegar to the boil again and whisk in the agar. Chill until set and then blend into a smooth paste. Place in a squeezy bottle.
2. To make the oyster emulsion: blend the oysters and the oil together and season with sea salt. Pass through a fine sieve. If the emulsion is too thick, fold in a little water. Place into a piping bag.
3. Place the oysters on a metal tray and rub with oil. Char with a blow torch and season with sea salt. Dress with cold pressed rapeseed oil.
4. To plate: pipe a little oyster mayonnaise onto the plate. Place the oyster beside the mayonnaise. Sprinkle some milled sea truffle onto the top of the mayonnaise. Place three dots of seaweed jelly around the oyster. Dress the sea purslane with a little oil, salt and vinegar and arrange around the oyster. Finish with a few pieces of channelled wrack, sea lettuce, arrowgrass, and a pinch of Achill Island sea salt.

Buttermilk and Honey Panna Cotta, Whiskey Gel, Meadowsweet Ice Cream, Spent Grain Tuile, Bee Pollen

"This dessert gathers some of the softest flavours of the Irish landscape: buttermilk, meadowsweet and bee pollen. The panna cotta brings dairy and sweetness; the whiskey gel adds warmth and sharpness; the meadowsweet ice cream gives a floral note that feels both wild and nostalgic. Finished with a spent grain tuile, it becomes a dish about pasture, bees, brewing, flowers and memory."

For the panna cotta (makes 20 portions)

• 805g cream
• 300g honey
• 15 leaves of gelatine
• 1200g cold buttermilk

For the honey whiskey gel

• 100g apple cider vinegar
• 200g whiskey
• 400g water
• 260g honey
• 12.6g agar agar
• 50g sugar

For the spent grain tuile

• 100g melted butter
• 100g egg whites
• 100g honey
• 80g flour
• 20g Bia Sol spent grains

For the meadowsweet ice cream

• 1 litre milk
• 10g meadowsweet
• 15 egg yolks (225g)
• 250g sugar
• 12g stab 2000
• 400g whipped cream

Method

1. For the meadowsweet ice cream: bring the milk and meadowsweet to the boil. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together. Temper the eggs with the milk mixture, then combine with the remaining milk. Return to a clean pot and cook over a water bath, stirring, until the mixture reaches 72–75°C or coats the back of a wooden spoon. Cool and churn in an ice cream machine.
2. For the panna cotta: bring the cream, milk and honey to the boil. Bloom the gelatine in cold water until softened, squeeze well, then add to the milk mixture off the heat and stir until fully dissolved. Pass through a fine mesh sieve. Allow to cool before pouring into moulds. Chill until set.
3. For the tuile: place all ingredients into a food processor and blitz to combine. Spread on moulds and cook at 180°C for about 7 minutes, turning halfway.
4. For the honey and whiskey gel: combine all ingredients except the agar in a pot over a medium heat. When the mixture comes to the boil, whisk in the agar, then pass through a fine sieve. Allow to cool and blend with a hand blender.
5. To plate: demould the panna cotta and place in the centre of the plate. Place a quenelle of ice cream on top. Add a few dots of gel. Finish with a sprinkling of bee pollen, the tuile and a few sheep sorrel leaves.

Beef Tartare, Smoked Egg, Pepper Dulse, Pickled Shallot

"This dish takes the classic idea of beef tartare and roots it in Ireland. Dexter beef is dressed with cold pressed rapeseed oil and finished with smoked egg yolk and pepper dulse. The result is clean, sharp and mineral, with the richness of beef balanced by smoke, seaweed and acidity. It reflects Aniar’s approach to classics: respecting the form but letting Irish ingredients change the language."

Ingredients

• 500g Dexter beef rump
• Chives, finely chopped
• Cold pressed rapeseed oil
• Bonito vinegar
• Sea salt

For the smoked egg yolk

• 6 egg yolks
• Achill smoked salt

For the pickled shallot

• 4 shallots, whole
• 300ml white wine vinegar
• 200ml water
• 100g sugar

To garnish

• Pepper dulse

Method

1. For the smoked egg yolk: cook the yolks sous vide at 65°C for 1 hour. Season with smoked salt. Fill into a piping bag.
2. For the pickled shallots: bring the pickling liquor to the boil. Add the shallots and cook until tender. Dice as needed.
3. For the beef tartare: cut the beef into small pieces, removing any gristle or excess fat. Dress with shallots, vinegar, oil and chives. Plate approximately 75g per portion in a shaping ring on the plate and spread evenly. Pipe 5 dots of smoked yolk on each. Garnish with pepper dulse.

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