Embracing the Mess: Aoife McElwain on Connemara Summers and Her Favourite Campfire Recipe
“It’s when I take out my little camping stove – who I call Harry- and I bring him to one of my favourite beaches and just fire up a little campfire stew.”
Above left: Photography by Ruth Medjber. Above right: Photography by Shane Serrano.
This, to Aoife McElwain, marks the start of a happy Connemara summer. The cookbook author, coach, DJ and founder of exhilarating “group karaoke” project Sing Along Social, travels the country DJing at festivals and weddings, but her base is Connemara, where she says the landscape helps balance her busy work life.
Key to the best Connemara summer
For her, one of the highlights of the summer is returning to swimming in the sea. “Particularly around where I am – every little road that you turn down, there’s a beach more beautiful than the last. The place never looks the same because the light is always different, the clouds are always different — and that makes it a really exciting, invigorating place to be.”
Her favourite beaches include Eyrephort Beach, at the end of Sky Road, Rossadillisk Beach near Cleggan (“I’ll get run out of town for sharing that one,” she laughs) and Aillebrack, just beyond Bunowen Pier.
In the summer, Aoife also loves to bring people to Little Fish at Cleggan Pier, run by her friends Eva Caulwell and Tom Mullen, where she likes to waitress a couple of nights a week, as a glorious respite from her busy business.
“It was so restful to work for other people and just go in and be a waitress,” she enthuses. “They have the same values as me: community, creativity, and craic. It was a really healing place for me to work.”
Aoife’s guide to ‘ditching perfectionism’
Last year, Aoife released her cookbook Messy. Filled with “simple recipes for chaotic cooks”, the book encourages you to ditch perfectionism and embrace the mess, whether it be in life or in the kitchen.
Many of the recipes, including the one we share here, were influenced by the Connemara landscape.
“For me, if a little bit of sand gets into the food, it’s completely a worthwhile price to pay.”
“I’m kind of unusual in that I love cooking around sand,” she confides with a laugh. “For me, if a little bit of sand gets into the food, it’s completely a worthwhile price to pay. I love that feeling when you’ve just come out from a sea swim, and it’s like your food is already pre-seasoned, because you have a little salt on your lips. Everything just tastes good by the seaside.”
Campfire Stew
Serves two (easily doubled)
I make a variation of this all the time, sometimes indoors, sometimes outdoors. You can add eggs if you have them, same with feta, spring onion and fresh herbs. It’s adaptable to what you have and what is easiest to transport or keep fresh.
You’ll need
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chilli flakes or harissa
1 x 400g (14oz) tin of chopped tomatoes
About 250ml (1 cup) water
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp light brown sugar
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
1 x 400g (14oz) tin of cannellini, kidney or black beans, drained and rinsed
1 x 340g (12oz) tin of sweetcorn
2 eggs (optional)
To garnish (optional)
50g (1¾oz) feta cheese
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
A handful of fresh herbs like dill, parsley and/or mint, roughly chopped
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or heavy-based casserole on a medium-low heat.
2. Add the garlic powder, smoked paprika, chilli flakes or harissa and 1–2 tablespoons of the chopped tomatoes. Stir until well combined and allow to sizzle for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the remaining chopped tomatoes, then fill the empty tin halfway with water (this is the 250ml (1 cup) of water called for in the ingredients list) and add that to the pot along with the lemon juice (save the zest for garnish), sugar and some salt and pepper.
4. Bring to a gentle simmer on a medium heat and allow to bubble away for about 20 minutes.
5. Stir in the beans and sweetcorn, then use a spoon to make two wells in the sauce for the eggs (if using).
6. Gently break an egg into each well, then cover the pot with a lid and cook for 10–12 minutes, until the eggs are cooked through but hopefully still have runny yolks.
7. If using garnishes, crumble the feta on top, then scatter over the lemon zest, spring onion and fresh herbs.
Messy by Aoife McElwain (Blasta Books, €17), is out now.