Patrick James

This week I have been lucky enough to discover “GLEANN GABHRA” products, from Tara Co. Meath. This family-run business is producing delicious natural products that foodies are sure to enjoy. Dominic, Fionnuala and the rest of the Grysons have reared goats and developed a range of really enjoyable foods from goat’s milk.

On Thursday I got talking to Dominic on the phone and the first thing that struck me was how passionate he was about the range they had produced and was very knowledgeable on the whole food-science bit and a lot of thought had gone into their foods. It was very apparent that a lot of feeling had gone into what was being served up and this became very evident when a delivery of some of Gleann Gabhra‘s range arrived on my office doorstep at 8am this morning. Among the range was a tub of mint ice-cream and because I hadn’t a freezer, the only thing to do make sure the ice-cream didn’t go to waste. So we shared it out among myself and three other colleagues – there was a unanimous agreement that “This ice-cream was to die for…” and it really was that good. It was very smooth, with a light creamy texture. I couldn’t wait to get home and sample the rest of the range made from natural goat’s milk: the cheese, milk, yoghurt, ice-cream and even the fudge.

I often heard it said that goat’s milk can taste quite strong but that isn’t the case at all with the Gleann Gabhra milk.  Quite the opposite - the milk and cheese have a lovely fresh, delicate flavour and work really well in recipes as the pancakes I cooked up for an evening meal proved. Best of all, it’s natural and if you like food, you have to try Gleann Gabhra, it’s that simple! And why not check out the recipe below on Pancake Tuesday – Gleann Gabhra Goat’s milk makes Perfect Irish Pancakes.

If you are interested in finding out more about this home grown family business give Dominic a call on 087 417 3529. You can also visit the Honest 2 Goodness market that is on in Glasnevin , Dublin every Saturday 9.30am – 4pm.

Real Irish Pancakes

50 g (1 ¾ oz) plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 lemon

½ lime

2 eggs

1 teaspoon real butter

200ml (6 fl oz) Gleann Gabhara goat’s milk

Low fat cooking spray

2 tablespoons honey

A little brown sugar to sprinkle

Takes 15 minutes to prepare. 10 minutes to cook.

To prepare the recipe:

1. Squeeze lemon and lime and set aside.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and add the salt and sugar.
3. Put the low fat spread into a large jug and microwave for a few seconds on high until melted. Add the Gleann Gabhra goat’s milk and eggs and beat together to create a medium to thick, fairly smooth mixture. Pour this into the dry ingredients and gently beat together with a whisk to form a batter.
4. Heat a flat non stick frying pan to a medium heat and spray with the cooking spray. When hot, pour in enough batter to thinly cover the most of the pan. Cook the pancakes for 1-2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned turning them gently with a large palette knife.  When cooked, remove and keep warm while you cook the other batch.
5. To serve spread a little honey on the warm pancake and drizzle some of the lemon and lime juice before rolling the pancake up. Sprinkle with a little caster sugar and serve on a warm plate.