Top chef Kevin Dundon goes head-to-head with Sunday World reader over coddle recipes!

I often receive messages from you the reader, cooking the recipes out, and that’s brilliant.

I love comments and interaction about my passion, food. I often tell guests to Dunbrody House if people talk about the food I make, I am in the good.

At home with the family, at work in the kitchen with my head chef Janice and my team, or during my social media weekday live cookalong, chatting and comparing, sharing ideas, and experiencing different techniques helps me and my team improve.

My recipe booklet, Noshtalgia; Food Your Mammy Used To Make, in the Sunday World was a great success and got you all talking. Thanks for all the lovely notes.

Last week I received a very lively message, and I am sharing a few snippets here from a reader called Des because I think it is so much fun: "As a proud Dub and coddle enthusiast I am getting plain sick and tired of woke Culchies trying to ambush our favourite dishes and trying to shape them into some sort of hipster appetiser.

"It’s basically anything 'Pale', hence it’s proud origins. It does NOT include Carrots because this entirely numbs the salty texture, nor does it include leaks, asparagus or other leafy things. I’m surprised Kevin didn’t include couscous.

"Please pass this on to the chef and let him know he is now on my list of enemies"

I had to read it twice and love the tongue-in-cheek passion of this reader, Des, who loves his coddle.

I agree with Des that a Dublin coddle has nothing to do with couscous and should be pale but as with many recipes coddle is, I think, one of the most controversial especially in Dublin!

So, I decided to prepare Des's recipe and my own. Let me know your thoughts kevin@kevindundon.com

TOP TIP: The most important in many recipes is flavour, and I believe, you need to find the best sausages and bacon to have the best result.

For me, I have a few local producers that comes to my mind with O’neils bacon and sausages www.oneillsbacon.ie as my go to whenever I am in my local shop. Pat O’Neil started the company in 2005, with a plan to sell quality bacon using the dry cured method rather than the cheaper brine cured method. dry cured means the pork is cured in a salt mixture for up to 3 weeks to become bacon which as a result increase the quality in flavour and help hold the size of the rashers when cooked. From then, pat has extended the range by making sausages with the same quality focus. Coloured or not coloured the sausages and the bacon will be delicious in these coddles!

• Des’ Dublin coddle

Serves 4

1 litre water

3 onions, sliced

200 g bacon, sliced

8 sausages

1 oxo chicken cube

2 tins chicken soup

6 rooster potatoes, chopped into large chunks

Black pepper

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, add the water, onion, bacon pieces, sausages.

Stir to combine then, add the chicken cube, and the tinned chicken soup and finally the potatoes.

Bring the mixture to the boil and drop the heat to a gentle simmer.

Simmer for 45-70 minutes covered with the lid on or until the sausages are fully cooked and the potatoes starts to break down. Before serving check the seasoning and add extra black pepper.

Serve immediately while piping hot or serve the next day reheated for tastier flavour.

• Kevin’s family Coddle recipe

Serves 4-6

450g (12) sausages

6 streaky bacon rashers, chopped

3 potatoes, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 onions, chopped

1 leek, chopped

1 bunch fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley)

600ml Vegetable stock

Salt and pepper

Every family have their own coddle recipe… some like to add a ham bone for flavour or even ham hock others like to add milk to the cooking liquid. One thing common to all is that they are tastier on the next day!

In a sauté pan, drizzle some oil and add the sausages. Cook for 3-4 minutes until coloured all around. This step is not original to the recipe but that is the way my mother makes it and I love it!

Place all the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan or casserole dish and cover with the stock or water. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Bring to boil and reduce the heat to low. Cover with a lid and simmer for 60-80 minutes.

Serves piping hot with some brown bread.