The sisters of Kylemore Abbey are a hardworking group of nuns who welcome tens of thousands of eager visitors each year to their home in the heart of Connemara, Co. Galway. The nuns are famous for their delicious home-baking and the wholesome food in the abbey restaurant and tea rooms. They even have their own brand of delicious award-winning chocolate, made by Sr Genevieve who is a trained chocolatier.
With their new book, A Flavour of Kylemore Abbey, the nuns allow the reader a peek inside monastic life, letting you recreate a taste of the abbey in your own kitchen. Filled with mouth-watering recipes, including favourites from the abbey restaurant and tearooms, such as Kylemore’s own Connemara Lamb Stew, Traditional Apple Pie and a lovely selection of soups to serve with the Traditional Brown Bread. It even includes Sr Karol’s special scone recipe, passed down from her mother. There are also seasonal treats, Brack for Halloween, Easter Simnel Cake, and a whole section for Christmas, including Frangipane Mince Pies and Kylemore’s famous Christmas Cake.
The recipes include handy Chef’s Tips, letting you know what ingredients can be substituted, how long things can be stored for, and fun variations, to make the recipes flexible and easy to follow. The recipes also emphasise using fresh produce, as the nuns at Kylemore use many ingredients that are grown in the Victorian Walled Gardens, such as salad, fruit and vegetables.
Built as a breath-taking castle in 1868 by Mitchell Henry for his wife Margaret, Kylemore Abbey is home to a Benedictine Community of nuns who arrived at Kylemore in 1920 after their abbey in Ypres, Belgium was destroyed in the early months of World War I. Settling at Kylemore, the Benedictine Community opened a world-renowned boarding school for girls and began restoring the Abbey, Gothic Church and Victorian Walled Garden to their former glory. Kylemore Abbey is now one of Ireland’s best-loved and most iconic tourist attractions, and the life of the Benedictine Community here is a true example of monastic dedication, fulfilling the motto of St Benedict ‘‘ora et labora’’ – to work is to pray.
The recipes are presented alongside beautiful photographs of the estate by award-winning photographer Valerie O’Sullivan, capturing the woodland, the church, the lakeshore walks and the gorgeous gardens, to give an exclusive glimpse into life at Kylemore Abbey.
To get your own copy of this beautiful recipe book, click here.