All Things Irish

I cant' tell you how often I've seen this twisted nose look on people's faces whenever I talk about Irish cuisine. The general consensus out there, even by some Irish ex-pats, is that there is no such thing. To them an Irish kitchen is where you go to boil your food...and not much else. I can't tell you how far from the truth that is. Irish cooks have a rich tradition of cooking with some of the best local ingredients you can ask find anywhere. Produce of all sorts, fish and seafood from the North Sea, pasture grazed beef, etc etc. Once I started to dig deep into research, I found flavorful, heart warming foods that truly reflected the Irish culture of hospitality. Fortunately we're seeing a growth of Irish pubs and restaurants, not only around the Twin Cities but around the world. Irish food is breaking out of the boiled corned beef and cabbage mold.

So with that and the advent of St. Patrick's day just around the corner, here are some old classic Irish recipes. And yes, one is for corned beef, but it's got a twist. Raise a pint and head for the kitchen, you may see what I see in the flavors of Ireland.

Irish Brown Soda Bread

Makes 1 large loaf

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 cups All Purpose or Bread Flour
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Baking soda
1 Tsp. Brown Sugar
2 ¼ cups Buttermilk

Pre-heat oven to 400°

Sieve the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Scoop up handfuls and allow to drop back into the bowl to aerate the mixture. Add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough. Now work quickly as the buttermilk and soda are already reacting. Knead the dough lightly - too much handling will toughen it, while too little means it won't rise properly.

Form a round loaf about as thick as your fist. Place it on a lightly-floured baking sheet or in a lightly floured 10 inch cake pan and cut a cross in the top with a floured knife. Bake near the top of a pre-heated oven, 400°, for 45 - 55 minutes. When baked, the loaf will sound hollow when rapped on the bottom with your knuckles. Wrap immediately in a clean kitchen towel to stop the crust hardening too much.

Serve warm.

Colcannon

Serves 4

1 lb. Cooked mashed potatoes (season well with salt and pepper and add a pinch of ground nutmeg or mace if you like) Also, make sure your Hot, cooked potatoes have been mashed and beaten till light and fluffy with the addition of 1/2 cup warmed milk.

1 lb. Well cooked (no time for al denté here) shredded cabbage or Kale

2 small Leeks, or spring onions finely chopped
1 oz. Unsalted butter plus some extra butter for serving

Salt and pepper

Fry the leek or onions very gently in the butter until softened. Then add the cabbage, coating them with all the buttery juices. Heat through and then add the contents of the frying pan to the hot mashed potato. Check for seasoning, this dish needs salt and a good grind of black pepper.
Serve in a warm dish, hollowing the center a little and add some extra butter in the hollow to slowly melt into the vegetables

 

Boxty Cakes

(Potato Griddle Cakes)

Serves 8

1/2 pound Raw potato

1/2 pound Mashed potato

2 cups Plain flour

1 ½ cups (approx.) Milk

1 large Egg

Kosher salt and Fresh ground black pepper

Grate raw potatoes and mix with the cooked mashed potatoes. Add salt, pepper and flour. Beat egg and add to mixture with just enough milk to make a batter that will drop from a spoon. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a hot griddle or frying pan. Cook over a moderate heat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve with a tart apple sauce: or as part of an Ulster Fry, with fried bacon, fried sausage, fried eggs, fried black pudding, fried bread, fried soda bread...

 

Irish Whiskey Glazed Corned Beef

Serves 8

2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
¾ cup dark molasses
1/3 cup honey
3 oz Irish whiskey
Combine ginger, molasses, honey and Irish whiskey. Heat over low heat to infuse ginger, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve at room temperature.

7 lbs. Corned Beef, Boiled and trimmed

1 cup Whiskey glaze

1 cup Brown Sugar

Coat the beef on all sides with the whiskey glaze. Arrange the beef in a baking pan with about 2 inches of water. Rub half the sugar into the top of the beef. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, turn the corned beef and coat with more glaze and the remaining brown sugar. Return the pan to the oven, without the foil cover. Bake 30 minutes more. Remove the beef from the oven and tent with foil to keep warm. Slice and serve with Colcannon or Boxty Cakes and Soda bread.

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Comments

[Amy Pahr]

Dear Food Guy,
I really enjoyed the show today with Langdon. My (grown) kids, still demand the St. Pat's dinner and are coming for Irish Sunday. I was making the Soda bread and wondered what the recipe was for the "flours" in the bread closest to that of the traditional bread.

Happy St. Pat's Day
Amy

[Tobie Nidetz]

The Whole Wheat flour can be any brand. I use King Arthur. But here's a link to an Irish grocer online to buy Howard's flour from Ireland. http://www.foodireland.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=580302&Category_Code=flour&Product_Count=6 (Copy and paste into your browser if the link doesn't work)

The white flour can be all purpose or bread flour. I've also used cake flour for a lighter more delicate bread. Again any brand will do.

Enjoy the recipes and thanks for listening.

Tobie