St Patrick’s Day feast

I’ve been challenged by Bord Bia to create a fabulous St Patrick’s Day feast for four, shopping at the Irish Shop at Ocado.

Irish Stew

I thought this would be fairly straight-forward, my Grandad is Irish –  from Sligo and used to be a chef. I thought I’d chat to him and my Gran from Dublin, and between them get an authentic Irish recipe to use as my base.

I’d forgotten that you can’t actually get a straight answer out of an Irishman, well my Grandad anyway. The conversation went a little something like this:

Me: I need to cook a St Patrick’s Day feast, what should I cook?

Grandad: You can’t go wrong with a stew?

Me: Grandad, how do you make an Irish Stew?

Grandad: You just put whatever you like

Me: But what do YOU put in YOUR Irish stew Grandad?

Grandad: Well whatever you have in your cupboards, it’s a meal of last resort isn’t it, it depends what you have?

Me: But Grandad, but what ingredients do YOU usually put in YOUR Irish stew

Grandad: Well an Irish Stew should be whatever you can pick in a field in winter, anything that grows under soil.

Me: So root vegetables?

Grandad: Yes turnips, carrots, swedes, spuds, leeks, onions

Me: And what about meat?

Grandad: Depends what you like? but it’s usually the cheapest cuts of meat?

Me: What meat to you have Grandad?

Grandad: Lamb or beef? It depends?

Me: And what else do you put in there?

Grandad: It’s all down to taste. 

Me: Argh!

Grandad:  It depends, if you use a greasy meat you’ll add in some flour it’s all down to flavour and what you like. It’s just like making an English stew, you know how to do that right?

Me: What makes it Irish? Do you put Guinness in there?

Grandad: God yeah, you have to have a bit of flavour?

Me: When do you add the Guinness?

Grandad: As soon as you can get it past your lips?

Me: And what about a starter, I’m stuck for a starter, I was thinking potato cakes with bacon and cabbage?

Grandad: Sound nice?

Me: But what is a traditional starter in Ireland?

Grandad: (Long pause)….A pint of Guinness

 

I pick up the phone to my Gran, thankfully she’s a little more helpful. My Gran talked me through how to layer the stew, how not to be ‘too mean with the veg’ and ‘not add anything fancy like peppers, as we never had that’. She too was stuck on the starter, stew and homemade soda bread was enough in her book. My Gran was decidedly unimpressed with my idea for dessert. ‘Bailey chocolate cheesecake? Do Irish people eat that?’ she said. ‘Obviously not Gran, what do you suggest?’. After much thought and talk of ice cream, I was given a recipe for a bread and butter pudding which I’ve played around with and added some Baileys too.

I hope you enjoy the results, and that my Gran approves!

BOXTY, BACON AND MAPLE SYRUP

When thinking about Irish food, what comes to mind first? For me it is bacon and potatoes. So what better way to start an Irish meal than with bacon and potatoes?Boxty is a potato pancake which I’ve made with spring onion, served up with crispy Irish bacon and a maple syrup.

 

Boxty, Bacon and Maple Syrup

Serves 4 | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

 

Ingredients:

250g grated potato

250g cold mash potato

1 onion, grated

100g plain flour

1 egg, beaten

3 spring onions

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

25g melted butter

200ml milk

 

Method:

1. Wrap grated potato in cling film and wring well to get rid of the excess water

2. Mix mash and grated potato together in a mixing bowl

3. Add flour, baking powder and scallions

4. Stir in melted butter and egg

5. Add milk little by little, stirring all the time 

6. Fry on a high heat for 2-4 minutes each side

7. Serve with crispy bacon

 

IRISH STEW

You can’t beat an Irish Stew, as a hearty meal to share on St Patrick’s Day. Start with root vegetables (anything that can be found in an Irish field in winter works), lamb or beef as desired and a good splash of Guinness. As an extra treat serve up freshly made warm soda bread to mop up all the delicious sauce.

Irish Stew

Serves 4 | Preparation time: 40 minutes | Cooking time: 3 hours +

 

Ingredients:

3 carrots

800g potatoes

1/2 swedes

3 turnips

1 leek

2 onions

500g lean cubed stewing beef

A splash of worcester sauce

1 tbsp of cornflower, diluted with cold water and stirred in

1 pint of beef stock

1 cup of barley

A can of Guinness

 

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C

2. Fry off bacon and brown off cubes of beef, set aside

3. Fry off onions & leeks and move to a casserole dish along with bacon and beef

4. Pour in a can of Guinness and a splash of Worcester Sauce and bring to the boil

5. Add the carrots followed by half of the potatoes, pour in half of the stock and season to taste

6. Add the swede & turnip, add more stock & the cup of barley and bring to the boil

7. Add the remaining potatoes to the top of the dish and transfer to the oven and cook for 2.5 hours, adding extra stock as required

8. Serve with freshly baked soda bread

 

BAILEYS BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

Bread and Butter Pudding is a thrifty old British dessert, popular in Ireland. Although it is very simple to make it does take a little forward planning. It is best to use stale white bread and set some time aside to soak fruit and to allow the bread to soak up some of the custard before baking.

Baileys Bread and Butter Pudding

Serves 4 | Preparation time: 1 hour/ overnight | Cooking time: 1.5 hours

 

Ingredients:

8-10 slices of semi-stale white bread

50g Irish butter

50ml double cream

100ml Baileys Irish Cream

50g currants

3 tbslp Jamesons

300ml milk

25g of white granulated sugar

1 tbsp of demerara sugar for sprinkling

 

Method:

1. Soak currants overnight in some Jamesons Irish whisky

2. Grease a 2 pint dish and pre-heat oven to 180C

3. Butter slices of week old white bread, cut off the crusts, slice into triangles and layer at the bottom of the dish

4. Sprinkle with currants

5. Heat milk, Baileys and double cream being careful not to boil. Set aside.

6. Beat eggs and sugar, mix in the cream mixture

7. Pour half of the mix over the bread and leave for soak for 30 minutes

8. Add another layer of currants and bread, sprinkle with demerara sugar and freshly grated nutmeg

9. Put in oven for 30-40 minutes