Beyond corned beef: Five other Irish foods for St. Patrick's Day
Every year on St. Patrick's Day, the same foods get the spotlight. Well I for one detest corned beef, which is what motivated me to dig a little deeper for some fun and interesting foods to eat on March 17th.
1. Colcannon
Often called the "true national dish of Ireland," colcannon is basically a souped-up version of mashed potatoes. Start by boiling or steaming potato chunks until they are soft (about 30 minutes). Mash them up with a bit of milk, butter, salt and pepper. (The specific proportions aren't important. Start by adding a little splash of milk and a dab of butter, and add more if the texture seems to call for it.)
Then add sautéed shredded greens: Cabbage or kale are both traditional choices. Some sautéed leeks would not be amiss either, and leeks are just coming into season now. Scallions, onions, chives and other greens can be added if you have them around.
Colcannon is traditionally served with a slice of ham. But it's pretty good all on its own, and it works very well as leftovers.
Note: A variation of colcannon is called champ, and consists of mashed potatoes mixed with chopped pring onions. Champ is just as delicious as colcannon, but I have to confess that raw green onions disagree with me, so I stick to the sautéed greens of colcannon.
Image courtesy Flickr/poopoorama
2. Shepherd's Pie
Another hearty traditional Irish meal that revolves around the humble potato. Shepherd's pie is basically a casserole topped with mashed potato and then baked. It's a thrifty dish, but also a filling and comforting one. (Always check before making shepherd's pie for someone, however, as many people carry emotional baggage from childhood experiences of bad cafeteria shepherd's pie.)
The specifics of shepherd's pie will vary based on what you have around the house and what's cheap at the store. Here's a basic recipe to get you started.
Image courtesy Flickr/KitLKat
3. Irish Stew
Americans aren't big on lamb as a rule, which means that if you do like lamb, you will usually have a hard time finding it. But that's not the case in March, when most stores carry some sort of lamb for St. Patrick's Day.
Unfortunately, a lot of this lamb is… not good. Nothing says "low quality" like "a rare meat the store carries only once a year for a holiday." I don't know if it's the distributors or the industry or what, but most of the lamb you find for sale in America is just plain terrible.
Luckily there's Irish stew to the rescue! You can take any old cut of lamb and use it to make a delicious stew. The stewing process not only releases all the complex flavors, it also softens the meat and helps ease the tenderness out.
A traditional Irish stew is made with lamb, potatoes, onions, parsley and carrots. The specifics vary, and are hotly contested by purists. You can very easily make a basic Irish stew in the slow cooker.
Image courtesy Flickr/orangebrompton
4. Irish Breakfast
The concept of the "full breakfast" is somewhat foreign to Americans, which is a pity, because it is delicious. The specifics of the dish vary, but a typical Irish breakfast might include bacon, sausage, two fried eggs, white pudding, black pudding, toast and fried tomato. Other additions might include baked beans, sautéed mushrooms, fried potato or soda bread.
Bad for the cholesterol levels; yummy in the tummy.
Image courtesy Flickr/jen-the-librarian
5. Stewed Whole Deer
Truly off the beaten path, here! But if you really want to get in touch with your Irish roots, or just impress the neighbors with your dedication to Irish heritage, dig a fulacht fiadh in your back yard and use it to stew a deer.
Fulacht fiadh are a type of archaeological site found in Ireland which most likely served as communal cooking pits. They consist of a pile of stones, a hearth for heating the stones, and a large trough dug into the ground.
The stones were likely heated at the hearth, and then dropped into the trough, which had been filled with water. The hot stones would bring the water up to the boil. It could then be used to cook entire deer, presumably for a festive occasion (similar in tone, if not in mechanics, to the Hawaiian tradition of the luau).
There are over 4,500 fulacht fiadh sites found in Ireland, which means they must have been a popular pastime. Recent research shows that fulacht fiadh could also have been used to brew beer, so that's a twofer.
Main image courtesy Flickr/TheCulinaryGeek