St.
Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, Tourism Ireland and Bord Fáilte have
been in overdrive throughout the past few months, working to make the very best
use of this annual holiday to promote Ireland and all things Irish around the
globe.
This year there is a palpable air of anxiety in diplomatic circles as our
Taoiseach, Micheál Martin heads to Washington once again to wish the
unpredictable President Trump, Happy St. Patrick’s Day and present him with the
traditional bowl of Shamrock. Much rests on the outcome, so we all keep our
fingers crossed and hope that the luck of the Irish holds true and that
Micheál’s charm will save the day for the sake of US /Irish relations, not to
mention the Irish economy.
I loved how up to recently, Tourism Ireland illuminated iconic buildings
around the world in green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It was a brilliant
ploy to focus attention on Ireland from the Sydney Opera House to the
Colosseum, Wat Arun in Bangkok to the gateway of India…Sadly, however, this has
now been discontinued for a variety of reasons.
I’m in India as I write and the Irish community here are much like Irish
communities around the world, planning a variety of celebrations to make St.
Patrick’s Day special, an excuse to get together, to party and reminisce.
I love an excuse to celebrate, St. Patrick’s Day brings memories flooding back
of when I was little, attending the National School in Cullohill in Co Laois.
We looked forward to every feast day and searched around the edge of the
playground for little rosettes of shamrock to give to our Mums and Dads and
grandparents to pin on the lapels of their coats. Us young ones preferred to
wear St. Patrick’s Day badges with kelly green ribbons and glitzy gold
shamrocks from the village shop. Mum always made a cake for tea.
This year we are told that the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin will be
bigger and better than ever. It’s all about inclusivity and will also celebrate
the cultures of the Irish travellers and the Roma community showcasing their
heritage, through storytelling and forgotten skills like the iconic wagon
wheel.
I’m often in America over the St. Patrick’s Day holiday, spreading the word
about the creative and vibrant Irish food scene, but despite what they may have
been led to believe over there, we don’t live on corned beef and cabbage and
many, many Irish people have never tasted that combination, delicious as it is.
Closer to home, how about having a few friends and family around for a
St. Patrick’s Day lunch or supper? Check out your local butcher, many
still make corned beef and those who live in Cork, need to go no further than
the English Market to pick up a fine piece from several of the traditional
butchers. Cook it with lots of carrots, cabbage quarters and potatoes and of
course, some parsley sauce.
I’m often asked what’s the best known traditional Irish dish, most people have
just heard of Irish Stew but my favourite is bacon cabbage and parsley sauce
with some scallion champ and lots of butter, a really comforting feast and who
doesn’t love it, a trip down memory lane for many people.
Seek out a nice piece of bacon with a generous layer of fat either streaky or
back bacon and a fresh head of Spring cabbage, makes me hungry to even
write about it.
Many would argue that the US is the very best place to be to celebrate and
embrace the spirit, I love the way everybody wants to be Irish on St. Patrick’s
Day. The Americans take the wearing of the green really seriously, nothing is
too wild or naff, it’s all about fun and the craic. I love the riffs on the
badges that almost everyone seems to wear, that say RIP – real Irish person,
HIP – honorary Irish person, JIP – jolly Irish person, FIP – fake Irish
person, WIP – wanna be Irish person…..
At the Ballymaloe Cooking School, we share the story of St. Patrick with our
students from around the world and tell them how he banished snakes from
Ireland and used the three leaves of shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity.
We encourage our students to search their wardrobes for a splash of green, to
dress up, even a green ribbon in their hair to get into the Paddy’s Day vibe
and have fun in the kitchen, the possibilities are endless. Shamrock shaped
bread and scones. How about sprinkling crunchy green crystallised sugar on top
of cupcakes or a cake. If you want some lessons in Paddy’s Day bling, there are
a myriad of ideas online, forget about ‘good’ taste, just have fun!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you and all your family.
Shamrock Bread with Wild Garlic for St. Patrick’s Day
Soda breads are the traditional breads of our country. How about shaping it into a shamrock shape for a bit of gas on St. Patrick’s Day.
Soda bread only takes a few minutes to make and 30-40 minutes to bake, the possibilities are endless for the hitherto humble soda bread.
Wild Garlic season is in full swing now so keep an eye out for clumps of the three cornered lily along the roadside in your local area.
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients
450g plain white flour
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 level tsp salt
3-4 tbsp chopped wild garlic, (allium triquetrum)
350-400ml sour milk or buttermilk (the quantity depends on the thickness of the milk)
Method
Preheat the oven to 230°C/Gas Mark 8.
Soda bread is best cooked in a conventional oven rather than a fan or convection oven.
Sieve the dry ingredients into a large bowl, add the chopped wild garlic. Make a well in the centre and pour most of the milk in at once. Using one hand with the fingers stiff and outstretched, mix in a full circular movement from the centre to the outside of the bowl, gradually drawing in the flour from the sides. Add a little more milk if necessary – shop bought buttermilk is thinner than farm-fresh, so you will need less rather than more. The dough should be softish, not too wet and sticky. The trick with all soda breads is not to overmix the dough – mix the dough as quickly and as gently as possible, keeping it really light and airy. When it all comes together, a matter of seconds – turn it out onto a well-floured work surface.
WASH AND DRY YOUR HANDS, then dust them with flour.
Tidy up the dough and flip it over gently. Divide into three equal pieces and pull off a tiny bit for the stem. Pat each into rounds, about 4cm deep. Transfer to a lightly floured baking tray, use a little buttermilk to attach the leaves of the shamrock to each other. Add a little stem at the base, make a little indent at the top of each leaf to imitate the shamrock shape. With the tip of a sharp knife, prick in the centre of each leaf to let the fairies out otherwise they will jinx your bread!
Bake in the
preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200°C/Gas Mark 6
and bake for 30 minutes more, until cooked. If you are in doubt, tap the bottom
of the bread – if it’s fully cooked, it will sound hollow. Allow to cool on a
wire rack and serve.
Bacon and Cabbage
Without question Ireland’s national dish – less widely known abroad, but much more widely eaten, particularly in rural Ireland, than the legendary Irish stew. Nowadays, bacon is far less salty than in the 1980’s so may not need to be blanched before cooking.
Serves 12-15
Ingredients
1.8-2.25kg loin or shoulder of bacon with a nice covering of fat
1 head of cabbage: Savoy, Greyhound or spring cabbage, depending on the time of year
butter
white pepper
To Serve
Parsley Sauce (see recipe)
Method
If the bacon is too salty, cover in cold water and bring slowly to the boil (uncovered), white froth will rise to the top. Pour off the water. Cover with hot water and simmer until nearly cooked through, allowing at least 20 minutes per 450g.
Meanwhile, remove the outer leaves from the cabbage. Cut the cabbage
into quarters, discarding the centre core. Cut each quarter into thin strips
across the grain. About 30 minutes before the bacon is cooked, add the cabbage.
Continue to cook until the cabbage is soft and tender, and the bacon is fully
cooked through. Remove the bacon to a hot plate and strain the water off the
cabbage. Return the cabbage to the pan with a lump of butter, season with white
pepper. Serve with the bacon and, traditionally, boiled potatoes and Parsley Sauce.
Parsley Sauce
Unquestionably our favourite traditional Irish sauce but a must with bacon and cabbage…
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
4-6 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley leaves (retain the stalks)
600ml fresh whole milk
30-45g roux (equal quantities of plain flour and butter cooked for 2 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally)
salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
Put the parsley stalks into a saucepan with the cold milk, bring slowly
to the boil, then remove the stalks. Whisk the roux into the boiling milk until
thickened and add the chopped parsley. Season with salt and freshly ground
pepper. Simmer for 5-10 minutes on a very low heat, then taste and correct the
seasoning before serving.
Pamela Black’s St. Patrick’s Day Cake
A scary green cake but delicious and fun and just happens to be green, white and gold….
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
175g butter
175g caster sugar
¼ tsp green food gel colouring
1 tsp of vanilla extract
3 eggs, preferably free range
175g self-raising flour
3 tbsp kumquat compote (see recipe)
300ml cream, stiffly whipped
icing sugar
fresh marigolds to decorate
2 x 18cm cake tins
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4.
Grease the tins with a little melted butter and put a round of greaseproof paper on the bottom of the tins.
Cream the butter, add sugar, green colouring and vanilla extract. Beat until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, each time with a tablespoon of flour. Beat very well and then fold in the remaining flour gently. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cakes are well risen, golden and feel spongy to the fingertips.
Allow the cakes to cool for a few minutes in the tins and then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
Next make the kumquat compote.
Ingredients
235g kumquats
200ml water
110g sugar
Method
Slice the kumquats into four or five rounds depending on size, remove the seeds. Put the kumquats into a saucepan with the water and sugar and let them cook very gently, covered, for half an hour or until tender.
Note: This compote keeps for weeks in the fridge.
To Assemble the cake.
Spread the compote over the bottom of each sponge. Fill a piping bag, fitted with a plain éclair nozzle, with the whipped cream. Pipe the cream evenly over one base, starting at the outside edge of the sponge, working inwards. Place the remaining sponge on top and dust with icing sugar. Garnish with Marigold Flowers.