I don't usually post much about holidays, but you may recall my
Christmas series last December,
Christmas Songs of My Ancestors. That was so much fun that this year, I decided look at how my ancestors
ate. I've been researching the traditional foods and recipes for the various
branches of my family tree and making meals from recipes I find. For St.
Patrick's day, it seemed a good time for our traditional Irish dinner.
The first foods that came to mind when I started out were Irish Stew and
Corned Beef & Cabbage. Then I learned that corned beef was an Americanized
version of a traditional Irish recipe of Bacon & Cabbage. After a little
more research, I finally settled on Colcannon and Bangers.
Menu
Colcannon
Bangers
Irish Soda Bread
Guinness Stout
Irish Apple Cake with Custard Sauce
Irish Coffee
Colcannon
- 4 lbs russet potatoes
- 1 small head of green cabbage or kale
- 1 cup milk (or cream)
- 1/4 stick butter, divided into thirds
- salt and pepper to taste
Peel potatoes and put them in a pot to boil.
Remove the cabbage core, slice the leaves thinly, and put into a large
saucepan. Cover with boiling water and keep at a slow rolling boil until
the cabbage is just wilted, not overcooked. Drain and return to the pan,
melting in one of the parts of butter. Leave covered in a warm
place.
When the potatoes are soft, drain and return them to the saucepan. On low,
let any excess moisture evaporate. Heat the milk and another section
of butter in a small saucepan until warm but not boil – it is about right
when the butter has fully melted and the pot is starting to steam and put
them in a pot to boil. Add to the potatoes and mash with a potato masher.
Add the cabbage, stir to mix, and serve.
Recipe Notes:
- I halved the recipe and we still had leftovers.
-
Next time, I'll try it with kale, which grows better for me than
cabbage.
Bangers
Bangers are sausages. But since genuine Irish sausages are something I can't
find here, I substituted Bratwurst for them. Not as authentic, but definitely
delicious with the colcannon. Mine were raw, so I browned them on both sides
for about 5 minutes, and then poured half-a-cup of water to the pan, covered,
and simmered till done, about 15 minutes.
Irish Brown Bread
You've probably heard of Irish Soda Bread. Irish Brown Bread is a variation
using whole wheat flour. There are tons of recipes for it out there, with tons
of variations. I wanted one as close to traditional as possible, and finally
settled on this one from
Secret Ireland. I also found a lot of good information there, such as the traditional
recipe of old uses only four ingredients. Oatmeal, seeds, raisins, sweetener,
etc., are all modern additions.
Traditional Irish Soda Bread Recipe
- 4 cups flour (mix of wheat and white as desired)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1¾ cups buttermilk
Mix until ingredients are combined (over kneading will toughen the dough).
Shape into a round, score a cross on top, and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 35-40
minutes. For a soft crust, wrap the hot bread in a tea towel while it cools.
Recipe Notes:
-
I was surprised at how much it rose. The texture was nice. Denser than
biscuits, but good flavored.
-
I used 50/50 whole wheat flour to white because that's the combination Dan
likes.
- I didn't have buttermilk, so I used kefir instead.
-
Next time I would increase the salt. For bread, I typically use 1/2
teaspoon salt per cup of flour.
-
The trick of covering the loaf with a towel worked, and helped keep the
crust soft.
- It's a quick but lovely rustic bread
Irish Apple Cake with Custard Sauce
I found quite a few versions of this online, so mine is a blend of the ones
that had ingredient amounts I liked.
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp of each ground ginger, nutmeg, & allspice
- 3/4 cup soft butter
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided
- 1 1/2 lbs baking apples
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Peel, core, and slice apples. Toss with 1 tablespoon sugar and set aside.
Cream butter and 1 cup sugar. Add eggs and blend. Mix dry ingredients and
add to egg mixture along with milk and vanilla. Fold in apples and pour
into greased and floured baking pan. Mix remaining tablespoon sugar and
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over top. Bake at 350°F (180°C) in
a 9-inch springform pan for 40 to 45 minutes.
Custard sauce
- 1⁄3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 3⁄4 cup whole milk
- 3⁄4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla
In a bowl, whisk together sugar and egg yolks. Set aside. In a saucepan,
mix together the milk, cream, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring
constantly, until milk begins to steam. S-l-o-w-l-y dribble the heated
milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking continually to prevent
curdling. Pour back into saucepan and heat until thick, it shouldn't take
more than a few minutes. Stir in vanilla.
At this point, the recipes say to strain the sauce, but I ran it through
my blender, poured into a jar and refrigerated.
Cake can be eaten warm or cool, with custard sauce poured over.
Recipe notes
-
For the baking powder, I used 2 teaspoons cream of tartar and 1
teaspoon baking soda.
-
I didn't have a springform pan, so I used a 9-inch regular cake pan.
The batter spilled over the sides of the pan while baking! The recipe
is excellent, so a springform pan will be a must before I make it
again.
- More apples would be nice.
-
I think my custard sauce was so golden in color because our spring
eggs have such orange yolks.
-
Next time I'll omit the sugar/cinnamon topping. It made it too much
like coffee cake.
Irish Coffee
- 4 oz freshly brewed coffee
- 1.5-2 oz Irish whiskey (1 ounce = 2 tbsp)
- 1-2 tsp sugar
- 2-3 tbsp thick cream
Brew strong dark roast coffee and lightly whip fresh cream until
slightly thickened. Pour hot coffee into the glass, add sugar and
whiskey, and stir to dissolve. Pour cream over the back of a spoon into
the cup to create a floating layer. Don't stir. Sip through the layer of
cream to enjoy.
Recipe notes
-
I only added 1 tablespoon of the Irish whiskey, which made it
more like a flavoring.
🍀🍀🍀
This traditional Irish meal is a great way to honor of my Irish
ancestors.
Are you Irish? Do you plan to celebrate St. Paddy's Day?
