Irish Side Dishes & Desserts
Celebrate St. Patrick's With a More Traditional Irish Meal
Irish cooking isn't corned beef and cabbage - that's an American invention!
With spring in the air and St. Patrick’s day around the corner, these dishes would be perfect served alongside a hearty lamb stew. Add a pint of a good stout, and you're ready for a traditional Irish meal!
Soda Bread
- 4 cups plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 cups buttermilk or sour milk
Preheat oven to 450F.
Sieve the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough. Working quickly, knead the dough lightly – too much handling will make the dough tough.
Form a round loaf about the thickness of your fist, and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Using a floured knife, cut a cross in the top of the loaf. Place immediately into the preheated oven and bake for 30-45 minutes. When done, the loaf will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom with your knuckles. Wrap the bread immediately in a clean dishtowel to prevent the crust from becoming too hard.
Boxty
- 1 cup raw potato
- 1 cup mashed potato
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- large “knob” butter, melted (about a ¼ cup)
- ½ cup milk
Grate the raw potato into a bowl. Turn out onto a cloth (teatowel or cheesecloth) and wring, catching the liquid. The liquid will separate into a clear fluid with starch along the bottom – pour off the liquid and scrape the starch out, mixing the starch with the grated and mashed potatoes.
Sieve the dry ingredients, then mix in with the melted butter. If necessary, add a little milk to form a pliable dough. Knead lightly on a floured surface. Divide into fourths and form large, flat cakes. Mark each cake into quarters, but do not cut through, and bake on a griddle or in a heavy pan.
As an alternative, add additional milk and an egg to make a looser batter. Fry the batter in bacon fat, like drop scones.
Irish Whiskey & Ginger Cream
- 2 tbsp. Irish whiskey
- 2 tbsp. ginger marmalade*
- rind of 1 lemon, grated
- 2 tbsp. superfine sugar
- 10 oz. heavy cream, chilled
- egg whites
Put the whiskey, marmalade, lemon rind and sugar in a bowl and stir well. Let the mixture stand for at least 15 minutes. Slowly stir the cream into the whiskey mixture until evenly blended, then beat with an electric mixer until thick. Beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold into the cream mixture until well blended. Spoon into 4 individual wine glasses or sundae dishes. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve with ginger snap cookies.
*If you are unable to find ginger marmalade, substitute an equivalent amount of lemon marmalade mixed with ½ teaspoon ground ginger, or 1 tablespoon fresh ginger.
