Spending less time in the kitchen means there is more time to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. In Jackson, the Hal’s St. Paddy’s Parade will be rolling and I want plenty of time to enjoy all the festivities. This year, I will not have a lot of time to cook a complicated meal to celebrate. but with a little prep, you can have a hearty and delicious traditional Irish meal that is ready in no time.
We love Bangers and Mash (Irish sausages with mashed potatoes) and corn beef and cabbage. We have also enjoyed Colcannon (mashed potatoes and vegetables,) Champ (massed potatoes and green onions,) and other Irish treats. This year, we are preparing a one-pot Irish stew, called Dublin Coddle. This delicious recipe combines many traditional Irish ingredients in a different way. The stew can be made ahead and reheated in the crockpot.
Plan to whip up some quick Irish soda bread and serve Banoffee Pie for dessert. You may have the perfect quick meal to celebrate this day. Toast the Irish with an Irish Hot Toddy, a stout beer, or some Irish Cream, and your Saint Patrick’s Day feast will be complete.
Dublin Coddle
This traditional Irish comfort food needs to be cooked low and slow. It is even better if made a day before and warmed. Feel free to use your crockpot.
1 pound bacon, chopped
5 Irish “banger” sausages, (you can substitute bratwurst or any other pork sausage)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 12-ounce beer, at room temperature (I used a dark lager)
3 cups new potatoes, quartered
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 head cabbage, rough chopped (optional, but we like to add)
In a large pot, cook the chopped bacon over medium heat until it is crisp and golden brown. Remove bacon and reserve about one or two tablespoons of the bacon grease in the bottom of the pan. Add sausage and cook, browning on all sides, until it is cooked through. Remove from pot, allow to cool a little, and cut into bite sized pieces.
Add onions to the pot and sauté for about four minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for an additional two minutes. Pour in beer and continue cooking and scraping the pan for about two more minutes.
Add potatoes and chicken broth, and cook until potatoes are soft, about 12-15 minutes. Add chopped cabbage, parsley, cooked bacon, and sausage back to the pot. Bring everything to a simmer and cook for about 10 – 15 additional minutes.
This can be made ahead and reheated in the slow cooker.
Irish Wheaten Bread
This “quick bread” uses baking soda for its rise instead of yeast and is a snap to make. It is also made using primarily whole wheat flour, but feel free to adjust the bread flour to whole wheat flour ratio to your preference. This hearty, earthen-flavored bread is the perfect accompaniment to soup.
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups buttermilk
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup butter
For the topping:
1 tablespoon buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a shallow baking pan or metal pie plate with cooking spray.
Sift together flours, soda, and sugar in a large bowl. Cut butter into the flour mixture until tiny pieces are formed (or pulse mixture in food processor) make a well in center of flour mixture and pour in oil and buttermilk.
Mix well until thoroughly incorporated. Lightly knead and then place dough into prepared pan, patting down around the edges and forming into a loaf. Cut a cross in the top and brush with remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar/salt mixture.
Bake for 30 minutes and then reduce oven to 375 and bake an additional 30 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack until ready to slice.
Banoffee Pie
Banoffee pie is a combination of bananas, dulce de leche (or caramel/toffee sauce,) and whipped cream all layered in a crust. I guess you could consider it kind of like the Irish version of banana pudding. It is delicious and easy to make. You can prepare it the day before and store in your refrigerator until ready to eat.
2 14-ounce cans dulce de leche or 2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk, cooked according to directions below
3 large bananas, sliced
1 graham cracker crust, deep dish if available
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To prepare the filling, if using regular sweetened condensed milk:
I have made dulce de leche using a can of sweetened condensed milk and prefer the taste to the pre-made variety. You can use the oven, slow cooker, or the stove top.
To make dulce de leche on the stove top:
Using new cans of sweetened condensed milk, ensuring no damage to the can or lid, submerge cans in a pot large enough to cover the cans with water. Add hot water and gently simmer the unopened cans for about two and a half hours.
I always put on a top, ajar, on the pot just in case one of the cans explodes. Be sure and check the water level occasionally and add more boiling water as needed to keep the cans covered.
After about two and a half hours, carefully remove cans and allow cans to completely cool before touching or trying to open. The contents can explode if you try to open when hot. Once cooled, open the cans and spoon the brown caramelize mixture onto your crust, or remove contents from cans and store in refrigerator until ready to use.
To prepare dulce de leche in the crockpot:
Submerge unopened cans in enough water to cover and cook on low six to eight hours or overnight. Again, allow cans to cool before opening.
When ready to make the banoffee pie:
Spread one can of dulce de leche on the bottom of the graham cracker crust. Top with bananas and then layer on additional can of dulce de leche.
Whip cream until soft peaks form and add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat until you have firm peaks. Spread whipped topping on top of pie being sure to cover all the filling and bananas to prevent any browning.
Store pie in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
Homemade Irish Cream
I made this recipe for a neighborhood cocktail contest and I think it tastes just like Bailey’s Irish Cream. Store in the refrigerator and it will get better with age. Do not let the raw eggs scare you, they get “cooked” in the alcohol.
1 3/4 cup or a pint Irish whiskey
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
2 cups whipping cream
4 medium eggs
2 tablespoons Nestlé quick syrup
2 tablespoons instant coffee
1 tablespoon almond extract
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Blend well and served chilled. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Traditional Irish Hot Toddy
I am not a big whisky drinker, but this delicious concoction has been known to cure the common cold.
1.5 ounces or a jigger of Irish whiskey
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 teaspoons sugar or honey
1 slice of lemon
4-5 whole cloves, optional
Put cloves in lemon slice. Put all ingredients in a mug and top with about 1 cup boiling or very hot water. Stir and enjoy. Slainte!
