Ireland: Cuisine and Recipes
While Ireland was long known as a country of famine and privation--even a cautionary tale--it has recently turned a new economic and culinary corner. With this Celtic renaissance has come a reawakening of interest in historical Irish cuisine and a desire to carry it into the future.
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by infomatique
Irish Recipes
Barmbrack
Barmbrack is a tea bread popular in Ireland, especially around Halloween. It is best served toasted with a smear of butter and a cup of Irish tea. Read more »
Boxty
Boxty comes from the northern regions of Ireland and goes well with a breakfast of sausages, bacon and eggs or as a side dish to Irish stew. Read more »
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patricks Day dish for Irish Americans, but not for the Irish themselves. The meal became popular with immigrants from Ireland in the 19th century. The word "corned" comes from the Old English for "grain" or "pellets," and pellets of salt were originally used to cure the beef for this dish. These days corned beef is usually sold brined in vacuum-packed bags with a spice packet for flavoring. A variation of the dish with root vegetables makes up a New England boiled dinner. A Canadian version is served with pease pudding. Read more »
Dublin Coddle
Dublin coddle, as its name implies, is a warming dish particularly popular in the Irish capital city of Dublin. Often simply known as coddle, this simple and filling mix of potatoes, sausages and bacon often serves as a hearty dinner. Read more »
Irish Soda Bread
This is the traditional recipe for Irish soda bread, containing only flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk. Soda bread became a popular hearth bread in Ireland in the mid-19th century when baking soda became available as a leavener. A baked loaf of bread is called "cake," while flattened wedges baked on the stovetop are called "farl." Soda bread is best eaten warm from the oven. It stays fresh for only a day or two, tightly wrapped. Leftovers are good for toast. Read more »
Irish Stew
Even though this dish — known as ballymaloe, or stobhach gaelach in the Irish language — started out as a meal for hard times, its delicious flavor belies its humble origins. In the old days, this hearty stew was made with simple mutton neck bones and meat scraps for flavor. Sometimes actual mutton or young goat meat was used. In the last few decades it has become much more common to use milder flavored lamb. Read more »
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are popular on both Irish and American dinner tables, particularly with meals of roast beef or fried chicken. The basic recipe arrived on American shores with Irish immigrants in the 1800s. Mashed potatoes are often served topped with a dollop of butter or a richly flavored pan gravy. Read more »
