Sunday, March 06, 2011

Erin go Bragh

Everyone who knows me knows that St. Patrick's Day is MY holiday--in a traditional, cultural sense. [Green beer is an abomination.--Ed.] It's a time to share great music, traditional and contemporary, good "craic" (sparkling, witty conversation), and great food.

In the interests of spreading the gospel of traditional Irish cooking, and by popular demand, I am going in a different direction today from my usual diatribes. I'm posting some of my favorite Irish recipes, which I've been using for over 30 years now in connection with my St. Patrick's Day celebrations. [I can't believe it's been that long.--Ed.] Enjoy!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

1 corned beef brisket including the pickling spices which come in the package
2 to 3 each carrots, celery stalks, and onions
cloves
1 head cabbage, cored and quartered
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Lay the brisket in the bottom of a crock pot or slow cooker. Sprinkle the pickling spices over it. Cut the carrots and celery stalks into manageable pieces (about 3" long each) and strew over the brisket. Halve the onions and stud each cut side with cloves. Add to the pot. Cover with water and cook on high until the water begins to boil. Turn the heat down to low, skim any fat or other unpleasant substances rising to the surface. Cook on low, covered, for hours and hours. The longer, the better. You cannot overdo it. Add water as needed to keep the brisket covered; continue to skim the surface if necessary.

30 minutes before serving, remove the brisket from the water and cover to keep warm (and let the juices settle back into the meat). Turn the temperature back to high and add the cabbage to the water. Boil for approximately 20 minutes or until the cabbage leaves are coming apart from each other and are just tender (if it were pasta, it would be al dente). Discard the carrots, celery stalks, and onions (they're much too salty at this point to be good for anything.) Pick the prettiest, most green leaves and drain them, then arrange them on a serving platter and liberally coat with fresh-ground black pepper. Slice the brisket and arrange the pieces atop the cabbage. Garnish with fresh parsley if you like. Eat until you explode. Note: the leftover beef makes great Reubens when served on light rye bread with stone-ground mustard.

Traditional Irish Stew

I serve this dish for Easter, but some folks like lamb for St. Patrick's Day, so here's a classic:

2-3 lb. leg of lamb, bone removed
2 white onions, thinly sliced.
2 medium to large baking potatoes, thinly sliced
6 new potatoes (red-skinned), scrubbed clean but left whole
1 tsp. thyme, divided
freshly ground black pepper

Another crock pot/slow cooker classic, though this can be made on the stove top in a heavy pot (preferably cast iron).

Put a layer of thinly sliced potatoes in the bottom of the pot. Add a layer of the sliced onions atop the potatoes. Add half the lamb, cut into bite-sized chunks, in as evenly distributed a layer as possible. Sprinkle half the thyme over this, then add liberal quantities of freshly ground black pepper. Repeat. End with one more layer of sliced potatoes, then add more black pepper, then arrange the whole potatoes on top. Pour in about 1 cup of water. Cover, tightly (I use aluminum foil and then the pot's lid), and cook at a medium temperature for at least 2 hours. The thinly sliced potatoes on the bottom should essentially disintegrate and become, with the water, a light sauce for the lamb. Use an immersion blender or a whisk to assist the process (after removing the other contents of the pot when preparing to serve), if needed.

Serve a ladle or two of the stew and one whole potato per person.

Note: NO CARROTS I have it on excellent authority that carrots are to be served as a side with the stew, not part of it. Here are two veggie sides which I use both for St. Patrick's Day and Easter feasting.

Glazed Carrots

3-4 fresh carrots, scrubbed but not peeled
1 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP butter
freshly ground black pepper to taste
fresh parsley, chopped

Cut the carrots into 3" lengths, then quarter the lengths, like a julienne or matchstick, but bigger. For large carrots, the pieces may have to be cut into 8ths to get the right size. In any event, make your pieces as uniformly sized as possible. Place in boiling water for 10 minutes or until just tender. Drain the water. Add the sugar and the butter, put a lid on the pot and shake until the butter melts and the carrots are coated with butter and sugar. Add black pepper and parsley just before serving.

I have never yet tried it, but it occurs to me that you can steam the carrots instead of boiling them, if you prefer.

Garden-Fresh Peas

To make a bag of frozen peas taste as if it just came out of the garden, put the contents of a whole bag into a 1.5 qt. pot. Add 3 TBSP butter; cover. Put the pot over the lowest possible heat, keeping covered, and shake the pot periodically until the butter is melted and evenly coats the peas, which should themselves be just warmed through at this point. Just before serving, add 1 TBSP sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and liberal amounts of freshly ground black pepper; shake again, and serve. Garnish with more freshly chopped parsley if you have any left.

Here's a potato dish for St. Patrick's Day (obviously not needed with the lamb stew, though some of us--who cannot get enough starchy carbs--cook it for Easter, too, anyway.)

Boiled New Potatoes

1-2 lb. red-skinned new potatoes, bigger than a golf ball, but not so big as your fist (or a baseball)
Freshly chopped chives
Freshly ground black pepper
Butter

Scrub the potatoes and peel a ring around the center of each one (this is purely for cosmetic reasons--the white showing amongst the red looks lovely upon presentation). Boil in LIGHTLY salted water until just tender. Drain and return to the pot. Cover the pot with a cloth dishtowel and set back on the burner, with the heat turned off. Let the potatoes dry out under this cover for at least 10 minutes. Add the chives, black pepper, and butter; stir gently until the butter is melted and the potatoes are lightly coated. Add additional chives just before serving.

Scones

4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs, plus enough milk to make 1 cup total liquid

If you have a pastry blender, this is a lot easier--so if you don't have one, go get one! Cut the butter into the flour until you get an even mix of pea-sized flour-coated butter pieces distributed throughout the mix. Add the salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and stir. Lightly beat the eggs, add the milk, and then pour this liquid over the dry ingredients. Knead with your hands until the dough coheres and sticks to itself and not to your hands. [Yes, it is messy--but fun!--Ed.]

Roll the dough out to a thickness of approximately one inch. Cut into pleasing shapes, approximately 1.5-2" diameter. I have a shamrock cookie cutter which I use.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 325°F until lightly golden brown, approximately 20 minutes. You may want to check for doneness starting at the 15-minute mark. The ovens I've used over the decades have varied wildly and widely. The scones can go from being just right to being overdone in a flash, so taking extra care is worth it here.

Serve warm with butter, Damson Plum jam, lemon curd, and/or clotted cream.

Irish Coffee

This doesn't work well if you don't have real Irish Coffee glasses, so I strongly urge you to get some. Anything from inexpensive glass to the finest Waterford crystal works well--it's the shape and size of the glass that matters.

Brew a pot of coffee. I use fresh-ground Irish-creme-flavored decaf, myself. Put 1.5 tsp sugar in the bottom of each glass. Pour in coffee until there's about 3/4" distance from the liquid to the top of the glass. Add 1 jigger Irish Whiskey (I use Jameson's). Stir once, to make sure the sugar is melted. Top with freshly whipped cream, and if you have them, green and orange sugar sprinkles. Sip the coffee through the cream. Slainte!