Tomorrow is Saint Patrick's Day and I thought I would gather as many of my Irish related recipes in one spot as possible so as to make it easy for you to find them. This is by no means all of them, but I do think that I am giving you a nice variety of them to choose from!

I suppose there are not too many people who cannot claim to have at least a small portion of Irish DNA in themselves, which gives most of us much to celebrate when it comes to Saint Patrick's Day. I had my DNA done several years ago with the end result that I was 27% Irish. 

I would have to say that the Irish are some of the most wonderful and humble people you could ever want to know. Living in the UK, I was blessed to be able to call a few Irish people friends.  You could not ask for a better friend. They are the cream of the crop.

Their food is also incredibly humble, what I would call country cooking. Straightforward and without pretense, homey fare based on unsophisticated yet delicious raw ingredients. That is what I love most about it.  It is simple and wholesome food.

Aside from fresh seafood and shellfish, which you can enjoy in abundance in Ireland, dried fruit and potatoes figure massively in Irish cooking.  A goodly portion of their breads, cakes and desserts make fabulous use of this.  You won't see any of the shellfish on here as I am allergic to shellfish and typical Irish seafood is just not easy to come by here in Canada. 

I do hope that you will enjoy the examples of recipes I have shared with you however. I know that I certainly have!

 BREADS & SCONES

 

WHITE IRISH SODA BREAD (NON-FRUITED) - Quick, easy and very delicious, this is the white bread version of a non-yeasted Irish quick bread.  You will see some versions containing dried fruit and you are certainly welcome to add some. Having said that, it is pretty tasty just on its own.  I enjoy it sliced and spread with butter and jam or with soups, or stews for mopping up all that delicious gravy. 

TRADITIONAL IRISH SODA BREAD - A simple classic bread in Irish households. This yeast free whole meal bread is perfect served with soups and stews, salads, etc. Its also pretty delicious served sliced and spread with butter and jam, marmalade and honey.

SMALL BATCH IRISH SODA BREAD - This is a small batch version of the traditional Irish soda bread, made for the smaller family to enjoy without having a lot of waste or leftovers. Every bit as delicious as the full batch.

BOXTY - This delicious potato bread/potato cakes is also known as Potato Farls. This is a very simple recipe and very authentic in its simplicity. Composed of only three ingredients. Potatoes, flour and salt. These are traditionally cooked on the stove top in a flat surfaced griddle pan. At one time they would have been baked on a grill pan over an open fire.

IRISH SODA BREAD MUFFINS - Small individual soda breads baked in a muffin tin. Loaded with plenty of dried currants and caraway seed.  These are fabulously easy to make a incredibly tasty! Again, quick and easy to make, bake and eat! 

IRISH TEA BRACK - A non yeasted heavily fruity bread. You begin the night before by soaking a quantity of dried fruit in Irish breakfast tea overnight. The next morning you add the remaining ingredients and bake. This is heavy, yet beautifully fruited bread that is fabulous thinly sliced, spread with butter and served up with copious amounts of hot tea.

TRADITIONAL IRISH BARMBRACK - A fruity yeasted bread that is traditionally enjoyed sliced and buttered.  This makes for a fabulous tea time treat, or even a breakfast treat.  Its delicious any time you choose to enjoy it. 

IRISH HONEY SCONES - These lovely scones are filled with the nuttiness of whole wheat and are gently sweetened with honey. They are simple, but don't let that simplicity fool you into thinking these are nothing special.

SOUPS, STEWS & MAIN DISHES 

BALNAMOON SKINK - A delicate Irish version of a delicate soup made with fresh vegetables, enriched and lightly thickened with a mixture of cream and egg.  This makes great use of the early Spring Vegetables and is light enough that although satisfying, it leaves you with room for the main course.

SMALL BATCH IRISH STEW -  A delicious lamb stew for the smaller family.  Cubes of lamb are layered in a casserole with onions, carrots and seasonings, then topped with wedges of potato and covered with stock. Cover tightly, pop into the oven and then let the oven do the work. Quite simply delicious. 

IRISH STEAK AND GUINNESS STEW - A hearty stew made with lean cubes of stewing steak, carrots, parsnips, turnips and onions, cooked in a delicious Guinness gravy until deliciously fork tender.   Plan ahead as this takes a good 2 1/2 to 3 hours to cook, but then again the best things in life are worth waiting for.

IRISH HUNTER'S PIE - Buttery mash lines a pie dish that is filled with chunks of simmered lamb. The juices of the lamb are then made into a gravy which is poured through the top of the pie to moisten the filling, with any excess being served on the side.  Simple vegetables accompany this tasty dish.

BOILED BACON AND CABBAGE - There is nothing out of the ordinary here  . . .  it's just simple imgredients . . .  cured pork, a few vegetables, water  . . .  pepper.  Cabbage.Simple ingredients put together in a simple way with extraordinarily delicious results!  I made a mustard sauce to serve with it, and boiled new potatoes . . .  but a parsley sauce is just as delicious.

CORNED BEEF WITH PARSLEY SAUCE - Tender slices of juicy perfectly cooked corned beef, served thinly sliced with a variety of fresh and tasty vegetables on the side and a deliciously lush and creamy parsley sauce!

DUBLIN CODDLE - A Coddle is a traditional Irish dish usually associated with the city of Dublin. Hearty and delicious it is a stew-type of dish created with good pork sausages, salty bacon, pearl barley, onions, potatoes and herbs.

POTATOES 

CRUSHED NEW POTATO COLCANNON - There is something pretty wonderful that happens when you combine cabbage and potatoes and Ireland. Humble ingredients put together in a most delicious way, this is considered haute cuisine in many multiple Michelin star restaurants. In short this is a beautiful side dish well deserving to be served on any table!

TRADITIONAL IRISH CHAMP - Mashed potatoes with warm milk, spring onions and butter beaten into them.  It's so tasty.   The Irish know how to do potatoes and do them well!

TRADITIONAL IRISH COLCANNON - Fluffy mashed potatoes with cooked cabbage and leeks stirred through.  Delicious served with a nice big chunk of butter melting in the middle of the pile. A dip in the middle filled with melting butter is still a pretty tasty thing to do.

PUDDINGS AND CAKES

IRISH WHISKEY AND GINGER CAKE - A dense and moist cake chock full of lovely ginger flavor! With the consistency of a pound cake, this cake is studded with plenty of candied ginger and loads of ginger flavor that really shines through.

 

IRISH MARMALADE CAKE - A sweet and moist marmalade flavored loaf studded throughout with sticky sweet sultanas.  A delight when sliced, buttered and enjoyed with a nice refreshing hot drink. 

IRISH BOILED FRUITCAKE -  A plain cake, beautifully moist and stuffed with loads of fruit. Dried Currants and sultana raisins are boiled in a mixture of golden syrup and tea. A few other simple ingredients are added prior to baking in the oven to create a delicious moist and fruity cake that is a great keeper, and quite simply delicious. 

IRISH BLAEBERRY PUDDING -  A sweet blueberry/blaeberry/billberry fruity filling is topped with a light and delicious cake batter then baked to perfection. Delicious served warm and spooned out into bowls with a topping of cream, custard or ice cream.

IRISH APPLE CAKE - A delicious apple cake with a cake/scone base, topped with plenty of sliced apples. A topping of crumble is sprinkled on top prior to baking to perfection. Delicious served warm and sliced in wedges, along with lashings of warm custard.

BERRY BUTTERMILK COBBLER - Frozen fruit baked into a buttermilk batter, served up warm,  with a simple custard flavored with Irish Cream.  Not only is this simple to make, but also very quick.  You can have everything ready to mix together ahead of time and just do the final mixing at the last minute so that it can bake while you are enjoying your main course. 

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH A BAILEY'S CHOCOLATE SAUCE - You will want to make the cake for this the day before.  It needs several hours in the refrigerator to set up properly for cutting. (I like to leave it overnight.)  It's rich and delicious.  Top with a scoop of really good Vanilla ice cream and a spoonful of Bailey's Chocolate sauce for the perfect finish.

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 In France, French Toast is actually called Pain Perdu, which loosely translated means lost bread. It was designed to use up every scrap of bread, especially stale bread. 

I just love buying all the Christmas Cookery Magazines. It doesn't matter that I probably won't cook even a fraction of the recipes in them, if any . . . but I do love to look at all the different ideas that are presented in them each year.



Our Christmas Lunch stays basically the same each year . . . Roast Turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes, glazed parsnips, Brussels Sprouts, carrots. bacon wrapped chipolatas, cranberry sauce, bread sauce . . . and as if that weren't enough I also like to serve several desserts.



There is always a Christmas Cake and of course Christmas pudding . . . let's not forget the mince pies and I always like to make a Trifle of sorts.



One year a few years back I made a tasty Turkish Delight Trifle. You can find the recipe for that here. It was very lovely . . . sticky and sweet and almost over the top!



I often do a trial run of any new recipe I am hoping to use, ahead of the day just so that I can iron out any problems with a recipe . . . making absolutely sure that it is worthy of a place on my Christmas Lunch menu.



I was greatly intrigued by the Christmas Pudding Trifle recipe in the Nov/Dec issue of Jamie Magazine. (That's one of my favourite cookery mags.) There was a delicious article on using up your Christmas lunch leftovers. Tristan Welch, head chef of Launceston Place had what looked to be a lovely recipe for this interestingly different sounding trifle and I just had to try it.
His was beautifully presented in 200ml canning jars, each one tied up with a pretty red ribbon. I didn't have any canning jars, and I only wanted to make a half recipe for this trial and so I just used some 200ml ramekins with great success.



Without a doubt, hands down . . . this has to be the most delicious Trifle ever! There is just enough Christmas Pudding in it to give you a gentle hint of spicy flavour, without it going over the top. I don't think any die hard Christmas Pudding hater would be assaulted by it in the least . . . don't even tell them it's there. They probably won't even notice what it is, and even if they do, they will forgive you because it is that delicious that they will wonder how they ever got by in life without it thus far!



Imagine a rich custard, baked until slightly wobbly, atop some scrummy Christmas Pudding . . . chilled and then topped with crushed amaretti biscuits, brandy whipped cream, toasted flaked almonds and a few silver balls . . . yes . . . this is heaven.

All conversation will stop . . . amidst the sighs and satisfied drooling noises . . . this is a winner, pure and simple, and it will deffo be gracing my Christmas Lunch buffet! Nothing could be easier or tastier!



*Christmas Pudding Trifle*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

A delicious trifle which consists of a lovely rich custard baked over top of some crumbled Christmas pudding until wobbly. Chilled and then covered with amaretti biscuits, brandy cream, flaked almonds and silver balls, this is probably one of the nicest trifles I've ever eaten . . .

300ml of milk (1 1/4 cups)
200ml of double cream (3/4 cup whipping cream)
freshly grated nutmeg
6 large free range egg yolks
70g caster sugar (about 1/3 cup)
Leftover Christmas pudding (It's up to you how much)
12 crisp amaretti biscuits
150ml of double cream (about 2/3 cup), whipped lightly with a dash of brandy
1 TBS Toasted Flaked almonds
Silver balls

Preheat the oven to 110*C/225*F/ gas mark 1/4. Place 6 200ml containers on a baking tray. Crumble some Christmas Pudding into the bottom of each. You can use as much as you want. I crumbled about 1 TBS of the stuff into each container, so that it was about 1/2 inch deep. Set aside.

Heat the milk and double cream together, along with a grating of nutmeg, just to the boil. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale. Whisk in the heated milk mixture, whisking constantly. Strain this mixture into the prepared pots, dividing it equally amongst them. Grate a little more nutmeg on top. Bake in the heatred oven for 30 to 40 minutes, just until set. The centre should still have a slight wobble. Remove from the oven. Cool to room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Just before serving, whip the cream softly along with a dash of brandy, or brandy flavouring. Crumble 2 amaretti biscuits over top of each pudding, then top with some whipped brandy cream. Sprinkle some toasted almonds and silver balls over top of each and serve.