Irish Recipes From A Pennsylvania Dutch Farm Wife Who Almost Never Follows A Recipe
I 've read that the food most eaten in Ireland on St Patrick's day is "sausage and chips [fries]". Because it's a festival day, and many families will eat out rather than cook. So while I'm making Irish Stout Stew, Colcannon Potatoes, Soda Bread, and an "Irish" potato candy that was first made in Philadelphia... those in Ireland are most likely eating sausage and french fries.
For those of you who like more detailed instructions, try this recipe
Colcannon Potatoes
There are thousands of variations, or as one site puts it, "every family has their own recipe for colcannon", but essentially, Colcannon Potatoes are mashed potatoes and cabbage.
Basic Recipe:
- 3 cups of cabbage & 2 lbs (roughly 4 large) potatoes.
- Butter, milk, salt, pepper
Some recipes tell you to cook the cabbage in the boiling water with the potatoes.
Personally, I make my mashed potatoes as normal - with a bit of sour cream (instead of milk) and butter and salt. Then I saute the shredded cabbage, and green onions (or leeks) in butter, and mix them into the potatoes. Top with bacon.
Tip - Scallions and Green onions are the same thing. A scallion is made up of a white base that has not fully developed into a bulb and long green stalks that resemble chives. Both the white and the green parts are used in recipes and eaten both raw and cooked. A Spring onion however, is different. It will grow more of a bulb at the base, the white part being more round than straight, and will be sweeter in taste.
"The word “colcannon” derives from the Gaelic term cal ceannann, which means “white-headed cabbage.” In Ireland, during the 17th and 18th centuries, potatoes, cabbage, and leeks were considered foods of the common man. So it makes perfect sense that one of the country’s most popular dishes would combine these ingredients. It’s not uncommon to find a colcannon recipe printed on the back of a bag of potatoes in Ireland.
There are many regional variations of the dish; some require adding bacon and some suggest boiling the greens with the potatoes. You can also enjoy your leftover colcannon for breakfast by cutting it into patties and frying it with your leftover corned beef."
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For those of you who prefer more detailed recipes, try this one
Stout [Guinness's] Stew
I first made an "Irish Stout Stew" about 30 years ago, in the midst of devouring the Nero Wolfe books by Rex Stout. I associate this recipe with those books, although it does not appear in the cookbook, and the only stew I find connected to the series, in online searches, is a squirrel stew. So was the stew mentioned in a book, or did I just make it based on Wolfe's love of beer and food? I may need to reread the entire series just to find out. They have always been some of my absolute favorite books, anyway. :-)
In my mind, which is often faulty, this is a recipe for "Irish Stout Stew". However, an online search calls if "Guinness Stew". That makes sense, as "Guinness is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in over 120. "
The Basic Recipe
- Brown the Beef cubes (salt and pepper it first, then toss lightly in flour)
- With the beef removed from the pan, but without cleaning it add butter
- Saute the vegetables
- Deglaze the pan with half a bottle of stout beer
- Dump everything you've cooked into a good stew pot, or crock pot, along with:
- The rest of the bottle of beer
- 1 cup of beef broth
- 2 T Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 c tomato paste
- rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper & a bay leaf or two.
For the vegetables:
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Potatoes (Yukon gold recommended for this)
- parsnips (or turnips, or celery root)
Optional - Add Bacon.
For those of you who prefer a more detailed recipe, try this one:
Irish Soda Bread
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In one bowl, mix:
- 4 1/2 c flour
- 3T sugar
- 1t baking soda
- 1t salt
Take 5T of very cold butter, and cube it into small pieces. Mix is into the flour mixture as you would for a pie crust. Use a fork or a pastry cutter.
Now you have a choice - To add egg, or not to add egg. You can make this either way. An egg will make it slightly denser. No egg will make it slightly lighter in texture. I use an egg, myself. But I have a backyard full of chickens. :-)
If you are using an egg, put it in a separate bowl with the buttermilk, and whisk together.
1 3/4 c buttermilk is essential. Not regular milk. You can add lemon juice or vinegar to regular milk if you don't have buttermilk. I wouldn't use the other substitution options, for this recipe.
The simplest way to substitute buttermilk is to pour 1 Tbs. of lemon juice into measure cup, and then fill the the e measuring cup with milk to the 1 cup line. Gently stir the mixture and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
Other Buttermilk substitutions:
1 cup buttermilk = 1 Tablespoon white vinegar + enough milk to measure 1 cup
1 cup buttermilk = 1 Tablespoon lemon juice + enough milk to measure 1 cup
1 cup buttermilk = 1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup buttermilk = 1 and ¾ teaspoon cream of tarter + 1 cup of milk
Mix your wet and dry ingredients tother, but do not overwork them.
Optional - Add about a cup or so of raisins
Fold ingredients gently together, then dump onto the counter and work lightly with floured hands. Knead it into a ball.
I cook mine in a cast iron pan. My cast iron is very old, at least 3 generations of use, and very, very well seasoned. I use it almost daily.
Whatever pan you use, transfer the dough into it, then cut an X on top. This helps it to bake all the way through.
Cook for about 45 minutes at 400 degrees. Tent with foil if the top browns too quickly.
For those of you who prefer more specific instructions, try the recipe found here
Irish Potato Candy
And here's one, that I'm told is very much a Pennsylvania Thing. Born and raised in central Pennsylvania, it's normal to me - but maybe not for the rest of you? From what I have read, this recipe was created in the Philadelphia region, not in Ireland. It is however, believed to have been created by Irish immigrants in America. So.. still sort of, kind of, an Irish recipe.
Oh - and it doesn't use potatoes. :-) The Ingredients are Cream Cheese, Coconut, Salt, and Cinnamon. Unless you are Pennsylvania Dutch, and then, there may be potatoes. And if you are from the south, your recipe may use peanut butter.
Traditional Irish Potato Candy- (That's not Irish, but from Philadelphia)
- 1 Block Room Temp Cream Cheese
- 1 Stick Of Room Temp Butter
- 2t vanilla extract
- 1/4t salt
- 8 Cups powdered sugar
- 5-6 cups of coconut flakes
- cinnamon to roll them in
Mix all but the cinnamon, thoroughly
Divide into 4 balls, chill for about 30 minutes
Remove one ball from the fridge, roll into a long thin long
Cut into small sections, roll in cinnamon.
Repeat.
Store in the refrigerator
In commercial candy stores, cream cheese is rarely used because of it's limited shelf life. A buttercream icing is sometimes used in it's place.
And there's also a version that uses actual potatoes:
Pennsylvania Dutch Irish Potato Candy
(Still not from Ireland. But uses potatoes)
- 1 medium potato
- 4 cups 10x sugar
- 2.5 cups shredded coconut
- 2T coconut oil
- 1t vanilla extract
- cinnamon for rolling
And then, to add to the confusion, there is SOUTHERN Irish Potato Candy, which is also not Irish at all, but was more common in the south (I've had it many times here in Pa too...)
Southern Version Irish Potato Candy
or - :Aunt Sophie’s Irish Potato Candy"
She’d take one Irish potato and she’d boil it. Then she’d put it into a bowl, skin it and mash it up, and then sprinkle powdered sugar on it. At this point she would roll it out like a jelly roll. Then she’d take peanut butter and she’d spread peanut butter on the potato roll. Then she’d cut it up into sections like a jelly roll, sprinkling a bit more powdered sugar on top. We children just loved it. It entertained us and kept us out of her hair for awhile. — Mary Nicoles, Reidsville, Georgia
(From Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking.)
“We may never know who invented Irish potato candy,” says Ryan Berley, co-owner of Philadelphia’s 154-year-old Shane Candy Company. “But we’re pretty sure it was in the late 1800s or early 1900s, and probably by Irish immigrant candy makers”
Chef Walter Staib, owner of Philly's City Tavern, says that records show Irish indentured servants were working in the original City Tavern, making the candy in the 1800s.
Our Irish potato candy in Canada is like the Southern version. I remember when I would make it for the kids they loved it.
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