We have scoured the land to find you the best recipes in traditional Irish cookery. Here is the recipe to a fantastic 5-course meal that will have your guests so excited they will lick their plates clean (and maybe the tablecloth too).
Now that we have been granted our summer, and it has again been taken away, we can feel free to enjoy some comfort food. We may as well also put up the Christmas tree while we are at it. Dig in, readers.
SMOKED MACKEREL & HORSERADISH PÂTÉ
(Pic of recipe above) Mackerel is plentiful in Ireland and in season from late spring to autumn. It is a versatile fish, used either fresh, cured or smoked. Here, it is combined with horseradish in a tasty pâté. Fresh horseradish is in season from summer to early autumn. It is also sold ready-grated in jars.
Serves 4
225 g/8 oz smoked mackerel fillets
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
125 g/41⁄2 oz cream cheese
4 tbsp freshly grated horseradish or good-quality horseradish sauce
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1⁄2 tsp black pepper
1⁄2 tsp sea salt flakes
wholemeal toast, to serve
Remove the skin and any bones from the mackerel fillets and flake the flesh. Mix the fish with the lemon zest and juice, the cream cheese and horseradish. Mash to a spreadable consistency, then add the parsley, pepper and sea salt. Chill until ready to serve. Serve with hot wholemeal toast.
BLACK PUDDING WITH CARAMELIZED PEAR AND CIDER
Made from boiled pig’s blood bound with barley or other grain, black pudding is a heavy-duty sausage that evolved from the need to put every part of the pig to good use. It has always been popular in Ireland, particularly for breakfast. Black pudding is currently undergoing something of a renaissance, and modern chefs are using it in a variety of novel ways.
Serves 4
40 g/ 1 1⁄2 oz lightly salted butter
3 firm pears, such as Conference, peeled, cored and quartered lengthways
350 g/12 oz black pudding, thickly sliced
2 shallots, chopped
125 ml/4 fl oz chicken stock
125 ml/4 fl oz dry cider
sea salt flakes
black pepper
125 ml/4 fl oz single cream
squeeze of lemon juice
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Heat half of the butter in a heavy-based frying pan. When it sizzles, sauté the pear segments over a medium–low heat for 10 minutes, turning, until caramelized at the edges. Remove from the frying pan and keep warm. Add the black pudding slices to the frying pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side, turning them carefully so that they don’t disintegrate. Set aside and keep warm. Pour off the fat and wipe the frying pan clean with kitchen paper. Heat the remaining butter in the frying pan, add the shallots and cook for 3–4 minutes, until softened. Pour in the stock and cider, raise the heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat a little, then simmer briskly for 5–7 minutes, until reduced by half. Season with sea salt and plenty of pepper. Add the cream to the frying pan and simmer for about a minute, until slightly thickened. Return the pear slices to the frying pan, add a squeeze of lemon and cook for a further minute, or until heated through. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve with the sausage slices.
BEEF & STOUT PIES
The Irish love their savoury pies – hot, warm or cold, eaten at home, in a restaurant
or out of doors. These individual puff pastry pies are made with richly flavoured meat
stock and stout, usually Guinness, which the Irish claim is the only way to cook beef.
Serves 4
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp salt
1⁄2 tsp black pepper
900 g/2 lb boneless braising beef, cut into 2.5-cm/1-inch pieces
vegetable oil, for frying
300 ml/10 fl oz meat stock
1 onion, roughly chopped
225 g/8 oz chestnut mushrooms,
stalks discarded, caps quartered
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
250 ml/9 fl oz stout
450 g/1 lb ready-made puff pastry
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl, then toss the beef in the mixture until evenly coated. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan over a medium–high heat. Brown the beef, in batches, and transfer to a flameproof casserole. Deglaze the frying pan with 4 tablespoons of stock, and add the liquid to the casserole. Heat another 1–2 tablespoons of oil in the frying pan and cook the onion and mushrooms for 6–7 minutes, until soft. Add to the casserole with the tomato purée, thyme, stout and remaining stock. Heat the casserole over a medium–high heat, bring to the boil, then simmer gently with the lid slightly askew for 1½ hours. Check the seasoning. Drain the meat mixture in a sieve set over a bowl, reserving the liquid. Leave until cool. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7. Put a baking tray in the oven to heat. Divide the meat mixture among four individual 400 ml/14 fl oz pie dishes with a flat rim or ovenproof bowls. Pour in enough of the liquid to not quite cover the filling. Dampen the rims of the pie dishes. Cut the pastry into quarters. Roll out each piece to about 2.5 cm/ 1 inch bigger than the dishes. Cut a 1-cm/½-inch strip from each quarter and press it onto a dampened rim. Brush with egg yolk, then drape the pastry quarter on top, covering the strip. Trim, crimp the edges with a fork and make three slashes down the middle. Decorate the tops with shapes cut from the trimmings. Brush with the remaining egg yolk. Place the pies on the preheated baking tray and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 and bake for a further 5 minutes until golden.
BUTTERED KALE WITH CHIVES & LEMON
Kale is a sturdy crop that features regularly on the Irish menu, particularly in winter. Here, it is lightly cooked and flavoured with lemon zest and chives to complement the rich and earthy flavour.
Serves 4–6
250 g/9 oz kale
grated zest of 1 lemon
5 tbsp snipped chives
large knob of lightly salted butter
sea salt flakes
white pepper
Remove the tough stalks from the kale, then stack the leaves and slice into wide ribbons. Place in a steamer basket set over boiling water. Steam for 10–12 minutes, until tender but still bright green. Transfer the kale to a warmed serving dish, add the lemon zest, chives and butter and toss together. Season with sea salt flakes and pepper. Serve immediately.
IRISH WHISKEY TRIFLE
Trifle is said to have a ‘powerful stronghold’ in Ireland, with every family having its favourite recipe that is, of course, better than anyone else’s. This version contains the usual Irish whiskey and sherry, but you could use fruit juice for soaking if you prefer a ‘non-tipsy’ version.
Serves 8
10 sponge fingers or 1 stale sponge cake
raspberry jam, for spreading
2 macaroons, lightly crushed
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp Irish whiskey
125 ml/4 fl oz sherry
300 ml/10 fl oz double cream
1⁄2 tbsp sugar
150 g/5 1⁄2 oz raspberries
candied violets or miniature macaroons, to decorate
Custard
5 egg yolks, lightly beaten
50 g/1 3⁄4 oz caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
125 ml/4 fl oz full fat milk
250 ml/9 fl oz double cream
1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract
First make the custard. Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir in the
cornflour and mix to a smooth paste, then whisk in the milk. Heat the cream in a heavy-based saucepan until just starting to simmer but not boiling. Gradually whisk the hot cream into the egg mixture, then return the mixture to the pan. Whisk constantly over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, until thickened. Immediately pour into a jug and stir in the vanilla extract. Cover with clingfilm to prevent a skin forming and leave to cool completely. Thickly spread half of the sponge fingers with raspberry jam. Place the remaining sponge fingers on top to make a sandwich. If using sponge cake, slice horizontally into two or three layers and spread with jam. Arrange in a single layer in the base of a deep serving dish. Sprinkle with the crushed macaroons and the lemon zest. Combine the whiskey and sherry and pour over the sponge finger mixture. Leave to soak for 1 hour.
Spoon the cooled custard over the sponge finger mixture. Whip the cream with the sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread over the custard, levelling with a palette knife. Cover with clingfilm and chill for 1 hour, or until ready to serve. Arrange the raspberries on top and decorate with candied violets or miniature Macaroons.
These recipes are from ‘The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook’, part of Parragon Books’ range of Love Food cookbooks. We have spent this week making the recipes out of this cookbook, so we can vouch for the awesomeness of these recipes. The book can be purchased here from Amazon. It gets an overall 4.5 stars, impressive!
Do you have any tried and true Irish recipes? Email us: [email protected]