THE CELTIC CONNECTION • MARCH 1992
Page 33
Traditional Recipes for St. Patrick's Day
By KATHLEEN
It's close to St. Patrick's Day and there are so many great Irish recipes that I didn't know where to start but I hope you enjoy the ones I chose. Anyone who has ever been to Ireland will tell you about the wonderful food. If you haven't been there and plan to go, you're in for a treat.
BEEF BRAISED WITH ONIONS, CARROTS AND GUINNESS
2 lbs. of stewing beef (fat trimmed and cut into serving pieces, not too small)
1 large onion
3 to 4 carrots
1 cup of soaked prunes and hazelnuts (optional)
3 bay leaves
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. of cooking oil or fat 1 tbsp. of chopped parsley 1/2 cup Guinness 1/2 cup water salt and pepper
METHOD
Heat the oil and put in the bay leaves, let them crackle but put the lid on because they jump and spatter the oil. Add the beef and fry on both sides, when half done, add the sliced onion and let that gently colour to a pale gold.
Sprinkle the flour over and let it brown, then add the Guinness and water. A little more liquid may be needed, in which case, make it water or stock to just cover the meat.
Season to taste and add the parsley and carrots cut into circles.
Put the lid on and braise in a slow to moderate oven 250-300 F for about two hours. Stir it around at least once and add a little more liquid if it is indanger of drying up.
In the 19th century, soaked and stoned prunes (about 1 cup) stuffed with grilled hazelnuts were added half an hour before the meat was
ready. They make a marvellously rich garnish.
Note: As with all casseroles, the dish is better if cooked, allowed to get cold and then, very gently, reheated.
baked salmon with cream AND cucumber 1 - 5 lb. salmon 3 heaped tbsp. of butter 1 medium cucumber salt and pepper
1 cup of cream Juice of one lemon
2 sprigs of parsley
method
Put the parsley in the cleaned gullet of the fish and rub the butter over the outside. Put the whole salmon into a casserole baking dish, season well and pour the cream around. Cover with foil and bake in a moderate oven, 300-350 F, for ten minutes to the pound. Remove from the oven and add the pealed and cubed cucumber and the lemon juice. Baste well, and put back in the oven, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes.
Skin the fish before serving and pour sauce over the fish. The cucumber should still be a little crisp. It's excellent hot but also can be served cold.
Note: Salmon has long been prized in Ireland. It is featured in myth and legend, notably Fionn MacCumaill (Finn MacCool) and the salmon which had eaten the hazelnuts from the Tree of Knowledge and then gave that knowledge to the first person who had tasted it when cooked. It was the piece de resistance at banquets given by the kings of Ireland when it was cooked on a spit, after being rubbed with salt and basted with butter and honey. Irish salmon is sweeter than many other kinds.
tea brack:
In November, for Samhain, I gave you a recipe for Barm Brack made
in the traditional with yeast. Tea Brack is a simplified version without yeast, and the one most often used today.
3 cups sultanas
21/3 cups brown sugar
3 cups raisins
3 cups (milkless) tea
or 1 / 2 tea and 1/2 Irish whiskey
4 cups flour
3 egg '
3 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1 cup candied peel
method
Soak the fruit and the sugar in the tea (or half a cup of tea/half a cup of Irish whiskey) overnight.
The next day, add alternately, four cups of flour, and three beaten eggs. Finally, three level teaspoons of baking powder, a half a teaspoon of nutmeg, half a teaspoon of cinnamon, one cup or mixed chopped candied peel.
Turn into three greased loaf tins 8x4x3 and bake for one and one half hours in a moderate oven 300
F.
Note: Serve sliced with butter, it keeps very well, but if it gets stale, it's very good toasted. Served with butter/ irs delicious.
irish coffee
An excellent end to a meal, or a
Eick-rne-up- As they say, "There is oth 'ating and drinking in it."
One jigger of Irish whiskey
1 cup of strong hot black coffee
Whipping Cream
(whipped 8-9 seconds until firm
enought to float on top)
2-3 cubes cocktail sugar
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method
First of all, warm an Irish coffee glass (6 oz). Put in the sugar and enough hot coffee to dissolve the sugar. Stir well. Add the Irish whiskey, then add enough coffee to fill within an inch of the brim. Then, add the whipping cream (not overthelipof theglass). Donotstir the cream, it should float on top and the hot whiskey-laced coffee is drunk through the cream. (Many people put a cherry on top of the cream or coat the rim of the glass withsugar but this is not considered traditional and in many instances detracts from the taste.)
Thelrish Whiskey recipe is courtesy of Tommy O'Brya n of Tommy O s on Broadway in Vancouver.
Slainte gus Saol agat! (Health and long life to you!)
I welcome any Celtic recipes that you may have collected or that have fc>een in your family for generations. Looking forward to hearing from you at The Celtic Connection, Suite 1129,510 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 1L9 Kathleen
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