While Ireland may be best known for its beautiful towns and villages, it also comes with a long culinary history and has produced recipes that several people use all over the world. The ingredient mostly associated with Ireland is the potato, and it often features heavily in their recipes. This is because for generations it was considered a nutritious and calorie-dense food source by the Irish. This has led to a lot of hearty, potato-based comfort food coming from the country, and that’s what we’ll be looking at in this article.
Boxty
Boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake dish. It’s made with grated potatoes, flour, mashed potatoes, egg, milk, water, olive oil, and seasoning. The mixture is combined in a large bowl before being fried in patties. Cook for around 3 to 4 minutes on each side until they’re golden brown. They’re traditionally eaten at breakfast and pair very well with eggs and bacon, as a boxty is very similar to a hash brown. They are also eaten at lunch with smoked salmon and sour cream.
Shepherd’s Pie
Possibly the most famous Irish dish in the world is the Shepherd’s Pie – You’ll find this dish being served at any traditional Irish Pub. However, It’s also a staple of home cooking worldwide and is a great way to warm yourself up on a cold winter’s night. It’s made with minced lamb, onions and carrots fried off in a pan. Stock and any seasoning are then added, and the dish is left to simmer for 40 minutes. The mixture is then poured into a container, topped with piped mashed potatoes, and baked for around 20 minutes until the top is golden brown. It works on its own as a meal or paired with a side of vegetables.
Irish Stew
While Shepherd’s Pie might be the most famous dish, there’s nothing more Irish than an Irish stew, but their famous Irish drinks and Irish themed online slots are a close second.
This dish is commonly made with root vegetables such as onions, carrots, and potatoes. Combine the vegetables with lamb (though beef can also be used) in a casserole dish and braise for roughly 90 minutes until the meat is tender. It’s traditionally eaten with bread and butter, although other sides such as dumplings pair well with the dish.
Beef and Guinness Stew
If a traditional Irish stew didn’t seem Irish enough, you’ll want to try the beef and Guinness stew. Commence by browning the meat, then add your saute base, garlic, bacon, onion, celery and carrots. Add flour to thicken the gravy, then add stock and a generous helping of Guinness. Leave to simmer for 2 hours covered and a further 30 minutes uncovered. The result will be beef so tender that it falls apart on your fork, coming with a rich, thick gravy. It is recommended to eat the dish with a side of mashed potatoes, but it a side of bread and butter will also do.
Potato Candy
While most people think of potatoes as a savoury dish, the Irish have managed to find a way to make them a dessert too! Potato candy is very easy to make and tastes so sweet you’ll forget they’re actually potatoes. Start with mashing the potatoes, and combine with milk, salt, and vanilla extract. Stir confectioner’s sugar into the mixture until it’s reached a doughy consistency. Flatten the dough, add peanut butter, and roll into a jelly roll shape before refrigerating for one hour. Top with a scoop of ice cream for a perfect sweet treat.
Irish Bread Pudding
The Irish love to add their famous drinks into their cuisine, and the Irish bread pudding has a little extra kick thanks to the whiskey sauce. To make the pudding, combine white or sweet bread with raisins, whiskey, sugar, eggs, cream, and cinnamon. Bake the mixture for an hour until the top has a deep golden brown colour. Once it’s cooled, top with the whiskey sauce, made from milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla bean, and whiskey. It pairs perfectly with vanilla custard or ice cream.
Conclusion
Ireland has a rich heritage of delicious recipes, and there are even more that we could have mentioned on this list. If you want to find out about more Irish recipes, you might want to do a little research on – Colcannon, Dublin Coddle, or Barmbrack. There are lots to try, so be adventurous!