Cook and bake like the Irish for St. Patrick’s Day with these traditional Irish recipes

From delicious roast chicken, to soda bread and potato cakes - tasty and sophisticated Irish recipes

The Irish love their cooking and baking and they’re finally getting their due for the level of taste and sophistication contained in their efforts. This Saint Patrick’s Day why not follow these classic Irish recipes for a genuine taste (and aroma) of home?

Irish Brown Bread

If you want to transform your tiny New York kitchen overlooking the neighbors washing into a Donegal farmhouse overlooking the Atlantic, baking Irish Brown Bread is the best way to do it. Just the aroma of it baking in the oven will gladden even the most cheerless Irish hearts.

I can’t stress enough what a favor you’ll be doing your loved ones by baking this bread too, because as well as tasting amazing it’s highly nutritious. You can do this. It’s easy. Here’s a trick to get you started.

Look for a five by eight inch loaf tin. Go to your local Williams Sonoma and buy the loaf tin with the most substantial bottom that you can find (the lighter the metal the harder the crust will be, so spend a few extra dollars for one a denser one that doesn’t heat through too quickly).

3-½ cups strong stone-ground extra course whole meal flour (Odlums stone ground preferably)
1-teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black treacle or dark molasses
3 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
Scant 2 cups lukewarm water
Sesame seeds

Grease a 9-inch loaf pan with a teaspoon of butter. (It’s best to keep it near to, but not on the oven). Then sprinkle the dry yeast and 2/3 cup of the lukewarm water into a bowl, stirring to dissolve. Add the teaspoonful of molasses. Leave for 10 minutes, until frothy. Add the remaining water and stir.

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the dissolved yeast and water. Stir in the flour to form a thick batter. Use your hands to mix the batter gently in the bowl for one minute, until it begins to leave the sides of the bowl clean and forms a soft, sticky dough.

Place the dough in the prepared loaf pan and cover with a dishtowel. Let it rise for about 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired. Bake in the preheated oven at 425 for 30 minutes, and then lower the oven to 400 and bake for 25 minutes.

Turn the loaf out onto a baking sheet. Return the bread, bottom side up, to the oven. Let cool on a wire rack.

Fadge (Irish Potato Cakes)

Potatoes are magic, and Irish people know more ways to cook and enjoy them than almost anyone. Fadge (potato cakes) is an Ulster dish that deserves to be world famous. It’s simple to make and it’s beyond delicious. Here’s what you’ll need.

1 pound of floury potatoes (like russets or baking potatoes)
1 cup of milk
2 large tablespoons of all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon of salt and a sprinkling of pepper
2 tablespoons of bacon fat or olive oil (bacon fat is traditional)
2 bunches of spring onions

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Nster.com