It’s no secret that the Irish are fond of a nice bit of homemade, comfort grub and over the years, especially around St. Patrick’s Day, we’ve noticed that our recipes are hugely popular.
We’ve put together the top ten recipes as chosen by IrishCentral readers over the years. Although some of them, such as corned beef and cabbage and stew are no-brainers, the IrishCentral readers went a little off script with spring rolls and pasta bakes making it into their top St. Patrick’s Day recipes.
Just click on the title to view the simple recipes. Knock them together and sit down and enjoy them with your friends and family their St. Patrick’s Day.
Although in Ireland we opt for bacon rather than corned beef when the Irish arrived to New York there was none to be found. The Jewish butchers substituted the bacon for corned beef and low and behold the tradition stuck.
Either way it’s the top favorite meal with the Irish on either side of the Atlantic.
2. Shepherd’s Pie
As I’ve said before this is the best Irish comfort food going and it’s sure to put a smile on the face of any Irish person you know.
3. Corned Beef and Cabbage Pasta Bake
All right, so the IrishCentral readers liked a pasta bake out of all the hundreds of recipes on this site but it might just be their sensible streak showing. After you’ve cooked for all your friends, cousins and extended family over St. Patrick’s Day you’re bound to be left with a pile of left-overs.
What to do, what to do! Pasta!
What Irish person doesn’t like potatoes!? But it seems that the Irish palate is getting a little more sophisticated. Above Colcannon and Boxty the IrishCentral readers have voted “Potato cheesy ale and cheddar colcannon” and “Bacon and cheese quiche with potato crust” their top potato treats.
5. Corned Beef and Cabbage Spring Rolls
Our chef, Michael Gilligan, came up with this one and it really took off. He also does a very good job at explaining the place of corned beef and cabbage in the Irish diet. Although it’s Irish meets Chinese food it seems to me like this would really work.
6. Irish Stew with Guinness
Meat? Check. Vegetables? Check. Guinness? Check. What’s not to like about this delicious, nurturing Irish meal.
7. Hearty St. Patrick’s Day Sandwich
So this is essentially and Italian meal but it seems the color scheme alone was enough to entice you guys. It’s also a smart move to have a nice big breakfast before a day of revelery.
8. Traditional Irish Butter Shortbread Cheesecake
No one makes cheesecake like an Irish mammy and this recipes replicates my own mother’s well. This is one to show off at a dinner party or just to remember home.
9. Roast Leg of Lamb
This is definitely a favorite Irish Sunday dinner and a perfect big meal for any event at the start of spring. Delicious with mint sauce and roast potatoes, I wholeheartedly agree with the readers choice on this one.
10. Irish Tricolor Cookies
They’re green, white and orange what more do you want? These are the cookies that will match your face, clothes and flag for St. Patrick’s Day. Also a great idea as a gift to bring to a St. Patrick’s Day party.
15 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Eireannach | Mar 14, 2013, 09:55 AM EDT
Shephards pie is British btw. What are 'irish potatoes'? Apparently Idaho folks love their spuds, as do the rest of America - in some form. Potatoes come from South America - where they eat tons! Apart from the famine times, when many impoverished country people (the tenants of rich British landlords) could afford nothing much else in their diet - the Irish eat a wide and varied diet. Irish food is very highly regarded now. Many hotels/restaurents have started to cater in the last few years to Americans who want their 'boxty' or 'colcannon' or 'irish stew' etc. However, many of these dishes come from Northern Ireland, or Britain, and have migrated! Few Americans seem to realise that spud eating, tea drinking, beer drinking etc etc etc. are very English preoccupations!
Seanmor | Mar 11, 2013, 08:21 PM EDT
While serving in the Marine Corps and stationed stateside, Irish potatoes were on the menu about once or twice a week, but I never cared very much for them. (By the way, removing the skins from any tubers was always called "peelind spuds").
NARROWBACK | Mar 16, 2012, 07:50 PM EDT
oldperfessor how does a food article turn into bash America. There was no bacon when they first came over so they adapted and used what was available. Today while buying my corned beef a lady was on her phone asking her husband what type of potatoes she then asked me. She said she was Italian and her husband was Norweigian and wanted to make authentic corned beef and cabbage and I said she would have to get bacon and the history of how corned beef came about. So instead of bashing America lets rejoice on how such a small country had such a great impact on the world that people want to celebrate St Patrick and the Irish by eating food they think is Irish
NARROWBACK | Mar 16, 2012, 06:47 PM EDT
oldperfessor how does a food article turn into bash America. There was no bacon when they first came over so they adapted and used what was available. Today while buying my corned beef a lady was on her phone asking her husband what type of potatoes she then asked me. She said she was Italian and her husband was Norweigian and wanted to make authentic corned beef and cabbage and I said she would have to get bacon and the history of how corned beef came about. So instead of bashing America lets rejoice on how such a small country had such a great impact on the world that people want to celebrate St Patrick and the Irish by eating food they think is Irish
oldboreen | Mar 16, 2012, 06:25 PM EDT
Shepherd's Pie,an Irish dish? When did that happen? We Irish have a lot to be proud of, but cooking? I don't think so! Best quality food in the world-until it reaches the kitchen!
GregShox | Mar 16, 2012, 04:33 PM EDT
Shepherd's Pie is a traditional English dish made either from beef or lamb. The Irish have adopted it in recent years. I don't know what a shepard is, Elllen. Bernie, what does "Low and behold" mean? Go back to school.
Madeliene | Mar 13, 2012, 02:54 PM EDT
ah we never had corned beef and cabbage when I was akid Ham & cabbage and a turnip in it sometimes
ellenfromcork | Mar 12, 2012, 11:39 AM EDT
Shepard's pie calls for lamb,not beef. You don't see shepards herding cattle do you?
hjolley | Mar 11, 2012, 12:30 AM EST
Oh, and I forgot...."low and behold", the comment on #1???? Seriously, I could use the job and, it's Lo, and behold.
hjolley | Mar 11, 2012, 12:26 AM EST
I'm nearly 70 and retired and could use the extra money, so can I have Bernie's job, or at least be Bernie's editor? What the hell kind of journalist cannot punctuate or string together a properly parsed sentence?
padraiginrua | Mar 10, 2012, 11:02 PM EST
Jewish butchers wouldn't have bacon. The sentence is backward. Corned beef was substituted for bacon. You have it the wrong way round
TheOldPerfessor | Mar 10, 2012, 12:47 PM EST
Another vote for lamb stew. Will make it one more time before winter is out.
CitizenWhy | Mar 10, 2012, 11:56 AM EST
Lamb's stew should be on this. The American adaptation was to serve it over corn bread, often for breakfast. Delicious. All the many people from Ireland that I have known use ham instead of corned beef or bacon and simply called it a boiled meal. I miss the wide varieties of soda bread that you could once buy or get served freshly baked at relatives' and neighbors' homes.
GreyGoddess | Mar 10, 2012, 11:32 AM EST
So where's the lamb stew, then...?
TheOldPerfessor | Mar 10, 2012, 11:07 AM EST
The true traditional Irish dish is boiling bacon, but Americans need to be shielded from this information because they're too wimpy to read about it - much less eat it.