Beyond Potatoes: Top 5 Underrated Irish Foods

Sure, you'd eat potatoes day in and day out — if that's all you had during a famine. But the plucky Irish are known for more than the spuds that saved them. It's time to pay tribute to some highlights of Irish cuisine to make the patron saint smile down upon us all.

1. Irish soda bread

Who can resist this simple, dense white bread, studded with raisins and slathered with butter? It's easy to make, too, because it uses baking soda — "bread soda" in Ireland — it doesn't require any rising time or ambitious kneading. Epicurious heard rumours that Irish soda bread issn't really Irish and turned to Irish chef and teacher, Rory O'Connell, to get the story straight:

What we would consider to be a basic table bread — what we call a brown soda bread, which is made with whole-meal flour, or a white soda bread, which is with white flour — is just flour, bread soda, buttermilk, and salt. That's the basic recipe. The white flour would have been more refined than the whole-meal flour, so that would have been for a slightly more special occasion.

Raisins, a luxury item, would have been added when possible as would an egg or bit of sugar, but O'Connell says butter would not be an ingredient in the bread. You'd spread it liberally on a slice when it's cooked.

And what about the purpose of cutting the shape of a cross on top of the bread?

Rory O'Connell: It's scientific, primarily, because it allows the heat to penetrate into the thickest part of the bread, so it assists cooking. And obviously the cross is a cruciform shape, so in a Catholic country that had a resonance — it had the symbolic note of crossing the breads and giving thanks. There was also the expression "to let the devil out of the bread," so it was slightly superstitious. And if you make that cruciform shape on the bread, when it comes out of the oven it breaks beautifully. So you've got the blessing of the bread by putting the cross on it and then you've got the symbolic breaking of the bread.

The bread is great for breakfast or a snack — or a hearty dish of stew.

2. Irish stew

A big pot of tradition when you're super-hungry, Irish stew is traditionally made with beef, lamb or mutton, which is from an older sheep, making it fattier and more flavourful. The meat is not browned first, but slow-simmered with later additions of potatoes, onions and parsley. The latest craze for stew aficionados is adding stout — try Guinness — to the pot for a deep, rich tang.

3. Corned beef and cabbage

Certainly a "cult" favourite among Irish immigrants, corned beef and cabbage is a traditional meal. To "corn" something is to preserve it in a salty brine; the term corn refers to the coarse grains of salt used for curing which was essential for storing meat In the days before refrigeration. Irish cookbook author and teacher Darina Allen tells Epicurious that the corned beef and cabbage shouldn't be boiled and watered down to mush. The meat should be tender and the cabbage lightly buttered and salted. Here's this lovely historical tidbit:

Corned beef has always been associated with Cork City, because, Allen explains, "that was the provisioning port for boats before they crossed the Atlantic." In fact, between the 1680s and 1825, corning beef was Cork City's most important industry. The meat was exported to Britain, continental Europe, and as far away as Newfoundland and the West Indies.

It is not, however, the national dish of Ireland. As the economy strengthened, food choices and diet changed also. Now, Allen says, corned beef "seems to be a flavour that a lot of older people enjoy more than younger people." It could be poised for a comeback, though, as chefs are looking to the past for inspiration and highlighting peasant foods, she says.

4. Dublin Bay prawns

Seafood has never been a mainstay of the Irish diet, despite the country being an island, but many dishes have developed nonetheless. Seafood has gained popularity, especially due to the high quality of shellfish, such as Galway Oysters — there's an oyster festival held in Galway every September where oysters are often served with Guinness. Can't go wrong there. And Dublin Bay Prawns make for a simple fresh cocktail or dinner pan-fried with garlic, chilli and ginger butter — both good bets to get your Irish on.

5. Irish breakfast

Pork is the mainstay in an Irish breakfast: bacon, sausages (bangers), black breakfast pudding (pig or cattle blood cooked with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled), eggs, tomatoes, fried bread. Fried potatoes, especially if you're in Ulster — everything you need after all those St. Paddy's toasts. As one recipe developer offers this method:

Over low heat, saute bacon, turning frequently until done to taste. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Keep hot. It is important to note that Irish bacon is not cooked crisp hard. Place sausages in pan and cook until brown on all sides. Cut the tomatoes in half and fry with slices of pudding in the bacon fat. Remove and keep hot. All the above items can also be broiled instead of being fried. Cook eggs to order.

Wait a minute. Isn't Guinness really a food staple in Ireland, too? It has a long history of medicinal purposes as pregnant women and labourers were told to drink up: it's high in iron, vitamin B from the brewer's yeast, antioxidants, and studies show it helps lower the risk of blood clots. Raise a glass, today of all days.

[Photo: A big and beautiful Irish breakfast should not be underrated. Credit: Tyler Anderson/National Post]

Source: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theappetizer/archive/2009/03/17/beyond-potatoes-10-underrated-irish-foods.aspx


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