Hi everyone and welcome to the blog. This week’s blog is dedicated to St. Patrick’s Day celebrated every year on 17th March. So this week’s recipes all have an Irish theme. They are Beef and Oyster Stew with Roast Garlic Crushed Potatoes, Ulster Fry and Steamed Fried Eggs, Baby Guinness Chocolate Pudding, Soda Farls and Black Velvet. The herb of the week is Catnip – Yes, you read correctly, Catnip… Intrigued? Read on.
Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig) is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland. It originated as a Catholic holiday and became an official feast day in the early 17th century. It has gradually become more of a secular celebration of Irish culture. It is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Montserrat, among others.
Little is known of Patrick's early life, though it is known that he was born in Roman Britain in the 4th century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father and grandfather were deacons in the Church. At the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave. It is believed he was held somewhere on the west coast of Ireland, possibly Mayo, but the exact location is unknown. According to his Confession, he was told by God in a dream to flee from captivity to the coast, where he would board a ship and return to Britain. Upon returning, he quickly joined the Church in Auxerre in Gaul and studied to be a priest. In 432, he again said that he was called back to Ireland, though as a bishop, to Christianise the Irish from their native polytheism. Irish folklore tells that one of his teaching methods included using the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people. After nearly thirty years of evangelism, he died on 17 March 461, and according to tradition, was buried at Downpatrick. Although there were other more successful missions to Ireland from Rome, Patrick endured as the principal champion of Irish Christianity and is held in esteem in the Irish Church.
Saint Patrick's feast day, as a kind of national day, was already being celebrated by the Irish in Europe in the ninth and tenth centuries. In later times he became more and more widely known as the patron of Ireland. Saint Patrick's feast day was finally placed on the universal liturgical calendar in the Catholic Church due to the influence of Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding in the early 1600s. Saint Patrick's Day thus became a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics in Ireland. The church calendar avoids the observance of saints' feasts during certain solemnities, moving the saint's day to a time outside those periods. Saint Patrick's Day is occasionally affected by this requirement, when 17 March falls during Holy Week. This happened in 1940, when Saint Patrick's Day was observed on 3 April in order to avoid it coinciding with Palm Sunday, and again in 2008, where it was officially observed on 14 March (15 March being used for St. Joseph, which had to be moved from March 19), although the secular celebration still took place on 17 March. Saint Patrick's Day will not fall within Holy Week again until 2160. (In other countries, St. Patrick's feast day is also March 17, but liturgical celebration is omitted when impeded by Sunday or by Holy Week.)
In 1903, Saint Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland. This was thanks to the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act 1903, an act of the United Kingdom Parliament introduced by Irish MP James O'Mara. O'Mara later introduced the law that required that pubs and bars be closed on 17 March after drinking got out of hand, a provision that was repealed in the 1970s. The first Saint Patrick's Day parade held in the Irish Free State was held in Dublin in 1931 and was reviewed by the then Minister of Defence Desmond Fitzgerald. Although secular celebrations now exist, the holiday remains a religious observance in Ireland, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland.
In the mid-1990s the Irish government began a campaign to use Saint Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture. The government set up a group called St. Patrick's Festival, with the aim to:
— Offer a national festival that ranks amongst all of the greatest celebrations in the world and promote excitement throughout Ireland via innovation, creativity, grassroots involvement, and marketing activity.
— Provide the opportunity and motivation for people of Irish descent, (and those who sometimes wish they were Irish) to attend and join in the imaginative and expressive celebrations.
— Project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal, as we approach the new millennium.
The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2000 it was a four-day event. By 2006, the festival was five days long; more than 675,000 people attended the 2009 parade. Overall 2009's five day festival saw close to 1 million visitors, who took part in festivities that included concerts, outdoor theatre performances, and fireworks.
In the mid-1990s the Irish government began a campaign to use Saint Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture. The government set up a group called St. Patrick's Festival, with the aim to:
— Offer a national festival that ranks amongst all of the greatest celebrations in the world and promote excitement throughout Ireland via innovation, creativity, grassroots involvement, and marketing activity.
— Provide the opportunity and motivation for people of Irish descent, (and those who sometimes wish they were Irish) to attend and join in the imaginative and expressive celebrations.
— Project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal, as we approach the new millennium.
The first Saint Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2000 it was a four-day event. By 2006, the festival was five days long; more than 675,000 people attended the 2009 parade. Overall 2009's five day festival saw close to 1 million visitors, who took part in festivities that included concerts, outdoor theatre performances, and fireworks.
The topic of the 2004 St. Patrick's Symposium was "Talking Irish," during which the nature of Irish identity, economic success, and the future were discussed. Since 1996, there has been a greater emphasis on celebrating and projecting a fluid and inclusive notion of "Irishness" rather than an identity based around traditional religious or ethnic allegiance. The week around Saint Patrick's Day usually involves Irish language speakers using more Irish during seachtain na Gaeilge ("Irish Week").
As well as Dublin, many other cities, towns, and villages in Ireland hold their own parades and festivals, including Cork, Belfast, Derry, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, and Waterford. The biggest celebrations outside Dublin are in Downpatrick, County Down, where Saint Patrick is rumoured to be buried. In 2004, according to Down District Council, the week-long St. Patrick's Festival had more than 2,000 participants and 82 floats, bands, and performers and was watched by more than 30,000 people. The shortest St Patrick's Day parade in the world takes place in Dripsey, Cork. The parade lasts just 100 yards and travels between the village's two pubs. Christian leaders in Ireland have expressed concern about the secularisation of St Patrick's Day. In The Word magazine's March 2007 issue, Fr. Vincent Twomey wrote, "It is time to reclaim St Patrick's Day as a church festival." He questioned the need for "mindless alcohol-fuelled revelry" and concluded that "it is time to bring the piety and the fun together."
My first recipe is Beef and Oyster Stew with Roast Garlic Crushed Potatoes, recipe by Rachel Allen, courtesy of GoodFood Channel website.
Serves 4, takes 20mins to prepare & takes 2 hrs 30 min to cook
For the Stew
2 tbsp x Plain Flour
700g x Lean Stewing Beef, chopped into 1” cubes
2 tbsp x Sunflower Oil
1-2 x Onion, finely chopped
225g x Mushrooms, chopped
425ml x Irish Stout
1 tbsp x Worcestershire Sauce
12 x Oysters, shelled, juices strained and reserved
2 tbsp x Plain Flour
700g x Lean Stewing Beef, chopped into 1” cubes
2 tbsp x Sunflower Oil
1-2 x Onion, finely chopped
225g x Mushrooms, chopped
425ml x Irish Stout
1 tbsp x Worcestershire Sauce
12 x Oysters, shelled, juices strained and reserved
For the Roast Garlic Crushed Potatoes
1 x Large Head of Garlic, left whole
2 tbsp x Olive Oil
1 kg x Small Floury Potatoes, such as desiree, skin on
1 tbsp x Butter
1 x Rosemary Sprig
1 x Large Head of Garlic, left whole
2 tbsp x Olive Oil
1 kg x Small Floury Potatoes, such as desiree, skin on
1 tbsp x Butter
1 x Rosemary Sprig
For the cabbage and kale
1 tbsp x Butter
450g x Savoy Cabbage and Kale, roughly chopped
1 tbsp x Butter
450g x Savoy Cabbage and Kale, roughly chopped
For the stew
Season the flour with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss the beef in the flour. Heat the sunflower oil in a large, heavy-based pan and sear the beef, in small batches, for 2-3 minutes at a time, or until browned all over. Remove the beef from the pan. Fry the onions and mushrooms in the same pan, for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Return the beef to the pan, then pour over the stout, scraping up any browned bits at the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and reserved oyster juices and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Mix well, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes over a low heat, or until the beef is tender. Remove from the hob and add the oysters to the pan and cover (the residual heat will cook the oysters through gradually, or you may prefer to simmer the oysters over a low heat for 2-3 minutes). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 6.
Season the flour with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss the beef in the flour. Heat the sunflower oil in a large, heavy-based pan and sear the beef, in small batches, for 2-3 minutes at a time, or until browned all over. Remove the beef from the pan. Fry the onions and mushrooms in the same pan, for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Return the beef to the pan, then pour over the stout, scraping up any browned bits at the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and reserved oyster juices and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Mix well, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes over a low heat, or until the beef is tender. Remove from the hob and add the oysters to the pan and cover (the residual heat will cook the oysters through gradually, or you may prefer to simmer the oysters over a low heat for 2-3 minutes). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 6.
For the roast garlic potatoes
Place the whole head of garlic in a small oven-proof dish, drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and add the sprig of rosemary. Cover with aluminium foil and roast for about 45 minutes, or until the garlic has completely softened. Set aside to cool, then gently separate the cloves and squeeze the softened garlic out into a bowl with your fingers. Discard the skins.
Place the potatoes into a large pan of cold water with a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then cook for about 10 minutes. Drain off two-thirds of the water, then return the pan to a medium-low heat and cook for a further 8-10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pan. Add the roasted garlic to the potatoes and, using the back of a fork, lightly mash the potatoes and garlic together. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place the whole head of garlic in a small oven-proof dish, drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and add the sprig of rosemary. Cover with aluminium foil and roast for about 45 minutes, or until the garlic has completely softened. Set aside to cool, then gently separate the cloves and squeeze the softened garlic out into a bowl with your fingers. Discard the skins.
Place the potatoes into a large pan of cold water with a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then cook for about 10 minutes. Drain off two-thirds of the water, then return the pan to a medium-low heat and cook for a further 8-10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pan. Add the roasted garlic to the potatoes and, using the back of a fork, lightly mash the potatoes and garlic together. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
For the cabbage and kale
Heat the butter in a pan until foaming, then add the vegetables along with a splash of water. Cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spoon the stew into shallow bowls with the crushed potatoes and buttered cabbage and kale served alongside.
Heat the butter in a pan until foaming, then add the vegetables along with a splash of water. Cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spoon the stew into shallow bowls with the crushed potatoes and buttered cabbage and kale served alongside.
My next recipe is Ulster Fry and Steamed Fried Eggs, recipe by Paul Rankin, courtesy of GoodFood Channel website.
Serves 4, takes 20mins to prepare, & takes 25mins to cook
Serves 4, takes 20mins to prepare, & takes 25mins to cook
For the potato bread
750g x Cooked Floury Potatoes, still hot
60g x Plain Flour
A Few Pinches of Salt
30-60g x Unsalted Butter, melted
750g x Cooked Floury Potatoes, still hot
60g x Plain Flour
A Few Pinches of Salt
30-60g x Unsalted Butter, melted
For the Ulster fry
2 x Rashers of Streaky Bacon
2 tbsp x Vegetable Oil
4 x Rashers of Back Bacon
2-4 x Ripe Tomatoes, halved
2 x Irish Soda Farls, halved then quartered see recipe below
1 tsp x Unsalted Butter
4-8 x Eggs
2 tbsp x Water
2 x Rashers of Streaky Bacon
2 tbsp x Vegetable Oil
4 x Rashers of Back Bacon
2-4 x Ripe Tomatoes, halved
2 x Irish Soda Farls, halved then quartered see recipe below
1 tsp x Unsalted Butter
4-8 x Eggs
2 tbsp x Water
For the potato bread
Mash the potatoes until very smooth. While still hot, sprinkle over the flour and salt. Mix well. Add the melted butter and knead briefly – not too much or it will become tough. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough into a circle about 1cm thick. Cut into quarters, and cook on a hot griddle until the underside is golden brown. This will take about 3 minutes. Turn over them over and cook out the other side for about 2 minutes. (These potato breads are best eaten fresh, but will keep quite well and can be reheated the next day.)
Mash the potatoes until very smooth. While still hot, sprinkle over the flour and salt. Mix well. Add the melted butter and knead briefly – not too much or it will become tough. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough into a circle about 1cm thick. Cut into quarters, and cook on a hot griddle until the underside is golden brown. This will take about 3 minutes. Turn over them over and cook out the other side for about 2 minutes. (These potato breads are best eaten fresh, but will keep quite well and can be reheated the next day.)
For the Ulster fry
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Fry the streaky bacon in a large frying pan with the oil. When almost cooked add the back bacon and the tomato halves, seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook until the streaky rashers are crisp, the back bacon cooked but not dried out, and the tomatoes just beginning to soften. Transfer them all to the warm oven, reserving the fat in the pan. Dip the soda bread and potato farls in the fat left in the frying pan to soak up a little fat, then drain away the excess and wipe the pan dry.
Dry-fry the pieces of bread gently in the frying pan until they are starting to crisp up. Remove and keep warm in the oven. To fry the eggs, heat the butter in a non-stick frying pan until it is sizzling. Crack the eggs carefully into the pan, add in the water and a little salt and cover the pan. Cook slowly for about 2 minutes, or until they are cooked to your taste. Serve on warm plates, dividing the bacon, fried bread, tomatoes and eggs between them.
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Fry the streaky bacon in a large frying pan with the oil. When almost cooked add the back bacon and the tomato halves, seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook until the streaky rashers are crisp, the back bacon cooked but not dried out, and the tomatoes just beginning to soften. Transfer them all to the warm oven, reserving the fat in the pan. Dip the soda bread and potato farls in the fat left in the frying pan to soak up a little fat, then drain away the excess and wipe the pan dry.
Dry-fry the pieces of bread gently in the frying pan until they are starting to crisp up. Remove and keep warm in the oven. To fry the eggs, heat the butter in a non-stick frying pan until it is sizzling. Crack the eggs carefully into the pan, add in the water and a little salt and cover the pan. Cook slowly for about 2 minutes, or until they are cooked to your taste. Serve on warm plates, dividing the bacon, fried bread, tomatoes and eggs between them.
Herb of the week – Catnip (Nepeta cataria)
Catnip is a perennial herb found growing wild throughout North America and Europe where it is thought to have originated. It is easily cultivated in any garden soil. A member of the mint family, Catnip has square, erect and branched stems and grows 2 to 3 feet high. The leaves are heart-shaped, toothed, opposite and covered with fine downy hairs especially on the under sides giving the whole plant a greyish green appearance. The small tubular, two-lipped flowers grow in dense whorls atop each stem and are white to lavender with reddish to purple spots. Catnip blooms from June to September. The entire plant has a minty fragrance. Gather the above ground parts of Catnip just after blooms open.
Catnip is a perennial herb found growing wild throughout North America and Europe where it is thought to have originated. It is easily cultivated in any garden soil. A member of the mint family, Catnip has square, erect and branched stems and grows 2 to 3 feet high. The leaves are heart-shaped, toothed, opposite and covered with fine downy hairs especially on the under sides giving the whole plant a greyish green appearance. The small tubular, two-lipped flowers grow in dense whorls atop each stem and are white to lavender with reddish to purple spots. Catnip blooms from June to September. The entire plant has a minty fragrance. Gather the above ground parts of Catnip just after blooms open.
Young leaves are edible raw. They have an aromatic mint-like flavour eaten in salads. As the name (cat-nip) suggests, cats love to nip at it, although watching them it might better be called (cat-roll) for they seem to roll, rub, and totally crush the plant into the ground. They discover that the more they crush it the more oil it releases. Plant constituents include Nepetalic acid, Alpha- & beta- Citral, Nepetalactone, Limonene, Geraniol, Dipentene, Citronella, Nerol, a terpene, Acetic acid, Butyric acid, Valeric acid and Tannin. The leaves and flowering tops are strongly antispasmodic, antitussive, astringent, carminative, diaphoretic, slightly emmenagogue, refrigerant, sedative, slightly stimulant, stomachic and tonic. Catnip has a long history of use in alternative medicine, being employed especially in treating disorders of the digestive system and, as it stimulates sweating, it is useful in reducing fevers. The fresh juice is used as an emmenagogue (to promote menstruation). Mild catnip tea is used to relieve colic in babies, restlessness and nervousness, and is very useful as a mild calmative for children. Stronger tea relieves fevers due to colds and flu as well as calming the stomach and preventing nausea and diarrhoea. The fresh young shoots are good in spring salads and rubbed into meat for flavour. Applied externally or added to bath it is good for skin irritations. Catnip oil is great for aroma therapy. A strong infusion can be used to repel fleas from carpets or the fur of animals. An extract from the leaves (called Nepetalactone) has herbicidal and insect repellent properties.
It was once believed that smoking the leaves would produce a mild hallucinogenic effect. Although this use has since been dispelled, it may work in some individuals. It was also believed to deter the (evil-eye) from children given to fits, this because of its ability to calm an extremely agitated child and diminish nightmares.
My next recipe is Baby Guinness Chocolate Pudding, recipe by Clodagh McKenna, courtesy of GoodFood Channel website.
Serves 6, Prep time 20mins, plus 2 hrs chilling, takes 5mins to cook
Serves 6, Prep time 20mins, plus 2 hrs chilling, takes 5mins to cook
260g x Dark Chocolate
2 tbsp x Guinness
4 x Eggs, separated
30g x Light Muscovado Sugar
1 tbsp x Vanilla Extract
200ml x Double Cream, whipped
2 tbsp x Guinness
4 x Eggs, separated
30g x Light Muscovado Sugar
1 tbsp x Vanilla Extract
200ml x Double Cream, whipped
Melt together the chocolate and Guinness in a bowl over set over a pan of simmering water. While they are melting, whisk the egg whites until they are stiff. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate and Guinness mixture until smooth. Gently fold in the egg whites. Pour in to 6 clear small glasses and leave in the fridge to set for about 2 hours, or even better overnight. Just before serving, spoon a 'head' of whipped cream on top of the mousse.
My next recipe is Soda Farls, recipe by Caroline Workman, courtesy of GoodFood Channel website.
Makes 8 farls, takes 10mins to prepare, and takes 15mins to cook
Makes 8 farls, takes 10mins to prepare, and takes 15mins to cook
450g x Plain Flour
1 1/2 tsp x Bicarbonate of Soda
3 tsp x Cream of Tartar
20ml x Vegetable Oil, or Nut Oil
284ml x Buttermilk, preferably organic
1 1/2 tsp x Bicarbonate of Soda
3 tsp x Cream of Tartar
20ml x Vegetable Oil, or Nut Oil
284ml x Buttermilk, preferably organic
Sieve all the dry ingredients 3-4 times into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre, gradually add the buttermilk and oil and bring the dough together. The dough will be quite soft, but the more buttermilk you incorporate, the better the bread tastes. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and give it a short, gentle kneading until you have a nice round shape. Divide the dough into 2 and knead both halves to form round balls. Roll these out fairly thickly to about 25cm in diameter and cut into quarters.
Preheat the griddle or pan. To check the temperature, dust with flour. Once it starts to colour, brush off and turn the heat down. Your griddle is now ready. Place the farls onto the griddle and once you have a good colour on one side (2-3 minutes) flip over and cook for 5-10 minutes. The farls will rise into puffy pillows. Test by pressing the middle, if they are still squidgy, flip over and continue cooking to bake out the centre of raw dough. Cool on racks covered with a damp tea towel to keep soft, or uncovered if you prefer a dryer crust.
To serve; farls are delicious with butter and homemade jams, or with savoury foods such as smoked salmon, bacon or fried eel - the hot fish melts the butter and the textures work very well together.
Chef’s Tip: The secret to this recipe, given to me by Robert Ditty, Northern Ireland's best known baker, is in the sifting of the dry ingredients - the more you sift, the more fluffy the texture. Not everyone uses oil or fat in their recipe. (Older bakers used shortening.) Mr Ditty finds that it brings together all the ingredients, improving the 'crumb' and preventing a closer, stodgier texture than you would achieve without it. These breads turn into completely different products when preservatives or additives are used to prolong their shelf life, which is why you must travel to Northern Ireland, or make your own to experience the real thing.
Preheat the griddle or pan. To check the temperature, dust with flour. Once it starts to colour, brush off and turn the heat down. Your griddle is now ready. Place the farls onto the griddle and once you have a good colour on one side (2-3 minutes) flip over and cook for 5-10 minutes. The farls will rise into puffy pillows. Test by pressing the middle, if they are still squidgy, flip over and continue cooking to bake out the centre of raw dough. Cool on racks covered with a damp tea towel to keep soft, or uncovered if you prefer a dryer crust.
To serve; farls are delicious with butter and homemade jams, or with savoury foods such as smoked salmon, bacon or fried eel - the hot fish melts the butter and the textures work very well together.
Chef’s Tip: The secret to this recipe, given to me by Robert Ditty, Northern Ireland's best known baker, is in the sifting of the dry ingredients - the more you sift, the more fluffy the texture. Not everyone uses oil or fat in their recipe. (Older bakers used shortening.) Mr Ditty finds that it brings together all the ingredients, improving the 'crumb' and preventing a closer, stodgier texture than you would achieve without it. These breads turn into completely different products when preservatives or additives are used to prolong their shelf life, which is why you must travel to Northern Ireland, or make your own to experience the real thing.
My last recipe is a cocktail-ish Black Velvet, from www.greatcocktails.co.uk
A Black Velvet is made using a stout beer more often than not Guinness and a sparkling white wine, often champagne. The origin of this cocktail comes from Brooks Club in London. In 1861, as people mourned the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's Prince Consort, this fine cocktail was served.
A Black Velvet is made using a stout beer more often than not Guinness and a sparkling white wine, often champagne. The origin of this cocktail comes from Brooks Club in London. In 1861, as people mourned the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's Prince Consort, this fine cocktail was served.
This serves 1
Guinness
Champagne
Champagne
Half fill a champagne glass with Guinness and gently pour the champagne over the back of a spoon so the liquid runs down the sides, this avoids mixing the two liquids.
Another variation is a Poor Man’s Black Velvet, this is made by replacing the champagne with apple cider or perry. Add the cider or perry as the bottom layer and then add the Guinness as the top layer.
Another variation is a Poor Man’s Black Velvet, this is made by replacing the champagne with apple cider or perry. Add the cider or perry as the bottom layer and then add the Guinness as the top layer.
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig agus dea-shláinte
If you have enjoyed my blog, or have tried out the recipes I have included and wish to comment, please feel free to comment using the comment button or by visiting my guestbook, all comments and suggestions will be gratefully received.
Hope you enjoy!!..... ChefGarfy =D
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