Irish

It is often worth introducing some sort of richness to vegetables with a heart of starch. Ideal suitors include butter, cream, bacon fat, and honey. Jane Grigson suggests cheese, often in the form of Gruyère or Parmesan, as do others, who have been known to roll a stiff parsnip mash in grated Parmesan and deep-fry it as a croquette. To this list I add my own, a shallow cake along the lines of a pan haggerty (potatoes and onions topped with cheese), made with thin slices of the root layered with grated cheese and herbs. Parsnip haggerty, anyone?

Every book I write has yet another variation of this soft, enriched multigrain loaf, my all-time favorite bread. The name comes from western Scotland, probably the town called Struanmoor, on the Isle of Skye, and also from a Gaelic clan name that means “a convergence of streams.” It was originally conceived of as a once-a-year harvest bread, incorporating whatever grains and seeds were available from the previous day’s harvest. Because the notion of a harvest bread offers a great deal of formula flexibility, I’m always looking for ways to push the struan envelope in search of better or easier versions. This recipe is very similar to the version I originally made at my bakery, Brother Juniper’s, and it was by far the most popular bread we made. This time around, I’ve taken advantage of the overnight, cold fermentation method to come up with a recipe that’s more flexible, particularly in regard to time options. This is the ultimate toasting bread. There’s something about the combination of ingredients that creates the perfect balance of flavor and texture when toasted and spread with butter, jam, or both. It also works beautifully as a sandwich bread with fillings like tuna salad, chicken salad, or egg salad. You can reduce the amount of sugar or honey if you prefer, but I like the sweetness of this bread and think the combination of brown sugar and honey enhances the toasting qualities. Still, sweetness is a very personal matter, so follow your heart and your palate.

My brothers and sisters cringed when I told them I was including Irish soda bread in this cookbook. I can’t really blame them. Grandma McKenna used to force it on us when we’d pop by her house after church, as if it were punishment for interrupting her Sunday afternoon cleaning spree. My brother Bill pointed out that Grandma would ask him if he wanted some candy and when he said yes she’d sit him down with a thick slice of Irish soda bread. My brother Frank noted that her solution to gripes was, “Put some butter on it!” Instead, I decided I’d simply update this old-world snack so that it stands a fighting chance against the evolution of tender tastebuds.

Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish of boiled potatoes mashed with green onions, leeks or sometimes chives, kale or cabbage, and milk or cream. I like mine extremely green, with lots of black pepper.

This tasty Irish classic features potatoes and cabbage browned in a skillet and is embellished with lots of scallions. For a simply delicious meal, serve this with veggie burgers and a tossed salad.

Although we're fans of Irish coffee, this particular incarnation as a coffee ice cream sundae with a whiskey—spiked caramel sauce is so insanely good, we suspect you'll be indulging in this far more often than the drink itself! For more seasonal recipes, download the free Gourmet Live app and stay tuned to the Gourmet Live blog for the latest updates.

Chef Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia, shared this recipe as part of a St. Patrick's Day feast he created exclusively for Epicurious. He recommends pairing the soup's complex flavors with a Riesling, but says you also can't go wrong with a pint of Guinness.

Chef Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia, shared this recipe as part of a St. Patrick's Day feast he created exclusively for Epicurious. Although this dessert originated in Bakewell, England, chefs and cooks around England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales have created their own adaptations. Chef Armstrong's version, which is based on his mother's, is halfway between the classic Bakewell tart and the classic Bakewell pudding. This recipe calls for a quick puff pastry, but in a pinch you can use the store-bought frozen variety. Leftover puff pastry can be used to make Cheese Straws or Palmiers.

Chef Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia, shared this recipe as part of a St. Patrick's Day feast he created exclusively for Epicurious. Armstrong suggests serving a Rhône-style wine such as Syrah or Grenache with this full-flavored dish.

This traditional Irish cake uses porter, such as Guinness, Beamish or Murphy's, and is a deliciously rich and moist fruit cake. Make it a few days in advance of the celebratory event (it's perfect for St. Patrick's Day) if you like, and it will improve even more!

At Ballinalacken Castle Country House & Restaurant, the bread is baked in a rectangular pan.

Baguette-like loaves make this Irish classic easy to slice, providing perfectly sized portions.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen. Although this dish is eaten less frequently nowadays in Ireland, for Irish expatriots it conjures up powerful nostalgic images of a rural Irish past. Originally it was a traditional Easter Sunday dinner. The beef, killed before the winter, would have been salted and could now be eaten after the long Lenten fast, with fresh green cabbage and floury potatoes. Our local butcher corns beef in the slow, old-fashioned way which, alas, is nowadays more the exception than the norm.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen. This recipe for quickly cooked cabbage has converted many an ardent cabbage hater!

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen. One of the best-loved ways of cooking potatoes was (and is) to mash them with boiling milk, add chopped scallions or chives and serve this creamy, green-flecked mixture with a blob of yellow butter melting in the center. Leeks, nettles, peas and brown crispy onions are all delicious additions.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from A Baker's Odyssey by Greg Patent. I am indebted to Irish food expert and cookbook author Noreen Kinney, for sharing her family's Irish soda bread recipe. This bread is meant to be eaten plain with meals, or with cheese or with butter and jam, or used to sop up gravy. According to Noreen: Strictly speaking, there is no white Irish soda bread with raisins. Traditional Irish soda bread is brown, with a coarse texture and no fruit. It can also contain seeds and flax and bran, depending on the baker's desires. That is the reason I was shocked to see the white item passed off as Irish soda bread when I arrived in the States. However, in Ireland there is a famous old bread that was very popular with the poorer people in times past, and considered quite a treat for a special occasion or on Sundays. It is still popular today. Depending on which part of the country one is in, it is known as spotted dick or spotted dog. Basically it is derived from Irish soda bread, but it uses white flour in place of the traditional flours and other ingredients that go into the true Irish soda bread. To enrich the recipe, people added raisins when they became available, and they might add a full egg beaten into the milk, plus some white sugar. So it is the old Irish spotted dick that folks here call Irish Soda Bread. Everyone who makes Irish soda bread adds her or his own personal touches to the bread. To the mixture of whole wheat flour and white flour, Noreen, on any given day, might add wheat bran, oat bran, wheat germ, oats, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, or poppy seeds. She varies proportions and grains depending on how she wants the bread to turn out. Think of the following proportions as guidelines, and feel free to vary the grain additions according to your tastes, adding from 4 to 5 ounces total by weight for each loaf. The bread's crust is coarse and firm, while the inside is rather dense but moist. A cross indented (not cut) on top of the bread allows the bread to be easily separated into quarters. Oddly, the sunflower seeds change color during baking, flecking the bread with an emerald green. The unexpected appearance of flecks of green in the bread the first time I made it surprised me. I could tell the color came from the sunflower seeds, but why did this happen? Food chemist Shirley Corriher, author of the classic Cookwise, had the answer. "Sunflower seeds are chock-full of good-for-you things," Shirley said, and by that she meant they're loaded with antioxidants. Among these are flavonoids, which turn yellow when they come into contact with an alkali (baking soda in the recipe). Other antioxidants, anthocyanins, react by turning blue. Put blue and yellow together, and you get green. Nifty.

Comfort food at its best. This hash is great for breakfast, brunch, or even dinner. Use one or two eggs per person. The eggs can be partially poached up to one hour ahead and then finished a couple of minutes before serving.

Spicy horseradish cream and malty Guinness mustard amp up the flavor of this home-corned beef. You might need to special-order the brisket from your butcher, and you'll have to start brining the meat eight days before you cook and serve it. The Insta Cure No. 1 is optional, but it's nice to use because it gives the meat its traditional pink color. Save the leftover corned beef and vegetables for the sandwiches and hash.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from A Year at Ballymaloe Cookery School, by Darina Allen. My brother, Rory O'Connell, introduced me to this fantastic combination, which then fired my imagination, and many experiments have followed. We have been having fun ringing the changes with this recipe. Bread and Butter Pudding is also delicious with apple and cinnamon or even mixed spices. I can't wait to try gooseberry and elderflower as soon as they come back into season. Don't cut down on the cream in this recipe and don't use too much bread.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from A Year at Ballymaloe Cookery School, by Darina Allen. To read more about the book, Ballymaloe, and Allen, see the related Daily Dish. We can sometimes get lovely fat pink trout about 2 years old, which have a wonderful taste — much better than the smaller ones. This is a horrendously rich-sounding sauce, but it's delicious and the flavor is sublime.