Five of the most delicious Irish recipes to cook on St Patrick's Day

Plus our guide to the best Irish coffee you'll ever taste

Whip up an Irish-themed feast this St Patrick's Day.

Irish country soup

recipe by:Darina Allen

Rich, hearty and filled with vegetables, this soup is the perfect solution for a cold winter evening - enjoy with homemade bread

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Starter

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 175g un-smoked streaky Irish bacon

• olive or sunflower oil

• 150g potatoes, peeled and chopped into 5mm pieces

• 50g onions, finely chopped

• 1 small garlic clove (optional)

• 450g very ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced or 400g tin of tomatoes and juice

• salt

• freshly ground pepper

• ½-1 tsp sugar

• 750ml homemade chicken stock or vegetable stock

• 50g cabbage, finely chopped

• chopped parsley, to garnish 

Method

1. Remove the rind from the bacon if necessary.

2. Prepare the vegetables

3. Cut the bacon into 5mm dice approx. Blanch the bacon cubes in cold water to remove some of the salt. Drain and dry on kitchen paper.

4. Sauté in a little olive or sunflower oil until the fat runs and the bacon is crisp and golden. Add potatoes, onions and crushed garlic. Sweat for 10 minutes and then add diced tomatoes and any juice. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Cover with stock and cook for five minutes.

5. Add the finely chopped cabbage and continue to simmer just until the cabbage is cooked. Taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle with lots of chopped parsley and serve.

Irish apple cake

recipe by:Darina Allen

This cake would originally have been baked in a bastible or pot beside an open fire and later in the oven or stove on tin or enamel plates – much better than ovenproof glass because the heat travels through and cooks the pastry base more readily.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 225g white flour

• ¼ tsp baking powder

• 110g butter

• 125g caster sugar

• 1 egg

• 50-125ml milk, approx

• 1-2 cooking apples

• 2-3 cloves (optional)

• egg wash

• To serve:

• Barbados (muscovado) sugar

• Softly whipped cream

• 24cm (9in) ovenproof pie plate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl.

3. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it resembles the texture of breadcrumbs.

4. Add 75g caster sugar, make a well in the centre and mix to a soft dough with the beaten egg and enough milk to form a soft dough.

5. Divide in two. Put one half onto a greased ovenproof plate and pat out with floured fingers to cover the base.

6. Peel, core and chop up the apples, place them on the dough and add 45g sugar, depending on the sweetness of the apples.

7. Roll out the remaining pastry and fit on top. This is easier said than done as this ‘pastry’ is more like scone dough and as a result is very soft. Press the sides together, cut a slit through the lid, egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes approximately, or until cooked through and nicely browned.

8. Dredge with caster sugar and serve warm with Barbados sugar and softly whipped cream.
   
   Taken from Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen.