A taste of Ireland, in keeping with the season
Here’s a great easy Irish recipe ... just in time for the day after St. Patrick’s Day!
Although it was originally a religious holiday to celebrate the bringing of Christianity to Ireland whereby Catholics and Protestants would come together once a year, it has also evolved into a celebration of Irish heritage and traditions.
Even though many of us might recognize it here, it’s actually a public holiday in the province of Newfoundland and, of course, in Ireland itself. They say everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day – does this not mean we should all get the day off?
The Irish church will lift any Lenten restrictions from eating and drinking for the day, which is why you’ll see such great feasting and partying taking place.
This dish is hearty but is actually friendly to a low-carb diet.
No true-blooded Irishman, would be caught dead eating this without a big pile of potatoes!
As much as potatoes are part of Irish culture, they didn’t exist there until the 15th century when they were brought over from the Americas. They grew well on their rugged terrain.
Green is certainly a colour associated with the Irish partly because of their hilly, grassy landscape, but also because as well as potatoes, and other root vegetables, things like cabbage leeks and celery also grow well there.
For those of us living in Waterloo Region, you could almost call St. Patrick’s Day the Irish Oktoberfest or the other way around. In that vein, this dish would also be very friendly in Bavarian cuisine.
Food is one of the great ways to unite the world!