Luck of the Irish

With St Patrick’s Day approaching, it’s time to celebrate the best of Irish food, says Rachel Allen, who has some delicious recipes for you to try. Photography by Tony Gavin

The global celebration of Irish culture that is St Patrick’s Day is as big now as it ever was.

For many, it’s more like a colourful Mardi Gras carnival than a sober religious celebration. The day that our patron saint died is still being acknowledged in an ever-increasing way all these years later which is fair enough, seeing as he not only brought Christianity to Ireland, but he also chased all the snakes away!

It’s is also the day that we’ll wear something green as a nod to the saintly reptile chaser, and eat something that’s properly Irish. Bacon and cabbage will be on the menu in many homes, while coddle and Irish stew will be making an appearance on numerous tables this Friday.

Irish stew, right — which is made with older lamb, hogget; or even older again, mutton — is a staple for many, and when it’s made well with gorgeously thick gigot chops and floury Irish potatoes, it’s good enough to rival anything else. There is no one traditional recipe for Irish stew, as, in the past, each household would have had their own family recipe. It is said, however, that people in the south of Ireland would always add carrots, but people north of Co Tipperary would not, though that theory varies, too.

Bacon and cabbage, below right, is something that can be OK or it can be completely delicious. I prefer to cook the cabbage in a bit of butter rather than boiling it in the bacon cooking water, which seems to kill any freshness. The parsley sauce is what brings it all together in the most lovely way.

If you’re not going for traditional recipe this Paddy’s Day, then how about just celebrating the best of Irish produce? This recipe, far right, for purple sprouting broccoli with hard-boiled egg, chorizo crumb and shavings of Coolea cheese does just that, and it tastes mighty fine, too.