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Cuisine (Recipes)

Last-modified: 6 Jul 98

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Contents of Part 7

  1. Corned Beef & Cabbage
  2. Colcannon
  3. Irish Soda Bread
  4. Shortbread
  5. Boxty
  6. Potato Cakes
  7. Other sources

1) Corned Beef & Cabbage

From: Stephanie de Silva

	1 3/4 lbs onions
	2 1/2 lbs carrots
	6 lb corned beef brisket or round, spiced or unspiced
	1 cup malt vinegar
	6 oz Irish stout
	1 tablespoon mustard seed
	1 tablespoon coriander seed
	1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
	1/2 tablespoon dill seed
	1/2 tablespoon whole allspice
	2 bay leaves
	3 lb cabbage, rinsed
	2 1/2 lb small red potatoes
	1/2 cup coarse grain mustard
	1/2 cup dijon mustard
To serve 12, use a 14 to 20 quart pan.

Coarsely chop enough onions and carrots to make 1 cup each. In pan, place onions and carrots, corned beef with any liquid, vinegar, stout, mustard seed, coriander, peppercorns, dill, allspice and bay leaves. Add water to barely cover beef. Cover pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer until meat is tender when pierced, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Meanwhile, cut remaining onions into wedges. Cut remaining carrots into 2-inch lengths; halve them lengthwise if large. Cut cabbages in half through cores, then into wedges. Scrub potatoes.

Add onions, carrots and potatoes to tender corned beef, place cabbage on top. Cover and return to simmering over high heat; reduce heat and simmer until cabbage is tender when pierced, 15 to 20 minutes.

With a slotted spoon scoop out vegetables onto warm serving dishes. Using tongs and a slotted spoon, remove beef to a cutting board; cut off and discard fat, slice meat across the grain and place on warm platters. Serve meat and vegetables with coarse-grain and dijon mustards.

2) Colcannon

From: Stephanie de Silva

	4 lb russet potatoes
	1 lb cabbage, cute into fine shreds
	1/2 cup butter
	1 1/4 cup milk
	1 cup sliced green onions
	salt and pepper
To serve 12, you'll need a 5 to 6 quart pan. Peel potatoes; rinse. Drain; cute into 2 inch pieces. Place potatoes in pan; cover with water. Bring to a boil, covered, over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer until tender when pierced, about 15 minutes.

Drain; mash, part at a time, in a heavy-duty mixer or by hand in a large bowl. As mashed, transfer to a very large bowl; cover.

Place cabbage and butter in pan sued for potatoes. Cover; steam cabbage over medium-high heat until well wilted, stirring often. Meanwhile, stir milk and onions often in a 3 to 4 quart pan over medium heat until simmering. Stir milk mixture into potatoes until smooth, stir in cabbage. Season with salt and pepper.

From: Chuck Narad

	8 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
	1/2 head of cabbage
	1 bunch scallions (green onions), chopped
	milk
	butter
	dill (dried, or fresh chopped)
	fresh ground black pepper
Shred the cabbage. Sautee it with a little butter, then reduce heat and cover; let it steam. When it is almost limp, add the scallions. (I'd probably add some garlic and an onion if I made this).

Meanwhile, boil, drain, mash the potatoes, add some milk and a little butter. Add the cabbage mixture, and stir in the dill and pepper.

3) Irish Soda Bread

From: Stephanie de Silva

	3 cups all-purpose flour
	3 tablespoons sugar
	1 teaspoon baking soda
	3/4 teaspoon salt
	9 tablespoons butter
	1 tablespoon caraway seed
	1/2 cup golden raisins (optional!)
	1/3 cup dried currants (optional!)
	1 cup buttermilk for dough
	1 1/2 tablespoons buttermilk for brushing
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, soda and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or rub with fingers until fine crumbs form. Mix in caraway, raisins and currants; add buttermilk for dough. Stir until evenly moistened.

Gather dough into a ball and knead about 16 turns on a lightly floured board. Pat into a smooth ball, then into a falt 1 inch thick round. Place on a greased 12 by 15 inch baking sheet.

Slash an X about 1/4 inch deep completely across each round; brush with remaining buttermilk. Bake in a 375F oven until deep golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Serve warm or cool. Cut into wedges.

Note: if you cannot obtain buttermilk, you can use a mixture of "natural" yogurt and home-made sour milk (add some drops of lemon juice to milk and leave it for 15 minutes).

4) Shortbread

From: Stephanie de Silva

Elaine's Shortbread

	1 cup softened butter
	1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
	1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
	1/2 cup white rice flour (or more all-purpose)
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with the larger amount of sugar until smooth.

Gradually add all-purpose and rice flours until well combined. Spread in a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Bake in a 275F oven until pale golden, 55 to 65 minutes. Place on racks and let cool for 10 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with sugar, then cut into 24 bars. Let cool completely. Serve.

5) Boxty

From Deirdre Barr

Here's the recipe for boxty, as per the Monica Sheridan cookbook.

	2 Large raw potatoes             
	1 teaspoon baking-soda
	2 cups of mashed potatoes        
	2 tablespoons flour (approx)
	1 teaspoon salt.
Grate the raw potatoes & squeeze out the liquid. Add to the mashed potatoes & add salt. Mix the soda with the flour and add to the potatoes. Roll out on a floured board to a circle of a 1/2" thickness. Cut in 4 quarters & put on an ungreased griddle. Cook on a gentle heat for 30 to 40 minutes, turning the bread at half-time. The farls or quarters, should be well browned on both sides. Serves 4 You may add a teaspoon of caraway seeds, if you like.

6) Potato Cakes

From Deirdre Barr

Potato Cakes (1)

	2 tablespoons butter
	1 cup flour
	1/2 teaspoon baking powder
	1/2 teaspoon salt
	3 cups freshly mashed potatoes.
Rub the butter into the flour. Add the baking powder and salt and mix well. Add the potatoes and bind all together with your hand. Roll out to quarter-inch thickness on a well floured board with a well-floured rolling pin. Cut in squares or stamp out with a cutter. Bake on an ungreased griddle until brown on both sides. Serve hot with running butter. Yields 12 cakes. (Cold potato cakes are often fried with the breakfast bacon)

Potato Cakes (2)

	1 tablespoon flour
	1/2 teaspoon salt
	2 cups freshly mashed potatoes
	2 teaspoons bacon drippings for the griddle.
Sprinkle the salted flour over the potatoes and knead lightly together. Roll out on a floured board to quarter-inch thickness. Cut in quarters or stamp out into rounds. Put on a greased griddle and cook on an even heat until both sides are well browned. When cooked, butter generously and eat at once. Yields 6-8 cakes. Major heart attack food but extremely tasty.

7) Other sources

More recipes can be found at

http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~dc920/HomePage.foodal.html

http://www.hylit.com/info/Recipes/Irish.html


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