In the States, and particularly in Vermont, we like to think that we invented everything gourmet. We started the local food movement, we started CSAs, we invented the garlic festival, right? But on the eve of Saint Patrick’s Day we thought we’d take the opportunity to look at the culinary delights (really?) of a lessor known island cuisine: the food of Ireland!
Think Irish food and you’ll probably picture corned beef and cabbage (an American invention), blood pudding, boxty (a kind of potato pancake), coddle (a stew of pork sausage, bacon and potatoes), and my personal favorite, colcannon (mashed potatoes, kale or cabbage, butter, salt, and pepper). Each of these dishes seems to cry out for the addition of garlic, but that ingredient is consistently lacking in all the traditional recipes I researched online.
Modern Irish Cuisine on the other hand is full of garlic and fresh local produce. Take a look at the lunch menu at Dublin’s Lecrivain and you’ll see what I mean. This video gives a new definition to Irish food:
[youtube LFckH5_qruM 480 300]
Granted, the music in this video belongs in a horror film, but the food looks heavenly. No green food coloring in sight…
Here are a few delightful Irish recipes you might enjoy with your Guiness on Thursday:
Shepherd’s Pie with Garlic and Parsley Butter
Some good things to serve with pan-grilled fish (including wild garlic butter!)
Smoked Haddock Soup
Broiled Oysters with Garlic Breadcrumbs
Irish Garlic Chips
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
image credit: http://blog.mackenzieland.com