Conference turris::cooks

The only veg I ever had in Ireland that was done properly was potato, and that 
was probably due to all the practice (every meal comes with at least one 
potato dish).  Most other veggies (green, etc.) I had there seemed to be 
overboiled.  I did have brussel sprouts once that weren't quite gray yet, but 
that was at a very fancy "French" style restaurant.  Most traditional Irish 
veg dishes are boiled, and seasonings are usually limited to butter and cream.
However, in recognition of your plight, here is a list of all the vegetable 
recipes from "An Irish Farmhouse Cookbook", with a running commentary that 
translates the dish into American terms.  Let me know what tickles your 
fancy, and I'll enter the full recipe:

Colcannon		boiled cabbage, parsnip, onion and potato
Champ			mashed potato and scallion
Boxty			potato pancakes 
Savoury Baked Potatoes	regular baked with a topping of tomato, pea, and mayo
Hot Potato Salad	a bland american picnic favorite with hot potatoes
Best Chips		MacDonald's Large Fries
Old Fashioned Chips	(m.o.t.s.)
Potato and Onion Pie	au gratin type preparation
Vegetables in a Shell	tomatoes stuffed with mashed potato, scallion, tomato 
			and salad dressing
Tomatoes in Sour Cream	cooked with onion
Dressed Mushrooms	mushrooms steamed in lemon juice, served hot in yogurt
Stuffed Cabage Rolls	stuffed with rice, onion, garlic and chopped meat
Cauliflower in ALL its Glory
			boiled cauliflower in white sauce
Fried Leeks in Bacon	'nuff said
Stuffed Vegetable Marrow
			Green squash stuffed with onions, peppers, breadcrumbs 
			and tomatoes
Buttered Celery		baked, 'nuff said
Vegetable Hotpot	kind of a Ratatouille(sp?) with mashed potatoes
Buttered Carrots	similar to Buttered Celery, but boiled
Carrot and Parsnip Mash	'nuff said
Creamy Swedes		mashed turnips
Crowned Beetroot	Sliced beets with mashed potato and BLAND deviled eggs


						     Good luck
							- JP

Reproduced w/o permission from An Irish Farmhouse Cookbook by Mary Kinsella

Beets are a wime coloured root vegetable.  Small beets have a better flavour 
and texture than very large ones.  Beetroot is generally served cold in salad. 
But it can be very tasty heated or served with a hot dish as here.

Ingredients:
6 large slices beetroot
12 oz boiled potatoes (4-5 potatoes)
1 oz butter
2 tablespoons milk
seasoning
3 hard-boiled eggs
3 generous tablespoons mayonnaise
1-2 generous teaspoons chopped parsley
2 oz grated cheese (1/2 cup)

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves: 6

Method:
1. Place the 6 beet slices on a serving dish

2. Mash the potatoes.  Melt the butter, add milk and bring to the boil.  Then 
   add mashed potatoes, season to taste and beat well together.

3. Put potatoes into pastry bag and pipe a border of potatoes around the edge 
   of each slice of beet.

4. Cut eggs in half on the width, remove yolks and put through a sieve. 

5. Mix sieved yolks, mayonnaise, and chopped parsley together and season to 
   taste.  Pipe mixture into the egg white.

6. Stand each filled egg white in the center within the potato boarder.

7. Sprinkle with grated cheese and serve.

    Potato and Fresh Herb Soup - Serves 6
    
    4 tbs butter			2-3 tsp of mixture of following:
    1 cup diced onions				fresh parsley, thyme, chives
    1 tsp salt				5 cups of chicken stock
    freshly ground pepper		1/2 cup light cream or half and
    3 cups of peeled, diced potatoes		half
    
    Melt butter in a heavy saucepan.  When it foams, add potatoes and
    onions and toss them in butter until well coated.  Sprinkle with salt
    and pepper.  Cover and cook at a low heat for 10 minutes.  Add fresh
    herbs and stock and cook until potatoes and onions are soft.  Pure
    mixture in food processor.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Add cream
    or half and half until soup is at desired consistency.    Server
    sprinkled with freshly chopped herbs.

    
    Irish Farm Broth					Serves 8
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    
    2 	pounds	boneless beef chuck
    2-3 quarts	water
    3/4	cup	split peas
    3/4	cup	pearl barley
    1		small cabbage, cored and shredded
    1	cup 	celery leaves, shredded
    1		small turnip
    		
    Put the beef into the pot with the amount of water required for the
    broth.  Add the peas and barley.  Put on the lid and cook slowly, while
    you prepare the vegetables.  Add the vegetables to the pot and simmer
    all for 2 or 3 hours over low heat.  Season to taste with salt and
    pepper.
    
    

    Well our dinner club is repeating the Irish theme this
    March 16th.  I have to bring the appetizers and 1st course.
    I have read thru all the Irish recipes in this file and
    have extracted the 2 soups and off course the breads.
    
    As you can see from note 537 last time we did the Irish
    theme it was 4 years ago and I had veggies.  I believe
    the appetizer/first course person did potato soup but
    I can't remember what appetizer was served.
    
    So any new and exciting recipes would be appreciated.
    
    Judie
    
    

Well for the first course you need something to go with the brown bread.

I suggest Wild Irish smoked salmon. Garnish with a little onion and tomato.
Serve with a pint of Guinness.

Mbr 

    Are there any suitable Irish cheeses?

This type of soup was common in Ireland in the 19th and early 20th century. It
was especially popular in spring when fresh green vegetables were scarce. It
is full of iron and other vitamins

	2 onions peeled and chopped
	1 leek
	2 large potatoes peeled and sliced
	50 g (2oz) butter
	4 large cups of nettle tops , washed
	salt and black pepper
	pinch grated nutmeg
	1 bay leaf
	1.5 pints chicken stock
	.5 pint milk


Saute onions,leeks and potatoes in butter until soft. add nettles,salt,pepper,
nutmeg and bay leaf. Cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes. Add kiquids bring to 
boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.. Sieve or liquidize, check seasoning and
serve hot.

Mbr

    Unless there is another plant also called that, a nettle is a stinging
    weedy plant - I can't imagine making SOUP out of them.  Is that the
    same plant?  If so, how do you harvest them without massive amounts of
    cortisone cream??
    
    /Charlotte

    One of the most widely available appetizers in Dublin restaurants is
    fresh mushrooms, stuffed with cream cheese flavored with LOTS of
    garlic, then deep fried and served with a garlic mayonnaise.  Yum!!!
    

And where would one get nettles?  I've never seen them in the Big Y!

Is there a suitable replacement - something that would closely resemble the
flavor (do nettles have flavor?) and texture (perhaps this wouldn't be wise
;^)

-Caryn

    Stuffed Tomato Wheel		Seves: 4
    
    It would be hard to improve on the flavor of fresh Irish tomatoes. 
    July and August are the best months for them.  The quality of our best
    greenhouse tomatoes is far superior in flavour and texture to any of
    the imported varieties.
    
    Irish tomatoes are very firm and so are ideal for stuffing.  And
    stuffed tomatoes provide an ideal way of using up leftover meat, fish
    or vegetables.
    
    Ingredients:
    	4 large tomatoes
    	2 medium-sized cooked potatoes
    	1 heaping tbsp cooked peas
    	1 heaping tsp chopped herbs (That's all it says-JP)
    	seasoning (ditto-JP)
    	Mayonnaise
    	4 pineapple rings
    	finely chopped herbs
    
    Preparation time: 15 min.
    
    Method:
    
    1. Cut tops from rounded ends of tomatoes.  Scoop out the flesh and put
    	through a fine sieve.
    2. Cut the potatoes into cubes, add sieved flesh, peas, herbs,
    	seasoning, and mayonnaise to taste.  Spoon this filling into the
    	tomatoes.
    3. Place the pineapple rings on individual serving plates, arrange the
    	tomatoes on top and sprinkle with herbs.
    
    To Vary:
    
    Serve hot, omitting pineapple rings, perhaps grating some cheese over
    the top of the tomato.  Bake in a moderate oven for 10-15 min.

    Re .6
    
    The sting is on the edge of the leaf, you can pluck the leaves off if
    you avoid the edges.
    
    Clive.

    re .14
    
    In the US, bacon means something quite different from what it means in
    Ireland.  If you make this with what we call "bacon", you will most
    likely be *very* disappointed.  What's known as bacon in Ireland is
    what we call ham here.
    
    I once made a recipe for something calling for boiled bacon, and I used
    what we call bacon i.e., strips of salty, fatty stuff known as
    "rashers" in Ireland.  Well, it was *dreadful*, but after I later tried
    it with ham, it was great!  (It was an Irish recipe.)
    
    -ellie

             Bacon is a pork belly that has been cured and usally smoked.
    If you have a pork beely that hasn't been cured and you slice it and
    fry it its nothing more than fried pork. The same goes for hams, ham is
    fresh pork that has been cured and smoked.

    Actually, the disconnect between US bacon and Irish bacon sounds
    familiar.  Perhaps if you used what we in the US call Canadian bacon,
    you'd be closer to the true recipe.
    
    Canadian bacon is (I believe) smoke pork loin.
    
    					andrew

    The REAL difference, and herein lies the problem, between Irish bacon
    and what's called bacon in the US is that in the US we generally mean
    thin-sliced pieces of cured pork.  So, for instance, if the recipe says
    to "simmer 2-lb of bacon for an hour", the result you get when using 
    US "bacon" is a *mess* -- quite different from what you get with Irish
    "bacon".  Yes, I agree they are essentially the same meat...
    
    As for a recipe for the cream cheese garlic mushrooms, I don;t really
    have one.  But it looks like what you would do is to take some good
    sized mushrooms, and fill the "cups" with some cream cheese to which
    *lots* of garlic has ben added.  Then dip each mushroom in bread crumbs
    and deep fry.  Serve with home-made mayonnaise which is also heavily
    flavored with garlic.

    I vaguely remember the Irish calling the US style of bacon "streaky
    bacon".  You could use Canadian bacon as a substitute for thier
    standard bacon, except it doesn't have the little bits of gristle from
    the nipples in it.

    Couple of questions:
    
    When the recipe calls for 'mixed fruit', does that mean dried fruits,
    like in a fruitcake?
    
    Is 'mixed spice' the same thing as 'allspice'?
    
    What is 'breadsoda'?
    
    Thanks,
    	/Harry (a die-hard Guinness drinker)

    Hi Harry,
    
    "MIXED FRUIT"   Yes it is the same as fried fruit used in baking a
    fruit cake.
    
    "MIXED SPICE"   Is a combination of spices if that is what allspice is
    it should be o.k.
    
    "BREADSODA"     An other name for it is BICARBONATE OF SODA.
    
    
    I hope this helps. I hope you enjoy...
    
    Ann

    Allspice is NOT a mixture of spices; it's a spice in its own right.
    You probably could use it in place of mixed spice, but you'd really
    want to use a mixture of, let's see, ground cinnamon, cumin, a little
    mace, nutmeg, and a ground clove. Just guess the proportions but don't
    overdo the cloves!
    
    ...Robert

    They're abundant here, called thorns or pickers (in the midwest,
    anyway). Substitute endive.
    

    I've read thru this listing of recipes and need MORE help.  I will
    check out a cookbook if you all can't help, but this is usually the bst
    place to ask first.
    
    I need a recipe for an Irish meal (and since corned beef isn't really
    Irish) and someone else is making beef & kidney pie and soda bread...
    
    Can anyone point out menu items if not full recipes?
    
    Any assistance is appreciated!
    
    -sandy
    

    My husband lived 10 years in Ireland, and while he was there he bought
    a cookbook called _Traditional_Irish_Recipes_.  Let me know what kind
    of dish you're looking to make (soup, fish, meat, bread...) and I'll
    enter some recipes.
    
    Cara
    

    GREAT!!  This is for a potluck type meal - fish or meat would be great. 
    Soups are a little harder to transport and I know of two others
    bringing breads.
    
    You are a lifesaver!  
    
    -sandy
    

    OK, here's a couple of recipes from the _Traditional_Irish_Recipes_
    cookbook that sound like they might travel well:
    
    			Irish Stew
    
    3 lbs. lean neck of lamb chops	2 lbs. potatoes
    1 lb. onions			3/4 pint water
    sprig of parsley and thyme		salt, pepper
    
    Cut the chops into largish chunks, trimming away surplus fat and
    gristle.  Bones may be left in.
    
    Peel the potatoes.  Thinly slice 1/3, leaving the rest whole unless
    they are large, when they may be cut to a more convenient size.
    
    Place the sliced potatoes in a pan, then a layer of the sliced onions,
    then the meat.  Now add the remaining onions with the chopped parsely
    and thyme.  Finish off the top with the whole potatoes.  Add the water
    and season to taste.
    
    Cover tightly and place in the oven at 325F for 2 - 2 1/2 hrs.  (if
    preferred, the stew may be cooked in a sauce pan on top of the stove. 
    Simmer gently and check to see that it does not become too dry.)
    
    
    			Cocklety Pie
    
    2 quarts cockles (scallops?)	2 onions
    1 pint milk				2 sticks celery
    2 TBS chopped parsley		1 1/2 oz. butter
    1 1/2 oz. flour			salt, pepper
    
    Wash the cockles thoroughly to remove all sand.  Put in a pot with a
    pint of sea water (or salted water) and bring to a boil.  When the
    shells open, remove from heat, discard the shells, and keep the cockles
    in a warm bowl.  
    
    Finely chop one onion, fry in the butter, and add the chopped parsley
    and celery.  Add the strained stock, the milk, and a whole onion stuck
    with a few cloves.  Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes, then thicken
    with the flour  mixed in a little milk.  Boil 10 minutes more, then
    strain over the cockles.
    
    Cover with a pastry crust and bake at 350F for 30 minutes or so.
    

    This recipe is taken from an old Irish Manuscript (dated around 1760).
    It is a very rich pudding made from potatoes (what else!)
    
    3 or 4 potatoes boiled and mashed
    8 egg yolks
    4 egg whites
    1/4 lb melted butter
    1/4 lb caster sugar
    8 oz cream
    grated nutmeg
    glass of brandy
    
    Beat eggs until blended. Add other ingredients. Put in a buttered dish.
    Cook at 375 F for about 45 mins or until it tests done.
    
    The predominance of egg yolks with the cream makes this a particular
    tender texture.

    This sounds good, but can someone clue me as to what Caster sugar is?
    
    Thanks!

    re .35
    
    Hi Martin!  This sounds like a great recipe.  Can you tell me what the
    texture is like, though?  Is it real custardy (i.e. slimy, ecchhh) or
    is graininess of the potatoes still evident?  And just how big *is* 
    that brandy glass?
    
    -ellie (who hates slippery textured puddings  8^('  )

    Caster sugar is a very, very fine sugar.  You can find it locally in
    grocery stores such as Alexander's, Shaws, Stop N Shop, etc.

    I'd say American sugar is Caster sugar.   My experience with buying
    sugar in England is that the Cane sugar is fine and the beet sugar is
    coarser.   American sugar tends to be cane sugar.
    

<    Caster sugar is a very, very fine sugar.  ...

    Fine like a powdered sugar you'd use in a cake icing???

    No, that's icing sugar.
    
    In order,  Granulated = Tea, jam, general sweetener  
    	       Caster= Cake making, biscuits
	       Icing= Sweets, royal icing, buttercreme
    
    
    Elaine
    

    Caster sugar is not confectionery sugar.  The box is distinctly marked
    "caster sugar"...

   Where does the name caster sugar come from?

   - Jim

    re .37
    
    It is a very rich pudding on the "surprise" variety. It is a tender
    creamy type of pudding. Of the brandy about 2 oz goes into the pudding.
    I am sure that you can think of something to do with the rest.
    
    A version of this can be made without the cream or egg yolks. This is
    usually referred to as the "curate's Pudding"
    
    Martin B

    Here's a recipe for Colcannon enough to serve a large family or a
    potluck.
    		Peel and boil about four pounds of potatoes
    
    		Quarter and core a small head of cabbage and cook it in a
    			steamer
    
    		Finely chop one large, or two small leeks, tops included
    			scallions can be used instead, but leeks are sweeter
    
    		Warm 1/2 pint heavy cream to simmer and add leeks, cook
    		until tender
    
    		When everything is cooked, mash everything together in a
    		deep dish along with 1/4 lb. of butter.  You should
    		probably put the cabbage in first as that will be harder to
    		mash up once the potatoes are added.  Salt and pepper to taste.
    
    This dish is traditional for All Hallow's Eve in Ireland, and goes very
    nice with a baked ham.  It was once customary to secrete things in
    this dish as a predictor of one's fortune.  The person who got the ring
    in their portion would be first to marry, the sixpence to gain a
    fortune, the thimble an old maid, button a bachelor, etc.
    
    It's also good as a leftover, made into patties, breaded with crumbs
    and fried in butter for breakfast.

From todays Boston Glob

3T	flour
1/2t	dried thyme
	fresh ground black pepper
1-1/2lb	beef stew meat cut into cubes
4T	vegetable oil
2	onions chopped
1lb	carrots scraped and cut into 1 in. pieces
1c	rutabaga in 1 in. pieces
16oz	Guiness or other Irish stout or 12oz bottle and 1/2 cup beef broth
2T	brown sugar
	salt
1	bay leaf

On a plate mix together the flour, thyme and black pepper.  Toss the beef cubes
in this.  Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a stew pan.  Add the beef cubes a few at
a time and cook until they are browned on all sides, adding another tablespoon 
of oil if necessary.  Remove beef from pan.

Add the rest of the oil if needed and saute the onion over gentle heat until
softened.  Stir in the carrots and rutabaga, then the reserved beef and any
remaining flour mixture.  Add the Guiness, a tablespoon of brown sugar, a little
salt and the bay leaf.

Cover the pan and simmer gently on the stove or in a 350 degree oven for an hour,
stirring from time to time.  Taste for flavor.  Add the rest of the brown sugar
if the gravy seems too bitter.  Alos add salt and more pepper to taste.  Continue
cooking until tender - 15 to 45 minutes.  Serve immediately with baked or mashed
potatos, or refridgerate until the next day.

Serves 5 to 6

P.S. I plan on serving hot bisquits instead of potatos.

Erin Go Bragh 

    This is similar to a recipe in Jeff Smith's "Immigrant Ancestor's"
    cookbook.  I've made that recipe a few times and it always comes out
    great.  O'Connor's Pub & Restaurant in Worcester, MA serves a Guinness
    Pie, which is basically a Guinness stew served under a sheet of puff
    pastry.  According to the menu, the meat is marinated in the Guinness
    prior to cooking.  Since then, I've also marinated the meat in
    Guinness when making the stew.

    
    
    Someone was discussing the addition of green food coloring to 
    mashed potatoes for Saint Patrick's Day dinner.  Does this change
    the flavor or texture of the potato's at all???
    
    
    Thanks,
    
    Terrie
    

No.  However, lots of people will refuse to eat green mashed potatoes anyway.

Terrie,

Green food coloring is great in white wine or beer!  I've also put it in punch,
but that takes quite a bit usually depending upon the other ingredients.  I like
the idea of putting it in the mashed potatoes...that's a riot!!

Hugs,
Laura

	green mashed potatoes - gross.  why not just surround it with
	italian parsley or something?

    New York special = green bagels.
    
    For St. Patty's day babies, pity the poor green birthday cake.  
    
    L

>>	green mashed potatoes - gross.  why not just surround it with
>>	italian parsley or something?


Actually, to make them really "irish", leave them white, and surround them with
boiled potatoes and chips (aka french fries)!

    RE: .51  by PENUTS::DDESMAISONS 
    
	>green mashed potatoes - gross.  why not just surround it with
	>italian parsley or something?
    
    Better yet, make colcannon.