Help! Looking for Irish cuisine :)

Finger Lime

Hello All,

Here's hoping you can help me with something.

I'm a cookery student here in Australia and I've been given a final project to try and master which consists of menu planning for a restaurant.

Everyone's typically doing French, Indian, Chinese.... cuisines that, in my mind, are quite accessible and have been done to death.

Although born in Ireland, I was brought to Australia by my parents as a four year old where I grew up with staples such as tripe and white onion sauce, skirts and kidneys, colcannon and the ol' boiled cabbage and silverside among others... Such foods formed a very important part of my life and I'm keen to revisit them.

So when I suggested to the class that I was going to do Irish food I was met with 'but you can't just do potatoes', 'but they don't have a cuisine' and 'there's more to a menu than Guinness pie..' so I admit I got a bit pissed off and I'm really determined to change this way of thinking and showcase what Ireland has to offer.

What I'm after is Irish recipes that are special or familiar to you. It doesn't have to be fancy, you don't have to be able to make it, but it does have to be Irish in terms of it being well known in Ireland (eg. the French claim Duck a l'orange as their own but it originated in Morocco). I'm also after any favourite cooking items you have, any ideas with regards to Irish produce, how it's used or anything else you feel would fit. Basically, I've got to come up with about 20 odd recipes consisting of entrees, mains, desserts and I've got to be able to cost them. I can take photos of the net but I'd prefer to cook them and photograph them myself.

Granted, I could go look at various sites on the internet - and if you have links, by all means I would love to see them - (and I did go to the various Irish pubs in my city but most of the cuisine made was Indian, Thai and English) but I want the opinion of people rather than restauranteurs or magazine 'foodies' if you know what I mean. Having said that, I wouldn't discount their opinions either - I just seek a balanced outlook, that's all.

Anyway, my project is due in two weeks so I'd appreciate any feedback from you and, of course, due credit will be given as part of my bibliography. I can even post the final project here if you like (if it's allowed).

This is a bonafide request and any help would be sorely appreciated.

Cheers,
FingerLime

The Hill Billy

I'm in work at the moment & don't have time to post up recipes, but here are a few traditional Irish dishes:

Boil bacon, cabbage & potatoes
Corned beef, cabbage & potatoes
Irish Stew
Dublin Coddle

There's also Colcannon & Boxty as traditional accompaniments to main courses, but they would not be considered dishes in themselves.

Some more contemorary Irish dishes would be along the lines of Clonakilty Black Pudding with Apple (as a starter).

Gotta go... Best of luck with your project!

catspring

black pudding is definately a good one for a starter.
you could also include seafood such as dublin bay prawns, oysters, mussels etc, and chowder
carrigheen moss might be an interesting dessert option, although i'm not sure how easy that would be to source in australia.
it'd be great to see your final project, if that's allowed
good luck!

Seaneh

Starters.

Pan fried scallops and black pudding with a strewberry beurblanc sauce.

mains.

Roast belly pork, colcanon, cider braised turnip and a thickened reduction of the roasting juices + the cider (call it what ever you want...).

desert.

individual apple tarts served with vanilla ice cream.



This would be typical of Irish cuisine.


Also, seeing as it's winter in Oz it would work of the time of year as root veg (turnip) and scallops are in season this time of year too (dunno if its the reverse down there though).



When constructing an "irish" menu pork MUST be included as it is the meat most eaten on this island for the last 2000 years, also include game birds (pheasant, woodcock and duck specifically). fish (both salt and fresh water) like Trout, Salmon, Makerel, haddock, sole, plaice, pearch, eels etc. Shell Fish like Oysters, muscles, dublin bay prawns and scallops. Game meats like Venison.

when it comes to veg there are the usuals, parsnips, turnip, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower etc.

Use stuff lke wild garlic (if you can get it) in salads, make sure you use soda bread too.


Irish food is so much more than bacon and cabbage and coddle.

brick tamland

there is a recent thread on here on coddle, it doesnt get more dublin than that, you should look it up

Not exactly fine dining but lovely comfort food, espically on a cold night

havana

One of my fave dishes from a restaurant is chicken stuffed with clonakilty black pudding. Always used to get it when eating in roly's bistro. They have a site if you google them. Second putting soda bread on the menu. Oysters and guinness. I'm not much of a foodie but good luck with the project.

Seaneh

Oysters with glasses of Guinness as a group starter would be very good.

CJhaughey

Poached salmon, not poached as in stolen but poached in stock and served cool with a little good mayonnaise and some salad.

Salmon Darnes wrapped in seaweed, plenty of Dulse around the coast here.

Mackerel dipped in egg and oatmeal and fried/grilled. You may have to use Spanish mackerel;)

Periwinkles in a thyme and butter sauce.

Smoked Mackerel Paté served on soda bread.

Thoie

• Stew, obviously enough, served some kind of fancy way.
• Lamb, in a variety of ways - roast lamb, and a kind of lamb hotpot topped with pastry are the main ways I can think of (there's probably others, but I hate lamb).
• Soups - vegetable and chicken based soups are pretty normal, with brown soda bread as someone said. Potato and leek soup might be more unusual in Australia. Mushroom soup. Prawn bisque from Dublin Bay prawns (waste of good prawn IMO though ). I once managed to make a cabbage and potato soup - must try that again. Fresh nettle soup is amazing (in season)
• Apple tart was standard fare in every restaurant for years, with a shortcrust pastry and giant dollops of fresh cream.
• Mixed grill - rashers, sausages, grilled tomatoes, a lamb chop and other bits
• Monkfish
• Corned beef (more cabbage and potatoes)
• Steak and kidney pie
• Smoked salmon potato cakes with a poached egg on top (don't know how traditional that is, but it's delicious if you can get the cakes to stay together, I never can)
• Bread and butter pudding
• Cheeseboard (Vintage Wexford Cheddar, Mature Ardrahan, Cashel Blue and loads of others that I can't think of right now - take a look here for some ideas, and also some recipes: http://www.irishcheese.ie/HT-13-Recipes.htm)
• Shepherds pie
• Rhubarb tart
• Steak/beef fillets (with or without a whisky or Guinness basting)

Honey-ec

Right, I've just pulled out my "Irish Farmers Market" cookbook by Clodagh McKenna, who wouldn't be my favourite cook at all, but she is very passionate about local, seasonal Irish food, so here's a list from her. PM me if you want any particular recipes

Breads
Irish soda bread
White soda scones with cheese & thyme
Potato scones
Boxty pancakes
Farls
Rock buns
White country sourdough

Fish and Game
Clonakilty Fish Pie
Hot Buttered Prawns on Toast
Smoked Eel with Celeriac & Creme Fraiche
Pan-fried Black Sole with Wild Garlic Butter
Rabbit Stew with Cider
Venison Terrine
Roast Pheasant with Apple and Geranium Sauce

Meat and Poultry
Cork Beef Stew
Rib of Beef with Creamy Black Pepper and Rosemary Gravy
Best Shepherd's Pie
Irish Stew
Organic Steak Pies
Sausage Stew with Tomatoes
Caherbeg Pork Pie with Caramelised Apples
Baked Ham
Chicken Liver Pate

Vegetables
Pandy
Honey-glazed Winter Roots
Slow-cooked Red Cabbage with Apples

Soups and Stocks
Potato and Wild Garlic soup
Bacon and Cabbage soup
Spinach Soup
Ballycotton Potato soup
Gubbeen Farmhouse warm salad
Wild Mushrooms with Rocket and Desmond Cheese

Cheese
Baked cheese with winter herbs
Durrus Melt-Down
Desmond Cheese Roasted Potatoes

Preserves
Gooseberry Jam
Autumn Spiced Apple Chutney
Rhubarb Chutney
Summer Chutney
Summer Berry Jam
Blackberry & Apple Jam

Desserts
Baked Cashel Blue Cheesecake
Baked Apples
Apple & Hazelnut Crumble
Lemony Carrageen Moss Pots
Curd Tart with Rosewater & Prunes
Rice Pudding with Jam
Victoria Sandwich
Sweet Geranium-infused Rhubarb
Hot Chocolate Puddings with Blackberries
Chocolate Biscuit Cake
Chocolate Bread & Butter Pudding


Good luck with the project!

35notout

Beef and Guinness stew - classic comfort food and defo a hint of Irish cuisine

Served with champ or colcannon

gafarrell

Here are just some i come up with. The one's in red i recommend .

Fresh Irish Oysters,
Organic Irish Smoked Salmon,
Corned Beef & Corned Mutton,
Irish Stew,
tripe & drisheen,
shepherds pie,
bacon & liver,
.

mega man

taco fries and can of guinness

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Am I the only Irish person who's never eaten corned beef. In fact I don't know anybody who eats it. The only time I ever got it was in the horrible sandwiches we used to get in primary school.

Any way...I've got a great Irish cook book somewhere, I'll find it later and see if there's anything good in it.

Ddad

I'd often serve a dolled up version of irish stew that goes down well.

Firstly bone out a forequater of lamb. Roll and tie the shoulder and roast the bones. Brown the shoulder in a heavy pan and remove. Add carrots, onion, celery, bay thyme and rosemary to the fat and sweat down until they soften a little. Add the meat and the bones to the pan and cover (just) with water and season. Cover and place in the oven for three hours.

Remove the bones and discard. Take any excess fat off the meat and when cool enough roll in parma ham/ very thinly sliced smoked streay rashers until the meat is the diameter of a coke can. Roll tightly in clingfilm to aid you in shaping it. Next strain the stock and discard the veg (it's done its' job). Chill the stock and remove the fat. Almost there.

Turn carrots, turnips and shape some celery sweat off in some butter, a little colour at this point is nice. Add in the stock and near the end of the cooking time add some turned potatos. Cook until tender but bot falling apart. To finish the meat cut into rounds and panfry in butter and oil and glaze with some more of the stock. Adjust the seasoning for everything. Add some finely chopped parsley to the broth and vegetables at the very end.

A shoulder will give you eight generous portions depending on size. If you'd like to stretch it add a french trimmed chop browned off and simmered in the stock.

The vegetables should be tender but firm and the spuds just softened, the meat will be moist and very tender and the saltiness of the ham/bacon really lifts the flavour.

Best of luck with the project.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Ok I found the book, it's called Irish Food And Folklore. Not a lot of folklore in it mind, but some really yummy recipies.

SOUPS
Puree of potato soup with bacon and chives
Leek & Potato Soup
Farmhouse Broth

STARTERS AND SNACKS
Grilled Goats Cheese on soda bread with bacon & tomatos
Cockles & Mussels with bacon
Grilled Dublin Bay Prawns with garlic & herb butter

FISH & SEAFOOD
Creamy Salmon Kedgeree
Baked Trout with herb stuffing & cream sauce
Fried Trout with toasted hazlenuts and herbs
Grilled Salmon steaks with herb butter
Roast fillet of salmon with saffron cream sauce
Steamed mussels in white wine sauce
Dublin Laywer (lobster)
Smoked Fish Pie

MEAT
Roast stuffed Pork Fillet
Baked Irish Ham
Boiled Bacon & Cabbage
Beef & Guinness Stew
Fillet Steak with Cashel Blue Cheese & Croutons
Ulster Steak
Gaelic Steak
Irish Stew

POULTRY & GAME
Roast Heather Honey Duck with Walnut Stuffing

VEGETABLE DISHES
Irish Farmhouse Bake
Champ
Colcannon

The ones in red are one's I've tried and are delicious. The farmhouse bake is a particularly good one as it sort of mixes traditional with modern. Very tasty.

If you want any of the recipies I'll send them to you. As a few others have said if you're looking for traditional then you'd go for pork, as this was the cheaper of the meats. Also fish, especially on Fridays, which was a religious thing. Not a lot of people follow that anymore but it was widespread at one point.

Good luck with your project, and I'd be very interested to see it when it's done.

Finger Lime

:eek: I'm stunned....and very excited!
I didn't expect this level (or calibre) of response.

Thanks especially for the additional comments regarding produce, meat cuts, religious aspects and comfort food. You've given me a lot of valuable information to research.

It's Spring here and,where I am, parsnips and turnips are in season. (I say "where I am" because Australia is split into definitive climate zones so what may be available here may not be on the other side of the country). I have a load of kale, spinach, a variety of herbs, bok choy and potatoes in the ground out the back too. The mandarin and lemon trees are also overflowing.

At a later stage, if at all possible, I'd appreciate any translations of the names of the dishes I choose into Irish as I'd love to showcase the language.

Anyway, I'll look at the lists you've given me and see which ones I can obtain ingredients for. Please keep adding if you want as the more ideas there are, the merrier my project will be

Thanks again,
FingerLime

Miaireland

Hi, might be worth taking a look here:

http://www.rte.ie/food/search.html?sort=true&cuisine=irish&startat=1

Finger Lime

Hi all,

I just thought I'd head back here to give you an update given that you kindly offered your assistance in my time of need

It took me a good six weeks of solid research but I handed in my 35 page submission on time and promptly forgot about it because if I failed this it would mean returning next year to do the subject again which would mean a logistical nightmare and other hassles that deserve a slot on Days of Our Lives rather than in here.

My results came back two weeks ago and I am very pleased to say that not only was I only one of two people to actually pass the subject, I achieved a High Distinction scoring 98 marks out of 100.

I was nicked two marks for an incorrect costing ($11.92 instead of $11.93 - bah!)

The feedback I received was so encouraging that I've used the name I made up for the restaurant in the project as well as the ideas that I listed in my submission and I'm presently developing a line of cheeses and smallgoods utilising stock which originated in Ireland. They're all curing at present and I'm due at market in April so fingers crossed the idea will translate in my local town!

So there you are, I'm bloody stoked. And, given that your feedback helped get up and running, I hope you are too.

Thanks heaps. xx

jam_mac_jam

well done on such a high mark.

brian ireland

Another happy ending

Fair play to all of you who posted such detailed information, it was very good.

watna

Congratulations and thanks for coming back with an update. I remember this thread and it's always great when people come back to let us know how they get on,