Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the Traditional Way with These Delicious Recipes

On March 17 millions of Americans will celebrate the day when everybody’s Irish. St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland is a day to be spent with the family. I have been fiddling with these recipes in my restaurant for several years now. These are a few easy dishes that are delicious and hearty that you can treat your family with on St. Patrick’s Day.

Shepherds Pie

What makes shepherds pie so wonderful is that there are so many variations of the recipe. It’s a very forgiving recipe and it can be altered to a person’s individual taste. The traditional version of this dish is made with lamb meat, hence the name. It has become common to use ground beef. I really like the recipe with ground beef but if you want a more traditional taste try mixing half-and-half ground beef with lamb meat. Some popular variations include adding extra shredded cheese to the top of the casserole and drizzling beef gravy on top before serving.

Guinness Beef Stew

This is a variation of traditional Irish lamb stew. This recipe is listed as a soup but it can easily be a main dish as well. The recipe calls for a large soup pot but this is actually a pretty good crock-pot recipe as well. While you’re at the local butcher’s shop your instinct will be to buy the finest most expensive cuts of meat. Honestly, fattier beef works best because the marbleized beef adds crucial flavor elements to the stew. The stew takes a few hours to cook but if you’ve got the time to attend to it, the final product is well worthwhile.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

The little known fact is that while corned beef and cabbage is an Irish dish, it’s not as popular in Ireland as most of us think. Prior to the twentieth century most cows in Ireland were allocated for milk and dairy. Nonetheless, this dish has found its way into America’s heart as the official dish of St. Patrick’s Day.

Irish Soda Bread

There is hardly anything more Irish than a good soda bread. The best thing about this recipe is that it’s quick, easy and inexpensive. There are many variations of soda bread in Ireland. Most of variations have to do with the flour used. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour but that can be substituted with whole-meal flour or pastry flour. Some other fun variations include baking the bread in a cast iron pan or scoring the top of the bread in the shape of a shamrock before baking.

Oatmeal Apple Crumble with Whiskey Cream Sauce

This recipe will cater to anyone’s sweet tooth. The whiskey cream sauce is alcoholic but the oatmeal apple crumble is delicious with or without the sauce. This dessert is inexpensive and unlike other Irish food, it doesn’t take all day to cook.

The wonderful thing about cooking is that it allows people to add their own individual style and flair. Be sure to try these and leave feedback on any great variations that you have come up with. Until then, may the wind always be at your back and the sun always shine upon your face.


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