By John B, Grocery Team Lead
Around mid-March every year, we Americans (and especially we Bostonians) often take some time to celebrate Irish culture… sort of. I mean we’re not often discussing the finer points of our favorite Samuel Beckett plays or Oscar Wilde quotes or anything, but there’s plenty of green beer, plastic shamrocks, and silly hats. Dropkick Murphys blasting from every bar in town. Maybe when the day drinking whets your appetite the local pub will offer up their standard nachos… but with corned beef! Or their standard spring rolls… but with corned beef! Or their standard uh… well, you see where this is going. But if you’ve ever had an interest in celebrating Irish food in a more sophisticated style, this is the blog post for you!“But John,” I hear some of you protesting, “…isn’t Irish food just bland and under-seasoned boiled mush?” The answer is… sometimes. It was in the household I grew up in. But it doesn’t have to be! Replace that boiling water with some beer, broth, and oil. Use sauerkraut instead of plain ol’ cabbage. Get creative with your spices. You can make a boiled dinner to die for, and I am going to show you how. But that’s not all! We’re going to help you Irish up your breakfast, lunch, and dessert, as well! We will be cooking with a lot of booze today, but as always those particular ingredients are optional. Just sub in water.
Should you need a cooking soundtrack, I’m also including a Spotify playlist of my favorite Irish artists, although I must issue a strong parental advisory warning with regards to some of the lyrics contained therein. After all, Irish art and profanity have been intertwined since even before England and the US famously suppressed Joyce’s Ulysses some hundred years ago.
@rigoniasiagousa Apricot Preserves and Crystal’s Raw Cranberry Honey
Ingredients:
1 ½ Cups Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour
1 ¼ Cup Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats, uncooked
¾ Cup Cambridge Naturals dried apricots, chopped
½ Cup Cambridge Naturals dried cranberries, chopped
¼ Cup Nutiva Coconut Sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp Celtic Sea Salt
½ Cup Nutty Life Oatmilk
6 tbsp butter (Irish butter, if possible!), with extra for spreading
1 Brookford Egg, lightly beaten
Fior Di Frutta Apricot Preserves, for spreading
Crystal’s Cranberry Honey, for spreading
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, then stir in fruit. Add milk and egg, and mix until dry ingredients are sufficiently moist. Place the dough on a lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle a little flour onto the dough and roll or pat into an 8” circle. With a sharp knife, score 12 wedges. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cut the scones apart and serve warm with honey, butter, and apricot preserves on the side for spreading.
Smoked Wild Salmon with Chive Pancakes
Ingredients:
4 6-ounce packages Patagonia Provisions Wild Sockeye Salmon, cut into 3 pieces each
6 handfuls mixed greens
1 lemon, finely sliced
2 handfuls chives, one halved and one chopped
2 tbsp Primal Kitchen Mustard
1 tbsp Oleamea Olive Oil
¼ Lakewood Organic Lemon Juice
4 Brookford Eggs, beaten
2/3 Cup Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour
1 cup Nectar & Green Almond Milk
@primalkitchenfoods Spicy Brown Mustard is delicious on pretty much everything
Instructions:
Whisk ½ tablespoon olive oil with the mustard and lemon juice for your dressing and set aside. Mix together the eggs, flour, chopped chives, and almond milk until smooth. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat, add ½ tablespoon olive oil and use a napkin to wipe it around the pan. Pour a ladleful of the pancake batter and swirl to cover base. Cook about 1 minute, flip, then cook another 30 seconds or so. Remove your pancake and repeat until you’re out of batter. To serve, arrange mixed greens in piles on the size of six plates. Fold pancakes into quarters and sit next to the leaves. Loosely drape two slices salmon over the greens and pancakes, tuck a couple slices lemon and the halved chives under the salmon, then drizzle the entire plate with your dressing.
John’s Extra Savory Boiled Dinner
@oleamea_evoo is local to Boston!
Ingredients:
1 packaged corned beef
2 cups Kettle & Fire Beef Bone Broth
2 cups Guinness or another stout beer
1/4 cup Oleamea Olive Oil
1 jar Real Pickles Garlic Sauerkraut
Various CN bulk herbs of your choosing (allspice, coriander, mustard seed, peppercorn, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, dill, crushed red pepper, and anise are all good options but feel free to get creative!)
2lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into roughly 2” pieces
1lb carrots, peeled and cut into roughly 2” pieces
1 onion, diced
Instructions:
First and foremost: throw away the little spice packet that comes with your corned beef and make up a tablespoon or two of your own with your bulk CN spices. Place the carrots, potatoes, onion, and sauerkraut in your slow cooker and place the beef on top. Add your spices, olive oil, beer, and bone broth. Add enough water to cover the beef and vegetables if they aren’t already covered and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Pull the meat and veggies out of the broth, carve up the beef, and serve!
Whiskey Mocha Mousse with Earl Grey Whipped Cream
@tandemcoffeeroasters !!! So, so good
Ingredients:
10 ounces Cambridge Naturals Organic Dark Chocolate Dollops
1 1/2 tbsp butter (Irish butter, if possible!)
3 tbsp Tandem Time and Temperature Instant Coffee
4 tbsp Cadia Coconut Cream
4 Brookford Eggs, whites separated from yolks
1/3 Cup plus 1 tbsp. Nutiva Coconut Sugar
2 tbsp Irish Whiskey
2 tbsp Bailey’s Irish Cream
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon Mem Loose Leaf Earl Grey Tea
A pinch of Celtic Sea Salt
Instructions:
Add chocolate dollops, butter, and coffee to a small saucepan over low heat. Melt and stir until smooth. In a small saucepan, whisk the egg yolks, 1/3 cup coconut sugar, whiskey, and one tablespoon coconut milk over low-medium heat until sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Mix your chocolate and egg mixtures with the remaining 4 tablespoons milk, whisk until completely smooth then refrigerate while whipping egg whites in a mixture with a pinch of salt until stiff and frothy. Add 1 tbsp coconut sugar and beat again until glossy. Gradually fold egg whites into chocolate mixture, taking care not to over-mix. Divide into mason jars or glasses and chill for at least 3-4 hours. Just before serving, use your electric mixer to whip the heavy cream, Bailey’s, and tea until soft peaks form. Layer the whipped cream generously over the mousse and enjoy!