- Soda Bread by the plenty.
There is one day of the year when “going green” has nothing to do with the environment or global warming. Of course I’m referring to everyone’s beloved St. Patrick’s Day, which is quickly approaching on March 17, 2009 (Tuesday). All over the world people of every nationality have adopted this Irish holiday as part of the general calendar. Maybe it’s the cute leprechauns? The great Irish accents? I guess it COULD be the grand St. Paddy’s Day tradition of ending up in a ditch somewhere, the only clue of how you got there being the combined fumes of Jameson and Guinness…
Many people’s nod to St. Paddy’s Day’s Irish heritage only goes so far as dropping some green food coloring into their beers before chugging them. And while this is a noble and exciting practice, the Irish have another tradition that is often (and surprisingly) overlooked by the eminently excessive American public: stuffing yourself with great food until you can barely breathe. Irish food is tasty, filling, and actually very simple and easy to make. Below are a few of the more popular dishes (recipes linked, of course) that you should consider adding to your St. Patrick’s Day debauchery plans:
- Dublin Coddle: This dish is basically a stew containing sausage, bacon, onions, and potatoes. It originated during the first Irish famine in the 18th century, when migrant farmers would use their pigs in all sorts of creative ways to produce the ingredients for this tantalizing meal.
- Colcannon: A vegetarian dish consisting of mashed potatoes and cabbage. Also originating in the 18th century, the Irish infused this dish with whimsy- they would put charms inside the colcannon that symbolized different things. A button meant one would stay a bachelor, a thimble doomed you to spinsterhood. A ring predicted a marriage for the one that bit into it, and a coin meant you’d come into wealth. Those traditional Irishmen must have been very good at the Heimlich Maneuver.
- Soda Bread: Irish soda bread actually became popular in Ireland after the famine in the 17th century- this is why many Irish-American families who came to America during the famine do not have a recipe for this dish that has been passed down. The bread became popular when bicarbonate of soda was used as a leavening agent for the wheat that was grown in Ireland at that time.
- All Irish Black & Tan: A well-known classic, the Black & Tan originally came from British pubs, and actually references a British military force that was sent into Ireland during the 1920’s. As you can imagine, this drink has some serious image problems around Ireland. As will you if you drink it with a bunch of drunk, rowdy, burly Irishmen on St. Patrick’s Day. But switch one of the ingredients, and you make the drink all Irish, which will hopefully subdue your drinking buddies until they stumble into their requisite ditches.
This is just the beginning of what Irish culinary culture has to offer. The number of ways those people have found to cook meat and potatoes is astounding. Explore and be adventurous this St. Paddy’s Day. And, of course, don’t forget to go green.