Something For The Weekend. Lulu's Top Irish Recipes. - The Irish Store (2024)

Food

written by Lulu O'Sullivan17 April, 2020

Hi everyone. I hope you are all keeping well as these weekends hunkering down together continue. While we’re all lying low at home, it’s no surprise that home cooking and baking has taken the world by storm. It’s a great excuse to rack up some new signature dishes if you’re home alone and if you’re at home with the family then everyone can get involved! So here’s a few of my favorite Irish recipes-enjoy!

Lulu’s Favorite Irish Recipes

1. Irish Soda Bread

There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread in the home to lift the spirits. This traditional Irish soda bread is the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of hearty Irish stew. I also love it in the mornings for breakfast with some homemade jam (or should that be jelly!) or marmalade.

Ingredients:

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons caraway seeds (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 ½ cups of buttermilk (or milk substitute)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Mix flour, caraway seeds, baking soda and salt in to one mixing bowl.
3. Add buttermilk and stir until large moist clumps form.
4. Gather dough in to a ball and knead until dough becomes smooth and holds together.
5. Roll in to a large bowl and lightly flour the outside. Place dough ball on a non-stick baking sheet and shape in to 6-inch diameter by 2-inch small mound.
6. Cut a 1-inch deep X across the top, extending towards the edges.
7. Bake for approximately 35 minutes until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
8. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool completely.
9. Slice in to wedges and serve with butter. Enjoy!

2. Mary Burns’ Butterific Irish Scones

Mary’s scone recipe really hits the mark for me. The main thing to remember here is not to overwork the dough! This ensures light and fluffy scones.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups (about 8 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling over tops
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) cold Kerrygold™ Pure Irish Butter,
• Cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg, plus additional beaten egg for brushing over tops

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F. While the oven is heating you may begin by sifting together flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt into largebowl.
2. Using your fingertips or pastry blender, rub or cut butter into flourmixture to form coarse crumbs and then add the raisins.
3. Whisk together milk and 1egg
4. Make a well in the flour mixture; pour in milk mixture. Using a fork,stir just until soft, moist dough is formed. Turn dough out onto lightlyfloured surface; gently knead 1 or 2 times to incorporate loose pieces of dough. (Do not over-knead)
5. Pat dough to 1 1/2-inch thickness.
6. Using well-floured 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutters or the bottom of a glass, cut out about 6 rounds.
7. Place rounds on lightly-buttered baking sheet. Brush tops with additional beaten egg; sprinkle with additional sugar.
8. Bakeuntil golden brown and delicious, about 14 to 17 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking for more even browning

Serve warm withKerrygold™ Irish Butterand jam.Makes roughly 6 servings.

3. Potato Cakes

So next on my list of Irish recipes is the much loved potato cake. For some, the potato cake is an essential part of the full Irish breakfast. In fact, our friends in the north of Ireland always include fried potato bread AND soda bread as well as everything else to give us the traditional Ulster Fry. There’s no doubt this version of the Irish breakfast will keep you going way past lunch! While being a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes, potato cakes are the best side ever and go with just about everything!

Ingredients:

• 8 ozcooked potatoes
• 0.88 ozbutter (melted)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1teaspoonsalt
• 4 oz butter (for frying)
• 3 spring onions

Method:

• Boil the potatoes until tender then mash until smooth.
• Add the melted butter and stir in the flour, salt and pepper and chopped up spring onions.
• Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and press it out with your hands until it is a circle about 1cm/half-inch thick.
• Using a pastry cutter or the rim of a glass, cut the mixture into rounds, about 7.5cm/3inches in diameter.
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a moderate heat and, when the foam subsides, fry the potato cakes for about 3 minutes on each side, or until they are golden.
• Lift them out with a spatula and drain on kitchen paper.
• Pile them up on a warm serving plate – they won’t be around for long!

4. Traditional Irish Bacon and Cabbage

Next up we have a perennial Irish favorite and the ultimate comfort food meal for all the family.

Ingredients:

• 1½kg loin of bacon
• 1 carrot
• 2 celery sticks
• 2 leeks
• Teasp. Peppercorns
• 1kg cabbage, finely sliced
• A tablesp. butter

Topping

• 1 tablesp. Mustard
• 1 tablesp. oven-dried breadcrumbs
• ½ tablesp. brown sugar
• Knob of butter

Mustard Sauce

• 50g butter
• 25g flour
• 1 tablesp. Mustard
• 250ml mixture cooking liquid and cream

Method:

1. Place the joint in a large saucepan.
2. Add chopped vegetables and peppercorns.
3. Cover with cold water.
4. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for approximately 20 minutes per ½ kg.
5. Set oven to gas mark 6, 200ºC (400ºF).
6. Remove the joint from the saucepan.
7. Reserve liquid.
8. Remove the rind and score the fat.
9. Place the joint on a roasting dish.
10. Spread with mustard and bread crumbs, sugar and a knob of butter.
11. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

To make the sauce:

1. Melt the butter, add the flour and mustard.
2. Cook for a minute or two.
3. Whisk in the cooking liquid and cream.
4. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
5. Taste for seasoning.
6. The sauce should have the consistency of thin cream.
7. Keep warm.

To cook the cabbage:

1. Place the cabbage in a saucepan and barely cover with some of the reserved cooking liquid.
2. Bring to the boil.
3. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Drain well and toss in butter.
5. Season to taste.
6. Slice the bacon and serve on the bed of cabbage, a little of the mustard sauce and of course floury potatoes.

5. Baileys Irish Chocolate Cheesecake

So who’s in the mood for an indulgent Irish dessert after that hearty bacon and cabbage dinner? I warn you, you’ll need to do quite a few laps of the kitchen to work this one off!

Ingredients:

For the base:

• 2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs (use whole cookies with filling)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For cheesecake filling:

• 3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese-softened
• 1⅓ cups sugar
• ¼ cup corn-starch
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ cup Bailey’s Irish cream

For Chocolate ganache:

• 1¼ cup heavy cream
• 12 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate-chopped

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together Oreo crumbs and melted butter, press the mixture into 9” spring form pan and bake for 8-10 minutes, set aside to cool.
3. Once the crust is cooled, wrap pan with two layers of aluminium foil and bring the foil up the sides of the pan and make sure it is tight and secure so no water gets in during the baking process!!!!
4. With electric mixer, mix cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth.
5. Add corn-starch and continue to mix until fully incorporated, decrease the speed to low and add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla extract and Baileys.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and place in a roasting pan, fill roasting pan about a quarter of the way with hot water and bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes, rotating once halfway through (until the cheesecake is set around the edges and slightly loose in the center)
7. Remove spring form pan from the water bath and set on a cooling rack to cool, then remove aluminium foil and refrigerate (at least 5 hour or overnight). When it’s completely cooled run a thin knife around the edge and take of the ring of spring form pan.
8. Over double boiler melt chopped chocolate until completely smooth and has no lumps, then stir in heavy whipping cream(from the fridge). It should be very thick and creamy so you could spread it on top the cake but also on sides without dripping. Use just ⅔ of the ganache and set the cake in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to harden the ganache. Take the cake from the freezer and reheat the rest of the ganache but this time it should be smooth (but not too thin) so you can pour it over the cake to make the smooth and shiny surface.
9. To keep the shine of the ganache let it cool at room temperature then store the cake in the fridge.

Well, I hope my list of Irish recipes has managed to tantalize those tastebuds! Whatever you’re doing this weekend, stay safe and stay well.

And, Shop our broad selection of mouth-wateringIrish Food Hampersand don’t forget to use BLOG10 at the checkout to get a 10% discount!

Happy cooking!

Take care of yourselves and each other

Slán go fóill!

Lulu

Lulu O'Sullivan

Hi everyone. I'm Lulu O Sullivan and I founded The Irish Store in 2011 fuelled by my passion for all things Irish; its places, its people, its culture and its craft. At The Irish Store we are dedicated to bringing you, our worldwide community of valued customers, the very finest Ireland has to offer. Thanks for dropping by!

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