Otto
Say’s
Pasta sanza vino e come il cuore
sanza amore
Pasta without wine is like a heart
without love
St Patrick’s Day in Canada
What
do people do?
In some cities, notably Toronto and
Montreal, large scale St Patrick's Day parades are held, often on the
Sunday closest to March 17. The parade in Montreal has been held
every year since 1824. However, the first recorded celebration of St
Patrick's Day was in 1759 by Irish soldiers serving with the British
army following their conquest of part of New France, a French colony
in North America. In some places there are Irish cultural events. For
instance, the Irish Association of Manitoba organizes a three-day
festival of Irish culture in the week of St Patrick's Day.
People who have an Irish background or
enjoy Irish culture may hold Irish themed parties and serve
traditional dishes, such as Colcannon or Irish stew. Colcannon is a
dish of mashed potatoes mixed with kale or cabbage and Irish stew is
traditionally made with lamb and root vegetables. Traditional Irish
drinks include stout, a dark beer, and whiskey. Other parties may be
themed around the colour green. Guests may be expected to wear green
clothes and only green food and drink is served.
St Patrick dinner ideas
Irish Soda Bread
Colcannon
Irish stew
Irish Biscuits
Shamrock Pie Recipe
Irish Soda Bread
900 gr flour
90 gr plus 15 gr.
sugar, divided
5 gr. Baking Powder
5 gr. baking soda
5 gr. salt
125 gr cold butter,
cut up
400 gr. buttermilk
10 gr currants
Method
HEAT oven to 190 C
1. Mix
flour, 90 gr sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large
bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture
resembles coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and currants; stir just until
moistened.
2. Place
dough on lightly floured surface; knead 10 times. Shape into rounds.
Place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Cut deep 2 cm in
top of dough; sprinkle with remaining sugar.
3. Bake
1 hour or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet to wire rack;
cool completely before cutting into wedges.
Colcannon
Serves 8
1.1/4 gr potatoes peeled and cubed
4 slices bacon
½ head cabbage, chopped
1 large onion
125 ml. milk
Salt and pepper to taste
75 ml melted butter
Method
1. Place potatoes in a saucepan with
enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for 15 to 20
minutes, until tender.
2.Place bacon in a large, deep skillet.
Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, reserving
drippings, crumble and set aside. In the reserved drippings, sauté
the cabbage and onion until soft and translucent. Putting a lid on
the pan helps the vegetables cook faster.
Drain the cooked potatoes, mash with
milk and season with salt and pepper. Fold in the bacon, cabbage, and
onions, and then transfer the mixture to a large serving bowl. Make a
well in the center, and pour in the melted butter. Serve immediately.
Traditional Irish stew
Serves 8
Multiply by 2
75 ml vegetable oil
1 kg. Mutton or lamb cut into 5cm
chunks
2 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into
quarters
200 gr onion, roughly chopped
200g leeks, cleaned and finely sliced
30 0g carrots, roughly chopped
1 ½ lt. ml vegetable or beef stock
3 cabbage leaves, thinly sliced
(optional)
Salt and Pepper
Method
Heat
the oven 180°C
1. In a large frying pan heat half the
oil to hot but not smoking. Add half the lamb pieces and brown all
over. Remove the lamb and place in a casserole, cover with a half of
the potatoes, onions, leeks and carrots.
2. Add the remaining oil to the frying
pan, heat again then add the remaining lamb and brown all over. Add
to the casserole and cover with the remaining vegetables.
3. Add the stock, cover with a tight
fitting lid, cook in the oven for 1 hour. Add the cabbage (if using)
replace the lid and cook for another hour. Check from time to time to
make sure the stock isn't reducing too much, if it is add a little
more stock or water. The meat and vegetables should always be covered
by liquid. If the sauce is too runny at the end, cook a little longer
with the lid removed. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve with Biscuits
Irish Biscuits for Stew
Serves 16 two
per person
Ingredients
1.325 L all-purpose flour
34 ml baking powder
5 ml salt
5 ml Caraway seeds
325 ml butter, cubed
650 ml milk
Top of
Form
Method
1.
In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, caraway seeds and
salt. Using pastry blender or 2 knives cut in butter until coarse
crumbs. 425 ml of the milk over top, stirring with fork to form
ragged dough.
2. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead gently until dough comes together. Pat or roll into 2 cm thickness. Using 8.5 cm floured cutter, cut out rounds. Place on ungreased rimless baking sheet. Gather up scraps and repat dough; cut out more rounds, pressing remaining scraps into final biscuit.
3. Brush tops with remaining milk. Bake in centre of 190°C oven for about 30 minutes or until golden. Let cool on pan on racks.
2. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead gently until dough comes together. Pat or roll into 2 cm thickness. Using 8.5 cm floured cutter, cut out rounds. Place on ungreased rimless baking sheet. Gather up scraps and repat dough; cut out more rounds, pressing remaining scraps into final biscuit.
3. Brush tops with remaining milk. Bake in centre of 190°C oven for about 30 minutes or until golden. Let cool on pan on racks.
Shamrock Pie Recipe 6-8 servings
Ingredients
250 ml sugar
65 ml cornstarch
375 ml water
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
60 ml lemon juice
15 ml butter
10 ml grated lemon peel
5 drops green food colouring
1 pastry pie shell baked
MERINGUE:
3
egg whites
75
ml sugar
Method
1.
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water
until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and
bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the
heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; returns all
to pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2
minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in the lemon juice,
butter, lemon peel and food coloring until smooth. Pour hot mixture
into crust.
2.
In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually
beat in sugar, 15 ml. at a time, on high until stiff glossy peaks
form and sugar is dissolved. Spread evenly over hot filling, sealing
edges to crust.
3.
Bake at 190 C for 10-15 minutes or until the meringue is golden
brown. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for at least 3
hours before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Smile and Be Sweet
“The best way to win a friend is to listen and
Smile it only takes a minute” – Otto
