Traditional Irish fare is not to be trifled with, as I know only too well: exactly 11 years ago – on the 11th day of the 11th month! – I married Karl, the Irish love of my life. I’m hoping for a free pass, then, with today’s recipes, which very happily, and totally unapologetically, mash together the different cuisines on which we both grew up.
Hawaij-spiced barmbrack (pictured top)
Barmbrack is as Irish as a loaf can get. It’s traditionally served at Halloween, complete with a trinket baked inside that’s said to bring luck to whomever receives it in their slice. I love this fruitier version (which is also slightly tart from the barberries), not least because the loaf keeps so moist. Serve it with chunks of cheddar and/or salted butter. The quantities make more Hawaij spice than you’ll need here, but it keeps well in an airtight jar. Use it in any bakes that call for a spice mix.
Prep 25 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 8
2 breakfast teabags, ideally Barry’s, if you can get them
200g currants
175g sultanas
20g mixed peel
50g barberries, or chopped up dried cranberries
80ml whiskey
2 tbsp golden syrup
150g dark muscovado sugar
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1½ tsp finely grated orange zest
½ tsp flaked salt
1 egg, beaten
210g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
For the Hawaij spice mix
15g (3 tsp) ground ginger
40 cardamom pods, bashed open in a mortar, pods discarded, and seeds ground, to get 10g
15g ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves
To serve
Salted butter
Cheddar
Put 400ml water in a saucepan, add the teabags and bring to a boil. Stir in all the dried fruit, cook for two minutes, then take off the heat. Stir in the whiskey, golden syrup, sugar, both citrus zests and the salt, and leave to cool and infuse for about 20 minutes. Remove and discard the teabags, then stir in the beaten egg.
Meanwhile, mix all the Hawaij spice ingredients in a small bowl. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, and line a standard 900g loaf tin with baking paper.
Sift the flour, baking powder and two teaspoons of the Hawaij spice mix into a bowl and mix well with a spoon. Pour in the cooled dried fruit mixture and mix again gently, to combine.
Pour the batter into the loaf tin, then bake for an hour, until a skewer comes out clean. Carefully take the loaf out of the tin and put on a wire rack to cool completely.
Cut into 2-cm thick slices and serve with plenty of butter and cheddar.
Curried potato farls with bacon and apple mustard
Potato farls are somewhere between a potato cake and potato bread. They’re a hugely comforting treat and a perfect way to use up leftover mashed potato. The simple apple mustard to serve with them might make any jarred apple-sauce sceptics out there reappraise their prejudices.
Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Chill 30 min
Serves 2
500g maris piper potatoes, or another floury variety, peeled and cut into 5cm pieces (or 350g leftover mashed potato)
30g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1½ tsp medium curry powder
Fine sea salt and black pepper
4 spring onions (60g), trimmed and thinly sliced
30g mature cheddar, coarsely grated
80g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp sunflower oil
6 rashers streaky bacon (90g)
For the apple mustard
250g jarred bramley apple sauce
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp cider vinegar
Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium-high, simmer for 10-12 minutes, until completely tender, then drain into a colander and leave to cool slightly. While the potatoes are still warm, mash them back into the pan and fold in the butter, curry powder, a half-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, then leave to cool completely for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, put all the apple mustard ingredients in a tall jug with a quarter-teaspoon of salt, then blitz with a hand blender until completely smooth. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
Once the potatoes are cool, stir in the spring onions and cheddar, then fold in the flour and baking powder to make a shaggy dough. Lightly dust a worktop with flour, tip out the dough and knead lightly until it comes together; take care not to overwork the mix. Roll it out into a flat, 1cm-thick, 22cm-diameter disc, then cut into quarters, or farls.
Put a large frying pan on a medium heat, then gently lay the farls in the hot, dry pan and cook for four minutes on each side (if your pan isn’t big enough, cook them in two batches). Transfer to a tray, and turn up the heat under the frying pan to medium-high. Add the oil and bacon and fry for five minutes, turning once, until golden and crisp. Drain and put on the farl tray. Return the farls to the pan and fry them again in the fat for two minutes, turning them once. Divide the farls and bacon between two plates and serve with a dollop of apple mustard on the side.
Irish stew with giant couscous and preserved lemon
I’ve been told off before by Irish friends for messing about with Irish stew, but I’m afraid I just can’t help myself. Every time I make it, I throw in something extra at the last minute. Please feel free to add or omit as you see fit.
Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4-6
2 tbsp olive oil
1kg lamb neck fillet, cut into 3cm cubes
Fine sea salt and black pepper
500ml chicken stock
1 large kohlrabi (or turnip), peeled and cut into 4cm pieces (300g)
4 carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 5cm pieces (280g)
90g spring onions, trimmed, whites cut into 3cm pieces, greens finely sliced
300g new potatoes (or any other waxy variety), peeled, quartered and cut diagonally into 5cm pieces
150g giant couscous, well washed under running hot water, drained
40g coriander, leaves and stems finely chopped
20g dill, finely chopped
1 small preserved lemon, flesh discarded, skin roughly chopped (10g)
Put half the oil in a large casserole dish for which you have a lid, then set over a medium heat. Season the lamb with a teaspoon of salt, then put half the lamb in the hot oil pan and sear for two minutes. Turn and sear on the other sides until they, too, are evenly browned, or about another six minutes in total. Deglaze the pan with 50ml water, then tip the lot into a bowl. Add the remaining oil to the pan and repeat with the rest of the lamb.
Once all the meat is browned, put all the lamb back into the pan along with the chicken stock, a litre and a half of water and one and a half teaspoons of salt, and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface, then cover the pan and leave to simmer on a medium-low heat for 30 minutes, until the lamb is almost tender. Add the kohlrabi, carrots, spring onion whites and a good crack of black pepper, cover again and simmer for another 10 minutes.
Take off the lid, add the potatoes and couscous, and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes more, until the lamb is tender and all the vegetables are cooked through.
Take off the heat, cover again and leave to rest for five minutes. Stir through the herbs and spring onion greens, then ladle into bowls and serve with some preserved lemon sprinkled on top.
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