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St Patrick’s Day is here, giving you the perfect reason to celebrate all things Irish. From Liam Neeson to Guinness, Bono to coddle, there are so many things that Ireland has given us and food is an important one.
While you might be tempted to overindulge in some Irish whisky or stout to celebrate this fantastic little island, turning your celebrations to food might be the better option. Yes, you’ll likely see a lot of Guinness cake on the menu, as well as a lot of things dyed green for the day, but there is more to Ireland than this.
The Irish love their food and are all about delicious and hearty grub that’ll keep you going all day. So this St Patrick’s Day, rather than giving you a recipe for green cake or marshmallow leprechauns – as good as those do sound – we’ve found some delicious traditional Irish meals that will set you up to celebrate properly without any green food colouring in sight – although you can add it if you really want.
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Belfast black pudding scotch eggs
Belfast has got a bit of a reputation for its black pudding and there’s no more delicious a way to eat it than in scotch egg form. Rather than the sausage meat that you usually find wrapped around an egg, this recipe calls for good quality black pudding and a couple of warming spices to add a real depth to this simple classic. Whether you want a nice starter or just something to enjoy at lunch, this recipe from Scullery Made is Irish cooking at its best and will have you hooked every day of the year.
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Sausage and colcannon bake
Colcannon is another classic Irish dish that can be served up with practically anything. The simple mashed potato is packed with flavour and is a great way to add a nod to the luck of the Irish to your dinner table for St Paddy’s Day. Rather than eating it as a side dish, top your meal with it to make it extra comforting. This recipe from Kitchen Sanctuary uses colcannon on top of a tasty sausage bake that is sure to be a popular dish. Make sure you use Irish sausages and it will be the perfect nod to St Patrick’s Day.
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Mint chocolate swiss roll
Okay, so we couldn’t skip out completely on a bit of green, especially when we saw this fab recipe from Irish Baking Adventures. What could be better on St Patrick’s Day than a delicious slice of chocolate swiss roll with a tasty mint cream? To make it even better, you can show off your Irish-themed decorating skills too and ensure your cake is the perfect tribute to the day.
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One pot beef and ale stew
It wouldn’t be a collection of Irish recipes without a beef and ale stew and this one from Babaduck is a great choice if you want simple cooking. Everything goes in one pan and you can change the flavour easily by simply using different ales – you can probably also get away with stout, so get the Guinness at the ready. If you want it to be ready faster than the 90 minutes the recipe says, try cooking it in a pressure cooker or even making it in a Cook4Me.
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Cocoa and hazelnut sourdough with honey toffee
When you think of Irish bread, you can’t really ignore great sourdough. While soda bread may be the epitome of Ireland, sourdough is also a pretty Irish offering. It is also incredibly tasty and can be made in your own home – believe it or not. But why settle for standard bread when there’s loads of ways you can make it a little bit more interesting? Sours of Grain has a fantastic recipe for a sweet sourdough that will have your mouth watering.