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Ireland: Brotchan Foltchep (Leek and Oatmeal Soup): March 4, 2008

Of all Irish vegetables, leeks are probably the one mentioned most often in the great ancient foodie poems such as The Vision of MacConglinne -- endlessly praised for their hardiness, ease of growing, and the sharp fresh spike of flavor that they give to the foods they're cooked with. Some of the affection was probably based in straightforward practicality: it's not every vegetable that does so well in the Irish climate.

Leeks turn up in all kinds of Irish recipes, but most commonly in soups and stews, and sometimes as a major ingredient. Brotchan foltchep is one of the oldest soups in which they appear, paired up with that other hardy northern crop, oats. Evidence of the popularity of this treatment may be suggested by the soup's other name, brotchan roy: "roy" seems to come from the old word for king, rí. A soup fit for kings, perhaps? or just fed to them? At this end of time, it's hard to tell. But the soup is hearty, tasty, chock full of vitamins and (as we now know) antioxidants -- something very positive and pleasant to be eating as winter turns toward spring.

Click on "read more" for the recipe.

Ireland: Cod Baked with Bacon (March 1, 2008)

In this country that's blessed with some of the best seafood in the world, it's ironic that religion has left many Irish people with a bad taste in their mouths as regards fish. The present older generation remembers a time when fast days were more rigorously observed than they are now, and every Friday was a meatless day whether you liked it or not. These days, when effortless refrigerated transport is a given and even little towns have supermarkets with fresh fish, it's hard to remember that even just fifty years ago there were places in Ireland (especially inland) where the only fish you could get your hands on were either salted or canned.

Even at such times, though, the sweet white flesh of cod has always been an Irish favorite. The reaction here has been bitter at times when cod fishing had to stop for a year or three because the stocks in the waters between here and Iceland had been overfished. These days as much cod comes to Irish shoppers from the south Pacific as from the north Atlantic: fish from New Zealand routinely turn up on the fishmonger's slab along with the traditional Icelandic cod.

While the most popular treatment for cod is probably still the straightforward batter-frying, cod is also a fish that bakes well, and stands up well to other robust flavors such as bacon. This traditional treatment adds onions and potatoes, and makes a substantial and tasty cold-weather lunch or supper dish.

Click on "read more" for the recipe.

Ireland: Irish Stew

While most foods in Ireland are likely to excite only moderate levels of controversy, people can get really excitable over Irish stew.

(It should be mentioned here that in Ireland it's not usually referred to as "Irish stew", but as "lamb stew".)

It seems possible to get into an argument about nearly anything about lamb stew (except the potatoes). Some folks will complain that you shouldn't really be using lamb to make it at all, but mutton (in other words, the meat from mature sheep, one to three years old, rather than from sheep less than a year old). Fortunately, after a downswing in its popularity, in many places it's becoming possible to find good mutton again if you're willing to look a little.

Other people will get all steamed up about the actual cut of lamb you should be using. Many people insist it should be one of the cheap cuts that requires long, slow cooking, like shin or "scrag end". Others say you should use better cuts, lamb chops from the neck or shoulder, or just plain old chopped up "stewing lamb" bought from the butcher, normally offcuts from the leg or round. You also get people who insist that, whatever the cut of meat involved, the real business of the stew is in the spicing, and that all modern or "fancy" spices should be excluded -- meaning that (in this school of thought) the only spicery proper for a lamb stew is salt, pepper and parsley.

But the liveliest arguments tend to start up over the issue of the presence or absence of carrots...

Ireland: Traditional Irish Desserts

This collection features both old and new Irish recipes. The ones with an *asterisk are the oldest, usually more than a hundred years old.

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