Around the World in 80 Plates: Ireland (cont)

I'm a Newfie with Irish roots so I had to spend a little more time on the food of the Emerald Isle since it's my comfort area for sure. When I think Irish, I think Irish Stew so that was the next dish we tried. This time with a side of Boxty which is a potato dish I had not yet been introduced to. And here I thought I had tried them all the ways possible! Boxty was something I found when googling Irish cuisine and knew that my boys would love since they are both potato monsters. It combines mashed potatoes with raw grated potato, some milk and flour and you make a little potato pancake that you fry up in the pan. I read a bunch of recipes and then sort of stuck them all together and took what I liked and made my own recipe up. Goodness knows if they taste like the real thing but they did taste great...especially with the stew poured right on top!

Irish Stew

Serves 6-8

Broth

1-2 tbsp olive oil

4 medium carrots, cut into a small dice

1 leek, halved and sliced thinly into half moons

2 small yellow cooking onions, diced

3 medium stalks celery, diced

1 8oz package of button mushrooms, diced

2 cloves of garlic, smashed

4 cups of water

3 McCormick All Vegetable Beef Bouillon cubes

Stew

4 cups of water (this is additional to the first 4)

1/3 of a medium sized rutabega, diced

1 medium onion, diced

3-4 medium carrots, sliced into coins

3 large yukon gold potatoes, diced

1 1/2 tsp Marmite (sticky stuff, spray your tsp with oil first)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp rubbed sage

1/4 tsp dried marjoram

1 bay leaf

1/8 tsp ground rosemary

Kitchen Bouquet, optional just to darken the stew

salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add the carrots, leek, onions, celery and mushrooms and saute in the pot until they are softened and start to caramelize. Once you start to see the vegetables start to brown, add the smashed cloves of garlic and continue to cook for two minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add the water and the "beefy" bouillon cubes (crumble them between your fingers as you add them) and let the pot come up to the boil stirring to help the bouillon cubes dissolve into the water. Once it reaches the boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for 30 minutes to let the vegetables soften and flavours meld.

2. After 30 minutes, in batches, blend the broth until it is completely mixed and mostly smooth. Make sure you are careful when you are blending hot liquids as it can be tricky. I use my Vitamix and leave the plastic cap off and cover it with a pot holder. Once you have blended it well, pour it all back into the large stock pot and then add in the diced rutabega, onion, carrots, potatoes and all the seasonings as well. Stir to combine then bring up to a boil. Once it is boiling, reduce the heat and let simmer until the vegetables are cooked through, about 45 minutes depending on how much of a simmer you have going. 

3. You can serve it immediately after you have the vegetables cooked through or keep warm and serve later. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf before serving. This definitely tastes amazing the next day too as the flavours meld together and improve.

Boxty

Makes 16 potato pancakes

1 cup soymilk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

600 g mashed potatoes, mine were leftover and cold when I put them in

400 g finely grated yukon gold potato

300 g unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

salt and pepper

Vegan butter or margarine for pan frying (you could use oil if you like but the butter adds a nice flavour)

1. Combine the soymilk and apple cider vinegar and let stand for five minutes to get all curdle-y and buttermilk like. 

2. While it stands, combine the mashed and grated potato in a large mixing bowl so they are as uniformly combined as possible. I'm not gonna lie, I used my hands and got in there. Sprinkle the flour, baking soda and some salt and pepper on top and stir to combine. Now add the soy buttermilk you made in step 1 and mix until it is well combined and looks like a really thick pancake batter. 

3. Heat a cast iron frying pan (or whatever you have that works for you) over med-high heat and add a few pats of vegan butter/margarine (whatever floats your boat). Scoop out 1/4 cup of the boxty mixture using a measuring cup and with damp hands scoop it out onto your hands and flatten slightly so it resembles an actual pancake. I experimented with a few methods while cooking and this worked the best for me. Place it in the hot pan and if necessary, flatten a bit more with a spatula or spoon so they are same thickness all over and will cook evenly. Flip after the bottom side appears set and browned from the top, about two minutes, then allow the other side to brown as well, about another two minutes. If it wasn't browned enough after two minutes let the other side cook first and then reflip and let cook some more. The crispy outside really makes them.

4. Serve as soon as they come out of the pan for best texture but you can keep them warm in a low oven as well. Serve with the Irish Stew...even better pour some on top!

Around the World in 80 Plates: Ireland

My in-laws just got back recently from a bus tour of Ireland. They had an amazing time and took about a million pictures of all the green. I asked them what they ate while they were there since I'm all about the food and they said a lot of the time they had a cream of (fill in the blank vegetable) soup with Irish Soda Bread and LOTS of potatoes as one would entirely expect. So when I was thinking of what to make for my first stop in Ireland I decided on a nice warm and hearty Cream of Cauliflower Soup with a side of Irish Soda Bread and roasted potatoes.

It has been getting colder here, definitely soup weather so this was a welcome addition to the supper table. We all really enjoyed it and Mac even tried it. This was only his second soup experience since he always said it was too tricky to eat. I think the potatoes and the soda bread convinced him to give it a try. I also threw some quickly steamed green beans on the plate since I thought it needed something green like the Emerald Isle...not really I just like green vegetables but it sounds better like I put some great thought into that doesn't it?!

The soup was my own creation, the potatoes I just simply roasted in the oven with a little olive oil, a few garlic cloves and salt and pepper. The Irish Soda Bread is from The 30 Minute Vegan Taste of Europe by Mark Reinfeld, that I recently picked up not even knowing how handy it would come in so soon. The soda bread was super quick to get together and bakes quickly too. It was delicious and we all enjoyed it with a bit of vegan margarine slathered on it and dunked in the soup. It also toasted nicely the next day to enjoy with the leftover soup for lunch. It will all definitely get made again.

A few notes for the recipe...you will notice there isn't actually any cream in the soup but it didn't need it at all with the smooth velvety texture I got from the cauliflower. Also you don't have to be too careful with how you chop the vegetables since you are going to puree the soup later, you just want them to cook in roughly the same amount of time.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Serves 6-8

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large leek, halved then sliced thinly into little half moons

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into a small dice

2 medium stalks of celery, cut into a small dice

1/2 of a giant head of cauliflower (very scientific I know), cut into small florets

8 cups of water

6 tbsp + 2 tsp vegetable broth powder (or replace the water and broth powder with vegetable broth)

pinch of dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over med-high heat then add the leek, carrots and celery and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stirring occasionally, saute the vegetables until they are softened and just starting to caramelize.  Add the cauliflower and stir it to fully mix it with the other vegetables. Again cook for a few minutes and let it start to soften.

2. Add the water and broth powder and pinch of thyme and bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat to low and cover. You want it to simmer so adjust the heat if you have to. Simmer until the cauliflower is tender and cooked through. Once it has cooked, using an immersion blender, blend the soup until it is creamy and no longer has small chunks of vegetables. You could also use a blender here if you don't have an immersion blender, just be careful blending hot liquids.

3. Once it has been blended, taste it and add more salt and pepper to your preference. It can either be served right away or you can let it sit over low heat until you are ready to serve it.

Just for reference...this was the giant head of cauliflower that inspired this soup