St. Patrick's Day was last Friday, so it's only right that I feature an Irish recipe. A few years ago I interviewed Margaret M. Johnson, a charming cookbook author. She wrote "The New Irish Table" and "Irish Puddings, Tarts, Crumbles and Fools."
I love both these books, not only for their wonderful recipes but because they contain so many absolutely gorgeous color photos of the recipes and the enchanting Irish countryside. They're almost like a travel journal.
Ms. Johnson holds dual citizenship in the United States and Ireland, and she spends much of her time over there. That's how she's come to know the country and its food so intimately.
Most people think corned beef and cabbage must be the national dish of Ireland, but truth be told, they don't even eat it over there. What they do eat is actually boiled bacon and cabbage. It seems that Irish immigrants couldn't get the same ingredients when they came to the United States, so they substituted, and over time we've adopted corned beef and cabbage as our version of a St. Patrick's Day meal.
I guess it doesn't really matter if corned beef and cabbage isn't exactly authentic, does it? Everybody's Irish on St. Patrick's Day, and next to that featured meal, Irish Soda Bread probably comes in second as the most recognizable Irish food.
I ran a recipe for Irish Soda Bread a few years ago, but I decided to feature Ms. Johnson's recipe this time. It's actually her mother's recipe. As Ms. Johnson explains in the introduction to the recipe, soda bread is kind of like our potato salad - everybody has a different version. And they're all good.
There's the standard argument of whether to use butter or oil, dark or golden raisins, caraway seeds or not. There's even debate about how to bake soda bread, in a round shape on a baking sheet or in a cast-iron skillet or in a loaf pan.
Holy moly, let's just bake some and eat it! To be really authentic, you could use Kerrygold Irish butter in the recipe and to serve with the bread. I'm told there truly is a difference in Irish butter. Something about Irish cows' milk containing more butterfat, but I've never bought any.
You can get Kerrygold butter at Wild Oats in Bend, but it's pricey. I've picked up a package of it in the store, held it for a minute or two, looked at the price and decided I'd have to wait until I found that pot of gold before I buy it. Maybe this year I'll celebrate my Irish heritage and splurge.
Bake some Irish Soda Bread. Even if you use Eberhard's butter straight from Redmond, you can still feel Irish. "Bain taitneamh as do bheile!" Bon appetite!
Irish Soda Bread
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg, beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons caraway seeds
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or water
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a large baking sheet or cast-iron skillet.
Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add butter and pulse 8 to 12 times, or until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg and buttermilk, and process 15-20 minutes, or until dough comes together.
Dust a work surface with flour. Turn out dough, add raisins and caraway seeds, and with floured hands, knead gently to form a large round. Transfer to prepared baking sheet or skillet. Brush loaf with egg wash (the egg beaten with milk or water), and with a serrated knife, cut an "X" into the top.
Bake at 425 degrees fro 40-45 minutes, or until the top is golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Bread should sound hollow when the bottom is tapped with a knife.
Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. Slice and serve warm with lots of butter.
Makes 1 loaf
Reprinted from "Irish Puddings, Tarts, Crumbles and Fools," by Margaret M. Johnson, Chronicle Books, copyright 2004
Sharon Vail lives in Powell Butte, where her Irish eyes will be smiling this Friday. Readers may contact her at: svail3@netzero.net "Cooking from the heart of Oregon" |
