Foods to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

Ever since I can remember, St. Patrick’s Day has meant leprechauns, shamrocks and a corned beef and cabbage feast at the end of the day. For most Americans, St. Patrick’s Day and corned beef and cabbage go hand in hand.

One of the most popular symbols of March 17 is Ireland’s bearded dwarf, better known as the leprechaun. Dressed in a green suit and cap, the leprechaun, unlike other Irish fairies, is grumpy, spiteful and very rich. If you catch one, keep your eye on him and don’t let him vanish because he may lead you to his pot of gold!

According to Irish legend, St. Patrick used a shamrock, another symbol of the holiday, to explain the Trinity of the Christian church. “Do you not see how in this wild flower three leaves are united on one stalk, and will you not then believe that there are indeed three persons yet one God,” he asked while plucking a shamrock. The shamrock has since been known as the national emblem of Ireland and is worn proudly by Irishmen the world over on St. Patrick’s feast day. It is believed that the shamrock plant from which St. Patrick picked a clover from is either the small hop clover white clover or the European wood sorrel.

While corned beef and cabbage is eaten in Ireland, it is by no means Ireland’s national dish. Historically speaking, corned beef and cabbage has immigrant roots of its own.

Actually the dish came to Ireland by way of the Atlantic Ocean from both the United States and Canada. Unaffordable in their homeland, beef was popular with Irish immigrants and Americans alike. They prepared it in the same manner they would prepare a bacon joint. The beef was soaked to remove excess salt from the preservative process before being braised or boiled with cabbage, and served in the cooking juices.

Over the years, my family has found St. Patrick’s Day the perfect occasion for Potato Pie Dessert and Irish Soda Bread.

Potato Pie Dessert

Ingredients:

• ½ pound boiled potatoes, without the skins
• ¼ pound butter or margarine, melted
• ¾ pound sugar
• 3 almonds, pounded
• 1 tablespoon orange extract
• 6 eggs
• 4 ounces water

Directions:

Mash boiled potatoes until lump free. Separate the yolks and whites of the eggs and beat separately; the yolks until lemon-coloured, the whites until stiff.

Add the sugar, almonds, orange extract and egg yolks to the potatoes; mix well. Mix in the water. Fold in the egg whites. Place pie filling into a greased and floured cake pan with a greased piece of baking parchment paper in the bottom; or you could fill two piecrust with the mixture. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes.

Quick Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1-½ teaspoons double acting baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1-tablespoon sugar
• ¼ cup chilled shortening
• ½ to 1-cup raisins or currants
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 1 beaten egg
• ⅔ cup buttermilk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Cut chilled shortening into flour mixture with pastry blender or fork, until the mixture has the consistency of coarse cornmeal. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds.

Mix beaten egg with buttermilk; add to dry ingredients and stir well. Knead briefly and place in a greased eight-inch round baking pan. Press dough down so it fills the pan. With knife, cut a cross over the top and sides, but not through to the bottom, so the bread will not crack in baking. Brush the top with milk and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.