The food of the Emerald Isle: Celebrating St. Patrick's Day with Irish cuisine

When thinking of St. Patrick's Day, two of the first things that come to mind are wearing green and drinking pints of Guinness.

While no one would deny beer is an important part of Irish culture, there is more to Irish cuisine than Guinness, the so-called "meal in a glass." Luckily for North Texans wanting to delve further into what it means to be Irish, several local restaurants offer their own takes on traditional Irish food year-round.

Jon Buckner, a manager at the Irish Rover in Frisco, said even though his restaurant offers non-Irish dishes, the traditional meals are very popular with their diners.

"Irish dishes are very simple, well-seasoned food that is filling and hearty," he said. "It is nothing over the top or fancy; it is working-class food."

There are several staples that find their way onto the menus of nearly every Irish pub. Among these are fish and chips, Guinness beef stew, corned beef and cabbage, and shepherd's pie. Even with the widespread availability of these dishes, each restaurant will likely have its own spin on the classics that make its dish unique.

"The great thing about cooking is you can make one subtle change to the food and change the entire complexion of the dish," Buckner said. "There are presentation and process differences in the way you cook and prepare the dish. There are a million different ways to cook even simple dishes like shepherd's pie."

At McSwiggan's Irish Pub in Austin Ranch, General Manager John O'Leary said even though they offer traditional Irish fare, they have learned that sometimes the dishes can be a bit too extreme for their clientele.

"When we first opened, our Irish breakfast had blood sausage and white pudding. We went to town on it with an open-faced grilled tomato with a portabella mushroom and a side of beans, eggs and toast," O'Leary said. "That is your traditional British breakfast, but if you try serving it here in Texas, you are going to get it sent back to the kitchen. If people were better-traveled they would realize that is really what people eat across the pond."

While the breakfast menu has changed at McSwiggan's to be a little friendlier to the Texas palate, traditional dishes still dot the menu for more adventurous diners.

"We think we have nailed our fish and chips," he said. "We make our own tartar sauce in house and have a beer batter. When I am giving recommendations, I tell people to try the fish and chips if they want a good pub food."

One of the more common Irish and British snacks is the Scotch egg, or Irish egg as it is known at Delaney's Irish Pub and Grill in McKinney. Brett Bourgeois, co-owner and general manager of Delaney's, said the pub makes the eggs from scratch featuring homemade sausage, as well as a breadcrumb dip and hollandaise sauce.

Bourgeois said the keys to making traditional Irish food is using good ingredients and not taking shortcuts. He pointed to the Delaney's Guinness stew, which the menu calls "the second best way to drink a Guinness."

"Our stew is made with certified angus stew meat and with fresh vegetables," he said. "We make our own brine and marinate the beef in the Guinness stock and serve it all in a bread bowl."

Speaking of Guinness, not many Irish meals would be complete without a pint or two of Ireland's most famous export.

"Guinness is the beer that the masses associate with Ireland," Buckner said. "Just like the food is hearty and filling, when you think of a hearty, filling beer you think of Guinness and you think of Ireland."




Irish food at home: Simple recipes from across the pond

While there are plenty of good Irish pubs in North Texas, the uncomplicated nature of Irish cuisine makes it a perfect candidate for at-home cooking.

Liz McGathey, deputy managing editor at Star Local Media, shares two of her favorite Irish recipes that anyone can make at home.




Quick and Easy Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

1.5 lbs ground beef (for a true Shepherd's pie, use lamb instead)

1 chopped onion

2 diced or grated carrots

2 cups peas

Mashed potatoes, prepared with about 4 russet potatoes, 1 cup beef broth and 1/4 cup butter

Gravy:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup beef broth

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Brown beef or lamb.

Meanwhile, for gravy, melt butter with flour for about 2 minutes and slowly add broth and Worcestershire sauce, stirring constantly. Thicken for about 1 minute and set aside, away from heat.

Heat onion on low to medium heat until clear (don't brown them). Add carrots and peas and keep over low heat. Mix meat, vegetables and gravy together and spread in a casserole dish. Drop spoonfuls of mashed potatoes over meat mixture until it's covered.

Add your favorite seasoning -- salt and pepper, thyme or paprika and broil closely until a light crust appears on the potatoes.

Serves at least four or two if they have really big appetites.




Traditional Bread Pudding with (non-alcoholic) Rum Sauce

Ingredients

Pudding:

1 cup raisins

1 loaf day-old bread *

1 cup granulated sugar

5 eggs

2 cups milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 tablespoon allspice

Rum Sauce:

1/2 cup butter

A couple of splashes of water (roughly 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons)

1 egg

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 teaspoons rum extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine raisins, sugar, eggs, milk, butter, extract and spices until smooth. Add cubed bread and push into mixture until bread soaks up the milk mixture. Mix carefully with hands -- try not to smush the bread too much. Spread the mushy bread in a greased glass 13x9 baking dish. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until a shiny crust appears on top.

While the pudding bakes, for sauce, melt butter slowly in a small sauce pan -- don't let it boil! Once it's melted, remove from heat. In a small bowl, mix egg and water and stir in to butter along with sugar and rum extract. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the sauce bubbles slightly.

Save the sauce until the pudding is ready to serve, then pour over pudding and allow to harden.

* Use Italian bread for the best texture. Chop in 1-inch cubes, spread in a 9x12 dish and cover with a dish towel. Leave it out overnight. If it still isn't at least slightly stale, put the whole dish under the broiler stirring every couple of minutes. You don't want them to be brown, just stale.

Slainte!

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