No recipes for green beer can be found anywhere within two intriguing new cookbooks that focus on Ireland. Thank goodness.
We’re talking real Irish food–well, in one of the books, anyway. The other book, a memoir and cookbook, contains recipes that reflect a more international point of view with a scattering of Irish classics. It’s called “West of Ireland Summers: A Cookbook” (Roberts Rinehart, $19.95), by Tamasin Day-Lewis.
Its beautiful photography of the foods and scenery of the Irish coast, where the author, a television producer, has spent vacations since childhood, turns this book into nostalgic coffee-table fare for readers with connections to Ireland, or even for those who wish they had connections.
Originally published in England, the U.S. edition is due in stores in April. If you are a fan of the simple foods of Ireland, you’ll want to take a look. The recipes range from the classic beef braised with Guinness, Irish stew and colcannon (that marvelous combo of potatoes, cabbage and leeks) to the more international souffled crab tart and cauliflower with cumin.
The beef with Guinness was the more successful of the two recipes we tested. The recipe for braised lamb shanks with champ (mashed potatoes with green onions) included some vague directions. It assumes that the cook knows to season the flour before coating the lamb and to skim off the fat after cooking. But the final flavor was appealing.
Appealing as well is the second book, “The Irish Heritage Cookbook,” by Margaret M. Johnson (Chronicle, $18.95 paperback). It contains more than 200 traditional and more innovative recipes that reflect the food renaissance going on in Ireland.
Johnson, a high school teacher on Long Island who often travels to Ireland, has talked to Irish chefs, inn owners, cheesemakers and other producers to gather their recipes. She also throws in a few standards from her Irish-American mother and Irish grandmother. It’s a collection that appeals, from the whimsy of “monkfish on a causeway of leeks with mussel sauce” to the surprise of Cheddar, bacon and oatmeal souffle.
The book is interspersed with short stories about products, such as a flavorful Irish honey or Mileens, an Irish farmhouse cheese from County Cork. The resource section in the back of the book tells where to order Irish products in the States.
We tried three recipes from Johnson’s book with good results. Our favorite was the colcannon soup, a simple but filling concoction based on potatoes. An unusual recipe for farmhouse scones, made with mashed potatoes and chopped apples, was difficult to mix with the small amount of liquid called for, and the scones took an extra 10 minutes to bake through. The upside-down apple and soda bread tart does not describe how to caramelize the sugar. But tasters loved its earthy texture and not-too-sweet flavor.
Cooks with some experience will find both of these charming books easy to use and may discover some Irish recipes with a twist to add to their repertoire.
BEEF BRAISED WITH GUINNESS
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
Yield: 8 servings
Author Tamasin Day-Lewis writes: “The prunes are optional but they will flavor and enrich the dish. I like to serve this with two traditional Irish accompaniments, baked onions and colcannon.” From “West of Ireland Summers.”
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds chuck steak, cut into large cubes, trimmed
1 large onion, chopped
1 pound carrots, cut into fingers
6 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 1/4 pints Guinness
1 bouquet garni with 3 bay leaves, 2 sprigs rosemary, thyme and parsley and
3 strips orange peel tied together with string
Salt, pepper
7 ounces prunes, soaked overnight and drained, optional
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed casserole and seal the meat briefly on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and put to one side. Add the onion, carrots and garlic and let them begin to color before sprinkling them with the flour. Add the tomato puree, stir and then return the meat to the casserole. Pour in the Guinness slowly, stirring and allowing the liquid to thicken. Bury the bouquet garni in the liquid and bring to boiling point. Season and put into the oven for 1 1/2 hours.
2. Add the soaked prunes, if you are using them, and cook for a further 30 minutes. When the meat is tender, remove and discard the bouquet garni and serve hot.
Tribune test kitchen note: Cover the casserole before placing in the oven.
Nutrition information per serving (calculated by the Tribune):
Calories ……….. 360 Fat ………… 10 g Sat. fat ……. 6 g
% cal. from fat ….. 25 Chol ……… 105 mg Sodium …… 105 mg
Carb ………….. 25 g Protein …….. 42 g Fiber …….. 3.8 g
COLCANNON SOUP
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
From “The Irish Heritage Cookbook.”
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound leeks (white and pale green parts only), washed and chopped
5 cups homemade chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
Salt and ground white pepper to taste
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cups half-and-half
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, or 1 tablespoon dried
1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the cabbage, potatoes and leeks; cover and cook over medium heat until slightly tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Add the stock or broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until the vegetables are soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Transfer to a blender or food processor in batches and process until smooth. (To make ahead, cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.)
3. Return the puree to the same saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the half-and-half. Heat through over medium heat. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with the parsley.
Nutrition information per serving (calculated by the Tribune):
Calories ………… 275 Fat ……….. 14 g Saturated fat .. 9 g
% calories from fat .. 47 Cholesterol .. 50 mg Sodium …… 210 mg
Carbohydrates …… 30 g Protein …….. 7 g Fiber…………3 g
UPSIDE-DOWN APPLE AND SODA BREAD TART
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Soaking time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
“Chef Derry Clarke (L’Ecrivain, Dublin) gives a traditional Irish soda bread a new identity by using it as the base for a caramelized upside-down apple tart,” Margaret M. Johnson writes in “The Irish Heritage Cookbook.”
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup Bunratty poitin or Irish whiskey, see note
2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold butter or margarine, plus 4 tablespoons
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup superfine sugar
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced horizontally, about 16 slices
Lightly whipped cream or ice cream for serving
1. In a small bowl, combine the raisins and poitin or whiskey and soak for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, sift the cake flour, baking powder and granulated sugar together. With a pastry cutter, 2 knives, or your fingers, cut or work in the 8 tablespoons butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Drain the raisins, reserving the poitin or whiskey. Stir the raisins into the flour, then stir in the buttermilk to make a dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead for 20 seconds. Roll or pat the dough into a 12-inch diameter circle.
3. In a large skillet, combine the sugar, reserved soaking poitin or whiskey, the 4 tablespoons butter, and the cardamom. Cook over medium-low heat until the butter melts and the sugar caramelizes. Add the apple slices in batches and cook for 2 to 3 minutes (they should still be crunchy). With a slotted spoon, transfer the apples to a plate. Cook the caramel over low heat until it thickens.
4. Spread the caramel in a 12-inch quiche pan. Arrange the apple slices by overlapping them in 2 concentric circles over the caramel and cover with the dough. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, place a serving plate on top, and invert. Slice and serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.
Tribune test kitchen notes: Poitin is an Irish barley liquor, but any type of whiskey can be substituted. To caramelize the sugar, cook it for about 6 to 8 minutes. You may use a 12-inch oven-proof skillet instead of a quiche pan for the tart. The tart took 20 minutes to bake when tested.
Nutrition information per serving (calculated by the Tribune):
Calories ………… 535 Fat ……….. 24 g Saturated fat .. 15 g
% calories from fat .. 40 Cholesterol .. 60 mg Sodium ……. 500 mg
Carbohydrates …….. 80 g Protein …… 4 g Fiber ……….. 2 g
