This bread is made in homes all over Ireland. It uses bicarbonate of soda as a raising agent and the buttermilk gives it a subtle tang.
Ingredients
- 450g plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 300-350ml buttermilk
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 230°C.
- Sift the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl. Mix well with a fork to ensure the salt and bread soda are well incorporated into the flour.
- Add 300ml of buttermilk and mix through the flour. Add another 50ml if necessary. You want a soft dough, but nothing too wet and sticky.
- With floured hands, turn the dough out onto a floured board. Knead the dough into a round loaf but don’t overwork it.
- Place the dough on a buttered and floured baking sheet. Cut a cross in the top of the dough. According to legend, this allows the fairies to escape. (No, I don’t believe it either…)
- Place the baking sheet in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes then turn the oven down to 200°C and cook for a further 25 minutes.
- Remove the bread from the oven and wrap in a tea towel and leave to cool slightly on a wire rack before cutting. Slice and serve coated with salty butter.
If you want to try another type of traditional Irish bread, try my Griddle Bread recipe. It’s much quicker to make and very moreish.
Bread making doesn’t get any simpler than this. (Oh dear, I’m starting to sound like those clowns on Masterchef). Griddle bread, as it’s known in my house, is a simple soda bread dough, but instead of being cooked in the oven, you cook it slowly on a non-stick frying pan or a cast-iron “griddle”. This is quite a traditional bread and is a great standby when you haven’t a scrap of granary left in the house. One warning though, once you cut this loaf you’ll keep going back to it until you’ve none left. It’s addictive!
I like my griddle bread “well done”. Cook gently until the surface of the bread is starting to blacken in places. As the bread cools, it gives off the most amazing toasty aromas. There’s something about it that reminds me of cream crackers. Surely not a bad thing?
For a traditional Irish bread that’s baked in the oven, try my Irish Soda Bread recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-raising flour
- 1 tsp salt
- buttermilk, enough to make a very soft dough (about 250ml-300ml, as a guide)
Method
Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, then add the buttermilk and mix gently until you have a soft, wet dough, but be careful it is not too “sloppy”. Heat a dry frying pan, then turn down the heat low and dust the pan with plain flour. Wet your hands then add the doughto the pan. Gently smooth out the dough to cover the pan then cook slowly on both sides until brown patches start to develop. This should take at least 8 minutes on each side. Cool on a wire rack.
Coat with plenty of salty butter and enjoy, this is great with your Saturday morning fry-up.
All of us food bores know that real shepherd’s pie is made with minced lamb. If it’s made with beef, it’s cottage pie. According to the ever-reliable (!) Wikipedia, the term “cottage pie” has been around since 1791, where leftover beef would be used by the poor cottage-dwellers as a pie filling. “Shepherds pie” came along about a hundred years later, as a cheekily-named lamb equivalent.
Shepherd’s Pie is traditionally made with minced lamb left over from a roast. The pie in these pictures comprises not only the leftover lamb, but the leftover gravy too; this gives the pie a rich and deep flavour. I’d go so far as saying it’s worth roasting lamb joint just to make this pie!
Ingredients
- 500g minced lamb, leftover if possible
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 3 sticks celery, chopped
- 250ml beef stock, or leftover gravy topped up with water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- salt & pepper
- 900g potatoes
Method
- If you’re using leftover lamb, chop it finely rather than mincing it. This ensures there’s a bit of texture in the finished dish. Heat a little olive in a pan and brown the lamb and onion. Add the carrot and celery and fry for a minute more.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (except the potatoes) and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer very gently for about 30 minutes.
- While the lamb filling cooks, pre-heat the oven to 200°C and prepare your spuds. Boil the potatoes until tender, then mash with a little milk and plenty of butter and seasoning. You could also add an egg yolk which will enrich the mash and give it a great golden colour while it browns.
- Transfer the lamb mixture to an oven-proof pie dish. Spread the mash on top and use a fork to make a rough surface. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until the pie is golden brown. Serve with some piccalilli or some buttered peas.
Variations
- Roast Lamb - Add 2 minced garlic cloves, a teaspoon of finely chopped rosemary and a glass of red wine while you’re frying the lamb. Serve with minted peas on the side. All the flavours of a classic lamb roast in one dish.
- Cottage Pie - Substitute the lamb for beef and add a small bottle of stout and reduce. Some finely chopped thyme would be a nice addition to this also.
Serves 4.
I roasted a shoulder of lamb recently and got it together to make an excellent stock from the bones, which I then put in the freezer for later use. Lamb stock has quite a strong flavour and is not as “all-purpose” as chicken or beef stock; it is generally used only in lamb dishes. The stock is well worth the effort and you can use it as a base for a delicious Irish stew.
Irish stew is the perfect example of how good quality ingredients can taste amazing when cooked very simply. Lamb, vegetables and a good stock can produce a magical flavour. Some purists might baulk at the idea of putting carrots and thyme in an Irish stew but they give a great flavour. Give it a try.
Ingredients
- 8 small lamb chops ( I used loin chops, you could use neck or gigot)
- 6 medium sized potatoes, halved
- 3 sticks celery, quartered
- 3 large carrots, quartered
- 750 ml lamb or chicken stock
- 2 tbsp pearl barley
- 1 tsp thyme leaves, finely chopped
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Trim the excess fat from the chops. You can leave the chops whole, but I like to cut each chop into large pieces.
- Place all of the ingredients in a large cast-iron casserole or pot, then top up with water to just cover the meat and veggies. Season with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
- Cover the casserole, bring to a gentle simmer and leave for 1.5 - 2 hours. Check the seasoning and add some chopped fresh parsley.
Serves 4.
Leftovers
If treated right, leftovers can be more impressive than the original meal. To the leftovers of this stew I added 500ml of hot vegetable stock and whizzed with a stick blender. I added some frozen peas, broad beans and some chopped flat-leaf parsley. The results were absolutely wicked.
