Great St Patrick’s Day recipes (From Dorset Society)

Great St Patrick’s Day recipes

6:00am Monday 1st March 2010

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What better way to mark this year's St Patrick’s Day than by rustling up some traditional grub?

Society has teamed up with Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, to create a quick and easy menu...

BEEF AND STOUT CASSEROLE WITH HERBY DUMPLINGS (Serves 12) (Good for freezing)

• 4tbsp sunflower oil

• 500g shallots or button onions, peeled

• 1 large onion, sliced

• 4 carrots, cut into 2.5cm pieces

• 1tbsp sugar

• 65g plain flour

• 1.5kg chuck steak or braising steak, cut into 6-7cm chunks

• 75g butter

• 1 litre Irish stout

• 300ml beef stock

• leaves from 3 large sprigs thyme

• 4 fresh bay leaves

• 4tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 250g chestnut mushrooms, wiped clean and left whole

• 250g field mushrooms, wiped clean and thickly sliced

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Herby dumplings or mashed potatoes, to serve (recipe below) Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large, flameproof casserole. Add the shallots or small onions and fry until they are nicely browned all over. Set aside on a plate. Add the onions, carrots and sugar and fry until nicely browned. Set aside with the shallots.

Put the flour into a large bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Add the beef and toss together well. Heat another two tablespoons of oil in the casserole and fry the beef in batches until nicely browned on all sides. Set each batch aside with the vegetables as it browns.

Add 25g of the butter to the casserole and stir in the remaining seasoned flour from the bowl. Gradually stir in the stout, rubbing the base of the pan to release all the caramelised juices. Stir in the stock, followed by the beef and vegetables, thyme leaves, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce and some seasoning. Bring to the boil, part-cover and leave to simmer very slowly on the top of the stove for one and a half hours.

Melt the remaining butter in a large frying pan, add the mushrooms and fry briskly for two minutes. Stir them into the casserole, part cover, and simmer for another hour until the beef is tender.

HERBY DUMPLINGS (Serves 6)

• 100g self-raising flour

• A large pinch baking powder

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 50g shredded beef suet

• leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme

• Approx 100ml cold water

Salt and freshly ground black pepper Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and a little pepper into a bowl and stir in the suet and thyme leaves. Stir in enough cold water to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Using a spoon, divide the dough roughly into six pieces and drop onto the top of the simmering stew 25 minutes before the end of cooking. Recover and leave to cook until fluffed up and cooked through. A fine skewer, pushed into centre of a dumpling, should come out clean.

ST PATRICK'S POTATOES (Serves 6-8)

• 1kg medium-sized potatoes

• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

• 100g well-flavoured Irish farmhouse cheese, such as Gubbeen or Carrigaline

• 300ml double cream

• 300ml milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper Preheat the oven to 140C/Gas Mark 1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices. Overlap one-third of the slices over the base of a buttered 2.25 litre shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle with half the chopped garlic, one-third of the grated cheese and some salt and pepper. Repeat the layers once more, then finish with a final layer of neatly overlapped potatoes.

Warm the milk and cream together in a pan with a little more seasoning to taste. Pour over the potatoes and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake for approximately one and a half hours until the potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Cover very loosely with a sheet of foil part-way through cooking after the top has become nicely golden.

SHAMROCK CHEESY BISCUITS (Makes 28-30)

• 300g mature Irish farmhouse cheese such as Ardrahan or Carrigaline – finely grated

• 200g plain flour

• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

• 200g butter, diced

• 2 free-range egg yolks

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 5. Lightly grease two or three baking sheets with butter and line with non-stick baking paper.

Mix the grated cheese, flour, cayenne pepper, half teaspoon salt and some black pepper together in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub together until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.

Stir in the egg yolks with a kitchen knife until the mixture comes together in a ball. Tip out onto a work surface and knead briefly until smooth. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 5mm thick.

Using a shamrock-shaped biscuit cutter (you can find them online), cut out the biscuits and place them spaced a little apart on the prepared baking sheets. Re-knead and roll the trimmings once or twice to make more biscuits. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until richly golden around the edges. Remove and leave to cool on the baking tray. Store in an airtight tin once cold.

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