More than meat and potatoes: 5 recipes for St. Patrick's Day
This Saturday, many Minnesotans across the state will celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
You don't have to be Irish to appreciate the festivities, fashion (don't forget to wear green!) and perhaps most importantly, the food.
Here are five reader-submitted St. Patrick's Day recipes to try in celebration of the holiday — hopefully you have some cabbage handy.
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Scones to start the day
What you'll need
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar (plus some additional, if desired, for rolling)
1 1/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
How to
Set oven to 425 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add cream and stir with fork until evenly moistened. Drop dough onto counter, flatten to 3/4 to 1 inch thickness and cut into wedges. Roll in some granulated sugar and bake on parchment lined baking sheet for 10 to 12 minutes. It makes 8-10 scones.
Submitted by Mary Twite, Minnetonka.
Corned beef
What you'll need
Corned beef
Carrots, peeled
One bottle of beer (robust in flavor)
Baby new potatoes, scrubbed
Small green cabbage (optional)
How to
"Easy as pie!" Place two or three pieces of corned beef in a slow cooker (add the juices in the package and sprinkle with provided spices), pour one bottle of beer over the top — cover and cook until tender (about seven hours on low, or three to four hours on high) — wait about an hour and a half before serving. Add peeled carrots and scrubbed baby new potatoes — if desired, core and quarter a small green cabbage and add about a half hour before serving and cook until tender. "No fail — perfect every time!"
Submitted by Melissa Sternal, Minneapolis — she suggests you make Rueben sandwiches with the leftovers.
Lamb stew
What you'll need
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 lbs lamb stewing meat, trimmed and chunked
20-24 pearl onions (or 2-3 white onions chopped)
2 carrots, peeled and chunked
1 turnip, peeled and sliced
2-3 large potatoes, chucked
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup pearled barley
1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced (plus more to garnish)
1 pint of Guinness
1 1/2 cups lamb stock (or low-salt beef broth)
How to
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or other casserole pan. Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Brown up the lamb, in batches. Add to the same pan layers of the meat, onions and vegetables, and potatoes, ending with the potatoes on top. Season each layer with salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley. Add Guinness and enough stock to cover. Stir in barley.
Cook, covered with a tight lid, at 300 degrees in the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until meat is tender. Can also be done on the stove top with a simmer. Check the pan periodically and add more stock, if needed. You will end up with a tick gravy-like stew. Before serving, brown up the potatoes with the broiler for a couple minutes and sprinkle with parsley!
Submitted by John Haggerty, Minneapolis.
"Growing up, I remember my mother always complaining about never being able to find a good bacon joint to boil with the cabbage. [It is] hard to find no matter where you are in the U.S., and western Minnesota was no exception."
Colcannon potatoes
What you'll need
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and quartered (I used Russet but use what you have)
3 slices of bacon
1 small onion, diced
1/4 medium head of cabbage, shredded (or kale)
4 tbsp butter (depends on how much you like in your mashed potatoes)
3/4 cup cream or milk
Salt and pepper
How to
In a large pot, add the potatoes, cover with water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet until nearly crisp, crumble and set aside on a paper towel. Keep about a tablespoon of the grease in the skillet and saute the onion and shredded cabbage (or kale) over moderate heat until tender.
Reduce the heat with the potatoes to a simmer until soft then drain. In a bowl, combine the potatoes, 3 tablespoons of butter, cream or milk and a few dashes of salt and pepper. Mash it all together with a fork until the lumps are gone (or keep them if you like). Stir in the bacon and cooked onion/cabbage mixture with the grease. Top the dish with the remaining tablespoon of butter in a well in the center. Serve immediately.
Fresh parsley sauce
What you'll need
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup plain flour
1 1/4 cups milk
1 pinch salt
1 pinch white pepper
2 ounces parsley, chopped finely=use Italian flat parsley
1 egg yolk (optional)
2 dashes hot sauce (optional)
How to
Gently melt the butter in a saucepan (non-stick is easier). Don't let it sizzle.
Add the flour, salt, and white pepper (black pepper at a push, but you'll be able to see black specks in the sauce). Stir, over gentle heat, with a wooden spoon for a few minutes to let the flour cook and to amalgamate everything. If you don't cook it long enough at this stage, the sauce will taste floury.
Add a little milk to the flour and butter mix (you have now made a roux) and stir again. When it is amalgamated, add a little more milk and mix again. Add more milk, little by little, until you have a thickish creamy sauce. Cook the sauce for five minutes over gentle heat, stirring to stop it sticking. If you get lumps, press them with the wooden spoon against the side of the pan to mash them. If you need to, use a whisk, but be careful not to scratch a non-stick pan. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
For a richer sauce, add a little hot sauce to a raw egg yolk in a cup, mix well, then reintroduce into the main sauce. Add the parsley, stir and serve immediately.
Submitted by Christine Schlueter, Hutchinson.
"This is considered an Irish dish, so I made them for this past St. Patty's Day! But they are good any day of the year with some roast beef or stew."
Slow cooker corned beef with cabbage, potatoes and carrots
What you'll need
2-3 lbs corned beef brisket, with spices and juice
10 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1 to 2 inch chunks
2 small onions, coarsely chopped
8 small red potatoes, unpeeled
Dark beer
3 1/2 cups water
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 head cabbage, chopped
How to
In a large slow cooker, place the corned beef on the bottom (do not rinse; allow all the juices from the packaging to go inside the slow cooker). Layer with carrots, onions and potatoes. Top with sprigs of thyme. Pour the beer and water over the ingredients. Cook on low for seven to eight hours, or on high for three to four hours. Once the corned beef and vegetables have cooked, move around the vegetables to make room for the cabbage. Submerge the cabbage in as much liquid as possible, place the lid back on the slow cooker and cook on high for 1 hour. Slice the corned beef against the grain and serve with a grainy mustard.
Submitted by Dan Berry, Edina.
"Used to make it for my kids when they were still kids."