St. Patrick's Day Redux

I realize this email is two weeks late, but...

A couple years ago, I wrote about the traditional Irish-American version of St. Patrick’s Day food and made corned beef and cabbage and it was very tasty.

I’ve got more Irish than anything in me, so this year I researched what the Irish REALLY eat on this holiday and there’s no clear answer other than “BEER!" I then looked into traditional Irish food. Much of it is seafood (lobster, salmon, etc), which makes sense if you look at the Emerald Isle on a map. Next is lamb. Lots and lots of lamb (leg of lamb, shepherd’s pie, etc). I love lamb, but the people I was cooking for do not. So here’s our traditional Irish meal:

Pan-Fried Salmon with Citrus Viniagrette and Asparagus

Pan-fried salmon* topped with an intense citrus vinaigrette made from a combination of fresh orange, lemon and lime juices, served with steamed asparagus. I invented that schlocky shamrock garnish (patting self on back).

Colcannon

This is a fantastic blend of what we think of Irish food and what Irish food actually is. It’s basically mashed potatoes with cabbage stirred in. Just delicious and comforting. It’s named for cál ceannann, meaning "white-headed cabbage.” There’s even an old folk song about it.

Soda Bread

A traditional classic on this side of the pond or the other. I make it every year. Just delicious homemade bread where baking soda is the leavening agent rather than yeast. So good.

* Final note for those still reading (and I’ve probably said this before): The easiest way to cook salmon is to place the skin (or skinned) side up filet in a hot skillet for 2 minutes, flip and put in a preheated 450º oven for about 3 minutes. There are variations on this technique which all work, but this is the simplest I’ve found. I still love cedar plank grilling and poaching and many other methods, but this 5 minute plan is PERFECT when you want it perfect in 5 minutes.

I Told You So

When I suggested this dish for my mother’s recent visit, she said, “I'll eat it, but tuna casserole is not my favorite,” but after one bite said, “Oh wow, this is soooo good!”

Tuna + Buckwheat Pasta Gratin

This is a high-end spin on classic tuna casserole from Gjelina I’d been wanting to make for a long time, but needed a crowd to do it- thanks family! Homemade pasta (couldn’t find buckwheat, so it’s actually spelt), fresh ahi tuna slowly poached in olive oil with fennel, guajillo chiles, bay leaves, and thyme, stirred into red onions, garlic, celery, and cabbage, using copious amounts of Gruyère and crème fraîche as the sauce, topped with homemade crushed garlic croutons and Parmesan cheese. Served with a rustic mixed greens salad, and the fig newtons I make with red wine and anise for dessert.

This is the picture from the book. Casseroles are tricky to photograph anyway, and I had hungry people ready for a late dinner, so I skipped my own pics.