I have a copy of “Irish Traditional Cooking” by Darina Allen which boasts “over 300 recipes from Ireland’s heritage.” Out of all the Irish cookbooks I have it is one of my favorites but one of my least used.
But why?
When she says traditional she really means traditional. Most of my Irish cookbooks are traditional meals but they have easily been made modern. You can find the all of the ingredients at your local market and there is no need to drive all over looking for items at different stores.
That is why I don’t use Darina’s book very often. It is very traditional. Like buy the whole pig and use every part traditional. Churn your own butter. Make your own milk. But what I do love about the book is all the history and stories that go along with the recipes.
I had found a recipe in another book for making Boxty Bread and was disappointed when I did not have any cheese cloth or anything else that would work in its place. So I dug out Darnia’s book hoping to find another recipe to replace it because I had already been through all of the other Irish books I had. I wanted something outside the Irish Soda Bread box. Besides, I had purchased a ton of potatoes and was needing to use some of those. The Boxty Bread and Potato Bread recipes are similar in that they both use potato and a few other key ingredients.
Because flour was a luxury item these potato bread patties were small and considered a treat.
I doubled the recipe and made mine a little larger.
This was my first time making this little potato bread patties and I was thrilled. They smelled wonderful. We ate them with some traditional Irish boiled dinner and they were heaven. I have plans to make them again and this time test them with bacon crumbles and various cheeses. I can’t wait!
Although, we will be eating these as a treat just as my Irish ancestors did, too.
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 cup mashed potatoes
- 4 tbsp bacon fat
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together.
- Add the potatoes and mix ingredients.
- Melt the bacon fat and pour in.
- Knead lightly.
- Add a little flour to your countertop so the dough doesn't stick.
- Place dough on counter.
- Divide dough into four pieces and shape into patties.
- Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place patties on baking sheet.
- Using a knife make the criss cross design to bless your bread.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on both sides.
Traditional cooking really can be a challenge. So much has changed with our food. It really is crazy to me. This looks like a neat recipe to try. I bet my kids would love its simple goodness.
It’s so simple and delish. If you have leftover potato (bakes or mashed) you could easily whip up this recipe for the next nights meal.
Your potato bread looks so yummy! I love knowing the history behind food – it makes it that much more special to eat 🙂
My MIL actually sent me a text last night to tell me how kiddo has been telling her all the fun facts she has been learning about her food. It made me feel good.
Wow, this is a really simple. I find it ironic that some of the traditional items can actual take less time and fewer ingredients.
Oh it was so simple! And you could really play around with them too, like add crumbled bacon and maybe some cheddar or just different cheese. I’m going to try some different versions here very soon.
Will something else work as well as the bacon grease. I’m vegetarian, and while the rest of my family is not, I try to eat the same foods as them when I can. I know from my meat eating days that nothing flavors quite like bacon grease, but that isn’t doable for me anymore. Any suggestions? Dan loves shepherd pie and I’d like to make these with it. *though that’s a lot of potato…
I would try replacing the bacon grease with a healthy fat like olive oil. But you could use canola or vegetable oil too if those are what you use. In those days they just used all the leftovers, parts and pieces. So replace grease for grease so to speak. I would think that maybe melted butter would be a good option too since its more like grease and it hardens when cooled.
As my Irish grandmother would say, “You can NEVER have too much potato!”
Stopping by from The Yuck Stops Here Party. These look AMAZING! Carrie, A Mother’s Shadow
Glad you enjoy!
That cookbook sounds really interesting, and the bread sounds delightful. Homemade breads just taste better than what you buy in the store don’t they?