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St Patrick's
day Traditions
Lá le Pádraig - beidh ceol agus
craic againn
St Patrick’s Day – or Paddy’s Day is it’s known in Ireland – is
one of those days (like Christmas) that would have been
invented had it not existed.
It’s an excuse for a hooley, a few jars, a party, a few jars, a
bit of grub, followed by a few more jars. (For anyone who
hasn’t grasped it, a few jars is a few drinks). What
self-respecting Irishman or woman could let the day go by
without lifting a pint of the black stuff? And no, the rivers
at home are not coloured green, though you might find some
green beer. In fact, it’s really only in the last number of
years that the day has become a weekend and this year, it’s a
five-day party with music, street theatre, family carnivals,
comedy, street performances, dance, a treasure hunt, night
spectacles ... 4000 performers and 1 million people celebrating
Ireland.
Whether at home or abroad, it’s a day to celebrate. Green,
white and gold, the colours of the Irish flag, are on show
everywhere. It’s a day when everyone wants to be Irish. And
those of us who are, can be quietly smug as we sip our pints.
 This year,
we have the added bonus of the last round-up of the Six Nations
Rugby Championship. Ireland take on Italy in Rome. Having
beaten Scotland last Saturday in an unexpected nail-biting
match to win the Triple Crown, we need a win again to put us
top. Though allowing France a last-minute win on our first
outing has deprived us of a Grand Slam.
Fuerteventura has quite a number of Irish living here and there
are plenty of Irish bars to celebrate. Many of these have flown
musicians in specially for the day so there’ll be plenty of
music and singing after the rugby.
There are events taking place all over the world – from parades
to Irish Stew. And keep a watch out for leprechauns! Follow one
and you just might get his bag of gold as leprechauns are the
bankers of the fairy world
Auckland calls itself the Ireland of the South Pacific and is
the first country to celebrate our National Day. With some 20%
of the population claiming Irish blood, there are plenty more
who haven’t a trace of green in their blood but love the craic
on the day.
Needless to say, New York has plenty of parades including the
one in the city - On the streets of New York since 1762 - the
oldest, largest, and best in the world .The parade marches up
5th Avenue, clan by clan, from 44th to 86th streets.
 In
Norway, you can dress up and walk in the parade in Oslo; the
Irish Village in Dubai is having a Big Party with loads of
Irish musicians.
St Paddy himself will be in Singapore where they’re having
their second ever St Patrick's Day Parade finishing at UOB
Plaza with music, song and dance in a great party atmosphere.
And Guinness is the main sponsor.
They say in Moscow that this is the day when the whole world is
Irish .The Irish and their friends mark their heritage with
music and dancing, spectacle and merrymaking. They’ll have
parades, with floats, brass bands, extravagant costumes and
traditional arts.
St Patrick's Day Recipes
There are a couple of recipes below if you feel like cooking at
home after the daytime celebrations!
Guinness Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate-Honey Sauce
De Valera’s Pie
Baked fillet of
cod with mango salsa
Guinness Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate-Honey Sauce
350ml Guinness
175ml cream
175ml milk
110g granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
6 egg yolks
In a large saucepan, simmer the Guinness until reduced by 3/4
in volume, about 8 minutes. Combine the cream, milk, and sugar
in a medium, heavy saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla
bean into the pan and add the vanilla bean halves. Bring to a
gentle boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat.
Beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk 1 cup of the hot
cream into the egg yolks. Gradually add the egg mixture in a
slow, steady stream, to the hot cream. Cook over medium-low
heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens enough
to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and strain
through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container. Cover with
plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to keep a skin
from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Remove from refrigerator and add the Guinness reduction,
whisking until well blended. Pour into the bowl of an ice cream
machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's
instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze
until ready to serve.
Dark Chocolate-Honey Sauce:
450ml cream
4 tblsp honey
450g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a medium saucepan, scald cream and honey medium heat. Remove
from the heat. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Add the
hot cream, let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
Whisk in the vanilla. Let stand until cool but still pourable.
Serve over Guinness ice cream.
De Valera’s Pie
In her book, A Little History of Irish Food, Regina Sexton says
that in the 1930’s the Fianna Fail Government under the
leadership of Eamon De Valera issued a number of cookery books
for use by young girls working under various schemes run by the
Department of Agriculture. This recipe is her adaptation of a
beef pie from the book. You prepare and cook the stew first and
for the last 30 minutes, a soda bread dough is added as a lid.
Pretty impressive if you’ve got visitors as it’s full of stout
and you can have a pint to go with it.
Ingredients:
900g lean stewing beef, cut into generous chunks
2 tblsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
3 tblsp vegetable oil
1 large onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
225g swede turnip
225g carrots
340 ml stout
1 bunch fresh thyme, chopped
Method:
Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/375ºF190ºC/170ºfan
Trim the meat of excess fat and toss in the seasoned flour.
Heat the oil in a wide pan and throw in the meat. Move around
until well browned. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and
place in a round casserole. Prepare and chop the vegetables.
Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook for a few minutes
until soft and translucent. Transfer to the casserole. Cover
the base of the pan with 3-4 tblsp stout, bring to the boil,
stirring all the time. Pour over the casserole contents, add
the remaining vegetables, stout and thyme and mix well. Cover
and cook in a moderate oven for 1½-2 hours.
Soda bread crust
225g plain flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp bread soda
150ml buttermilk
Sieve the dry ingredients into a bowl, mixing well. Make a well
in the centre and pour in most of the buttermilk. Draw the
flour into the buttermilk until all has been absorbed. The
dough should feel sticky, but pliable. Add the remaining
buttermilk if necessary. Turn out onto a floured board,
kneading lightly, giving it just one or two turns to fix the
shape.
With the palm of your hand pat the dough out into a circular
shape to the circumference of the casserole. Remove the
casserole from the oven and lift the soda bread carefully on
top of the stew, making sure it covers the surface of the
simmering meat. Score the surface deeply into four. Dust the
surface with a light coat of flour and replace the casserole
lid. Turn the heat up to gas mark 6/200ºC/400ºF/180ºfan oven
and bake for 30-40 minutes.
When cooked cut through the four quarters of soda bread crust
and slip a serving spoon under each quarter, spooning each and
a quantity of meat tucked underneath onto one side of a plate.
Surround with more meat and vegetables and spoon the gravy
around.
Baked fillet of cod with mango salsa
If you want something lighter to eat, try this recipe from the
Kilkenny Cookbook. The salsa can be used with other dishes.
Ingredients:
4x175g fillets of cod
25g plain flour
1 tblsp sunflower oil
Salsa
1 ripe mango
4 scallions
1 red pepper, sliced and deseeded
4 tblsp olive oil
salt and pepper
juice of 1 lime
Method:
Make the salsa first as it can be made up to a day in advance.
Peel the mango and remove the stone. Peel and quarter the mango
and remove the stone. Then slice it and cut it into small dice.
Top, tail and wash the scallions and slice very finely down the
length. Dice the pepper slices to the same size as the mango
dice. Mix everything together in a bowl with the lime juice and
season. Place in the fridge while cooking the fish.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180ºC/350ºF160ºfan oven.
Wipe down the fillets of cod with kitchen paper. Put the flour
in a dish and dip the skin side into the flour. Heat the oil in
a pan and when good and hot sear the cod in the pan, skin side
down, for about 2 minutes. Remove the fish from the pan – the
skin should now be crispy - and put in an ovenproof dish. Bake
in the oven for 7-10 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
When the fish is cooked, serve it straight from the oven with a
generous spoon of salsa on top.
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