The goal to go green on St Patrick’s Day can be taken too far – the sight of bread colored green at our local baker’s some years ago only raised doubts about the freshness of the flour, not the appropriateness of the color.
But you don’t have to go that far to have a truly Irish feast on St Patrick’s Day. You can just try my Grandmother Bridget’s recipes for bacon and cabbage, and perfect Irish mashed spuds.
To make this dish the way my grandmother made it, you will need a large piece of boiling bacon. If you know a friendly Irish butcher he will know exactly what you need. You can also use a large piece of smoked ham, or thick slices of breakfast bacon. Forget the corned beef – this is truly Irish. Next to the potato, the pig is the basis of Irish cooking.
When you get your bacon home, get a large pan or skillet and lay the bacon inside. Just cover with water and heat to boiling. Turn the heat down and simmer the bacon for at least an hour. Let the water reduce before you add the cabbage.
You can cut the cabbage finely (in which case it won’t need much cooking) or in larger pieces. I use a whole cabbage and tuck it tightly round the bacon. Let the lot continue to simmer until the cabbage is soft but still bright green.
To serve, cut the bacon in slices, and pile cabbage on the side. Yum!
The best accompaniment to bacon and cabbage is delicious creamy mashed spuds – that’s potatoes. You need those big waxy spuds that are really good for boiling. About one large spud per person is a good rule of thumb.
Peel the spuds and cut into small chunks. Place in a pan with water to cover, add a teaspoon of salt and bring to the boil. Continue to boil until potatoes break apart when you prod them with a fork.
Strain the potatoes. Now this is the important part. Don’t strain off all of the hot water. Keep enough to just cover the bottom of the pan.
Start to mash the potatoes into the cooking water until you have rough lumps. Now add 1/4 cup of thick cream. Mash well until the potatoes are snowy white and lump free.
Serve with the bacon and cabbage for a gorgeous St Patrick’s Day meal.