St. Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on March 17th, the anniversary of the death of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century, and is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people.
The holiday originally began as a religious feast day in the 17th century, but has since evolved into a more secular celebration of Irish culture, heritage and history. It is a public holiday in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and is also celebrated by Irish communities around the world. The most famous St. Patrick’s Day celebration is the St. Patrick’s Day parade held in Dublin, Ireland.
Some traditional Irish dishes for St. Patrick’s Day include:
- Irish stew made with lamb or beef, potatoes, carrots, and onions
- Colcannon, a mashed potato dish mixed with kale or cabbage
- Boxty, a traditional potato pancake
- Corned beef and cabbage
- Shepherd’s pie
- Bangers and mash (Irish sausages served with mashed potatoes)
- Guinness beef stew
- Irish soda bread
- Bailey’s Irish Cream cheesecake for dessert.
Irish stew
Irish Stew is a traditional dish that is easy to make. Here is a simple recipe:
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs of lamb or beef, cut into small cubes
- 4 potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cups of beef or lamb broth
- 1 cup of water
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, brown the meat over medium-high heat. Remove the meat from the pot and set it aside.
- Add the onion, garlic, and flour to the pot and cook until the onion is translucent.
- Add the broth, water, thyme, and meat back to the pot. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about an hour.
- Add the potatoes and carrots to the stew and continue to simmer for another 30-40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Season the stew with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the stew hot with some crusty bread.
- You can vary the recipe to your taste, as some recipes call for Guinness or other stout to add some more flavor, or add some parsnips and leeks to the stew.
Colcannon
Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish made with mashed potatoes and cabbage or kale. Here is a simple recipe:
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs of potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 head of green cabbage or kale, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1/4 cup of butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the potatoes. Cook the potatoes until they are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- While the potatoes are cooking, sauté the onion and cabbage or kale in a pan with a little bit of butter until the vegetables are wilted and tender.
- Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Add the milk and butter to the pot and mash the potatoes until they are smooth.
- Stir in the sautéed cabbage or kale and onion into the mashed potatoes.
- Season the colcannon with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the colcannon hot, garnished with a pat of butter on top, if desired.
- You can vary the recipe to your taste, some recipes call for the addition of some chopped scallions or leeks to the colcannon.
Boxty
Boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake that is easy to make. Here is a simple recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb of potatoes, peeled
- 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup of cornmeal
- 1/4 cup of milk
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Oil for frying
Instructions:
- Grate the potatoes and place them in a colander to drain off the excess liquid.
- In a large bowl, mix together the grated potatoes, flour, cornmeal, milk, egg, onion, salt, and pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add a small amount of oil.
- Using a spoon, drop spoonfuls of the batter into the skillet and flatten them slightly with the back of the spoon.
- Cook the boxty for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown and crispy.
- Remove the boxty from the skillet and drain them on a paper towel.
- Serve the boxty hot with butter, sour cream, or as a side dish to any kind of meat or fish dish.
- You can also add some grated cheese to the boxty batter for a more cheesy version.
Corned beef and cabbage
Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional Irish-American dish that is typically served on St. Patrick’s Day. Here is a simple recipe:
Ingredients:
- 3-4 lbs of corned beef brisket
- 1 head of green cabbage, cut into wedges
- 4-5 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 4-5 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 onion, cut into wedges
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup of beef broth
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of whole mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns
- Salt to taste
Instructions:
- Rinse the corned beef brisket and place it in a large pot or Dutch oven.
- Add the beef broth, water, brown sugar, mustard seeds, peppercorns, garlic, and enough water to cover the beef.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 2-3 hours or until the beef is tender.
- Once the beef is tender, add the vegetables to the pot and continue to simmer for another 30-40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Remove the corned beef from the pot and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing.
- Season the vegetables with salt to taste.
- Serve the corned beef hot with the vegetables.
- You can also cook the corned beef in a slow cooker or Instant Pot, in which case you should cook it for around 6-8 hours or 45-60 minutes respectively.
Shepherd’s pie
Shepherd’s pie is a traditional British and Irish dish that is typically made with lamb or mutton, but can also be made with beef. Here is a simple recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb of ground lamb or beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cups of beef or lamb broth
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- 1 cup of frozen corn
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups of mashed potatoes
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground lamb or beef, onion, and garlic. Drain any excess fat.
- Stir in the flour and thyme, cook for 1 minute.
- Gradually stir in the broth, and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Stir in the peas and corn, and cook until the mixture thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the meat mixture into a baking dish.
- Spread the mashed potatoes over the meat mixture.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden brown.
- Serve hot.
- You can vary the recipe to your taste, some people add some carrots, or use milk instead of broth to make the meat mixture richer.
Bangers and mash
Bangers and mash is a traditional British and Irish dish that consists of sausages (bangers) served with mashed potatoes (mash). Here is a simple recipe:
Ingredients:
- 6-8 pork sausages
- 2 lbs of potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1/4 cup of butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Gravy (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Place the sausages on a baking sheet and bake them for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the potatoes. Cook the potatoes until they are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Add the milk and butter to the pot and mash the potatoes until they are smooth.
- Season the mashed potatoes with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the sausages on top of a bed of mashed potatoes.
- If desired, you can also make a gravy to pour on top. To make gravy, you can use the sausage’s pan juices, add beef or chicken broth and add some flour. Lastly, season taste.
- Cook until thickened.
- You can vary the recipe to your taste, some people add some garlic or herbs to the mashed potatoes, or use different types of sausages, like beef or turkey sausages.
Guinness beef stew
Guinness beef stew is a traditional Irish dish that is made with beef, vegetables, and Guinness stout. Here is a simple recipe:
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs of beef chuck or stewing beef, cut into small cubes
- 2 cups of Guinness or other Irish stout
- 2 cups of beef broth
- 2 cups of water
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cups of carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 cups of potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 cups of onions, diced
- 2 cups of parsnips, peeled and diced
- 2 cups of celery, diced
- 2 cups of mushrooms, sliced
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and cubed beef, to coat well.
- In a large Dutch oven or pot, brown the beef over medium-high heat. Remove the beef and set it aside.
- Add the garlic, onion and mushrooms to the pot, and sauté until softened.
- Add the beef back to the pot along with the Guinness, beef broth, water, thyme, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and celery.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and then cover it with a lid and place it in the oven. Cook for 2-3 hours or until the beef is tender.
- Season the stew with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the stew hot with some crusty bread.
- You can vary the recipe to your taste, some people add some bacon to the stew for more flavor, or use beef stock instead of broth.
Irish soda bread
Irish soda bread is a traditional Irish bread that is made with flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. It is a quick bread that does not require yeast, so it can be made quickly and easily. Here is a simple recipe:
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 3/4 cups of buttermilk
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk.
- Using your hands, mix the ingredients until a dough forms. The dough should be slightly sticky.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it lightly.
- Form the dough into a round loaf about 6-8 inches in diameter.
- Place the loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Using a sharp knife, make a deep “X” on top of the loaf.
- Bake the bread for about 45-50 minutes, or until it is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Let the bread cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
- You can vary the recipe to your taste, some people add some golden raisins, caraway seeds or even chocolate chips to the dough.
Bailey’s Irish Cream cheesecake
Bailey’s Irish Cream cheesecake is a delicious and decadent dessert that combines the creamy, rich flavor of Bailey’s Irish Cream with a classic cheesecake. Here is a simple recipe:
Ingredients:
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 24 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
- 4 large eggs
Topping
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp Bailey’s Irish Cream
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- To make the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a medium bowl and mix well. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
- To make the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
- Stir in the Bailey’s Irish Cream.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Pour the filling into the crust-lined pan.
- Bake the cheesecake for 60-70 minutes, or until the center is just set.
- To make the topping, combine the sour cream, sugar, and Bailey’s Irish Cream in a small bowl and mix well.
- Spread the topping over the cheesecake and return it to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool for at least 2 hours before removing it from the pan and serving.
- You can vary the recipe to your taste, some people add chocolate shavings or chocolate chips on top of the cheesecake for more flavor.
