Try some Celtic-American favorites for this cheery March holiday! Learn about a bit of the history that brings this food meaning.
We have included some of our favorite recipes for a braised dish of Coddle, Irish Brown Bread, and Cottage Pie with Colcannon. Coddle in the Dublin style is a sausage, bacon, root vegetable, and cabbage slow braise that can be made ahead of time to enjoy after a hard day’s work. Brown bread is a lightly sweet molasses quick bread to help absorb all the rich broth or sauce from any good comfort food. Cottage Pie or Shepherd’s Pie is the most well-known Celtic style recipe that has been used and adapted by farmers, ranchers, shepherds of all kinds. The name of the pie is traditionally based on the meat protein used and who tends to these animals during the harsh March weather.
May you share these recipes with those you care about and send them out into the world with blessings of a warm hearth, a satisfied stomach, and nutrients to fuel their springtime travels.
Dublin Coddle
Slow cooked irish braise with potatoes, cabbage, bacon/sausage, and onions. A nice one pot recipe to warm you and your family on the coldest early spring nights.
Equipment
- dutch oven or oven safe soup pot with lid
Ingredients
- 10 strips Applewood smoked bacon cut into 1-inch pieces thick-cut about ½-¾ lb.
- 1 ¾ pound about 5 quality pork sausages
- 4 each small yellow onions sliced
- 1 cup cabbage cut into 2" squares
- 1 cup carrots large dice
- 3 lb. russet potatoes roughly peeled and diced into large bite-size pieces
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley minced
- to taste kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 cups chicken stock low-sodium
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Place bacon into a 5-quart Dutch oven and heat over medium to medium-low until cooked and crispy, about 18-20 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate.
- Sear sausages for 3 to 4 minutes on both sides. Transfer to a cutting board and slice into thirds.
- Remove the pot from the burner and layer, onions with a pinch of salt and parsley, bacon, sausages, more parsley, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and then a few pinches of both salt and pepper and the remaining minced parsley.
- Pour stock over top, cover and place back onto burner. Bring liquid up to a boil before covering and transferring pot to preheated oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Remove and ladle into bowls with a little of the broth and serve immediately with sourdough or brown bread.
Irish Brown Bread
Try a traditional recipe with Wyoming grains from Wyoming Heritage Grains and GF Harvest.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Red Spring Flour Wyoming Heritage Grains
- 2 cups Gazelle Rye Flour Wyoming Heritage Grains
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup Rolled Oats GF Harvest
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 ¾ cups buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp molasses
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients: both flours, oats, salt and baking soda. Mix thoroughly all the dry ingredients.
- Whisk buttermilk and molasses. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the buttermilk mixture.
- Using a fork or spatula, stir gradually until combined.
- With floured hands, knead into a ball.
- Shape the dough into a circle and place on a lined baking sheet. Press flat to about 2 inches thick. It will form a round loaf about 8 inches in diameter.
- With a sharp knife cut a deep cross on top of the ball.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes at 450°F. Reduce the heat to 400°F then bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until the bottom of the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
Cottage Pie with Colcannon
A combination of two traditional irish recipes. Try ground lamb for the shepherd's pie variation!
Ingredients
Cottage Pie Meat Filling
- 1½ pounds ground beef, lean ground lamb (shepherd's) or venison (hunter's)
- ¼ cup diced onions
- 2 each small diced carrots
- ½ cup beets cleaned, trimmed and diced try a combination for increased flavor gold, red, chiogga
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme also add rosemary to increase herbaceous flavor
- 2 each bay leaves
- prepared colcannon recipe follows
Colcannon
- 4 each potatoes 2 to 2 ½ pounds, peeled and cut into large chunks
- Salt
- 5-6 Tbsp unsalted irish butter with more butter for serving
- 3 cups chopped kale, lightly packed cabbage, chard, or other leafy brassica greens
- 3 each green onions including the green onion greens, minced (about ½ cup)
- 1 cup milk or cream
- 2 each eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Meat Filling Directions
- In a large skillet, brown the ground beef until no longer pink; then add the onions, carrots, beets, celery and garlic.
- Allow the vegetables to soften for 2-3 minutes; deglaze the pan with the red wine to get all that lovely caramelization, let the alcohol cook off then add the tomato paste and stir in well.
- Add the remaining meat filling ingredients. Mix well and allow to cook over medium heat until most of the liquid has been absorbed; approximately 15-20 minutes. Prepare colcannon while simmering.
Colcannon Directions
- Put the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water by at least an inch. Add 2 tablespoons of salt, and bring to a boil.
- Boil until the potatoes are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain in a colander.
- Return the pot to the stove and set over medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pot and once it’s hot, add the greens.
- Cook the greens for 3-4 minutes, or until they are wilted and have given off some of their water.
- Add the green onions and cook 1 minute more.
- Pour in the milk or cream, mix well, and add the potatoes. Reduce the heat to medium.
- Use a fork or potato masher and mash the potatoes, mixing them up with the greens. For a smoother texture use a paddle attachment on a stand mixer, this will increase the fluffiness as well.
- Add salt to taste, allow to cool slightly and whip in a slightly beaten eggs if using for cottage pie topping.
Assembly and Baking Directions
- Remove the thyme and bay leaves from the meat filling and place in an oven safe casserole dish, 9×13 or similar size;
- Then top with prepared colcannon. this can be spread, scooped, or piped on top. If piping be sure to use a larger size star tip to reduce clogging from additions to mashed potato topping. Option to brush the top with egg wash as well for darkened color.
- Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown on top and bubbly and thick underneath.
- Serve with brown bread and your favorite irish stout beer!
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