Location: Western Europe
Population: 7 million
Capital: Dublin/Belfast
Geography: A rocky island in the North Atlantic known for its green fields
Language: Irish, English
Signature flavours: Dairy, potato, bread, cabbage, beef, seafood, pork, stout, barley

The Menu

One in seven Ontarians has Irish roots (including me — arriving at Dublin airport on a 2015 vacation, Eric exclaimed: “Everyone looks like you!”), so it’s not surprising that Irish flavours are familiar and readily available. Every town has at least on Irish pub offering a menu of the usual suspects, and our markets are stocked with leeks, potatoes, cabbage, and seafood.

Because of a shared cultural (and culinary) heritage, we decided to do the island as a single assignment, with the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland together.

White Soda Bread: A loaf with a dense crumb similar to an American biscuit, leavened with baking soda.

Prep and cooking time: 45 min
Difficulty: 2/5

Brotchán Foltchep: A soup of leeks and oatmeal in a rich and creamy broth.

Prep and cooking time: 60 min
Difficulty: 2/5

Cabbage with Bacon: Green cabbage fried with bacon (seitan-based for our pescatarian blog) and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Prep and cooking time: 10 min
Difficulty: 1/5

Fish Pie: A hearty layered pie that includes fish cooked in milk, smoked fish, and topped with mashed potato.

Prep and cooking time: 90 min
Difficulty: 3/5

Fifteens: A no-bake pastry hailing from Ulster, named for a recipe that calls for 15 crushed digestive biscuits, 15 marshmallows, 15 glazed cherries, and 15 hazelnuts (optional), held together by grated coconut and condensed milk. The recipe makes 15 cookies, which are left in the fridge to set.

Prep and cooking time: 15 min (plus at least six hours of chilling time)
Difficulty: 2/5

The Shopping List

Our local markets carry many foods typical of Irish cuisine. Eric found all his ingredients at our nearby supermarket and bulk store.

Ingredients for fifteens

The Meal

Naturally, we started our meal with a big chunk of soda bread dipped in hearty leek soup. Soda bread is leavened with baking soda rather than yeast, and the dense crumb gives it the weight of a biscuit.

The simple dish of cabbage with bacon was excellent — greasy and salty and filling. After years of looking for vegetarian bacon alternatives, we have been using King’s Vegan Bacon for the last few assignments. It is an outstanding bacon product, and this dish tasted just like the real thing.

The fish pie was the main event, and did not disappoint.  With creamy mashed potatoes over a smoky, fishy filling, it is the seafood lover’s cottage pie.

Smoked fish is cooked in milk for the fish pie

Eric sipped a Guinness while we moved through the courses, and we ended our feast with fifteens. Each sticky little rectangle is an explosion of sweetness, some bites nutty and others fruity. They were an extravagant confection, and a delectable way to end our meal.

Links
https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Irish_Cooking/-EKBAAAACAAJ?hl=en
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/fifteens

Disclaimer: I’m not a professional chef. I’m just a passionate cook with a curiosity for flavours I’ve never tried. For great recipes from gifted local cooks, follow the links above.