Put a Little Irish In You! (With These Great Recipes)

As the Irish say, “If you’re enough lucky to be Irish…You’re lucky enough!”   For those of us with some Irish heritage in our background, St. Patrick’s Day is a perfect opportunity to dish up some good old Irish food. However, you don’t have to be Irish to enjoy a big pot of beef and barley soup, especially if you’re living in Avon Lake where a typical winter day might be , shine, or a on the ground.

Like many of you with Irish relatives, you could probably rattle off more than a few Irish sayings. For me, funnier than any Irish saying are the memories I have of my maternal Irish grandmother and Italian grandfather. For my siblings and I, visits to their home throughout the year always yielded some of the best entertainment, especially if we happened on a marital spat where Italian bluff and bluster went up against Irish stubbornness.

Along with a lot of memories, I have an accumulation of great recipes that were passed down to me, one of those being my grandmother’s Beef and Barley Soup. This soup can be made with lamb or beef, either one yielding a delicious soup. In the featured recipe below, tenderized round steak is cut up into small pieces and browned before being combined with fresh vegetables and flavorful barley.

Like many Irish recipes, a versatile cereal grain such as barley adds delicious robust flavor and chewy, pasta-like texture to Irish recipes like beef and barley soup. Barley, a whole grain that has been growing in Ireland for about 5,000 years, packs in a lot of nutritional value in the form of fiber, selenium, phosphorus, copper and manganese. However, the nutritional value of barley can vary depending on how it is processed.  Hulled barley has a much higher nutritional value than pearl barley since only the outer, indigestible hull is removed. Pearl barley, on the other hand, undergoes heavy processing in the form of polishing or “pearling” which removes a lot of nutrients.

If you are looking for a good bread to go along with your theme, Irish Soda Bread is a quick and easy bread to make that is still popular throughout Ireland. I’ve included below the Irish-American version of soda bread that is great for breakfast or brunch.  This soda bread, like others, is baked as a round loaf and has a cross cut in the top to allow the bread to expand. Unlike yeast breads, soda breads require only a minimum amount of mixing before baking and very little to no kneading. In fact, the less you handle the dough, the better the texture and taste.

It is interesting to note that throughout Irish history, the main raising agents used in a variety of breads were buttermilk and soda. During times of famine and poverty, both of these ingredients were more accessible than yeast. The lactic acid in the buttermilk reacted with the baking soda to form tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide, raising the dough. Besides acting as a raising agent, buttermilk also served the purpose of being a great preservative that gave Irish soda bread and scones that tender crumb for which they are famous for even today.

In Ireland, traditional dishes such as roast leg of lamb still form the centerpiece of weekend family dinners along with soups made with cereal grains like barley. All of these recipes incorporate simple, fresh ingredients such as carrots, onions, and potatoes. So with that in mind, I’ll end with an Irish toast, “May the Good Lord take a liking to you…but not too soon!”

Irish Beef and Barley Soup

3 to 4 Tablespoons oil

1 1/2 lbs. tenderized round steak or other cut of beef (or lamb)

1 large onion, chopped

2 ½ cups carrots, peeled and diced

2-4 cloves garlic, minced or chopped

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt, optional

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 ½ cups potatoes, peeled and diced (about 4 medium)

1 ½ cups barley

8 cups beef broth OR 4 cups beef broth and 4 cups Guinness (an Irish Drought beer)

1. In skillet, brown beef in 3 tablespoons of oil.
2. In Dutch oven, add beef, onion, carrots, garlic, pepper, salt, thyme, potatoes, barley, beef broth, and Guinness. If not using Guinness, add the equivalent amount of beef broth.
3. Bring soup to a boil and then reduce heat to low, allowing soup to simmer with lid until vegetables and meat are tender (about 2 hours).

Kitchen Tip:  You can also cook this soup in a slow cooker on low for 6-7 hours.

Irish-American Soda Bread

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 t baking soda

1 T baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1 cup raisins or currants, optional

2-3 Tablespoons of buttermilk for brushing over loaf before baking

1. Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and butter.
2. Stir in buttermilk and egg.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead just until dough holds together. Fold raisins into dough.
4.  Form dough into a 6 in. diameter round loaf and place on lightly greased baking stone or baking sheet.
5. Brush loaf with buttermilk. Use a sharp knife to cut an “X” (4 in. x 4 in.) into the top of the loaf.
6. Bake at 375 for 1 hour or until golden brown. Cool completely.
7. Serve with your favorite preserves.