Ahead of writing this post, we racked our brains for a perfect St. Patty’s day pairing. You know, green food dye wouldn’t fly. Out was corned beef, Irish stew and shepherd’s pie. We had to dig deeper, and we dug up… potatoes! Suddenly, we saw the pot of gold. Irish butter! Cheddar! Smoked Salmon! And of course, soda bread! There’s really not much of a “recipe” for organizing the platter, but we’ll give you our top picks, and suggestions on how to arrange and serve. The potatoes are boiled and simply salted, and lend a little heft to the platter.
- Irish Cheese, such as Kerrygold cheddar and Kerrygold Cashel blue cheese
- Irish butter, such as Kerrygold, at room temperature
- 8 ounces smoked salmon
- ½ pound fingerling potatoes, halved (see notes for cooking)
- Lemon wedges
- Fresh dill, chopped and in a small bowl
- Irish soda bread (see recipe below or purchase)
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Arrange on a large platter your cheeses, smoked salmon, and pile of cooked potatoes. Arrange the lemon and dill. Place the butter on a serving dish or in a small serving bowl.
* For potatoes, boil in salted water for roughly 18 minutes. Cut in half lengthwise and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
And here’s an easy recipe for Irish soda bread. I’m talking really quick and really easy- and homemade soda bread, hot out of the oven, is so delicious! That said, most grocers will be carrying it for the holiday, so if you choose, you can buy it instead.
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup instant oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cup full fat yogurt, not Greek yogurt, which will be too thick
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Preheat the oven to 425. In a large bowl, combine the flours, oats, salt, and baking soda. Cut the butter into pieces, and rub into the flour using your fingers or a pastry cutter, until only small lumps (pea size or smaller), remain. Stir in the yogurt until you have a sticky shaggy dough. Knead a few times in the bowl until it comes together and holds it’s shape.
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Place the dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and shape into a ball. Flatten it out into a round about 2 inches high. Using a sharp knife, score the top of the bread in an X shape. Sprinkle with more oats if desired. Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.
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Remove from the oven and let cool for 15-20 minutes before slicing. It will be crumbly, so cut into larger pieces.
Try with Forge Cellars Dry Riesling Classique ’16.
