Irish brown soda bread with dill sauce and salmon

 

Other than potatoes, nothing is more synonymous with Irish food than brown bread. It's served with most every meal for most every occasion. Filled with whole grains and oats, it's a healthy bread to serve your family and perfect for St. Patrick's Day.

Brown bread is a "quick bread," which means it doesn't have yeast. Its leavening comes from baking soda and buttermilk, hence the name "soda bread." Soda breads became popular in Ireland when baking soda was introduced in the 19th century because it was cheaper than yeast.

Here are some tips to ensuring your bread turns out well:

• Make sure your baking soda is still active by adding 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to a couple tablespoons of vinegar. The mixture should fizz. You need to buy new baking soda if it doesn't.
• Use weight to get precise ingredient measurements.s
• Do not over mix. It will make the quick bread tough. Mix the wet ingredients separately from the dry ingredients and combine the two only to the point that the dry ingredients are moistened.
• Grease the loaf pan really, really well. The bottom has a tendency to stick.
• Baking soda activates as soon as it's mixed with an acid, so the bread needs to be put in the oven immediately.

The bread is often served with dill sauce and gravlax as an appetizer, but lox or smoked salmon work just as well. Curious about the difference. Here is a great explanation.

Irish brown soda bread with dill sauce and salmon

Yield: 1 loaf, about 12 slices

Time: About 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the bread

• 150 grams whole wheat flour
• 100 grams rolled oats
• 4 grams (1 teaspoon) baking soda
• 3 grams (1/2 teaspoon) kosher salt
• 240 milliliters (1 1/4 cups) buttermilk
• 30 grams (2 Tablespoons) molasses
• 28 grams (2 Tablespoons) melted butter, cooled

For the dill sauce

• 30 grams (2 Tablespoons) dijon mustard
• 30 grams (2 Tablespoons) sour cream
• 15 grams (1 Tablespoon) whole grain mustard
• 15 milliliters (1 Tablespoon) white wine vinegar
• 5 grams (1 teaspoon) molasses
• 20 grams shallot, minced
• 10 grams fresh dill fronds, minced
• For serving: lox, gravlax, or smoked salmon

Directions

For the bread

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease an 8½ x 4½ x 2½-inch loaf pan and set aside.
2. In large bowl, mix flour, oats, salt, and baking soda.
3. In separate bowl, mix buttermilk, molasses, and melted butter.
4. Make well in center of flour mixture, and pour buttermilk mixture into well
5. Gently mix dry and wet ingredients together, being careful not to overmix.
6. Scrape dough into bread pan and smooth top. Pan will be filled halfway.
7. Place in oven and bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until internal temperature registers around 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

For the dill sauce

1. Mix both mustards and sour cream. Mix in vinegar and molasses. Add shallot and dill fronds.
2. Serve by spreading layer of dill sauce onto slice of brown bread. Top with salmon slices.

Irish Apple Cake

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I realize it’s been nearly a month since my last recipe. That’s because I spent the past few weeks traveling with my new husband throughout Greece for our honeymoon! It was even more beautiful than I imagined, and of course, the food was absolutely incredible. I plan to write more about our trip and share my favorite Greek recipes in upcoming blog posts, but this week I’m focused on a fall recipe inspired by Irish Fest in Indianapolis this weekend.

I realize there are still two weeks left of summer, but in my mind September equals fall. It already feels like such a short season, so I’m excited to get it started as soon as possible. 

I’m kicking off the fall cooking season with Irish apple cake!

Apparently apple trees have been growing strong in Ireland for 3,000 years and desserts and beverages made from apples are very popular.

Traditionally, Irish apple cakes were made with crab apples, but any tart, crisp apple will work well. I’m using granny smith apples. Even though I would never eat a granny smith apple on its own (too tart and crunchy), they’re great for baking because they maintain their firmness.

One of the best parts about this cake is all of the textures at play—firm apple chunks suspended in tender cake with a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping.

Just as a heads up—even though it’s called a cake, it’s more like a quick bread in the sense that it’s not as sweet as a traditional American cake. So if you’re the type of person who likes cake for breakfast (just learned this applies to my husband and his brothers!), this is the perfect cake for you.

Irish Apple Cake

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 12 Tablespoons Challenge butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 granny smith apples peeled, diced
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
2. In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg
3. Cut in butter using pastry blender
4. Stir in sugar and apples
5. In separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix everything until just combined
7. Pour mixture into springform pan and spread top evenly
8. In small bowl, mix together 2 Tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over top of cake.
9. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy

Dublin Coddle

I’m channeling my inner Irish for this St. Patrick’s Day recipe. And I can truly say that because I just recently found out I’m part Irish!

My aunt just did one of those mail-in DNA tests and found out that we’re 40% British and Irish. So I am embracing it and going all out this St. Patrick’s Day. And by “all out,” I mean eating potato-based dishes.

You know what’s funny though is so many people celebrate the Irish holiday with potatoes, but actually St. Patrick himself would have never experienced the joy of eating a spud because he was alive during the 5th century and potatoes weren’t introduced to Europe until the Spanish invaded South America in the mid-1500s.

But, as you’ve probably realized, it didn’t take long for it to become one of the Emerald Isle’s most prized crops. Mmmmm starch.

Obviously, potatoes are a big part of Irish dishes in present day, so I think celebrating with them is certainly appropriate. And they’re one of the main ingredients in the recipe I’m sharing today.

Dublin coddle is comparable to an Irish stew. It’s made with potatoes, onion, sausage, and bacon. Traditionally, it was a good way to use up any extra meat lying around on Thursdays—this was at a time when Catholics didn’t eat meat on Fridays. It’s still a mainstay on Irish menus  and is very popular in Irish pubs because it’s tasty, comforting, and very filling.

I added a few things to the traditional recipe to give it more flavor. The first thing I added was Guinness beer. Guinness, or stout beer, is an ingredient commonly used in Irish stews.

The alcohol in the Guinness is cooked off, so it doesn’t taste like beer soup. The Guinness just adds an extra depth of flavor. It’s dark, rich flavor is a nice complement to sweet foods, so I also added carrots to the dish to sweeten things up. The yellow onions helped sweeten things too, providing a nice contrast of flavors.

Also, I want to point out that browning the sausages is an extra step, but it makes a hug difference in flavor.

After you’ve cooked the coddle low and slow, serve it with a chunk of crusty Irish soda bread to sop up the broth!

Dublin Coddle

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon
• 1 pound pork sausages (Irish bangers or brats work well)
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1 cup Guinness beer (or other stout beer)
• 2 pounds red potatoes, cut in large chunks
• 1 pound carrots, cut in half-inch chunks
• 2 large yellow onions, cut in large chunks
• 4 cloves garlic
• 4 Tablespoons parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup chicken broth

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Heat a large Dutch oven or other oven-proof pot on the stove over high heat.
3. Fry up the bacon in the Dutch oven until crisp; remove bacon and cut into half-inch pieces
4. Add sausages to Dutch oven and cook just to brown each side—you don’t want them to cook completely
5. Remove and cut into 1-inch pieces
6. Reduce heat to low and whisk flour into grease; slowly whisk in Guinness
7. Layer half the potatoes, carrots, onions, bacon, and sausages to the pot.
8. Sprinkle in half the garlic, parsley, 1 bay leaf, and half the pepper
9. Layer in the remaining potatoes, carrots, onions, bacon, and sausages, and sprinkle remaining garlic, parsley, bay leaf, and pepper.
10. Pour chicken broth over everything and heat on stove until broth comes to a boil.
11. Once broth boils, turn off stove, place lid on Dutch oven, and bake for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Recipe adapted from Wholefully

Shepherd’s Pie Potato Skins

Shepherd’s pie is just about the coziest of comfort foods you can imagine —meat, potatoes, gravy, and vegetables. It’s a staple in Irish cooking because the main ingredients are readily available, and it’s an economic way to use leftover ingredients. I can certainly attest this.

It was wonderful to be able to save money by using leftover ingredients already in my refrigerator for this week's recipe. Some of you may or may not know this, but I pay for all of the ingredients for my Kylee’s Kitchen recipes and segments on my own (with the exception of Challenge butter).

Depending on the recipe, it can get pretty expensive. So it was nice to be able to save a few bucks using leftover ingredients. In fact, this was actually one of the cheapest recipes I’ve created.
So if you’re looking for a hearty, tasty dish that’s inexpensive to make, definitely give this recipe a try!

Shepherd’s Pie Potato Skins
Yield: Makes 8 potato skins
Ingredients
For the filling

• 1 pound ground beef or lamb
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (16 ounce) bag frozen peas and carrots (or about 2-3 cups fresh)
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• 1 teaspoon pepper

For the potatoes

• 8 large russet potatoes
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 Tablespoons Challenge butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

Directions
For the filling

1. Add ground meat, onion, and garlic to large pan and cook over medium high heat until meat is browned and cooked
2. Add remaining filling ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to simmer and continue to stir until meat mixture has thickened.
3. Remove from heat 

For the potatoes

1. Clean potatoes thoroughly and prick with fork about 5 times 
2. Microwave potatoes for 10 minutes, rotating halfway through
3. Cut off the tops of potatoes and scoop out center, making sure to leave the skin intact
4. Dump scooped out potato in bowl; add milk, butter, salt, and garlic powder and mash until smooth
5. Put mashed potatoes in piping bag with large tip

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Fill each “hollow” potato with filling, packing it down into potato
3. Pipe mashed potatoes on top of filling
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes; sprinkle with parsley if desired and serve

Recipe adapted from Recipe Tin Eats

Irish Cheddar Beer Soup

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Confession: I’ve never really been one to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Green is my least favorite color, so I don’t have any green clothing items and I always get pinched. Also, like I mentioned last week, I don’t drink, and I feel like that’s a big part of the holiday. So because I feel like I’ve neglected to celebrate it throughout the years, I decided to delve into the Irish cuisine and make something festive this year. This recipe is coming to you a little early because, to be completely honest, I thought St. Patrick’s Day was March 7 — not three weeks from now! Oh well! I hope you enjoy this Irish Cheddar Beer Soup! I’m telling you, what it lacks in nutritional value, it makes up for in taste!

Irish Cheddar Beer Soup
Yield: Makes about 8 cups of soup
Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Challenge butter or bacon grease if you’re making bacon to garnish soup
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 cans (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
• 16 ounces Irish beer
• 1 pound cheddar cheese, shredded
• 16 ounces Challenge cream cheese, cubed so it melts into the soup more easily
• 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• Optional: Crumbled bacon and green onions, if desired for topping

Directions

1. Set a large pot over medium heat. Add butter, onion, and garlic, and sauté for for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent. 
2. Sprinkle flour and cayenne pepper on top, and stir until everything is coated
3. Pour the chicken broth and beer into pot and bring to boil
4. Add cheddar cheese, cream cheese, dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce to broth. 
5. Whisk to melt the cheese and break up the cream cheese cubes. Continue to whisk at simmer until soup is completely smooth and slightly thickened, or about 10 minutes. 
6. Garnish with bacon and green onions if desired.