Irish Cuisine

In this blog, I will try to share my version of Irish food I have had while I lived and toured parts of Ireland. I lived in Ireland for over 5 years and visited 22 of the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland. What I share about Irish food is what I have had in restaurants, hotels and some of the highly rated eateries. I also share some dishes that are not even available or relished by the Irish themselves. Any oversight is deeply regretted. I will accept any comments or corrections from my more knowledgeable Irish friends.

I will start with my personal favourite bread - the. sourdough bread which used to baked at Irish homes. Not sure if people can still afford to do that given that everyone is so busy with their work and family. Sourdough is a type of bread that uses fermentation by naturally occurring yeast and lactobacillus bacteria to raise the dough. I found this bread to be extremely good to taste and quite good for the gut as well.

The next thing I discovered was the sausage roll when I first visited a butcher shop during the Covid times. He gave me two types of sausage rolls with instructions on how to bake them at home. I came back the next day with my feedback and bought a dozen of them. I liked puff pastries even when I was back home but the traditional sausage roll here in Ireland was amazing. I love the variants made during Christmas that had cranberry jam, cheese along with the sausage in them.

The fish and chips from the local chipper here in Cork, that's where I lived, was so very different from the ones I had earlier in UK or even in USA. The beer battered coating on the cod fish fillet was much thinner and crispier. Though what I did not like was the mushy peas that came straight out of the refrigerator. Maybe a fresh bowl of mushy peas would have been tastier. My recommendation for the best fish and chips (homemade) is at Josie's near Lake Glanmore. If you are planning to be in the Castletownbere area or Healy Pass make sure you take time out for Lunch or Dinner at Josie's.

My next discovery were the white and black puddings. I always thought of puddings to be a dessert. It turned out to be a surprise to find that these puddings where savouries and part of the full Irish breakfast. The Clonakilty black pudding is legendary and traces its roots back 100 years. You can find the very interesting history of Clonakilty black pudding here. It is available all across Ireland and exported as well. The website also has some very interesting recipes. You can book your visit to the Visitor Centre here.

Very quickly during my travels and stays with B&Bs in Ireland, I realised that there was an important difference between the full English and full Irish breakfast. The former consisted of a fried egg, sausages, baked beans, bacon, mushrooms, hash brown and grilled tomatoes, while the latter did not have mushrooms, no hash brown and instead either or both white and black puddings. As history and language goes, I believe that a Scottish breakfast might also be very similar. The native language of Ireland - Gaelic and Scottish language have similar roots too!

Irish mashed potatoes have a very different texture and taste. I came to know of it much later that Irish mash potatoes - called Colcannon Mash is prepared with potatoes (of course) mixed with Kale and butter, which gives it the unique texture and a very unique taste. You should try once to get a hang of it.

Darina Allen, one of most popular Irish chef, Founder and owner of Ballymaloe House, calls this Ireland's  national dish and a must have on St Patrick's Day. It is the Irish Bacon and Cabbage Stew. The ingredients must come from the English Market in Cork. Recipe here. My recommendation would be to visit the Thomond Bar, which despite being a sports bar, serves excellent traditional food like the Bacon and Cabbage Stew and Beef and Guinness stew. Point to note that if it is a match day, you may have to book your table in advance to make your way in. You may even want to watch a good game of hurling or rugby at the Thomond, in Cork.

Last but not the least important when we talk to food and having stayed in the Rebel County, no discussion of food is complete without a mention of the English Market. Farmgate Cafe at the English Market, is one of few places that have Drisheen and Tripe on their Lunch Menu. I have personally never tasted this dish but my Irish friends have mentioned that either you like it very much or you hated it. So I leave it to you, my readers to tell me your experience. Another one of Cork classic dish is Crubeens, pig trotters. You will find Tripe, Drisheen and Crubeens on sale in the English Market, at family run butcher stalls like O'Reilly & Sons, established in 1910. Feel free to try these and more at the English Market and share your thoughts.

Ciao and more on Irish vacations in a later post.