Irish Stew
500g or 1 lb of mutton (or lamb)
1 kg or 2 lb potatoes
250g or 1/2 lb onions
250g or 1/2 lb carrots
sprigs of parsley, chopped
250 ml or 1/2 pint water or stock
salt and pepper
Cut the meat into medium-sized chunks. Peel and thickly slice the vegetables. Put the meat, vegetables and chopped parsley into a pot in layers, starting and finishing with the potatoes and seasoning each layer. Pour over the stock or water and cover the pot with a well-fitting lid. Stew gently for about 2 hours, until the meat is tender and the liquid thickened. If lamb is used instead of mutton, then allow 1 1/2-2 hours cooking time. Serves four.
An Irish Breakfast
4 sausages
2 slices black pudding (traditional, but optional)
2 slices white pudding (traditional, but optional)
4 rashers bacon
12 medium-sized mushrooms
2 tomatoes (halved)
2 potato farls
2 slices soda bread
2 slices wheaten bread
2 pancakes (small)
Before cooking, keep the oven on at a low temperature to keep the food warm before serving. Prick the sausages a few times then gently fry or grill until well cooked through and evenly browned. Fry the black and white pudding then keep warm with the sausages. Fry the bacon. After draining off the fat, keep warm. Fry the mushrooms and tomatoes, keep warm. Then fry all of the breads and pancakes, adding a bit of butter or oil in the pan if there is not enough (the breads soak up a lot of the oil.) Keep warm. Finally, fry the eggs, spooning the fat over the yolks. Serve for breakfast or lunch. Serves two.