Traditional Irish Cabbage & Carrots

This post contains three traditional Irish recipes by Darina Allen.

• Boiled Cabbage
• Boiled Carrots
• Carrot & Parsnip Mash aka "Green, White and Gold"

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Boiled Cabbage ingredients

Cabbage

Salt

Baking soda

Notes:  The baking soda ("or even a lump of washing soda") was added to keep the cabbage green. 

Directions 

Remove the stalks and shred the cabbage fairly finely. 

Boil in salted water, or better still, water in which bacon has been cooked (maybe this?), until done. The cooking time varies depending on the variety of cabbage, so keep a watchful eye. 

Drain the cabbage as soon as it is cooked. Add a nice lump of butter and season with lots of freshly-ground pepper; if necessary, add a  little more salt.

This Boiled Cabbage recipe is from Darina Allen, Irish Traditional Cooking: Over 300 Recipes from Ireland's Heritage (London: Kyle Books, 2012), 168.

Chantenay carrots image credit

"Traditionally carrots were cooked in the water in which bacon or corned beef had been boiled, which would give them a special flavor." ~Darina Allen 

Boiled Carrots ingredients

Makes 4 -6 servings

Vegetable dish
1-lb carrots, about 5 or 6 (see Notes:)

1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp cold water

Generous pinch of salt

Knob of butter

Plenty of freshly-ground pepper

Good pinch of sugar

Garnish

Parsley or fresh mint, chopped

Notes:  Darina says Chantenay and Nantes carrots "have particularly good flavor." She suggests cooking carrots straight from the garden, or at least buying fresh, unwashed carrots using this method.

Add the leaves of tiny carrots to salads.

Directions

Cut off the tops and tips; scrub and peel thinly if necessary. Leave very young carrots whole. Cut others into even slices 1/4-inches thick.

In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil; add the carrots and salt. Cover and boil until the carrots are tender. Drain off the water, reserving to add to the roasting pan for gravy.

To the carrots, add a lump of butter, lots of pepper, and a sprinkling of sugar. Shake the saucepan so that the carrots become coated with the buttery glaze.

Serve in a hot vegetable dish; sprinkle with the chopped parsley or mint.

This Boiled Carrots recipe is from Darina Allen, Irish Traditional Cooking: Over 300 Recipes from Ireland's Heritage (London: Kyle Books, 2012), 169. 

Parsnips image credit

"'Green, White and Gold' and 'Sunshine' are some of the evocative names given to this popular vegetable combination, still widely made in Ireland."~Darina Allen

Carrot & Parsnip Mash ingredients

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Vegetable dish

8-oz carrots (about 3), peeled and sliced

1-lb parsnips (about 4), peeled and sliced
Salt
Pinch of sugar
Freshly-ground pepper
2 to 4 Tbsp (1/4 to 1/2 stick) butter

Garnish
Chopped parsley

Directions

Cook the carrots in a little boiling salted water with a pinch of sugar until soft. In another pan, cook the parsnips separately in boiling salted water.

Strain both vegetables; mash or purée together. Add lots of butter, then the salt and freshly-ground pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

This Carrot & Parsnip Mash recipe is from Darina Allen, Irish Traditional Cooking: Over 300 Recipes from Ireland's Heritage (London: Kyle Books, 2012), 170.


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Page Last Updated 7 April 2015