Irish Teatime Recipes

Ahead of St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, I’m in the mood for my favorite Irish food. But many of my go-to Irish snacks — citrusy Rock Shandy, peppery spice bags — aren’t available in Chicago. To make up for their absence, here are three Irish-ish recipes adapted from my family cookbook. They’re best served with a hot cup (or two, or three) of Barry’s breakfast tea and a healthy dose of gossip.

Soda Bread

Irish soda bread was first recorded in 1836, according to the aptly titled Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread. The recipe’s simplicity helped popularize it during the Great Famine. For richness, add an egg with the buttermilk, and for flavor, add two tablespoons of sugar, raisins and caraway seeds. Be wary, though, as soda bread purists criticize any additions as inauthentic American hokum — even if sweet raisins mix well with warm bread and salty Irish butter.

2 cups flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Place a 10-inch ungreased cast iron skillet in the oven to heat.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
3. Stir in ½ cup of buttermilk.
4. Dump the dough onto a floured cutting board. It will be sticky, so use floured hands to knead the dough until it just barely forms a disc shape. Don’t knead past that or it’ll overwork the dough.
5. Carefully remove the hot cast iron skillet from the oven and lightly grease with butter or oil. Place the dough ball into the skillet.
6. Cut a cross into the loaf with a knife, then brush the top of the loaf with the remaining milk. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown and hollow when tapped.

Nana’s Trifle

My Aunt Brigid wrote in our family cookbook that this trifle was one of the first dishes my Nana ever made, and one she would serve to company when living in Dublin. The sherry, which can be mixed with whiskey or brandy, is probably the most Irish part of the recipe — The Irish Times lamented the wine as having somewhat of a reputation among grannies. My family in Louth served it in individual dishes, but the dish can be made in a big bowl too.

2 packages ladyfingers

blackberry or raspberry jam

28 oz can fruit cocktail

½ cup sherry

1 package vanilla pudding

3 cups milk

whipped cream

1. Spread ladyfingers with jam and use them to line a large glass bowl, making an extra layer in the bottom to soak up the juice.
2. Drain the fruit cocktail, reserving some of the juice. Mix sherry with the juice and sprinkle over the fruit.
3. Mix the vanilla pudding according to package directions, using three cups of milk instead of two.
4. Spread the fruit cocktail over the ladyfingers. Pour the pudding over this — it should go down the sides of the bowl. Spread whipped cream on top and decorate with Maraschino cherries.

Irish Scones

The original recipe called for a pastry blender — an appliance most college students probably don’t own. Instead, cube the butter into small pieces and mash it into flour with a fork until it turns into flaky, buttery pebbles. Don’t use hands to cut in the butter or the scones won’t be flaky or tender. This recipe makes 12 round scones.

2 ½ cups flour

½ tsp salt

¼ cup rolled oats

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

¼ cup cold butter

½ cup raisins

½ cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Cut in butter with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add raisins and mix a few times.
3. Slowly pour in buttermilk and mix until the dry ingredients are equally moist, but not soggy.
4. Turn out onto a floured surface and pat into a thickness of about half a thumb.
5. Using a two-inch floured glass, cut the dough into circles.
6. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with butter or jam.