St. Patrick's Day Food

Today is St. Patrick's Day, and it seems that everyone is Irish, even if one isn't. (For the record, I am definitely part Irish.) And however you feel about St. Patrick, it still seems like a day to celebrate. So, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, here are six recipes you can use to celebrate today, including Vegetarian "Beef" and Guinness Stew and Chocolate Guinness Cake. Heck, they're so good, fix these at any time of the year! Enjoy!

Note: If you'd like to check out a few more St. Patrick's Day recipes, my main food blog, Confessions of a Foodie, has several more recipes to choose from. It does start off with meat, but the rest are fine for a vegetarian. Or you can try a few of my posts from years past. Enjoy!

COLCANNON

This comes from the March 2007 issue of Vegetarian Times, and begins, “This ultra-Irish dish varies from one county to the next, with some cooks using cabbage in place of kale, others using leeks or onions for extra flavor. Here, it gets a modern-day makeover with purple potatoes, garlic and shiitake mushrooms to reflect all the delicious new options found in Irish markets today. If you can’t find purple potatoes, Yukon gold, fingerling or russet varieties also work well.” Serves 6.

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1 lb. purple potatoes

1 lb. kale, tough stems removed

2 to 3 Tbs. olive oil

10 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced (about 3 cups)

3 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 Tbs.)

1 cup unsweetened rice milk, warmed

Place potatoes in large pot, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until very tender. Drain, and return to pot. Heat potatoes over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes to steam off excess water, and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add kale, and cook 5 minutes. Drain, and set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic, and sauté 5 to 7 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft and all liquid has evaporated. Stir in kale, and cook 1 minute more, or until hot. Season with salt and pepper. Mash rice milk into potatoes until soft, but still chunky. Fold in kale mixture, and serve.

nutritional information Per SERVING: Calories: 184; Protein: 4 g; Total Fat: 7 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 30 g; Sodium: 406 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 5 g; Vegan

MASHED POTATOES WITH CHIVES

I absolutely love potatoes, especially mashed. This comes from the March 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times, and begins, “It really isn’t an Irish dinner unless there are potatoes. These can be served as a side dish, or combined with a stew to make a cottage pie: Simply place the stew in a pie dish, spread the potatoes on top, and place under the broiler until the potatoes are browned.” Serves 2 in 30 minutes or less.

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1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

3/4 cup low-fat milk

1 1/2 Tbs. butter

3 Tbs. finely chopped chives

1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

Place potatoes in medium pot and cover with 1 inch water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain, and put potatoes through ricer or mash in medium bowl.

Heat milk and butter in small saucepan until butter is melted. Stir into potatoes along with chives and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.

nutritional information Per SERVING: Calories: 331; Protein: 8 g; Total Fat: 10 g; Saturated Fat: 6 g; Carbohydrates: 55 g; Cholesterol: 27 mg; Sodium: 404 mg; Fiber: 5 g; Sugar: 7 g; Gluten-Free

SODA BREAD SCONES

This is from the April 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times. It begins, “Irish soda bread is just barely sweet and biscuit-like—perfect with a savory meal. It’s usually baked in a large round, but here we’ve cut it into scone-like wedges that take only 20 minutes to bake.” Serves 6 in 30 minutes or less.

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1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. coarse salt

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk or plain soymilk

3 Tbs. pure maple syrup

3/4 cup dried currants

8 tsp. raw sugar, such as turbinado, optional

Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, maple syrup, and currants in separate bowl. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until soft dough forms. Transfer to floured work surface, and shape into 8-inch round. Cut round into 8 wedges. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, and sprinkle each wedge with 1 tsp. sugar, if using. Bake 20 minutes, or until browned.

nutritional information Per Scone: Calories: 193; Protein: 6 g; Total Fat: less than 1 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 44 g; Cholesterol: less than 1 mg; Sodium: 226 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 15 g

CHOCOLATE GUINNESS CAKE

This comes from Nigella Lawson in The New York Times' cooking newsletter. Nigella writes, “For me, a chocolate cake is the basic unit of celebration. The chocolate Guinness cake here is simple but deeply pleasurable, and has earned its place as a stand-alone treat.” Time: 1 hour 15 minutes; one 9-inch cake or 12 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

Butter for pan

1 cup Guinness stout

10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 cups superfine sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

For the Topping:

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation:

For the cake: heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, combine Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat. Add cocoa and superfine sugar, and whisk to blend.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add to Guinness mixture. Add flour and baking soda, and whisk again until smooth. Pour into buttered pan, and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to one hour. Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely in pan.

For the topping: Using a food processor or by hand, mix confectioners' sugar to break up lumps. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add heavy cream, and mix until smooth and spreadable.

Remove cake from pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake only, so that it resembles a frothy pint of Guinness.

HEARTY IRISH LAGER STEW

From the March 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 44. It starts off, "Pale lager beer adds the mellow flavors of barley, hops, and malt to a rich vegetable stew. The secret ingredient is quick-cooking tapioca, which thickens the stew and gives it a glistening sheen." Serves 8.

To view this online, click here.

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

8 oz. button or shiitake mushrooms, halved

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

1 medium leek, white part only, diced (1 cup)

3 small red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes (1 1/2 cups)

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced (2 cups)

2 small parsnips, peeled and sliced (1 1/2 cups)

1 1/2 tsp. tomato paste

1 15-oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

2 sprigs fresh thyme, tied in bundle, plus 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme, divided,br />
1/2 cup lager beer

1 1/2 Tbs. quick-cooking tapioca

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 Tbs. white miso

2 Tbs. chopped parsley

Heat 1/2 Tbs. oil in large pot over medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic; sauté 8 minutes, or until mushrooms are browned. Remove from pan. Add remaining 1/2 Tbs. oil to pot. Add leek, and cook 5 minutes. Add potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and tomato paste. Cook 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, and thyme sprigs; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add lager, tapioca, and mushrooms. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, or until thickened, stirring often. Remove thyme sprigs, stir in cabbage and miso, and simmer 4 to 5 minutes, or until cabbage softens. Stir in chopped thyme and parsley, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

nutritional information Per 1-cup serving: Calories: 118; Protein: 4 g; Total Fat: 2 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 23 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 204 mg; Fiber: 5 g; Sugar: 5 g; Vegan

VEGETARIAN "BEEF" AND GUINNESS STEW

Jolinda Hackett is about.com's vegetarian cuisine guide. She wrote, "Beef and Guinness stew, an Irish pub favorite, gets a vegetarian makeover in this recipe, using seitan instead of beef to absorb all that rich stout flavor. Yum! The flavor of the beer is very strong in this recipe, so I've suggest using half the amount of Guinness and adding an equal amount of vegetable broth if you aren't a Guinness fan."

To view this online, click here.

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

Approx 14 oz seitan, cut into thin strips

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp steak sauce

3 tbsp butter or margarine

1 onion, diced

3 ribs celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 medium potatoes chopped into 1 inch pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 12 oz bottles Guinness Stout OR 1 bottle plus 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

2 tbsp flour

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1 tsp brown sugar (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Sautee seitan in olive oil and soy sauce until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat, add steak sauce and stir until seitan is lightly coated. Remove from heat and aside. In a large pot, sautee onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and garlic in butter or margarine for 3-5 minutes, or until onions are slightly soft. Reduce heat and slowly add Guinness, gently stirring to combine. Add flour, thyme, sugar, salt and pepper and stir well. Add seitan and allow stew to simmer until Guinness reduces and stew thickens, about 40-50 minutes.

Add more salt and pepper if desired and enjoy!