Roots of Resilience: Irish Cuisine Forged in Hardship

St. Patrick’s Day is widely celebrated around the world, often with parades, parties, and plenty of Guinness. However, historically, the holiday was more of a quiet religious occasion in Ireland itself, while Irish immigrants abroad—especially in the U.S.—transformed it into the grand celebration we know today.

However, the diaspora is a massive story about Ireland itself. Most people know about the Great Potato Famine causing so many to leave, but the full story is not often discussed. Prior to the 17th century, the Irish diet was largely based on butter, milk, grains, and greens such as cabbage and kale. The potato was first introduced by the landowning class, and quickly started spreading through the lower classes. As Ireland became a major breadbasket for Britain’s war with Napoleonic France, this left very little space for the farmers providing food for the British war effort to feed themselves. Potatoes requiring such a small space and growing so quickly provided an ideal solution for small farmers who did not have the space to grow larger crops for their own sustenance. Its ability to be stored for long periods of time also proved quite advantageous. By 1800, the potato was a staple food for 1 in 3 people.

This arrangement persisted past the Napoleonic Wars, just in time for a massive blight that affected potato production to arrive from mainland Europe in 1845. ¾ of potato yields were lost in 1846, and this had lasted through 1852. The British government’s response was slow and shaped by the prevailing economic, religious, and imperialist sentiment in Britain at the time.

Classical liberals in Parliament, devoted to laissez-faire policies, argued that the free market would correct the crisis without intervention. Others took a cruelly fatalistic view, seeing the famine as divine punishment for what they perceived as the Irish people's sins. Some even made statements such as, "The judgement of God sent the calamity to teach the Irish a lesson”. Charles Trevelyan, the Assistant Secretary to the Treasury in charge of famine relief, wrote approvingly of the ability of the famine to finally allow for massive British investment and a “satisfactory settlement of the country”.

As a result by the end of the famine, Ireland’s population had declined by 25% due to death by starvation and immigration to other countries, such as the US. Those who left, often had to adapt longstanding recipes to realities in new countries. Those who stayed had to scrabble together sustenance from scarcity. This also jump-started the Irish Independence and Republican movements, which paint politics on the Emerald Isle to this day.

The dishes featured today—boxty, colcannon, and cabbage with bacon—are rooted in this history of struggle and adaptation. They reflect an enduring spirit: making do with what’s available, stretching ingredients to last, and finding comfort in food even in the hardest times. And yet, these humble meals have survived, evolving into beloved classics enjoyed across the world today.

Prátaí: Boxty, An Edible Ode to the Potato

Boxty is a dish that originated in the 1700s, likely in the Northwest of Ireland in County Donegal. It is a potato pancake made from both grated and mashed potatoes. As potatoes became a staple food, so did boxty. It was particularly made for special occasions, such as the Feast of St. Brigid and Samhain. Since mashed potatoes could be reused to make boxty (I in fact used some leftover potatoes from colcannon), it proved to be a great way to make potato yields last, and became used by poor and rich alike. There is some debate on whether or not boxty became a staple during the Great Famine. Some argue that it allowed meager rations to last longer. Others argue that the sheer amount of potatoes required to make boxty were not available. Either way, it has seen a resurgence in modern times. In the modern setting, they are often served with toppings such as eggs or breakfast meats.

Ingredients:

For Batter: 

2 medium Russet potatoes, peeled & grated

1 cup mashed potatoes (from boiled Yukon Gold & Russet mix)

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sour cream 

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup milk (skim or heavy cream)

2 tablespoons butter (for frying)

For Plating
Sour Cream
Green Onions, chopped

Preparation

1. Make the Batter

• Peel and grate Russet Potatoes, Squeeze out Excess Moisture

• Mix with Flour, salt, leftover mashed potatoes (you can even use the extra from the colcannon recipe that comes later), milk, sour cream into a batter

2. Fry Boxty

• Melt Butter on medium-high heat

• Place dollops of batter on pan and fry on each side until golden-brown

3. Plating

1. Stack Pancakes Neatly

2. Serve with Sour cream and Green Onions

Piseog: Colcannon, the Magical Comfort Food

Colcannon is one of the most famous Irish dishes throughout the world, and is made with mashed potatoes, and sauteed greens, such as cabbage or kale. It is traditionally served on St. Patrick’s Day, on the Feast of St. Brigid, and is most directly associated with Samhain (the ancient Celtic festival that influenced modern Halloween). Colcannon was considered a fortune telling food, and during its large communal preparation, charms were often hidden to represent events in the future, with people finding said charms in their serving thought to be seeing glimpses into their own future. For example, a ring might signify a future marriage, and a coin might signify future wealth. In addition, it was the center of many rituals related to courting and marriage. In some accounts, unmarried women would fill stockings with spoonfuls of the first and last bite of colcannon and hanging them outside their door, with the first man who walked through the door becoming their future husband. Another such ritual, involved unmarried women being blindfolded and sent out to pick a cabbage. A ring was hidden in the colcannon made with such cabbage, and whoever found the ring in their serving was thought to be the next to marry. I found my colcannon to be magical enough. At the urging of a friend, I mixed together russet and yukon gold potatoes, and for greens used savoy cabbage, baby kale, and green onions. I had enough leftover mashed potatoes to use for the boxty.

Ingredients:

2 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & cubed

2 Russet potatoes, peeled & cubed

½ head Savoy cabbage, chopped

1 cup baby kale, chopped

2 green onions, finely sliced

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons butter (for potatoes)

½ cup heavy cream

Salt & black pepper, to taste

Preparation:
1) Boil Potatoes in salted water for 15-20 minutes

2) While potatoes are boiling, get a pan and melt butter over medium heat

3) Add chopped Savoy cabbage, and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add baby kale and green onions, cook for 2 more minutes. Season Greens with salt & pepper, then set aside for colcannon. Once potatoes are finished boiling, mash them with butter and heavy cream. Stir in sauteed greens and cabbage, then season with salt and pepper Spoon onto plates and enjoy. Colcannon pairs very well with cabbage, bacon, or any other meat. Maybe even with your future spouse!

Bheatha: Cabbage and Bacon, Nourishing and Hearty

On St. Patrick’s Day throughout the United States, boiled dinners of corned beef and cabbage are standard fare. However, in Ireland itself, the traditional staple of the rural household has been for centuries cabbage with bacon.

The bacon we are talking about isn’t the crispy thin kind we see served for breakfast in the US. But, rather, it is large back cut of bacon, and is slow cooked until it is tender enough to cut into strips for serving. Cabbage, which has always been one of the most plentiful vegetables in Ireland, is boiled in the same pot about halfway through cooking, and potatoes are often added as well.

When the Irish immigrated to America, they found that pork was much less plentiful, and much more expensive. In port cities like New York and Boston, they found that the corned beef served at Jewish delis was a reasonably priced substitute. This is how corned beef with cabbage became a staple in the Irish-American St. Patrick’s Day celebration instead of bacon.

However, it is still served the traditional way in Ireland, often with a creamy, parsley based sauce. This sauce is a classic Irish white sauce, and has been used for centuries.

Like the Irish immigrants to the US in the 19th century, I found it incredibly difficult to find Irish back bacon at a reasonable price. I instead used the streakiest cut of bacon I could, which meant boiling it for less time, and pan frying it at the end.

Ingredients:

• 1.5-2 lbs Hormel Black Label bacon

• ½ head savoy cabbage, quartered

• 1 lb small red potatoes, washed and halved (or quartered if very large)

• 1 bay leaf

• 6 black peppercorns

• Water to cover

• For the Parsley Sauce:

• 2 tbsp butter

• 2 tbsp flour

• 1 cup milk

• 1 cup cooking broth (from the bacon)

• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

• Salt and white pepper, to taste (adjust salt due to salty bacon)

• Optional: a squeeze of lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Simmer the Bacon:

• Place the bacon in a large pot and cover with water.

• Add the bay leaf and black peppercorns.

• Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for approximately 20-30 minutes, or until tender. Skim off excess fat.

2. Cook the Potatoes:

• After the bacon is removed, add the small red potatoes to the pot. Let them simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until they are almost tender when pierced with a fork.

3. Cook the Cabbage:

• Once the potatoes are nearly done, add the quartered cabbage to the pot.

• Simmer for about 15 minutes, and simmer both cabbage and potatoes together until they are done.

4. Make the Parsley Sauce:

• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour to create a roux, cooking for about 1 minute.

• Gradually whisk in the milk and reserved cooking broth until smooth. Simmer until slightly thickened.

• Stir in the chopped parsley, season with salt and white pepper (taste before adding salt), and optional lemon juice. Remove from heat.

5. Serve:

• Slice the bacon into smaller pieces.

• Quickly pan fry the bacon, 3-4 minutes each side.

• Serve together and drizzle parsley sauce.