10:30am Monday 15th March 2010
By Gavin Haines
In Ireland, much of the emphasis for St Patrick’s Day is definitely on good food, made from quality ingredients to make healthy and hearty dishes to be shared with family and friends (obviously, before going out to raise a glass or two to St Paddy).
Preparing the family feast for St Patrick’s Day, which is a national holiday in Ireland, can often start the weekend before (by cooking and freezing the Irish stew to save time on the day).
On the day itself, it’s quite usual for Mum to get up at the crack of dawn to start making the Irish soda bread and full Irish breakfast (pretty similar to a full English but with Irish soda bread and black and white pudding).
The kids usually get roped in too, to help make the bread, but as it’s so quick, simple and delicious, it’s usually not a problem to get them up a little earlier.
Making cup cakes with shamrock-shaped icing is a great way to keep the children quiet too and they can make them before St Patrick’s Day to take into school for their friends.
So between now and Wednesday we're posting some great recipes from Food Matters to help you get in the mood for celebrating.
10:27am Monday 15th March 2010
We can't promise this will give you the luck of the Irish, if you top them with a four-leaf clover, you never know!
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