Sunday 29 January 2012

Boxty

This is a recipe for the ladies! As the old rhyme goes: “Boxty on the griddle, boxty in the pan; if you can’t make boxty, you’ll never get a man”. Single? Are you looking for someone to keep you company on those lonely nights? Once you’ve mastered this recipe your only chat-up line should be along the lines of “well... Have you tasted my boxty?”. Any self-respecting countrywoman could whip up a batch of boxty no bother at the request of her loved one! So, to entice that special someone or to keep them by your side all you need do is follow this recipe!

It is one of the traditional Irish recipes that nearly everyone knows of or at least has heard of in some shape of form. It consists of two of the main staples of Irish cuisine: potatoes and flour. Translated from the Irish to mean ‘poor house bread’, like all peasant food it has naturally become a favourite amongst the working class and has even crept onto the palates of the more privileged.

What I like most about this recipe is its versatility. Once the mix is made, it is entirely up to you how you want to cook it. Personally I like it rolled out to about one centimetre thick and pan fried for a few minutes on either side until crisp and brown. It goes down great when smothered in butter! You can also roll it out to about 1-1½ inches thick and bake it in the oven at 200°C for 20-30 minutes for something more bread-like. Another way of doing it is to use a good bit of milk to make the mixture more like a batter and pour it into a greased frying pan to make potato pancakes. Delicious! Without further ado, here’s the recipe!

Ingredients
1 lb Potatoes                                  10 oz. Self-Raising Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder            2 oz. Melted butter
Milk to mix                                     Salt and Pepper

Method
1.       Divide the potatoes in half. Boil one half until tender. Grate the other half and wring out the water through a paper towel into a bowl. Reserve this liquid as it will be needed later.
2.       Drain the boiled potatoes. Mash and season to taste.
3.       Mix the grated and mashed potato together. Sift the flour and baking powder together and mix into the potato mixture.
4.       Go back to the liquid drained from the grated potato. By now the starch will have separated from the liquid. Drain off the liquid and add the left-over starch to the potato mixture.
5.       Melt the butter and add to the mixture to enrich it. Add enough milk to create a soft dough. What you want is something that holds together well and isn’t too runny.
6.       Shape into rounds about 8-10 cm in diameter and 1 cm thick.
7.       Cook in a buttered pan on a medium heat for a few minutes each side until golden brown.

Simple and delicious!

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