St. Patrick’s Day Brunch

The following St. Patrick's Day Brunch menu and recipes were submitted by Kathryn Zamudio, and the photos were taken by her husband Miguel. 

St. Patrick’s Day Brunch

Corned Beef Hash with Shamrock Eggs

Irish Brown Bread

Irish Soda Bread w/ Raisins

Mustard Green and Sweet Onion Quiche

Colcannon Cakes with Smoked Salmon

Cottage Pie

Irish Coffee

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Corned Beef Hash with Shamrock Eggs

2 russet (baking) potatoes (about 1 pound)
1 large onion, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 green bell pepper, chopped coarse
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons horseradish
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 pound cooked corned beef cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
shamrock eggs as an accompaniment

Peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Add potatoes to a large saucepan of boiling water and boil 6 minutes, or until just tender. Drain.
In a large non-stick skillet cook onion and garlic in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is golden.

Add bell pepper and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over mixture and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in broth, horseradish, and Worcestershire sauce and simmer, stirring, 2 minutes. Add corned beef, potatoes, and salt and pepper to taste and cook over moderate heat, turning hash, until browned and crisp, about 15 minutes.

Serve hash with Shamrock eggs.

Shamrock Eggs
(Note: Adapted from the Shamrock Eggs in the Archives.)

1 green bell pepper
4-6 eggs
butter
water
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Slice the pepper into 4-6 rings.

Remove the seeds and other guts.

Heat butter in a pan set on medium-low-ish heat.
Drop the pepper rings, heretofore known as shamrocks, into the pan.
Crack an egg into a bowl and pour it gently into a shamrock. Repeat for each shamrock, or crack the eggs straight into the shamrocks.

Drop a couple tablespoons of water into the pan and cover immediately to trap in the steam. If you have a glass cover, watch for the eggs to firm up, or just lift the cover and peek after about 3-5 minutes. This will create the perfect sunny-side up eggs.

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Irish Brown Bread

2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a 9- by 2-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flours, wheat germ, salt, sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar in a large bowl until combined well. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in center and add buttermilk, stirring until a dough forms. Gently knead on a floured surface, adding just enough more flour to keep dough from sticking, until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Transfer dough to cake pan and flatten to fill pan. With a sharp knife, cut an X (1/2 inch deep) across top of dough (5 inches long). Bake until loaf is lightly browned and sounds hollow when bottom is tapped, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool, right side up, about 1 hour.

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Mustard Green and Sweet Onion Quiche

Pie crust

2 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small onion, chopped 

3 large eggs 

1/2 cup heavy cream 

1 teaspoon dried basil 

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1 1/2 pounds mustard greens, stems discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
1cup aged white cheddar, shredded
cayenne, salt and pepper to taste

Place pie crust in shamrock pan* on baking sheet.

Over medium heat, saute bacon and onion in a small skillet until bacon is crisp and onion is golden. Saute greens. Whisk eggs, cream, and spices in mixing bowl..

Stir greens and the bacon mixture into the egg mixture. Spread evenly in the prepared crust and place pan on a baking sheet. Spread with cheese.

Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

Note: Shamrock pan can be made from disposable aluminum mini cake pans. Bend pans to look like shamrock leaves. Then cut ends, so you can put three of the pans together. Cut the sides down to 1½ inches. Tape the three pans together. Place pan on a cookie sheet, since it will be unstable.

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Colcannon Cakes with Smoked Salmon

3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and boiled until tender
6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked chopped kale (spinach or other greens would also work)
1 large egg
1 cup all purpose flour
Coconut oil or vegetable oil, for frying
For serving: sour cream, smoked salmon

Mash the boiled potatoes with butter and cream until smooth. Season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Mix in the cooked kale or greens and the egg, stirring to evenly distribute. Cover and let chill in refrigerator at least one hour or overnight.

When ready to cook, place flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Use your hands to shape the chilled potato mixture into round patties, and pat into the flour, coating on all sides. Repeat with rest of potato mixture.

Coat a heavy nonstick skillet with a layer of oil and heat over medium-high heat. Fry the patties in batches, 2-3 minutes on each side until golden and heated through. Don’t be impatient. Let them brown. Place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

To serve, top each cake with a dollop of sour cream and a piece of smoked salmon. Make about 10 cakes, depending on size.

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Irish Soda Bread with Raisins

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups all purpose flour
5 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons butter, chilled, cut into cubes
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 8-inch-diameter cake pan with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub in until coarse meal forms. Make well in center of flour mixture. Add buttermilk. Gradually stir dry ingredients into milk to blend. Mix in raisins.

Using floured hands, shape dough into ball. Transfer to prepared pan and flatten slightly (dough will not come to edges of pan). Sprinkle dough with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake bread until brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes. Transfer to rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Cottage Pie

For the filling:
2 tablespoons butter
1 large yellow onions, diced
3 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds ground lamb
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley

For the mashed potatoes:
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
black pepper
2 egg yolks

Prepare the filling:
In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and sautee for 5 minutes, until the onions are transluscent. Add the garlic and lamb and cook until all the meat is browned. Season with kosher salt and black pepper, then sprinkle with the flour and stir to coat. Pour int the beef stock, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and add the fresh rosemary. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low, cover, and let cook for about 15 minutes until sauce thickens. Remove the rosemary sprigs and stir in the frozen peas and fresh parsley. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. Then remove from heat and let cool completely (can be chilled in fridge overnight).

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Prepare the mashed potatoes: Cut potatoes into large chunks and combine in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil then lower heat and let cook for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are completely tender. Turn off heat, drain immediately, then return potatoes to the pot to rest for 10 minutes (this will help them dry out a bit). Use a potato ricer or masher to mash the potatoes right in the pot. Add the milk, cream, and butter, and continue to stir and mash until completely smooth. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, then let cool completely (can be chilled in fridge overnight).

Place filling in dish. Top with mashed potatoes, sealing around edges to prevent mixture from bubbling up. Smooth over wit rubber spatula to make it airtight. Place in middle rack of of oven and bake until potatoes begin to brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove and cool for at least 10 minutes.

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Irish Coffee

boiling water
hot coffee
1 tsp brown sugar
1 ½ oz irish whiskey
¼ cup heave cream, lightly beaten

Fill large coffee cup with boiling water to preheat it. Let stand for 1 minute, then empty cup.

Fill cup three quarters full with hot coffee. Add sugar, then stir until dissolved. Stir in whiskey.

Top the coffee-whiskey blend with lightly whipped cream. (Hold an overturned spoon over the coffee, then slowly pour the cream over it).

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St. Patrick, pray for us!