Difficulty level Easy

When you think of Irish cooking, the first thing that springs to mind are potatoes. I think that we tend to think of Irish food as a bit on the heavy and starchy side, but my experience eating there last summer was quite different. Sure, there were lots of potato dishes, and always soda bread, but there was plenty of fresh fish and lots and lots of fantastic vegetables. I stayed with my close friend Barbara, and the dinner I cooked for her was a risotto with stinging nettles that were picked that afternoon in a field close by.

So this year, make yourself a nice piece of fresh fish or a light lamb stew for St. Patrick's Day, and try this dish of Boxty as a side dish. They are sort of like the Irish version of potato latkes, but it mixes both cooked and raw potatoes to make the cakes. I didn't squeeze out the water from my potatoes because I was doing too many things at once and forgot, so my cakes were pretty soft, or perhaps I didn't use enough oil for frying. In any case, the flavour of them was absolutely wonderful. I'll definitely try them again.

INGREDIENTS