Food

Top 10 Irish Recipes and Food Terms

By Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, About.com Guide

Believe it or not, Corned Beef and Cabbage is not a traditional Irish recipe. Here are some of the food terms and famous dishes of Ireland.

1. Champ or Poundies

champ, poundies, irish, food, vegetables, potatoes, recipes, receipts

Mashed potatoes with green onion, with a well of butter in the center. The mashed potatoes are eaten from around the outer edge of the well and dipped into the butter. To champ means to bruise, pound or smash, hence the term poundies.
_{Photo © 2006 Peggy Trowbridge, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

More: Irish Champ - Poundies Recipe

2. Irish Stew

irish stew recipes, lamb, american, irish, soup, recipes, receipts

Another simple stew made of lamb or mutton, potatoes and onions, often with a measure of stout thrown in for added depth and flavor. Often, only lamb or mutton neckbones, shanks, and other trimmings were the only basis for the stock. Yet, these would-be discards still held enough flavor after a long simmering process to do justice to a hearty bowl of stew.
_{Photo © 2006 Peggy Trowbridge, licensed to About.com, Inc.}

More: Irish Stew Information and Recipes

3. Bangers

bangers, sausages, irish, british, meat, recipes, receipts

Sausages are called bangers in England and Ireland. They are traditionally made with pork, although beef bangers are now common. A banger is defined as an extraordinary lie in the Oxford English Dictionary. The term is most likely a reference to the questionable contents of sausages. Another popular interpretation holds that the term comes from the casings popping or making a bang when they are cooked. Find out how to make homemade bangers.

More: Bangers - Oxford Sausages Recipe

4. Boxty or Boxdy

These are simple potato pancakes. Traditionally, they are a mixture of grated raw potatoes, leftover mashed potatoes, baking powder, and sweet milk. Today, they are often flavored with onions and/or garlic.

More: Boxty - Irish Potato Cakes Recipe

5. Colcannon

This Irish favorite combines two staple foods: potatoes and cabbage. It is a filling starchy dish. Just imagine mashed potatoes with shredded cabbage and onions, and you have the idea.

More: Colcannon - Mashed Potatoes with Cabbage Recipe

6. Coddle

This is a simple stew made from pork, sausage, potatoes and onions. The term comes from the slow coddling or simmering of the dish. Hearty and filling.

More: Dublin Coddle Recipe

7. Crubeens or Cruibins

Pig's feet (trotters) cooked with carrots, onions and spices or dipped in seasoned breadcrumbs and fried. This traditional Irish food is often eaten after a night at the pub.

More: Crubeens (Pig's Feet) Recipe

8. Irish Potato

The standard white potato originated in South America. It was called Irish potato by earlier American generations to distinguish it from sweet potatoes. Potatoes were a staple of the Irish diet.

More: Potato Onion Soup, Irish-Style Recipe

9. Irish Boiled Dinner

A stew of beef and boiled vegetables in a broth often with the addition of stout beer to strengthen flavor. The beef, a less tender cut of brisket, is cooked on the stove-top for hours until tender before the vegetables are added. It is truly a meal in one pot.

More: Irish Boiled Dinner Recipe