Boxty: Irish potato pancakes

Boxty is a regional dish from the county of Leitrim in the West of Ireland, where my Mom is from. It requires a few basic ingredients: potatoes, buttermilk, flour, baking powder and salt. The result is a crisp, savory pancake with a tangy flavor (from the buttermilk) that can be served for breakfast or dinner. Boxty is an integral part of Leitrim culture, exemplified by the rhyme: "Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan, if you don't like boxty, you're not a Leitrim man". It is easy to make, and I think it makes for an excellent comfort food dish. 

Ingredients:

• 6 large potatoes (Russet or Yukon Gold) peeled and sliced into eighths
• 1 cup buttermilk**
• 1 1/2 cups flour**
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

** These measurements are guesstimates, boxty-making is not an exact science. The way to make it is to add a small amount, combine and add more if necessary.

Here's what the batter should look like after it has been blended.

Instructions:

• Place the potato slices in a blender, along with buttermilk. Do this in batches so as not to overload your blender. I add buttermilk until it comes about 1/4 of the way up to the potatoes in the blender. 
• Blend until you have a smooth mixture.
• Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl. 
• Slowly add the flour, whisking to combine. When the batter has reached a consistency similar to pancake batter, you have added enough flour. My mom's trick is to let the batter drip from the whisk on to the batter in the bowl and form a figure eight. If the figure eight sits on top of the batter without dissolving right away, it is thick enough. 
• Add the salt and baking powder.
• Pour the batter (about a large soup ladle full) into a hot frying pan, greased with vegetable oil. 
• When the pancake has bubbles throughout, it is ready to turn. It takes about 5 minutes total.
• To serve, spread with butter.

This pancake is ready to flip.

This recipe makes roughly 12 pancakes. If you don't plan on using them all on the first day, let them cool on wire racks. Place them in an airtight container (they will keep for several days), and reheat in a frying pan with oil or butter. I prefer them on the second day, as reheating them makes them crispier. 

Traditionally, boxty is served as part of a full Irish breakfast. That means alongside Irish rasher (bacon) and sausage, a fried egg and possibly some Heinz baked beans. All of the Irish ingredients can be found in Irish or British import stores, or in the import aisle of some grocery stores. It makes for a very filling meal. I hope you'll try it out, and that when you do you'll like boxty as much as I do! 

Irish Soda Bread

This is actually my mom's recipe, and she's from Ireland so it's pretty authentic. When I was younger, I didn't think I liked Soda Bread because whenever we had it at school on St Patrick's Day it was really dry with lots of seeds and raisins in it. But, I've come to realize that my mom's Soda Bread is far superior to whatever we had in elementary school. The soda in Soda Bread is baking soda, not any carbonated beverage, like one of my 6th grade classmates thought when I brought it in to share on St Patrick's Day. It's easy to make, so I hope you'll try out the recipe in honor of St Patrick. 


Ingredients:

• 4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 C Sugar
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 oz Butter (Room Temperature)
• 1 C Raisins
• 2 C Buttermilk

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Combine dry ingredients.
• Rub in butter by hand.
• Add raisins.
• Add buttermilk and mix.
• Pour batter into 2 (1 lb) loaf tins. 
• Bake for 45 minutes. 

To serve, slice and spread with butter. You could also add jam, but I like it best with just butter and a steaming mug/cup of Irish tea. Lá Fhéile Pádraig!