Irish food still hearty, but no longer bland
Traditionally, Irish food has a certain reputation and, in most circumstances, it's not a good one.
Like many of the cooler regions of the world, the traditional food of Ireland tends to be heavy and hearty. And yes, everywhere you turn, there's a potato.
But the sheer unpretentious simplicity of Irish cuisine also works in its favor. As tastes have evolved, Irish food has evolved. Today, careful preparation has replaced ruthlessly boiling the flavor out of everything and fresh ingredients give new life to many old dishes. When St. Patrick's Day rolls around on Friday, the good things about shepherd's pie and Irish stew suddenly become easy to remember.
"Traditional Irish food was a cuisine of necessity, not creativity," says Matthew McKenna, executive chef at Mullaney's Harp & Fiddle Irish Pub in the Strip District. "They ate what they had on hand and what was inexpensive. A lot has been done in recent years to update the image of Irish food, but people still don't like it when you mess with a classic."
The arrival of the potato in the 17th century changed everything in Ireland. Suddenly, poor farming families could survive -- and expand -- on relatively small cultivated plots of land. But when the crop went bad due to weather or blight, millions starved in crises, such as the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s.
"To this day, the memory of the people of Ireland, their diet, their cuisine and their history, is tied up in events related to that vegetable, the potato," says John Linnane, lecturer in food production at the Dublin Institute of Technology. "No other nation in the world had their cuisine changed so drastically as the Irish, with the possible exception of the effect of the tomato on southern European cuisine."
Mullaney's menu is full of belly-filling fare like corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew, and bangers and rashers, otherwise known as sausage and bacon.
Shepherd's pie, though, is the hands-down, heavyweight champion. The casserole is filled with minced lamb -- or sometimes beef -- in gravy, and topped with layers of mashed potato and cheese. Mullaney's slightly souped-up version includes buttermilk scallion mashed potatoes, shredded Dublin Castle cheddar and crispy fried onions.
"Shepherd's pie is probably the classic comfort food, for people who are used to it," McKenna says. "It's a stick-to-your-ribs kind of dish."
The other heavy hitter is Irish stew, and most Irish restaurants worth their weight in Guinness have a version. It's another simple, thick, hearty dish, cobbled together by the Irish with the ingredients at hand -- lamb, potatoes, onions, parsley, sometimes other things.
"We do add Guiness to our stew," says Mike Trapani, manager of Claddagh Irish Pub at SouthSide Works. "It's one of our best-selling dishes. Believe it or not, the flavor of the Guinesss is not prominent at all, but it does add some background, some profile."
Of course, simply adding Guinness to a dish makes it sort of Irish, in a way. And Irish cooks - especially those in the U.S. - seem to find new ways to do this all the time.
"The pot roast with Guinness beer and tomato sauce is the root of many of our dishes," says Dennis McLynn, bartender of the Monterey Pub on the North Side. "The sauce has a good tang to it, so right away you know you don't have the traditional bland Irish meat. We have a Guinness wrap, made with that Guinness pot roast. Then there are Guinness nachos, and 'pub fries' served with Guinness shredded beef over top."
McKenna has even done a Guinness chocolate souffle and a Guinness chocolate cake at Mullaney's.
"I think people are more open to experiment in the dessert arena than for an entree," says McKenna. "As long as you add sugar and butter to it ... Guinness never hurts.
