I spent many summers in the North of Ireland on my Grandparent’s farm and my Grandmother was a great one for cooking and gardening. She’d potter around in her glasshouse where she grew tomatoes amongst other things and we’d often glean the strawberry beds for her without permission. One abiding memory I have is being sent to the field across the river to pick some spuds and then returning home to watch as she transformed them into hand-cut chips.
So it was to the North of Ireland that I turned for inspiration when it came to this month’s Irish Foodies Cookalong*. With the theme of Traditional Irish I decided to rustle up some of Granny’s Potato Farls. Cooked in bacon fat these are not for the faint-hearted but perfect for one of those morning-after the night-before fry ups, where you really don’t care about the carb or fat content of the food as long as its got some soakage.
When I cooked these for the Irish Foodies Cookalong* last Friday I went the whole hog of the Ulster Fry and you can view the evidence over on twitpic (http://twitpic.com/464n9a).
This recipe will make 8 potato farls and 1 or 2 per person is generally plenty. Any leftovers will reheat well when fried again.
Note: You will need to fry up a pan full of rashers while your potatoes are boiling so that you can use the bacon fat.
You will need:
1 kg potatoes (approx 5 medium sized)
Good pinch salt
2 tbsp butter
100g flour and some extra for dusting
Bacon/Rasher fat
Method:
Peel and boil the potatoes in a saucepan of boiling water.
Drain and mash the potatoes with a good pinch of salt and 2 tbsp of butter. Mash well.
Use a fork to mix in the flour.
Lightly dust the worktop with flour and with a little on your hands too, scoop out the potato mixture and roll it into a large ball.
Cut the ball of potato into two.
Take one half and shape it into a smaller ball and then flatten it out on the floured worktop with your hand into a circular pie shape.
Cut the circle into four triangular wedges (farls).
Do the same with the second half of the potatoes so that you end up with 8 triangular wedges of potato farls.
Heat the bacon fat in a large frying pan and cook the farls four at a time for 3 minutes on each side until turning golden brown.
Serve with rashers, ketchup and a little parsley.
Enjoy!
……Special Announcement
I’m delighted to announce that ‘gimmetherecipe’ has been selected as one of the finalists for an Irish Blog Award 2011** in the Best Food/Drink Category which is sponsored by Bord Bia (Irish Food Board). The awards ceremony will take place in the Europa Hotel, Belfast on 19th March.
Til next time, Sheila.
Note:
*Irish Foodies Cookalong Page is: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=102711646449318
**Irish Blog Awards Page is: www.awards.ie
