A St. Patrick's Day favorite that is good year-round
It doesn't have to be St. Patrick's Day for me to make Irish soda bread.
No, I am not normally a bread baker; it takes too much time. I do not have the patience for kneading, rising and proofing.
Irish soda bread requires only a minute of kneading, but no rising. The ingredients are simply mixed together, formed into a round loaf and baked. In less than an hour, the bread is done. It's good for breakfast or afternoon snack or tea any day of the year.
Since St. Patrick's Day is Saturday, I thought I would share my favorite soda bread recipe. The ingredients are already in most pantries.
If anyone does not like raisins, dried cranberries or another fruit can be substituted. I like to serve this warm from the oven with butter and orange marmalade.
After the bread has been shaped into a round loaf, I make an "X" in the top of the dough. No, it's not as folklore would have it to let the fairy evils out. It's to make the bread cook evenly.
IRISH SODA BREAD
2 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, chilled
1 cup raisins
1- 1/2 cups butter milk or plain yogurt
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
Cut in the butter until it is pea-sized. Stir in the raisins and buttermilk or
yogurt. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, knead 1 minute and shape into a disk.
Cut an X in the top and bake on greased baking sheet for 45 to 50 minutes. Makes 1 8-inch wide loaf.
HUGO'S MUSHROOMS
Today is Day Lander's day. Lander, who lives in Moss Point, Miss., asked for some good Scottish recipes for Tartan Day, which is April 6, and for the crab meat-stuffed mushrooms recipe from the old Biloxi, Miss., eatery Hugo's.
Lewis Kelly, who used to work for Hugo's, gave Glenda K. Simons of Biloxi the recipe for Lander.
"I work with Kelly at Burger-Burger in Biloxi," said Simons. "Lou worked for Hugo's after Milton Migues purchased it from Hugo Rungo.
"When I told Lou that you were looking for the recipe, he gave me this to send to you for Day Lander," Simons said.
HUGO's CRAB MEAT STUFFED MUSHROOMS
Crab meat stuffing:
1-pound claw crab meat, picked through for shell particles
2 sticks butter
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped fine
2 stalks celery, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 whole eggs, beaten
Breadcrumbs (Kelly uses Progresso Italian breadcrumbs); divided
Salt and pepper to taste
Mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
Flour
Buttermilk
Melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Saute until soft. Cool slightly. Add beaten egg and some of the breadcrumbs. Stir together.
Add picked crab meat, salt, pepper and parsley; toss lightly. If too loose, add more breadcrumbs until mixture holds together somewhat. Stuff mushrooms with mixture.
Any leftovers can be formed into patties and cooked until light brown on both slides in a black cast iron skillet sprayed with non-stick spray.
Dip stuffed mushrooms in buttermilk, then into flour, then back into buttermilk and then roll in remaining breadcrumbs. Drop into deep fryer and fry until golden brown.
-- Submitted by Lewis Kelly and Glenda Simons
Dee Turner of Lucedale, Miss., also sent a stuffed crab recipe for Lander to try.
"For Day Lander who wanted crab meat stuffed mushrooms, she could use this recipe for stuffed crabs or the stuffing for mushrooms," said Turner. "Hope this helps."
STUFFED CRABS
1 pound crab meat
1 stalk celery, chopped fine
1/2 bell pepper, chopped fine
1 onion, chopped fine
3 tablespoons parsley
1 tablespoon celery seed
Lemon and pepper seasoning
Nature's Seasonings
1 stick butter, melted
2-4 slices bread, into small cubes
Breadcrumbs
Melt butter, and sauté celery, bell pepper, and onion until wilted. Add bread, parsley and all other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Place mixture into crab tins and sprinkle breadcrumbs on top.
Bake in 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes to brown. You can broil for a few minutes to brown further if needed.
-- Submitted by Dee Turner
Also making Lander's day is Charlotte Pluta of Bradenton who offers a recipe for heather oat cakes from Scotland.
"Several years ago on a group trip to Scotland, we were served these oat cakes," said Pluta. "Everyone loved them with coffee or tea. I brought home the recipe to Vermont and have made them several times always to great reviews."
HEATHER OAT CAKES
3 cups rolled oats
3 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup margarine
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup water
Mix flour, salt, oats and sugar together. Cut in margarine and shortening. Add water and soda. Roll our fairly thin on floured board. Cut into rounds with cookie or biscuit cutter or jar lid. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Watch carefully.
Note: This recipe can easily be cut in half.
-- Submitted by Charlotte Pluta
Andrea Yeager, a freelance writer, can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net. Send requests to Cook's Exchange, P.O. Box 4567, Biloxi, MS 39535-4567.
This story was originally published March 14, 2012 at 12:00 AM with the headline "A St. Patrick's Day favorite that is good year-round."