Irish Potato Farls Breakfast

A míle fáilte!


With only six shopping days left till St. Patrick’s Day, I thought it would be good to celebrate with something a little more authentic than the usual mid-March atrocities that reduce Ireland’s rich culture to green bagels and paper leprechaun hats.


The solution? An easy, delicious Irish Potato Farls Breakfast.


Nobody does breakfast like the Irish. Northern Ireland, for example, has the Ulster Fry, the ultimate in heart-attack-on-a-plate decadence, consisting of two eggs, two sausages, two slices of bacon, two slices of black pudding (a mixture of onions, pork fat, oatmeal, spices, and pig blood), and two of the aforementioned potato farls. (To keep all of this from becoming unhealthy, some cooks add a tomato.)


Having dedicated my culinary life to making reduced fat food taste good, we’re going to put aside most elements of the Ulster Fry and concentrate on the potato farls, a delightful potato pancake that’s crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. (New Yorkers might be reminded of a knish.) The name comes from “fardel,” a Gaelic word meaning four parts. (As you’ll see, the rolled out potato dough is cut into four parts for cooking.) There are other varieties besides the potato kind: soda farls (an Irish soda bread dough flattened and cooked in a pan or griddle instead of being baked in an oven); wheaten farls (similar to soda farls but made with whole wheat flour); and treacle farls (made with treacle, which is similar to molasses).


In this recipe, we’ll make a hearty breakfast by serving the potato farls with eggs topped with onions, herbs, chopped turkey sausage, and Irish cheese; turkey sausage with mustard; and a bit of fresh fruit. (If you want black pudding, you’re going to have to add that on your own.)


Some Cook’s Notes before we begin:
• Thanks to dear friend Sheila, she of “Norn Iron,” for starting me thinking about farls in the first place.
• Traditional potato farls are made without the onion, rosemary and thyme used in this recipe. To season them for the American palate while still respecting Irish culture, I’ve added these items which, while not ordinarily found in farls, are often found elsewhere in the cuisine. Similarly, farls are generally made with boiled potatoes; I prefer to bake them for a little deeper flavor.
• Farls are best eaten soon after cooking. Saved overnight, the outsides lose a lot of their crispness, and they’re just not the same.


This recipe makes eight farls. (One is a good portion for most people; big eaters might want two.)


On a griddle, cook enough turkey sausages to have two whole links per serving, plus one diced link to top each serving of eggs.




Grate some Irish cheese to top the eggs you’ll be cooking.








Bake 2 to 2-1/4 pounds of potatoes until tender. (Baking them in the microwave is recommended; otherwise, bake as you ordinarily would to serve baked potatoes.) After the potatoes are baked, cut them into pieces. As much as possible, do the remaining steps with the potatoes warm to hot.


Put the pieces through a ricer or food mill. (You can use a masher, but the ricer or food mill will give a better texture since it doesn’t repeatedly beat up the starches in the potato the way a masher does.)


Stir in 1-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons of melted butter substitute, 3 tablespoons of minced onion, 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, ½ tablespoon of salt (more or less to taste), and ¼ teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper (more or less to taste).


Mix until well combined into a dough-like consistency, adding up to ½ cup of additional flour if necessary to get the right texture. When the dough is mixed, knead lightly for a minute or two.


Cut the dough ball in half. Roll out one of the halves to a circle about ¼” thick. (Tip: when rolling the dough, putting wax paper on top of the dough makes clean-up easier.)


Cut the rolled-out dough into four wedges.










Place the wedges on a lightly oiled hot griddle and cook till golden and slightly crisp on the outside, about three minutes per side. If you want to top your eggs with some additional chopped onion, you can place it on the griddle and cook it at the same time as the farls.


Place the cooked wedges on a plate and cover with a clean towel while you repeat the rolling, cutting and cooking with the other half of the dough, and complete the remaining steps.




Cook your eggs in whatever style you prefer, and top with the cooked onions, diced sausage, a bit of the rosemary and thyme, and some of the cheese.


On each plate, put one or two farls, the eggs, two sausage links with mustard, and some fresh fruit as pictured above.


Now that’s what I call a hearty breakfast, and just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. (On any other day of the year, too!)


You can download the recipe by clicking here.


Hope you enjoy this special treat. Hope, too, that you’ll be back next week for another fun, delicious recipe. (Why not also tell a friend who you think might enjoy what we do here!) Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to póg an cócaire. ;-)

Half-the-Time Cinnamon Raisin Bread

There are no problems, just opportunities.


What started out as a problem – the plagiarism of one of my articles by another blog – opened the door to adding a new feature to this site that makes it easier to enjoy the dishes published here: a link at the bottom of the article to download a cookbook-style, notebook-ready copy of the recipe directly, in .pdf format. (Thank you for a great idea, Gitana!) Beginning with this week’s post, there is no longer a need to request a copy of the recipe via a separate e-mail, or to copy and paste the content of each article manually. With copying and pasting no longer necessary, it’s safe for me to adjust the settings so that it will no longer be possible. (As for the plagiarized material, efforts to have that removed are in progress.)


And now, for your gastronomical pleasure, I am pleased to bring you Half-the-Time Cinnamon Raisin Bread. The recipe combines a one-hour roll dough, raisins rehydrated with pomegranate juice, cinnamon and sugar to create a crusty, delicious treat.


A note about one-hour rolls and the dough used to make them. One-hour rolls are made with dough that has more yeast than regular dough, reducing time required for rising, proofing and baking to about an hour. In this recipe, the baking time is increased since we’re using the dough to make a loaf instead of rolls, but it’s still much less time than would be required for a regular dough.


This recipe makes one loaf.


Place 1-1/2 cups of raisins in a small bowl and add only enough pomegranate juice (usually about 6 ounces) to cover. Let the raisins rehydrate while you prepare the bread dough.


Begin preheating the oven to 200 degrees.


In a small bowl, dissolve two ¼ ounce packages of dry yeast and 3 tablespoons of  sugar in ½ cup of warm (about 110 degrees) water and let stand for 5 minutes. The mixture should become frothy.




Mix 3 cups of all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt together in a large mixing bowl.




Add the yeast mixture, 1 cup of skim milk and 2 tablespoons of melted butter substitute. Mix while adding an additional cup of flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a dough.


When all of the flour is incorporated, knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding up to ½ cup of additional flour only if necessary for a smooth texture.Temporarily remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface. Wipe the bowl out, rub the inside with butter substitute or a flavor-neutral oil,  and place the dough back in to the bowl.


Turn off the oven. Cover the bowl with foil greased with butter substitute or flavor-neutral oil, and place it in the warm oven till doubled in size, about 25 minutes.






While the dough is rising, combine the 1-1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Also, drain the raisins very well and toss them with 2 tablespoons of flour.





Prepare a floured surface. To get an even distribution, it’s helpful to put the flour in a strainer and tap it as if sifting.


After the dough has risen, press it down to deflate it. Turn the dough onto your floured surface, and pat it into a rectangle about 6 inches by 12 inches by 3/4 of an inch thick.


Distribute the cinnamon sugar evenly over the dough. Spread the raisins evenly over the dough and gently press them into it.




Starting at a short side, keep the dough slightly taut while rolling it into a log. After rolling, pinch the seam to seal it. Place the loaf into an oiled 9 by 5 inch loaf pan, and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let proof at room temperature for another 20 minutes.





While the bread is proofing, preheat oven to 425 degrees. (The top of the stove while the oven is preheating is a good place to proof the loaf.)




Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until an inserted knife or toothpick comes out clean


Let the loaf cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and place the loaf on a rack to cool. (Let cool completely before slicing, or the bread will fall apart.)


As promised, click here for a copy of the recipe in .pdf format!


I hope you enjoy this tasty, crusty breakfast bread, and that you’ll come back next week for another kitchen-tested, reduced-fat recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Belgian Yeast-Risen Waffles

A special welcome to new subscriber Magda. Great to have you here!



A special breakfast seems a perfect way to welcome the New Year. And if you love waffles, here’s one that’s not the usual kind: light, tasty Belgian Yeast-Risen Waffles.


What’s different about it? We often see what are being called Belgian Waffles. The problem is that those often are simply Belgian-style waffles that look like real Belgian waffles because they are large and have deep openings to hold toppings, but that are made with an American-style batter leavened with baking powder. A real Belgian waffle is made from a batter that is leavened with yeast, giving it a characteristic light texture. For this recipe, I’ve also used lemon or orange zest to give the waffles just a touch of tartness to complement the sweetness of the toppings, and beaten egg whites and some sparkling water to supplement that batter’s “fluff factor.” A bit of fat-free Greek yogurt enhances the flavor in a nice, healthy way. (Those last two ingredients are decidedly inauthentic for real Belgian waffles, but help keep the batter reduced-fat.)


So let’s heat up those waffle makers to ring in the new year right!


This recipe makes about eight 8” waffles.


Mix 1 package (0.25 ounce) of active dry yeast in 1 cup of warm (around 110 degrees) skim milk mixed with a teaspoon of honey or sugar. Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes until creamy.


In a large bowl, sift together 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon salt; ½ cup sugar; ½ teaspoon cinnamon; and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg.


Make a well in the dry ingredient mixture, and add 2 egg-substitute eggs; ¼ cup fat-free Greek yogurt; 1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla; ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon melted butter substitute; zest of one lemon or orange; and the yeast mixture.


Mix the wet ingredients, then stir into the dry ingredients while adding 1-1/4 cups of warm milk and ½ cup of room temperature sparking water to form a batter. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.


While the batter is resting, beat 3 fresh egg whites and a pinch of salt until soft peaks form, then fold the egg whites into the batter.






Cover the bowl and let rise for 60 minutes.








 




Preheat the waffle maker according to manufacturer's directions. When the batter has finished rising, spray the waffle iron with cooking spray and add batter as per your waffle maker’s directions.


Close the top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from iron.






Add your favorite topping and a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar, and serve immediately, or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to add toppings and serve. (Click here for an easy recipe for a fresh fruit topping, along with a strawberry-rhubarb pastry that’s a lot of fun to make and eat! That recipe is for a strawberry topping; you can use the same recipe with different fruit, too. In the photo at the top, for example, I used blueberries, and kept them whole instead of pressing them with my hands.)


Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year, a great start to which would be to visit again next week for another great-tasting, kitchen-tested recipe! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook, especially at midnight on December 31. ;-)

Low-Fat Cranberry-Orange Muffins with Raspberry Liqueur or Orange Puree Glaze

One of my favorite (and simple!) ways to bring baked goods to a new level is to add a nice glaze. In this recipe, we’ll take an easy cranberry-orange muffin, give the cake a creamy texture using fat-free Greek yogurt, and top it with either of two glazes, one made from orange puree and one made from raspberry liqueur. (The photo at right shows both; the muffins on the left have the orange glaze, the ones on the right have the raspberry glaze.)



How easy are Low-Fat Glazed Cranberry Orange Muffins? Years ago, before I was ever interested in real cooking, I could make two things: pancakes, and cranberry-orange muffins. A while back I updated the pancake recipe (check out Fluffy and Reduced Fat Blueberry Pancakes with Fresh Strawberry Syrup), and now it’s the muffins’ turn.


Two points to mention before we start:
• Although I’m showing two particular flavorings for the glaze, feel free to substitute any flavor you like. Just substitute the appropriate liquid in place of the orange puree or the raspberry liqueur. Glaze made with lemon juice, for example, is often used and works with a lot of baked goods.
• One of my pet peeves is when fruit muffins are made with practically no fruit. (We’ve all had blueberry muffins that turned out to be called that only because the baker passed a blueberry over the batter before baking it, and putting the blueberry aside to wave over the next batch.) I think we should be able to pick up a muffin and see fruit starting to show through the sides. (Don’t overdo this, though; too much fruit and the muffins won’t hold together.)


This recipe makes about 8 large muffins. (You can also use it to make more small muffins, but who wants small muffins?)


Sift together 2 cups of all-purpose flour, a generous pinch of salt and 4 teaspoons of baking powder into a large bowl.




Add 1 cup of sugar and stir to combine.






Make a well in the flour mixture and add the zest of one orange.





Then add 1 cup of fat-free Greek yogurt, ¼ cup of skim milk, 3 tablespoons of melted butter substitute, 2 egg-substitute eggs, and . Mix the wet ingredients in the well, then stir into the dry ingredients to form a batter.



Fold 1-1/4 cups of dusted whole cranberries (cranberries tossed with flour to coat them lightly) into the batter. (Fresh or frozen both work well; if you’re using frozen there’s no need to thaw them.)






Pour into muffin tins (1/2 to 2/3 full) and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes till the tops are firm and the edges are lightly browned. When they’re done, a toothpick inserted into the center of one should come out clean.


After baking, let the muffins rest in the muffin tins for about five minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.


When the muffins have cooled, prepare the glaze by combining one cup of confectioner’s sugar with 1 Tbsp of orange puree (made from the orange you zested earlier) or raspberry liqueur. Add additional liquid, little by little, until the glaze is thick but spreadable and does not ball up. Apply the glaze to the top of the muffins and let firm up for about 30 minutes.


Be careful. These can be mighty addictive!


I hope you enjoy making – and eating – these tasty (and, let’s not forget, low-fat) muffins!


See you next week with another delicious, kitchen-tested, reduced fat recipe! Till then, and as always, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)