I am all for festive food, but is it just me or
does St. Paddy’s Day always seem a little…green? As I reviewed the Saint
Patrick's Day–inspired recipes on Pinterest, I realized that while all of it felt
very fun and lighthearted, it didn’t tell us anything about Ireland, except
reinforce stereotypes (like rainbows and leprechauns). So, I decided to do a
little digging to discover some real Irish culinary history that would inspire
a recipe post for today.
I quickly became obsessed and found myself falling down a research rabbit hole, digging up
information from ninth-century Ireland — probably as
far back as I'd be able to get. However, my epic investigation sadly yielded little
inspiration for a celebratory post. For
example, according to Gwerin: A Half-Yearly Journal of Folk Life, a typical monastic meal in ninth-century Ireland was “gruel
upon water, gruel between two waters and gruel under water.” OOOOOK. But, come on,
guys — what about when there's cause for celebration? This is a party! “On
Sundays and holydays a bit of wheaten bread and a piece of boiled salmon.”
Sigh.
While the idea of gruel does not really whet my
appetite, I was pleased to find that two of my favorite things have been a staple of the Irish diet for many centuries: bread and butter. Though that
in itself is not the most thrilling discovery ever, I did get really excited
when I saw that the Irish city of Cork used to have something called the butter exchange, which was the
largest butter market in the world of its time — i.e., the most divine place ever. In fact, the city of Cork has an entire
museum devoted to butter. (In
case you're wondering, France seemingly does not.)
So, how to encapsulate this newfound knowledge in a
recipe? We turned to Irish chef Clodagh
McKenna to help create this insanely
delicious Salted Caramel Whiskey Bread
and Butter Pudding with Golden Raisins. When you bake this up, know that
you are making something that is truly part of Irish history — a great way to
celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Salted Caramel Whiskey Bread and Butter Pudding with
Golden Raisins
Serves 6
2/3
cup golden raisins
1/2
cup Irish whiskey
5
extra-large eggs
2 cups
heavy cream
1 cup
plus 2 tbsp sugar
1/2
tsp ground cinnamon
1/4
tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp
vanilla extract
8 to 9
slices firm white bread, crusts
left
on
3 1/2
sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
For
the Salted Caramel Whiskey Sauce
1
stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup
plus 2 tbsp sugar
2
tsp sea salt
2 1/2
cups heavy cream
1/4
cup Irish whiskey
1. Preheat
the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease an 8 1/2-inch square nonreactive baking dish.
2. In a
medium-size mixing bowl, combine the golden raisins and whiskey, and let soak
for 1 hour.
3. In a
large bowl, beat together the eggs, cream, sugar, spices,
and
vanilla to make a custard. Spread one side of each slice
of bread
with the butter. Cut the slices in half diagonally, and
arrange
half of the bread in the bottom of the baking dish,
overlapping
the slices. Drain the raisins, and sprinkle half over
the
bread. Repeat with the remaining bread and raisins. Pour the
custard
over the bread, and let soak for 30 minutes.
4. Place the
baking dish in a large baking pan. Add enough hot
water to
come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake in the oven
for 50 to
60 minutes, or until the pudding is set and the top is
golden.
Remove the baking dish from the water bath and let cool
slightly
on a wire rack.
5. Make the
salted caramel whiskey sauce: In a small saucepan,
melt the
butter over medium heat. Beat in the sugar, sea salt,
cream,
and whiskey. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the
sauce
thickens, about 10 minutes. Serve the pudding warm with
the
salted caramel whiskey sauce spooned over each serving.