CHAPTER 4

HOT POTS, MEAT PIES, AND SAVORY TARTS

A hot pot, also known as “hotchpotch,” is a rich, sometimes layered, vegetable and meat stew. The most popular version in Ireland is Irish stew. The late Theodora FitzGibbon, a renowned Irish cookery writer, said the dish is known “all over the Western world,” and was originally made with potatoes, onions, and either mutton or kid because “no farmer would be so foolhardy as to use his lambs for it.” She felt the flavor was spoiled if carrots or turnips were added, although today you might find one or both in what has become the quintessential Irish dish. The controversy doesn’t stop with vegetables, however. There is little agreement on both the method of cooking (should the meat be browned; should it be cooked on top of the stove or in the oven?) and the meat (is mutton essential; should the lamb be boned or will chops do?). Brown soda bread, also a national treasure, and a glass of stout or dry red wine are the recommended accompaniments.

A meat pie is similar to a hot pot, but it is topped with a crust of either short-crust pastry or mashed potatoes. Both of these hearty dishes are extremely popular in pubs, along with more contemporary, often vegetarian, dishes such as savory tarts made with vegetables and cheese.

MAC’S PUB, BUNRATTY FOLK PARK, BUNRATTY, COUNTY CLARE

MAC’S PUB IRISH STEW

MAC’S PUB BROWN SODA BREAD

HARGADON’S IRISH STEW

HARGADON’S BROWN SODA BREAD

DUBLIN CODDLE

GUINNESS BEEF STEW

BEEF AND GUINNESS PIE

SHEPHERD’S PIE

CHICKEN AND HAM PIE

BEEF AND VEGETABLE PEPPER POT

CHEDDAR-HERB BISCUITS

GREEN TOMATO TARTE TATIN

FOUR-CHEESE TORTE WITH TOMATO, PEPPER, AND PESTO

CARAMELIZED ONION AND NETTLE TARTS

BLACKBOARD SPECIAL:

MUSHROOM RISOTTO WITH CLONAKILTY BLACK PUDDING