Irish Christmas Recipes from Doolin
Disclaimer – this is not a turkey recipe!
Have you volunteered to cook the ever so challenging Christmas Dinner this year? Need some inspiration to spruce it up a little, to make an extra special Christmas?
Some of our local business members have kindly shared their family favourites which are served up on the dining table every year! Check out these scrumptious festive family recipes below and bring a taste of Doolin, Ireland to your table this year..
Recipe 1. – Stonecutters Mulled Wine by Stonecutters Kitchen
Recipe 2. – The Moloney Family Christmas Ham by Doolin Inn
Recipe 3. – Festive Gingerbread by Doolin Cave Garden Café
Recipe 4. – Brown Soda Bread with Dulse / Dillisk by Sea View House & Lodges
Recipe 1: Stonecutters Mulled Wine Syrup by Stonecutters Kitchen
For a lovely festive mulled wine without the powdery flavour often found with bought powder mixes. This recipe makes enough for 2 bottles of wine.
Ingredients:
The Syrup:
6oz/170grams granulated white sugar
6 x Cinnamon Sticks
2 x Oranges and 1 lemon roughly sliced with the skin on
10 x Whole Cloves
2 large pinches of All Spice
2 Mugs of water, about a ½ litre
Brandy
Instructions:
1) Gently simmer everything except the brandy in a saucepan for about 30-40 minutes until the mixture has reduced and become more concentrated into a syrup.
2) Strain mixture through a sieve into an airtight container or bottle.
3) When you want to serve your mulled wine, put one bottle of red wine into a saucepan and add half the syrup on a gentle heat and bring up to just before a simmering point.
4) Add a dash of brandy and some extra sugar to taste. Do not allow this to boil.
5) Serve in a glass with a slice of orange and lemon with 2 or 3 cloves stuck into them and a generous measure of Christmas cheer.
Sláinte!!
Recipe 2: The Moloney Family Christmas Ham by Doolin Inn
Passed down from generation to generation, from father to son for more than a 100 years, this recipe is taken out every Christmas by the Moloney family at Doolin Inn. The Christmas Ham has been a tradition throughout the years and its signature smell in the Moloney household is a sign that Christmas has arrived.
We always cooked it on the 23rd of December to let the flavours infuse so it would be prefect for the Christmas dinner of Turkey and Ham with all the trimmings. But the best was always the Christmas Eve late night snack of a thick ham slice between two slices of freshly baked bread accompanied by a generous licking of butter and mustard – Anthony Moloney, Doolin Inn
Ingredients:
1 x Smoked leg of ham on the bone, skin on.
2 x litres of dry strong cider
1 x onion
2 x carrots
3 x Bay leaf
Cloves
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Honey
Bread Crumbs
Toothpicks
1/2 cup of Colman’s mustard (preferably made from the powder)
2 x tins of pineapple rings (or fresh if you prefer but the sweetness of the tinned pineapple absorb the ham’s flavours better and are a real treat.)
A good glass of whiskey – we always used Paddy (guess it goes with the family name down the generations – Anthony Patrick / Patrick Anthony / Anthony Patrick as the generations go!)
Instructions:
1) In a large stock pot, place ham in cold water and set for two days, changing the water every 12 -18 hours. This helps remove a lot of saltiness from the ham.
2) Drain water and fill with 2 litres of cider, add onion (skin off and whole), add 6-8 cloves to the ham (studded), 2 carrots, and bay leaves. Fill the stock pot with water to cover the ham by an inch.
3) Bring to the boil and let simmer (skim off any impurities that rise to the top) (20 mins a pound or until the small bone in the knuckle twists without effort, normally 5-6hours).
4) Remove ham from liquor and let cool slightly (20 minutes).
5) Remove skin exposing lovely white fatty flesh – if any excess fat, trim a little but do leave a coating of fat on the meat.
6) When it cools a little more, drizzle over whiskey, and butter ham with mustard, and drizzle with honey.
7) Coat the ham with breadcrumbs and decorate with pineapple rings studded with 4-6 cloves each, using the toothpicks to fix to ham.
8) Gently drizzle more whiskey over the ham, especially the pineapple rings.
9) Sprinkle with brown sugar, this will give a little crust and a lovely browning to the crust.
10) Place in a moderately heated oven at 160 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Tip! To reheat, slice, place on a tray with a splash of cold water and cover with tin foil and gently bring back to temperature in a warm oven.
Recipe 3: Festive Gingerbread by Doolin Cave Garden Café
Perfect for dessert or a festive snack by the fire with a glass of yummy hot chocolate.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 x teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 x teaspoons ground ginger
1 x teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 x tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup molasses
2/3 cup boiling water
1 x large egg
Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-in square pan and lightly coat with flour.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Set aside.
3) In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, molasses, and boiling water. When the mixture is lukewarm, whisk in the egg.
4) Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined and there are no more lumps. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, or until the edges look dark and the middle feels firm to the touch.
5) Set the pan on a rack to cool slightly, then cut into squares and serve. This cake is best served warm.
Recipe 4: Brown Soda Bread with Dulse / Dillisk by Sea View House
A taste of the sea this Christmas..
Dulse or Dillisk is reddish-brown seaweed that grows along the Irish coastline. Low in sodium, it is a great addition to a homemade soda bread. This freshly baked soda bread is the perfect pairing with a hearty Christmas soup, smoked salmon or a cheese plate.
We harvest Dulse and a host of other seaweeds every month on the low spring tides along the coastline here in Doolin. I first learned to cook brown bread with my mother in Tipperary. She is a wonderful cook who inspired all of her children with her cooking. We did not get to see seaweed too often in Tipperary, however, we have an abundance of good seaweed here in Doolin and this recipe is my own version of my mother’s brown bread – Niall Hughes, Sea View House
Ingredients:
Makes three medium loaves
680g – coarse wholemeal bread
230g – sifted plain flour
120g – mixed seeds
120g – oatmeal
4 x scant rounded tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 x tsp salt
3 x tsp grounded Dulse (Dillisk) seaweed.
1 x tbsp brown sugar
2 x tbsp treacle or molasses
1 x Litre buttermilk
1 x egg, beaten
60ml oil
2 x tbsp sesame seeds to spread on top
Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 200’C.
2) Oil 3 loaf tins.
3) Mix all dry ingredients except the sugar.
4) Mix all wet ingredients and the sugar.
5) Combine both mixes and split in the 3 lightly oiled loaf tins.
6) Bake for 50 mins.
7) Remove from tin and bake for a further 5 minutes.
8) Cool on a rack and wrap in foil and then serve.
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