March 17 is the one day of the year when everyone seems to claim they’re Irish, even if they only possess just one speck of Irish blood in their ancestry. When I went to school, if you didn’t wear something green that day, you got pinched, whether you were Irish or not.
While not everyone may wear green that day, many families will serve the traditional corned beef and cabbage to celebrate the old Irish tradition. If you’d like to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year but are a little tired of the same corned beef, cabbage and potatoes, I have a suggestion that is every bit as Irish, but a great change of pace.
First you begin by baking an approximately 4 1/2-pound corned beef brisket. To bake it, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and then coat a large pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place your corned beef in the pan and add 1 cup water. Cover it tightly with foil and bake 2 hours, then drain the liquid.
In a small bowl, combine 1 cup apricot preserves with 1/4 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Spread apricot mixture over brisket evenly and bake uncovered for another 25-30 minutes or until meat is tender, basting it occasionally with pan drippings. When done, cut into slices. You can make sandwiches topped with Swiss cheese, but reserve 2 cups chopped corned beef to go into the chowder to accompany the sandwiches.
IRISH CHOWDER
3 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon dill seeds
1/2 teaspoon tarragon leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups chopped cabbage
2 cups finely chopped corned beef
2 cups half and half
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
2 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
Melt butter and olive oil together in a stockpot over medium heat; saute onion and garlic until onion is softened (about 5 minutes). Add flour, dill seed, tarragon leaves and black pepper to onion mixture; cook and stir until flour is dissolved (about 3 minutes).
Pour chicken broth over onion mixture and stir until blended (about 2-3 minutes). Add cabbage and corned beef and cook, stirring frequently until cabbage is tender, about 20 minutes. Add half and half and cook until liquid is warm, but not boiling (about 5 minutes).
Melt cream cheese over low heat in saucepan until creamy (about 2-3 minutes) and whisk cornstarch and water together in a small bowl; stir into cream cheese until smooth. Stir this mixture into soup. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until cheese melts and soup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Serve hot with cold corned beef sandwich for a tasty Irish meal. Makes 4-6 servings.
Brotherton offers website readers one stellar recipe a week in the “My Leader Yummy” feature.
Looking for a recipe you can’t find? Email me at kbrotherton42@gmail.com and I’ll see if I have it.
