St Patrick's Day 2018 recipes, from nettle broth to gluten-free soda bread

More commonly associated with stings and childhood tears, nettles are in fact a hugely underrated ingredient. This traditional nettle soup recipe includes thinly sliced scallops (lightly cured by salt and gently cooked by the soup) and horseradish crème fraîche – a refreshing combination.

500g of nettles, young
2 litres of water
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
250g of crème fraîche
100g of fresh horseradish, finely grated
8 scallops, corals removed
25g of butter
Lemon juice to taste
Salt
Pepper

Add the water to a pan with a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a separate pan, add the onions and garlic and cook until soft.

Add the nettles to the boiling water and blanch for approximately 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to lift the nettles out of the water and add to the pan with the onions and garlic, then pour in 500ml of the nettle cooking water and remove from the heat​. Pour into a blender and blitz until vivid green but still slightly lumpy, adding a splash more nettle cooking water if needed.

Season to taste and set over a low heat to warm through. In a bowl, stir together the horseradish and crème fraîche and add salt and lemon juice to taste. Set aside until needed. Thinly slice the scallops using a very sharp knife. Divide the soup between bowls and lay a ring of the raw scallops on the surface, sprinkling over salt and pepper. Add a spoonful of the horseradish crème fraîche in the middle of the scallops and serve immediately.

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Perfect for a chilly day, this beef stew with dumplings recipe is a comforting dish... and the kids can get involved with making the dumplings.

Beef stew

1.2kg braising beef
80g of pancetta, chopped
​40ml of red wine vinegar
5 knobs of butter
1 leek, sliced
1½ carrots, sliced
2 celery sticks, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1 star anise
50g of large flat mushrooms, sliced
1 large ripe tomato, halved
2tsp caster sugar
5g of bouquet garni
2 litres of chicken stock
160g of baby onions, peeled
160g of button mushrooms
1tbsp of parsley, chopped
1 dash of vegetable oil
1 dash of olive oil

Dumplings

100g of plain flour
1tsp baking powder
2 pinches of salt
​40g of vegetable light suet

Cut the braising beef into large pieces – you are going to braise the meat until tender, if the pieces are cut too small they may break up. Place a large pan over a medium heat and add a dash of oil. Add the meat and pancetta, cook until browned then add the vinegar and stir thoroughly for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Place a saucepan over a medium heat and add a knob of butter. Once melted, add the leek, celery and carrots and cook until soft and golden brown, then remove from the heat. In a separate pan, repeat the process with the sliced onion, star anise and butter. Then, do the same in another pan using the large flat mushrooms and a knob of butter.

Preheat the oven to 220C/gas mark 8. Cut the tomato in half and toss with the caster sugar in a bowl. Arrange cut-side down on a baking tray and drizzle with a dash of olive oil. Cook the tomatoes in the oven for 20 minutes, or until tender and caramelised.

Combine all of the caramelised vegetables with the meat, pancetta, tomatoes and bouquet garni in a flameproof casserole dish. Pour in enough stock to cover and simmer for 2½ hours. Once the meat is very tender, strain the sauce from the pot into a separate pan. Return the sauce to the hob and simmer until it reduces down to a thin gravy-like consistency.

Return the solids to the pan with the sauce and remove from the heat. Place a frying pan over a medium heat and add a knob of butter. Add the baby onions and cook until browned. Then, remove the onions and set aside. Add another knob of butter to the same pan and return to the heat. Add the button mushrooms and fry until browned. Add both the baby onions and mushrooms to the beef stew​.

For the dumplings, mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the suet and enough water to bind the mix​. Roll the dough into small dumplings – approximately the size of cherry tomatoes. This mix should yield 16 dumplings. Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a simmer and add the dumplings. Cover the pan and poach for 15-20 minutes. Reheat the stew on the stove until hot. Divide the hot stew into bowls and finish with chopped parsley and the dumplings. Serve immediately.

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Whipped up in less than an hour, this gluten-free bread recipe is ideal for a midweek dinner. Eggs are not traditionally used in soda bread recipes, but Russell has found that they help to bind the dough together.

330g of gluten-free flour, plus extra for dusting
100g of gluten-free oats, plus an extra handful for garnish
8g of sea salt, finely ground
​20g of bicarbonate of soda, gluten-free4 egg yolks
50ml of water
300ml of buttermilk

Preheat the steam oven to 180C/gas mark 4 (see below if using a non-steam oven, though the method for making the dough will be exactly the same). Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl and add the oats. Combine the wet ingredients in a separate jug​.

Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mix, reserving the residual liquid in the jug for later on in the recipe. Stir gently to combine, then transfer onto a clean work surface. Shape into a disc measuring approximately 20cm in diameter and 2cm in thickness. Dust a baking tray with a little extra flour and place the dough on top.

Brush the top of the loaf with any remaining liquid from the jug of wet ingredients, adding a little more water if necessary. Scatter over some gluten-free oats and cut in the traditional soda bread crisscross pattern. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, injecting two lots of steam at 5-minute intervals

If using a regular oven, preheat to 180C/gas mark 4 and place 2 small metal dishes inside. Once you place your dough in the oven to bake, pour a cup of water into one of the dishes. After 5 minutes, pour water into the other dish. Whichever oven you are using, reduce the temperature to 160C/gas mark 2 after 10 minutes and cook for a further 15-20 minutes until lightly risen – the loaf should be golden and firm to the touch when pressed in the centre.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly on a wire rack. Serve the bread warm or at room temperature.

For more Irish recipes visit Great British Chefs greatbritishchefs.com