Make your St. Patrick’s Day even more festive with new twists on traditional Irish fare. Start with a playful appetizer that turns the tried-and-true corned beef sandwich inside out. This lettuce wrap is filled with cooked cabbage leaves, herbed mayo, rye bread and corned beef. Dinner offers a surprise that’s more than the just the ordinary twice-baked potato. Hidden beneath a golden mashed potato top crust lies a rich beef and vegetable filling for an innovative take on shepherd’s pie. There’s no blarney in saying both dishes from the Food Network Kitchen go great with green beer and Irish soda bread.
Corned Beef and Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients:
6 Savoy cabbage leaves
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped parsley and/or dill
2 slices rye bread
1/2 pound corned beef
1 spoonful whole-grain mustard
Directions:
Cook cabbage leaves in boiling water, about 2 minutes. Rinse under cold water and pat dry; slice in half. Mix mayonnaise and parsley and/or dill; spread on the cabbage leaves. Cut rye bread into strips. Slice corned beef into strips and toss with mustard. Top the cabbage leaves with a few strips each of the bread and corned beef. Roll up and slice in half.
Shepherd’s Pie Potato Bowls
Ingredients:
- 4 large russet potatoes (about 3 pounds)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter plus 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
- 1 small carrot, chopped
- 12 ounces ground beef chuck
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/3 cup frozen peas, thawed
Directions:
Prick the potatoes all over with a fork and brush them with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Put on a microwave-safe plate and microwave, flipping halfway, until fork tender, about 20 minutes. (Alternately, bake in the oven at 400 degrees F on a baking sheet until cooked through and fork tender, about 1 hour.) Let cool slightly.
Cut a 1/4-inch-thick slice off the top of each potato. Carefully scoop out the flesh into a medium bowl and mash with the milk, sour cream, 2 tablespoons butter and 1 teaspoon salt using a fork or potato masher. Fold in the chives. Put the potato bowls on a baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire, tomato paste, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 cup water and bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and cook until the beef and carrots are coated in sauce with a little extra sitting on the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute. Stir in the peas until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes more.
Spoon the beef mixture into the potato bowls. Spoon or pipe the mashed potatoes on top of the beef mixture and bake until heated through and the potatoes brown on top, about 15 minutes. Cut the remaining tablespoon of butter into 4 slices and top each potato with one.
Read More: Get Your Greens: St. Patrick’s Day Appetizers and St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
