Thursday, March 17, 2011

Irish Potato Farl

Oh. my. gosh.First of all, Happy St. Patricks day! I wanted to try a traditional Irish Recipe for my St. Pattys day breakfast this year, little did I know it would be the easiest recipe I have ever attempted, .and seriously one of the best things I have ever tried. Behold, Irish Potato Bread Farl. Apparently it's a breakfast staple in Northern Ireland a part of something called an Ulster Fry. An Ulster Fry, according to Wikipedia, is a full Irish breakfast, usually fried (go figure), consisting of bacon, eggs, sausage, soda bread, and potato farl. Now, I have never been to Ireland, but apparently they eat quite well! The Potato Farl is delightfully crisp on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside. It reminded me a bit of a less oily hashbrown, but a million times better. I messed with the recipe proportions because I only had three little potatoes left over, which yielded 1 1/3 cups mashed potatoes. The recipe source I used said that the amount of flour can vary, just add bit by bit until a soft dough forms. A good rule of thumb is use half as much flour as potato. So, for example, I had 1 1/3 cups mashed potatoes, so I used a scant 2/3 cup flour. The finished product is supposed to be savory and is often served with onions and mushrooms. But I like my breakfast on the sweet side so I topped it with butter and syrup.
It was delightful, and, dare I say it, I liked it better than pancakes! And that is something because I LOVE pancakes! Next time you have mashed potatoes, definitely set a few aside for a hearty potato farl, and Happy St. Patricks day!

Irish Potato Farl
Ingredients
2 cups hot boiled potatoes
Scant 1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter + more for griddle

While hot, mash potatoes well with salt and butter. Gradually work in flour in smaller increments until a soft dough forms. Dough should be a little tacky but workable.
Divide and roll/press into a circular shape about 9″ and 1/4″ thick.
Cut into 6 or 8 ‘farls’ (wedges). Grill in a hot, greased griddle or pan until well browned on both sides.
So. So. Good.
Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

10 comments:

  1. I'm so glad I don't work today. Making this immediately!! Thanks.

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  2. Lucky! I wish I had the day off! I hope you love it!

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  3. These look grand! Thanks for sharing. Will try them this weekend.

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  4. Oh my goodness, that sounds fabulous! I am a bit of a potato addict :) Definitely have to give this a try.

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  5. Your potato farls look delish, I make something almost exactly the same but call it a potato cake!

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  6. Yum, it looks good. We will have to try that sometime.

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  7. Hi Liz,
    What a perfect dish for today. Your Farl just looks delicious. I really like your recipe. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and please come back!

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  8. Wow! This looks amazing! Thanks for linking up to the It's a Keeper Thursday blog hop! Be sure to come back next week and link something new!

    Christina @ It's a Keeper
    http://www.everydaytastes.com/
    http://twitter.com/itsakeeperblog
    http://www.facebook.com/ItsAKeeper

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  9. Made these yesterday for brunch! Yum!! I tweaked it a bit because I was out of butter and really made them into pancakes, but they were so good! Thanks for posting. I have a post for them scheduled for Friday!

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  10. Looing forward to making these today for some friends from northern Ireland. HOWEVER, please please please, it is not Saint Patty’s day. Patty is a girls name so please stop using it when referring to Saint Patrick’s day.

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