Plenty of Irish Food Options for St. Patrick's Day

When you think of Irish food, is corned beef and cabbage the first thing that comes to mind? This dish symbolizes St. Patrick's Day for many of Americans, although it's actually favored by Irish Americans more often than it's served in Ireland. But if you don't eat meat or don't like the idea of salty cured beef, there are plenty of St. Patrick's Day options besides green beer that might be fun to try.

Let's start by finding out what's truly eaten by the Irish. Deborah at The Humble Housewife in Ireland talks about Ireland's true national dish of bacon and cabbage, and why Irish Americans made Corned Beef and Cabbage popular in the U.S.

Family Cooking with Chef Mom is doing a series of posts featuring Irish recipes including Dublin Coddle (sausages, bacon, onions, and potatoes), Treacle Scones, and since she's Irish American, she's including Corned Beef and Cabbage, pictured in the photo above.

Colcannon is an Irish dish of mashed potatoes combined with greens such as cabbage or kale, and seasoned with onion. June at Bread, Water, Salt, Oil from England offers Helen Mirren's Recipe for Colcannon which gives the option of cabbage or kale, while Catherine at Albion Cooks has a vegetarian recipe for Colcannon made with Kale.

A slightly different Irish potato dish is Champ, which is mashed potatoes combined with spring onions, butter, and milk. You can see a beautiful photo of Champ at Bron Marshall, where it's served with corned beef, but cooked separately. There's also a rustic version of Champ at I'm Mad and I eat, inspired by the traditional Champ Recipe found on Ms. Celliania.

Irish Stew is definitely a classic, often made with lamb or mutton, although there are many other variations of favored ingredients. The Irish Beef Stew at Simply Recipes features dark Guiness, beer and red wine. Irish Stew at The Greasy Spoon starts with lamb chops, and adds carrots and potatoes. Finally, Dianne at Gluten-Free Journey has a husband who's half Irish and offers her version of Irish Stew.

Another food Americans associate with St. Patrick's Day is Irish Soda Bread, and I gave plenty of recipe options in an earlier BlogHer post.

If you'd like a meatless alternative to traditional Irish dishes, there are lots of good ideas around. Susan from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen made Vegan Corned Beef and Cabbage last year, and said the recipe was a definite keeper. At Got No Milk you can find Irish Seitan Beef Stew Soup, which looks tasty.

Finally, in a bit of pure Irish whimsy, Cupcake Project has Corned Beef and Cabbage Cupcakes, which really do contain corned beef and cabbage. Stef admits they got mixed reviews.

Blogher Food Editor Kalyn Denny also blogs at Kalyn's Kitchen, where she makes Corned Beef with Veggies and Horseradish Sauce once a year to celebrate her slightly-Irish heritage.