Recipes from Dublin
Mac‘s Favorite Unseelie Dishes
Perfect for meals or quick snacks on-the-go!
IRISH SODA BREAD
(Great for in pockets on-the-go!)
4? cups flour
1 cup diced Unseelie
2 Tbsp. sugar
(the more finely you dice it,
1 tsp. salt
the harder it is for it to move)
1 tsp. baking soda 1 large egg, whisked
4 Tbsp. butter
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Sift together 4 cups flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda into large mixing bowl. Using pastry cutter, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, then stir in raisins. Add diced Unseelie, making certain it doesn‘t wriggle back out of the bowl. Add beaten egg and buttermilk until dough is too stiff to stir. Dust hands with flour and gently knead dough just enough to form rough ball. DO NOT OVERKNEAD, as this will make the bread tough. Place dough on lightly floured surface and shape into round loaf. Place dough in lightly greased cast-iron skillet. Score top with an X to open the loaf so center cooks well. Bake until golden brown, about 40–50 minutes. Bread is done when toothpick or knife inserted into center comes out clean.
TRADITIONAL IRISH STEW
1 cup Unseelie, cubed
1 sweet Vidalia onion,
1 Tbsp. olive oil
chopped
Parsley, bay leaf, thyme, 10 small white onions
rosemary
1? cups diced celery
1 lb. potatoes
1? cups peas
2 cups finely shredded
Salt and pepper to taste
cabbage
Fresh chopped parsley
Heat Unseelie in lightly oiled pan. (Enjoy how miserable it seems to make it!) Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and add parsley, bay leaf, thyme, and rosemary. Lower heat and simmer. Peel potatoes and cut into eighths if large, quarters if medium.
Add potatoes, cabbage, onion, small onions, and celery. Simmer 20–30 minutes, then add peas. Simmer an additional 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Season to taste and garnish with fresh parsley.
BUTTERMILK/STRAWBERRY SCONES
(My personal favorite!)
2? cups all-purpose flour 1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 egg
1? tsp. baking powder
? cup sliced strawberries,
? tsp. baking soda
well drained
? tsp. salt
? cup Unseelie chunks
? cup cold butter, cubed
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using pastry cutter, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk and egg and pour over the dry mix. Stir (minimally!) with fork to make loosely formed dough. With a wooden spoon, gently mix in strawberries and Unseelie chunks. With lightly floured hands, form ball of dough. On floured surface, knead gently, no more than ten times. Pat into a 10-by-8-inch rectangle. Cut into 4 squares, then cut each diagonally in half to make 8 triangles. Place on sheet and bake on center rack of oven until golden, 15–18 minutes.
*I like to glaze them a few minutes before they’re done with butter and sprinkle them lightly with raw sugar!
TEA, AKA FINGER*, SANDWICHES
(As served to Inspector Jayne)
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, ? cup finely chopped
softened
Georgia pecans
1 cup Unseelie, diced
Dash rosemary
3 hard-boiled eggs, finely
Dash garlic
chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
? cup celery, finely chopped
1 loaf fresh-baked bread, sliced,
Half a medium onion,
with crusts removed.
finely diced
Add all ingredients to softened cream cheese and mix well. Spread on bread and cut into desired shapes.
An invaluable advantage of this recipe is its thick consistency, which keeps the Unseelie from wriggling too much. Non-cream-cheese-based tea sandwiches have the unfortunate penchant for crawling off the serving platter. (Unseelie sticks well in peanut butter sandwiches, too.) Another great thing about this recipe is that the only thing you have to cook is the hard-boiled eggs, and if you‘re in a hurry, you can omit them.
* Or toe , or arm, or whatever parts you’ve got.