St. Patrick’s Day Special

It’s an absolute honor to be a part of the United States celebration of the feast of St. Patrick (Lá Fhéile Pádraig) in 2023, especially with the Irish diaspora my family are a part of, my middle name of Patrick and, of course, America, the home of Patient Power.

The foremost patron saint of Ireland was a fifth century missionary and was given his very own feast day in the 17th century. Since then, some 9-10 million people have emigrated, the poorest of them went to Great Britain, notably Liverpool, my home city, (coming from the landlocked county of Roscommon in my family’s case), BUT crucially, those who could afford it went much further, almost five million of them in fact, to the United States of America. So here we are.

With these facts in mind, and considering Chemo Cookery loves to commemorate special days, it makes perfect sense to have a friend and talented professional chef from Ireland itself to devise and present a recipe that captures the very essence of what the feast of St. Patrick is all about.

So, from Cork, in the Southwest of Ireland, I’ve invited Kate Lawlor-Lyne, a mom of two little girls and wife to a sports coach who also understands the importance of fitness and nutrition. Traditional Irish fare is Kate’s specialty. Indeed, Cork has a very famous market which provides the very freshest ingredients, just perfect for the recipes she’s created.

Kate has done two special dishes:

• Bacon and cabbage, with a deliciously piquant parsnip purée and spiced walnuts, and

• A vegan version, extolling the virtues of the nutrient rich cabbage, crammed with iron, a fantastic vegetable to maintain essential bone strength, such an important factor during all forms of cancer treatment, most notably radiation therapy.

So it’s with all this in mind, that I’m proud to present Kate’s bountiful brace of St. Patrick’s Day vitamin rich recipes.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Recipe 1: Bacon and Cabbage

Ingredients

• 2.2 lb. piece of collar of bacon (tenderloin or similar)

• 1 onion peeled/sliced

• 1 carrot washed/chopped

• 2 cups Irish cider (*or apple juice … Alcohol is a no-no on chemotherapy.)

• 3 cloves

• 1 bay leaf

• Water to cover pot

Parsnip purée

• 3 parsnips peeled/sliced

• 1 shallot sliced

• 2 cups vegetable stock

• Good knob of butter

Walnuts (Avoid the spices if on radiotherapy)

• Handful of walnuts

• ¼ tsp of following, turmeric, ground cumin, smoked paprika

• small handful of fresh cilantro.

• 1 pinch of sugar, pinch of salt.

• 2 tsp olive oil

Fresh green cabbage

Savoy or spring, sliced and heart removed

Method

Place your piece of meat (remove netting holding it together) in a large pot with vegetables, cider (or apple juice), cloves, and bay leaf. Then cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cover with cling film and a lid to seal in juices. Cook for 20 minutes per 14 ounces, plus 20 minutes over, or until the meat is beginning to fall apart. This can also be done in a crock pot for 5 ½ hours on low.

Once the bacon has cooked, remove from cooking liquid and cool slightly. Roll the meat tightly with cling film (saran wrap) into a large sausage shape, cool and set in the fridge. Strain the cooking liquid and reserve for reheat.

Parsnip purée

Place butter in pot and melt, then add shallots. Cook until soft. Add parsnips and stir well. Add stock and cook on low until parsnips are cooked. Then blitz in a blender until smooth.

Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Place spices in a bowl with olive oil. Mix well, then add walnuts. Coat well and place on a non-stick tray and bake for six to 10 min until nicely toasted.

Please remember, spices and radiation therapy are not a good match. If you are undergoing radiation therapy, replace the turmeric, cumin, and paprika with brown sugar, black pepper, and a teaspoon of honey.

Cabbage

Slice cabbage. Steam until cooked. Then, coat in some of the cooking juices from the bacon

To Serve

Preheat oven to 350ºF. From the meat, slice a seven-ounce piece of bacon per person with wrap still in place in pot, or deep tray and fill halfway up with cooking liquid. Bake for 20 minutes.

Place purée on a plate. Then, place the cooked cabbage, the bacon, some cooking liquid. Remove wrap and sprinkle with walnuts.

Recipe 2: Vegan St Patrick’s Day Dish

Ingredients:

Cauliflower purée

• The offcuts of the cauliflower

• 1 shallot, sliced

• ¼ tsp madras curry powder

• 1 can of coconut milk

Walnuts

• Good handful of walnuts

• ¼ tsp turmeric

• ¼ tsp ground cumin

• ¼ tsp smoked paprika

• ¼ tsp ground coriander

• 1 pinch of sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 2 tsp olive oil

Cabbage

• Savoy or spring cabbage

• Sliced and heart removed

Method:

Cauliflower steak

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Heat a chargrill pan until hot.

Remove outer green leaves and slice the cauliflower by placing on a board with the root on the bottom. Cut from top to bottom, so that you get a nice steak roughly two inches in depth and the root running through the middle. Brush the steak with a tiny bit of oil. Season salt and black pepper.

Brush the hot pan with oil and sear the cauliflower until char marks appear. Once this is done, place in the oven. Cook for 15 minutes or until the center of the cauliflower is soft.

Cauliflower purée

Place oil in the pot and add shallots. Cook until soft. Add the madras powder and cook out. Then add the coconut milk, and blitz in a blender until smooth.

Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place all spices in a bowl with olive oil and mix well. Then, add walnuts and coat well. Place on a nonstick tray and bake for six to 10 min until nicely toasted.

Potato crisps (or chips)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Slice the purple potatoes thinly on a mandolin and bake until crispy in the oven. Alternatively, use outer leaves of the cabbage.

Cabbage

Remove outer leaves (keep for crisps/chips if using). Steam cabbage until cooked.

To Serve

Place a cordon of purée on the plate and then some cabbage. Place steak on top. Sprinkle with purple potato or cabbage crisps, and sprinkle with walnuts.