What do you know about pizza? Well for a start, you might be surprised to learn that it was probably the Greeks who were first putting toppings on flatbreads, followed by the Romans. But the true home of pizza is credited to be Naples in Italy. 

What Foods do we use to Celebrate St Patrick’s Day in Ireland? All across Ireland, people broke the fast and enjoyed meals of pork and bacon with potatoes and garden vegetables, and toasted St Pat with a celebratory beverage called the Pota Phádraig or St Patrick’s Pot. The custom — called drowning the shamrock — involves floating a shamrock leaf in a whiskey shot before drinking.   So, if you are looking to feast like the Irish on March 17, here’s the Good Food Ireland® guide to the traditional foods and drinks we use to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in Ireland.   Mains   Bacon and Cabbage Bacon and Cabbage Corned beef and cabbage is probably the dish that most non-Irish people associate with St Patrick’s Day in Ireland. However, that particular dish traces its roots back to the early days of Irish immigrants in America, not actually Ireland itself.   Traditionally, Irish bacon was the meat most often eaten in Ireland, mainly because it was cheap. Small rural households would keep two pigs — one for the table and the other for the market. However, Irish immigrants found the price of pork in America to be very expensive, so they started using beef in their recipes instead and brined it much the same way as they would pork. This is how the traditional Irish dish of bacon and cabbage became corned beef and cabbage.   So, if you want to keep things strictly traditional and eat what the Irish eat on St Patrick’s Day, cook up some bacon and cabbage and serve it with some rich, flavoursome parsley sauce. In Ireland, the dish calls for a loin of bacon and in-season Savoy cabbage.   Here’s a traditional recipe for Bacon and Cabbage with Parsley Sauce from Ed Cooney, Executive Chef at the five-star Merrion Hotel in Dublin, Ireland.     Irish Stew Irish Stew Stew is probably the best-known dish that people associate with Ireland. In fact, a stew is so ubiquitous in Ireland that it even made its way onto a postage stamp.   Stews are a method of cooking a meal in one pot. Every household in Ireland has its own way of making stew, but, traditionally, Irish stew was made with a combination of mutton, onions, potatoes, water and some light seasoning of salt and pepper.   A controversial ingredient in a stew is carrots and you’ll often hear Irish cooks ask ‘do you put carrots in your stew’? People feel strongly about this addition. However, nowadays, you’ll find all sorts of flavour enhancers in Irish stew recipes including celery, leeks, bay leaf, chicken stock and even oxtail soup!   In Ireland, you’ll find many restaurants and pubs serving a modern take on a traditional stew made with beef and Guinness. But whether you opt for traditional Irish lamb stew or beef and Guinness stew, just make sure you make it the night before serving, as all Irish people know that stew always tastes better the next day.   Looking for some traditional Irish stew recipes? Here’s a Signature Beef and Guinness Stew. Here is a flavourful Traditional Irish Stew recipe from Calvey’s Achill Mountain Lamb and here is a great recipe for Traditional Irish Stew.     Irish Seafood Chowder Seafood Chowder   Seafood chowder is a veritable feast of fresh, salted and smoked fish and evidence of the bounty of Ireland’s fresh waterways and seas. Irish seafood chowder is a very adaptable dish and ingredients vary from place to place and day to day based on the fisherman’s catch from the local waters.   A good chowder starts with cream and wine and then a mixture of fish and shellfish as well as vegetables like celery and potatoes. To enhance the taste of the ocean, carrageen moss is often added. This is a seaweed that is gathered off the coasts of Ireland.   In seafood chowder, the proportion of solid ingredients to liquid is larger, making this a very hearty dish indeed. The most traditional accompaniment to seafood chowder is homemade brown bread or soda bread smeared with a thick coating of real Irish butter. Traditional Irish seafood chowder really does warm the cockles of your heart.   Check out these cracking chowder recipes from Good Food Ireland® or its members: West Coast Seafood Chowder Recipe Seafood Chowder Recipe Kelly’s Resort Irish Seafood Chowder Recipe     Shepherd’s Pie Shepherds Pie Shepherd’s Pie is the ultimate Irish comfort food and a staple on dinner tables across the island. However, Shepherd’s Pie is not the same as Cottage Pie. There is a difference. The difference is the meat with which each dish is made. Cottage Pie is made with minced beef and Shepherd’s Pie is made with minced lamb. Well, the clue is in the name — you don’t see many shepherds herding cows, do you?   This isn’t a pie in the traditional sense — it is not made with pasty, and there is no crust. Instead, the topping is mashed potatoes (although we just say: ’mash’ here in Ireland).   Shepherd’s Pie is a great dish for St Patrick’s Day because spring lamb is coming into season. The minced lamb is cooked in a gravy with onions, and sometimes, according to preference, carrots, celery, and even peas are added. Then, this hearty mixture is topped with fluffy, buttery mashed potatoes. You can elevate the dish even further by adding Irish cheese to the potato topping.   For a Shepherd’s Pie recipe with a tasty twist, try this version.     The Ballymaloe Cookbook, Myrtle Allen The Ballymaloe Cookbook by Myrtle Allen – The book that began a food revolution. Revised and updated 50- year-anniversary Edition. “It isn’t a collection of recipes but a reflection of a genuine and authentic way of life, related to the land, the culture and the produce of the country in which Myrtle Allen lives” – Financial Times Myrtle Allen is the founder and owner of the award-winning restaurant at Ballymaloe. This is a collection of the recipes used in the restaurant. Most are original, some are adaptations of ordinary or traditional dishes and others are classic recipes that are frequently asked for.   Just €29.99 in our Online Shop. Shipping Worldwide. Buy Now