New York — James O'Shea pays affectionate tribute to St. Patrick's Day, the annual holiday-feast of his native Ireland. As proprietor-chef of the West Street Grill in Litchfield, Conn., he delights in using his passion for food to compile menus for the occasion.
But you won't find corned beef and cabbage on his table. "Something I have never eaten," he states dismissively.
This Red Onion Tart With Cashel Irish Blue Cheese is a creation of Maura Foley, chef-owner of Packie's restaurant in Kenmare, Ireland. She's among the contemporary Irish chefs who are using traditional ingredients in inventive ways for St. Patrick's Day fare.
He thinks of it as an American pub dish, served in pubs in Ireland to people "who mistakenly think that it is a national treasure," he says, tongue-in-cheek.
O'Shea bases his idea of a delectable holiday dinner on a stylish presentation of roast lamb with mashed potatoes and spinach.
He defines "modern Irish" characteristics as simplicity and elegance, and he says his St. Patrick's menu represents "the modern Irish kitchen, based on traditional ingredients."
The St. Patrick's menu he proposes includes goat cheese, in appetizer or first course preparations. To start he suggests a goat-cheese spread served on crostini, perhaps with asparagus or radishes to nibble. To follow or as an alternative starter, consider a salad of beet and curly endive with a chive-and-goat-cheese dressing.
The main course is Roasted Lamb With Yukon Gold Potato Puree, a colorful Orange Sauce (use blood oranges, if available, for extra tartness and color) and Baby Spinach.
Roasted Lamb With Potato Puree, Baby Spinach and Pan-Roasted Tomatoes
Lamb marinade:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon orange-infused olive oil
(see note)
3 cloves garlic, peeled, very thinly sliced
Pinch ground dried thyme, or leaves
from 2 sprigs fresh thyme
Freshly ground pepper
2 loins of lamb (10 to 11 ounces each)
In a ceramic dish, combine oils, garlic, thyme and pepper to taste; add lamb and marinate in refrigerator for three to four hours. Remove lamb from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before cooking.
To make Roasted Lamb:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons red wine verjus, or 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3/4 cup blood-orange juice (juice from 3 blood oranges, or other tart oranges)
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for serving
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
Parsley, chopped, for garnish
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy sautan; add lamb and sear loins for five minutes on each side. Transfer lamb to roasting pan; roast for about 10 minutes. Drain roasted lamb juices and reserve.
Deglaze sautan over high heat with verjus or vinegar; stir liquid with wooden spoon or whisk and reduce to about 1 tablespoon. Add orange juice; continue to cook and reduce until orange sauce mixture is thick. Stir in reserved lamb juices; whisk in 1 tablespoon butter. Keep sauce warm.
To serve lamb:
After lamb is removed from oven, place on cutting board and put a knob of butter to melt over each piece of warm meat.
On each of four heated plates, put a mound of Potato Puree in the center. Top with a portion of Pan-Roasted Tomatoes and sprinkle with parsley.
Around the potatoes, place three evenly spaced dollops of Baby Spinach. Slice each lamb loin into six slices. Place two lamb slices atop each mound of spinach. Put 1 teaspoon of Orange Sauce, topped with some chiffonade of mint, between each spinach-lamb mound.
Makes four servings.
Note: To make orange oil, add grated orange zest to 1 tablespoon of oil and let stand to pick up the flavor.
Potato Puree
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Place potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with cold water and add a little salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Drain and steam for a few minutes to slightly dry the potatoes. Pass through a ricer into a medium bowl. Add the butter and cream; stir until very smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Baby Spinach
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
10-ounce package of baby spinach,
rinsed and drained but still moist
Dash of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Place butter and spinach in saucepan; cover and cook quickly over medium heat until just wilted, about five minutes. Dust with nutmeg; season to taste with salt and pepper. Drain any liquid from pan and keep warm.
Pan-Roasted Tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pint red teardrop or small cherry tomatoes
1 bunch scallions, white parts only
(roots removed), finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Place olive oil in a warm saucepan; add garlic and stir. Add tomatoes; cover and increase heat to high; cook for about five minutes, shaking pan once or twice to prevent garlic from sticking. Add minced scallions and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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