Farl thee well: Make these Irish potato treats
St. Patrick’s Day may have passed. But The Spokesman-Review Food section has been receiving requests for the Irish Potato Farls mentioned March 16 in an Irish cookbook contest award-winning essay.
Rather than waiting until next March to run the recipe, we’re putting it here.
After all, potatoes are good any time of the year.
Irish Potato Farls
From Dianna Shimizu, Deer Park
Shimizu lived in Ireland for a year in 1970. This dish, made from leftover mashed potatoes and typically fried in bacon fat, is her favorite Irish food. It’s served for breakfast alongside rashers of bacon, eggs and fried tomatoes or baked beans.
The recipe “isn’t exactly like the ones I ate in Ireland,” Shimizu said, “but comes the closest.”
1 cup flour
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup potatoes, mashed without milk or butter (they should be very dry and floury)
1/4 cup sugar (add more or less according to your taste)
Milk
Bacon grease, olive oil or melted margarine or butter (for frying)
Mix together flour and butter, then add to the mashed potatoes with the sugar. Blend well, then add just enough milk to make a firm, smooth dough.
Roll out into a rectangle, cut into squares or shape into patties by hand.
Fry until golden brown on both sides.
Yield: about 8 to 10, depending on size