Irish Inspiration: Beer Bread and Green Soup

St. Patrick’s Day, for me at least, approaches with less anticipation than most other holidays, with the exception of, maybe, Ash Wednesday. I try to remember to remind myself to wish my dad a happy birthday over the phone, but that’s pretty much it. I’m not that into parades or Irish-themed drinking establishments – for both genres, it seems like if you see one you’ve seen them all. But for some reason, when I walked into the office today to find that my friend had made chocolate Guinness cupcakes for the occasion, I suddenly felt like I was under-celebrating.

I needed a festive cooking project, and beer cupcakes reminded me of a phase I went through during senior year of college: beer bread. At the time, cooking with beer seemed like a novelty (actually, the novelty of cooking of any kind hadn’t quite worn off), and the claim that mixing flour and baking soda with a can of beer could get you homemade bread required testing to be believed. In trying it, I learned that beer bread is unbelievable. Stirring in the beer creates a tantalizing yeasty aroma without the stress of activating any yeast, and the elastic dough bakes into a moist, dense crumb with an impressively professional crust. This time I mixed in some chopped basil and cubed cheddar, little bursts of cheese and herb flavor throughout each slice. Now that I’ve revisited the recipe with this loaf, a list of hundreds of variations to try has been running through my head: figs and gorgonzola, olives and goat cheese, fennel seeds, citrus zest, flax seeds, hazelnuts. I promise, the basic recipe is a magic trick that makes perfect fresh-baked bread appear in your oven.

Of course, I have no evidence that beer bread is particularly Irish. The fresh pea soup I made to go with it didn’t fit with the holiday’s ethnic aspect any better, but it was a strikingly bright green, as I the rolling hills of Ireland are said to be. All in all it was one of the best meals I’ve produced in a while, so I wasn’t concerned with whether it paid an accurately homage to St. Patrick or his native land. I was, however, very grateful for the inspiration.

Beer Bread

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

4 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 12-ounce can of beer

Optional add-ins: ½ cup to 1 cup cheese (diced or crumbled), dried fruits, olives, nuts, 1-3 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs, anything else that sounds good

Whisk together all ingredients besides beer in a large bowl. Pour in beer, and stir until completely incorporated, forming a fairly stiff, springy dough. Pour into a greased 9 X 5 inch loaf pan. Bake at 375F for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is crusty and toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Bright Green Pea Soup

1 pound frozen peas

1 large onion, diced

½ - 1 cup chopped fresh herbs (mint or cilantro; use more if cilantro)

2 (or more) cups chicken or vegetable stock

Salt and pepper

Saute onion in a medium pot until it softens and becomes translucent. Add peas, and pour in enough stock to cover all ingredients, plus a little more. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Puree in a blender in batches (filling it no more than 1/4 of the way each time, or else the hot soup will explode all over you when you turn on the blender – just trust me), adding in the herbs. Alternatively, use a blender stick directly in the pot. Add stock to desired consistency, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a squeeze of lemon or drizzle of olive oil.