Let’s Celebrate St Patrick’s Day

At the time of year when the world stops to celebrate all things Irish, we would like to kick off the week of St Patrick’s Day by celebrating a few of our local Irish suppliers and sharing signature Castle recipes for you to create in the comfort of your own home. Our menus feature the finest seasonal and local produce and we’re proud to work with the best of Irish ingredients.

At Dromoland Castle, no matter how you dine, where you dine or when you dine, delivering creative Irish cuisine is at the heart of everything we do.

Baked Galway Bay Rock Oysters with Avocado & Bacon

(Two Portions)

Allow six oysters per portion

2 Cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 Diced Shallot

1 Ripe avocado, peeled and scooped with a tea spoon

4 Slices of smoked bacon, grilled and chopped

15g Butter, salted

Dash of Worchester sauce

Squeeze of lemon

1 tsp of chopped parsley

1. Wash the oysters well in cold water. Bring a double boiler to the boil and place the oysters in the top section, cover tightly with a lid. The oysters will be cooked when they open.
2. Remove the flat shell and loosen the oysters from the cup shell, retain the oyster juice.
3. Melt the butter in a frying pan and sauté the garlic and shallots. Add the avocado and bacon and fry for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice, Worchester sauce and parsley.
4. Spoon over each oyster and serve immediately.

Chef Notes

‘It’s far from oysters that I was reared!’

Oysters are a shellfish I hadn’t encountered until I trained to be a Chef; in fact it was one of the last food items that I eventually tried!

Before I ate a raw oyster I did try cooked ones. I always use rock for cooking, they are larger and tend not to overcook and become tough. It would be sacrilege to use our wonderful native oysters for cooking!

Dromoland Seafood Chowder

(4 Portions)

1/2 Recipe Leek and Potato Soup

150g Raw Fish (Cod, Salmon, Monkfish, Halibut)

4 Scallops

8 Prawns (cooked)

80g Mussels (Cooked)

1tsp Chopped Parsley

1tsp Chopped Chives

100mls White Wine

100mls Cream

50g Butter

Squeeze Lemon

1. Bring the leek and potato soup to the boil, check the seasoning. The soup should be of a thick consistency.
2. Place the wine and butter in a medium sized pot, bring to the boil and reduce by half, add the cream and return to the boil.
3. Add the raw fish and simmer for 30 seconds, next add the cooked fish and scallops and warm through.
4. Add the fish and shellfish mixture to the leek and potato soup, stir gently.
5. Finish with the herbs and lemon juice, check the seasoning before serving.

Dromoland Castle's Homemade Brown Bread 

Burren Lamb & Guinness Stew

1kg Shoulder & Neck of Lamb, Cubed

75g Plain Flour

50ml Oil

2 Onions Sliced

50g Pearl Barley, (Soaked in water for 1 hour)

3 Carrots, Peeled & Sliced

3 Sticks of Celery, Washed & Sliced

2 Leeks, Washed & Sliced

2tsp Chopped Parsley

1 Sprig of Thyme

1 Bay Leaf

2L Brown Lamb Stock

2 Pints of Guinness

1. Lightly dust the cubed lamb with a little flour & season, heat the oil in a pot, once hot add the cubed lamb and brown.

2. Once the meat is evenly browned, remove from the pot, add in the onions and colour slightly, add the meat back to the pot with the onions, add the Guinness and reduce by half, add the brown lamb stock, thyme & bayleaf, bring to a boil and simmer for 90 minutes approx.

3. Add the drained soaked barley halfway through the cooking of the meat.

4. Cook all the vegetables until tender (separately) and refresh in iced water, drain and reserve.

5. Once the meat is tender, add the drained vegetables, bring back to a boil, correct the seasoning and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and boiled new season potatoes.