A taste of Ireland for ST PADDY'S DAY

Irish and people all around the world celebrate St Patrick's Day on March 17 as an honour to the patron saint of Ireland and everything green.

And it seems that 'St Paddy's Day' and Guinness go hand in hand, as the stout is among the most popular brands of Irish beer.

In Jamaica, there is a growing Irish contingent which celebrates with friends and family. Quite frankly, everyone is a little Irish on St Patrick's Day. So let your palates join the celebration with some of Guinness' favourite Irish recipes!

Guinness Dublin Lobster With Guinness Mustard Sauce

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

1 lobster (approx 750g)

175g butter

100ml Guinness

150ml cream

¹/² tsp grain mustard

100ml Guinness

1tbsp Parmesan cheese

Lemon, salt and pepper

Method

1. Plunge the lobster into salted boiling water for 12-15 minutes and cool in ice water.

2. Take the claws off and cut the lobster in two, straight down the length of the body.

3. Take the meat from the body and chop.

4. Clean the grey matter from the head and rinse the shell. With the back of a knife, crack the claws and extract the meat and add to the rest of the meat.

5. In a saucepan, melt half the butter and add the chopped lobster to the butter and cook for one minute.

6. Add the mustard and the Guinness and reduce by half. Add the cream and reduce by half.

7. Season with salt and pepper and a dash of lime juice

8. With a spoon, place the lobster and sauce into the 2¹/² shells. Top with Parmesan cheese and grill for one minute, then serve.

Fried Dublin Bay Prawns InGuinness Butter Sauce

Ingredients

12 large Dublin Bay prawns peeled (any prawns)

100ml cream

50ml Guinness

Tsp chives (as you like)

50g butter

2 slices of rustic bread, toasted

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Lemon

Method

1. Rub the sliced bread with olive oil, toast and set aside. In a hot pan, add a little olive oil and quickly fry the prawns.

2. Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

3. Remove from pan and keep warm.

4. In the same pan, add the Guinness and reduce by half. Add the cream and reduce by half.

5. Add the butter and whisk till melted in the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add prawns to the sauce and spoon on the warm, toasted bread.

Guinness Onion Marmalade

Ingredients

1kg sliced red onions

2 cloves garlic crushed

2tbsp olive oil

100g castor sugar

1tsp fresh thyme chopped

1 bottle of Guinness Stout

250ml red wine vinegar

Pinch of chilli flakes

Salt and pepper

Method

In a saucepan, sweat the garlic, onion, chilli flakes and thyme slowly. Add the sugar, vinegar and Guinness. Slow-cook for an hour and a half.

Bookmaker Sandwich With Guinness Onion Marmalade

Ingredients

Two 4oz trimmed beef sirloin steaks

2 large slices of buttered sliced soda bread (any kind can be used)

¹/² beef tomato sliced

¹/⁴ red onion cut into rings

5 leaves of baby gem lettuce

Optional: Sauce Choron (Hollandaise with tomato purée)

Method

1. Quickly fry the Sirloin steaks on each side and season with salt and pepper.

2. Place tomato then red onion and baby gem on one slice of the warm toasted soda bread.

3. Place some of the onion marmalade on the other slice and top off the sandwich.

Serve with Guinness onion marmalade and potato wedges.

Buckwheat Pancakes With Guinness

Ingredients

(Makes two pancakes)

1 cup of milk

60g butter

¹/² tsp salt

¹/² tbsp sugar

6tbsp buckwheat flour

170g plain flour

¹/² tbsp vegetable oil

2 eggs

8tbsp Guinness

2oz whipped orange butter

Method

1. Heat milk gently with butter until it melts. Cool.

2. Sieve dry ingredients together and gradually add the milk and butter mix, and the Guinness.

3. Whisk eggs and oil together and gradually add the milk and butter mix and the Guinness.

4. Pour the liquid into the centre of the bowl and beat together gently until amalgamated. Leave covered for up to two hours.

5. Very lightly butter a non-stick pan and heat the mixture.

6. Cook pancakes in the normal way

Serve warm with a drizzle of maple syrup and a knob of the whipped orange butter.

Pork Fillets In Apple And Guinness Sauce

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

1 large pork fillet slit in half, flattened with a meat mallet and cut into four portions (or four pork escalopes)

2tbs oil

¹/² pint of Guinness

200ml beef stock

1 small onion diced

2 large cooking apples

1tbsp Dijon mustard

Pinch of salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan, brown the pork quickly on both sides. Be sure the pork is cooked through; remove and keep warm.

2. Add the onions to the pan and cook until starting to brown. Add the apples halfway through and finish with the mustard.

3. Add the Guinness and reduce by half.

4. Add the beef and bring to the boil and set aside.

5. Check seasoning before serving pork with roast vegetables and buttered potatoes.