Boxty in the Pan

Boxty on the Griddle,

Boxty in the Pan,

If you can’t make Boxty

Sure you’ll never get a man!

 So goes an old Irish folk rhyme. Boxty or arán bocht tí in Irish-meaning poor house bread, is a traditional potato bread which can be made into pancakes (on the griddle), dumplings or baked into a loaf (in the pan). Last year I made the boxty on the griddle, or the pancake variety. This year I decided to serve up some Boxty in the Pan. For this version, you prepare the batter and then place it in a loaf pan and bake it. Once it has cooled, you slice it and then fry it in butter on the griddle. It can be served with breakfast, slathered with more butter (of course….you know this is going to taste great!) and topped with bacon or honey/preserves if you have a hankerin for something sweet along with your savoury. Boxty is quite versatile so it can also be served with dinner or with various toppings like smoked salmon. Yum, yum, yum!

Boxty is very easy to make. You get to use up any left over mashed potatoes you might have lingering about, like you were able to in my Potato Farls recipe. Grating the raw potato by hand can be a bit tiresome, but luckily I have a food processor and put it to good use. One other thing you want to make sure you do is squeeze all of the excess liquid out of the grated raw potatoes. To do this, I wrap the grated potato in a cotton tea towel and give it a good squeeze. Then you just mix everything together to make the batter and pour it into a loaf tin and pop it into the oven. About one hour later it’s ready! You can keep the Boxty in the fridge for 4-5 days and cut slices off to fry whenever the craving hits you…which could potentially be quite often once you get a taste of this dish. Just a warning…. My husband was quite pleased with the Gaelic Boxty from last year and happily was just as enthusiastic about my Boxty in the Pan. Have a loaf ready for St. Patrick’s Day morning!

Boxty in the Pan

recipe adapted from The Daily Spud & Gallagher’s Boxty House

Ingredients:

• 250 gram raw grated potato
• 250 gram mashed potatoes
• 160 gram All-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 250 ml buttermilk
• 1 Tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° F. Butter a 4×8″ loaf baking tin.

In medium-sized bowl sift together flour, baking soda, salt and sugar. Set aside.

Peel and grate raw potato. (I used a food processor to grate mine) Place grated potato in cotton or linen dish towel and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible.

In large bowl, place mashed potatoes and raw grated potatoes. Add flour mixture and knead to form dough.

Add buttermilk and stir to combine. Batter will be thick.

Pour batter into prepared baking tin. Drizzle melted butter over the top of the boxty. Bake for 60 minutes until top is golden brown.

Allow boxty to cool.

On the day you wish to serve, slice thick cut of the boxty. Butter slice and place on griddle to fry.

Serve warm with more butter and toppings of your choice.

Enjoy!