Celebrate the holiday and stay healthy with modified versions of traditional Irish meals
For many, Saint Patrick’s Day is a time for wearing green, discovering Irish culture, sharing a drink with friends at a favorite pub and enjoying traditional Irish fare like corned beef and cabbage.
Visitors to the Virginia Beach and Richmond locations of Keagan’s Irish Pub this year can also take part in similar live music events outdoors, weather permitting, she says.
“I feel that us making a big deal of Saint Patrick’s Day gives people an opportunity to try foods they haven’t tried before,” she says. “It’s a good opportunity to get it out there for people to learn.”
Some of the more popular Saint Patrick’s Day menu items at Keagan’s include corned beef and cabbage, boxty dishes—a traditional Irish potato pancake—and shepherd’s pie. “Keagan’s also sees an increase in domestic and international beer and liquor sales on Saint Patrick’s Day,” according to Bragole.
Those dishes are hearty, so you tend to eat less because you become full faster. And Such Irish fare is also healthy, as they are lightly seasoned and made from fresh meat and vegetables full of vitamins and nutrients such as potatoes, peas, carrots and cabbage, Bragole explains. Nevertheless, there are ways to make these options even healthier.
When preparing corned beef and cabbage at home, Bragole suggests cutting excess fat from corned beef and replacing the mashed potato side with parsnip puree or mixed vegetables.
If putting together boxty dishes, replace the alfredo sauce for a lighter white wine sauce and opt for a potato pancake stuffed with chicken rather than steak or corned beef.
Substitute ground turkey for ground beef or use a leaner beef when preparing shepherd’s pie.
As far as beverages go, the well-known Irish beer Guinness tends to be lower in calories than other selections, and good quality higher-proof liquors can mean fewer calories, Bragole explains.
Keagan’s has put a healthy spin on some traditional Irish dishes. This way, when the festivities end, you can still wear your favorite green belt without feeling the pinch.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
5 oz. corned beef
4 oz. cabbage
4 Tbsp. pickling spice
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. pepper
Preparation
Trim the excess fat off the corned beef. Season the meat with pickling spice, place in a pan with water filling up the pan about half way, cover the pan with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and cook for four hours at 350 degrees.
For the steamed cabbage, fill a large pot with water and place on the stove to bring to a roaring boil. While water is coming to a boil, cut the head of cabbage into pieces. When the water is completely boiling, put in the cabbage and let cook for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the tenderness of the cabbage. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Traditionally, corned beef and cabbage is served with mashed potatoes at Keagan’s, but as a healthy alternative, serve with 4 oz. mixed vegetables.
Ingredients
1 lb. green beans
1 red onion
1 red pepper
1 carrot, thinly sliced/diced
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
Slice the onion and red pepper into ¼-inch slices, and mix with the green beans and diced carrots. Place a nonstick pan on the stove on medium heat. When warm, add the olive oil to the pan; warm the oil through, and then add the vegetables. Cook until heated through, but still slightly crisp, if you prefer.
Chicken Boxty
Ingredients
4 oz. chicken, diced (the equivalent of one chicken breast)
1 pinch garlic
1 oz. spinach
1 oz. mushrooms
3 oz. white wine
4 oz. mashed potatoes
1 boxty
½ oz. extra virgin olive oil
Boxty
1 c. flour
1 c. milk
Salt and pepper to taste
½ lb. shredded potatoes
1 egg
Preparation
First prepare your boxty, or potato pancake. Mix all boxty ingredients together except for the shredded potatoes; when everything is mixed well, add the potatoes.
Heat a frying pan to 350 degrees. Pour the mixture onto the pan and let cook for five to seven minutes until golden brown. Flip on to other side and do the same.
In another pan, cook chicken breast. Let cool and dice.
In a third pan, warm extra virgin olive oil on medium for two minutes. Add chicken, mushrooms and garlic. When the garlic becomes golden, add the spinach and then the white wine. Traditionally the boxty is served in an alfredo sauce, but the white wine sauce serves as a lighter alternative.
Place the warm boxty on a plate. When all other ingredients are heated through, place into the boxty and then fold the potato pancake over and serve.
