Enjoy the craic with 5 delicious recipes from top Irish chefs and food writers

Coddle

“Coddle, or Dublin coddle to be more precise, is a dish made famous by Irish writers from Jonathan Swift to James Joyce and Sean O’Casey,” says chef, restaurateur and author JP McMahon. “Traditionally, sausages and bacon were cut up, mixed with onions and potatoes and left to stew in a light broth, but modern versions can also include barley and carrots.”

“It’s essentially a dish that grew out of poverty and famine, migrating into the working class areas of Dublin at the beginning of the 20th century to become a dish of key importance to the people who lived there. Often it contained a drop of Guinness (or it was eaten with plenty of pints and soda bread). In this recipe, I fry the ingredients before covering them with the stock, but traditionally they were just layered and simmered until cooked.”

JP is culinary director of the EatGalway Restaurant Group, runs the Aniar restaurant and cookery school in the city and writes a column for the Irish Times. He’s is an ambassador for Irish food and organises an annual international chef symposium in Galway called Food On The Edge. This recipe is taken from his book, The Irish Cookbook (Phaidon Press £39.95).

Dingle pies

“This traditional Irish recipe for dingle pies hails from ‘The Kingdom’, the county of Kerry in the deep southwest of Ireland,” say Dublin-based food and travel writers and content creators Patrick Alford and Russell Hanlon, also known as GastroGays. “These handheld lamb pies derive their name from the town of Dingle with its winding streets of pubs, craft shops and restaurants; a postcard-perfect example of a bustling rural Irish town. Think of them as a sort of meatier pasty – traditionally they would have been made using mutton or hogget and would have been crimped and twisted by hand. They’re as good eaten warm from the oven as they are cold as part of a picnic spread.”

Patrick and Russell are the restaurant critics of the Sunday Times Ireland, authors of Hot Fat (Blasta Books £13), writers of the Substack newsletter Chip Paper and hosts of podcast Chew The Fat.

Sticky date and Guinness pudding with warm whiskey sauce

“Guinness takes pride of place in a lot of Irish kitchens because, rather than making things taste of stout, it adds an amazing depth and richness,” says food writer Cherie Denham. “When you taste this sweet pudding with the warm whiskey sauce, something wonderful happens.”

After growing up on a farm in Northern Ireland, Cherie went to Leiths cookery school in London and started a catering business before moving to Hampshire with her family. As her boys grew older Cherie ran a cookery demonstration business and she published her first cookbook The Irish Bakery last year, which this recipe is taken from (Montgomery Press £27).

Fifteens

“Fifteens is a no-bake 1970s Northern Irish classic named after its foolproof recipe: 15 marshmallows, 15 glacé cherries and 15 digestive biscuits,” says Karyn Booth, a renowned food stylist and writer. “All you do is mix the ingredients with sweetened condensed milk, roll in desiccated coconut and voilà – a beloved classic is made. This is a typical recipe for a time when kitchen scales were a rarity and recipes were more about intuition than precision – a treat that brings back warm, nostalgic memories of childhood and tradition, sprinkled with love.”

After studying catering in Belfast, Karyn fell in love with patisserie and worked in some of London’s best pastry kitchens, including The Ritz. She’s since created wonders including an edible horse heart for TV show Game Of Thrones and a school desk made entirely of chocolate.

Baked bean tin soda bread

“Brown bread, soda bread, wheaten bread – whatever you call it, it’s Ireland’s national bread,” says chef Anna Haugh. “I’ve adjusted the traditional method to give you a loaf that stays a little softer for longer with a crust all round each slice. Once it’s a couple of days old, put it in the fridge and it will make delicious toast for days after. I have hundreds of happy childhood memories of eating brown bread made by my auntie Sadie. I think homemade bread hits people differently and is always special. I hope you get to make your own memories with my recipe.”

Anna began her career in her hometown of Dublin before moving to London, where she worked in several Michelin-star restaurants. In 2019, she opened Myrtle Restaurant in Chelsea, taking inspiration from traditional Irish recipes and culture, and in 2024 she opened a wine bar, The Wee Sister, next door. She’s a TV regular and her first cookery show, Anna Haugh’s Big Irish Food Tour, is available to watch on iPlayer.

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