Summer Dublin Coddle

Since my family is trying to eat better & cleaner, there have been some switch up in dishes & recipes. Even though we haven't given up EVERYTHING...we have been working hard to work in some better-for-you stuffs &/or changing up some of the ingredients we use.

With that said, I still had some overstock of mixed greens (find out my leafy greens mix HERE), so I was trying to figure out what to use. After doing the cleaner eating research, I knew it was pretty good to get some turkey in the mix. And since I had some cabbage & kale to use, I decided revisit my Dublin Coddle (recipe HERE)! However, it's pretty heavy & perfect for fall & winter eating. With my previous recipe, there were some things missing that could help lighten it up! Well...I changed that a bit.

Here's what I did:

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SUMMER DUBLIN CODDLE

Ingredients:

~ 1 pkg. turkey Lit'l Smokies
~ 1/4 C turkey bacon bits
~ 1 lb. baby potatoes, quartered
~ 1 small onion, sliced
~ 6 C brewed green tea
~ 2 chicken bouillon cubes
~ 1/8 C chopped parsley
~ 2 medium carrots, sliced
~ 2 red cabbage leaves, torn or chopped
~ 3 green cabbage leaves, torn or chopped
~ 2 curly kale stems (just use the leaves), torn or chopped & massaged in lemon juice & sea salt
~ 2 T marjoram
~ 2 T dried (crushed) rosemary
~ 2 T dried thyme
~ 2 T minced garlic
~ salt & black pepper to taste

Directions:

* Place all prepared ingredients into a large pot on medium-hi heat

* Bring coddle to a boil, then slightly lower burner temp (medium-lo), stir occasionally

* Allow to boil for about 15-30 minutes until potatoes & carrots are tender, stirring occasionally

* Turn burner down to lo to allow to simmer & until the cabbage leaves are tender & kale is slightly wilted

* Serve

Yield: about 4 servings

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When I made this, I could only get a hold of ruby potatoes. I really like a mixture of colors, but it was still really pretty! Imagine if I'd thrown in some Yukon &/or purple potatoes!

Also, if you have other root veggies to throw in, do it! If you have some parsnips or turnips to throw in, cut 'em up & do it. The more, the merrier! And, if you use turnips, throw in the turnip greens, too! Some mustard greens work in this coddle, also.

It's lighter, it's pretty, and it lends to that cleaner eating. My hubby liked it, too!  I'm thinking this one needs to be done again! And it's a lighter version, perfect for Spring or Summer dishes!

Short on time that day? Throw it all in the lazy cooker & let it cook on low for about 6-8 hours.
TA-DA!

ENJOY!

Adapted Authentic Dublin Coddle - Lazy Cooker

This year, for St. Patrick's Day, I had to celebrate my Irish heritage! This totally includes the food. And I'm not talking turning mashed potatoes green or serving up the completely American dish of corned beef & cabbage! I wanted something more authentic for the family to enjoy, so I found Dublin Coddle. It's Irish sausage, bacon, potatoes & onion all in a broth. I did mine in the lazy cooker & a couple of adaptations...but here's what I used:

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DUBLIN CODDLE 

(in the lazy cooker)

Ingredients:
1 lb. (Irish) Sausage* - thickly cut
1 lb. Bacon*+ - thickly sliced
1 lb. potatoes, diced/quartered (I used quartered baby potatoes in gold, red & purple)
1-2 onion(s), thickly sliced (I used 1 medium yellow onion)
4 C water OR broth/stock (ham, chicken, beef)
2 bouillon cubes (chicken or beef - if using water)
1/4 C chopped parsley
1 T salt (I used fine sea salt)
1 T black pepper

* Because we have a non-pork eater in the house, I used turkey bacon & turkey smoked sausage. I added minced garlic, dried thyme, dried rosemary & some marjoram to mimic Irish sausage.

+ I used the American version of bacon since Ireland views cured pork loin as bacon. Since we have a non-pork eater, I stuck with the turkey bacon. I also baked the turkey bacon at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, but should have done 20. Set on cooling racks resting in foil-lined baking sheets/jelly roll pans to catch the grease. Then I cut each bacon slice into slightly smaller pieces. I should have cut it into much smaller bits.

Directions:

After spraying the inside of the lazy cooker with cooking spray, place liquid in the insert. Place sausage, bacon, potato pieces & onion slices into the pot, along with bouillon cubes (if using water for your liquid). Add in all of the seasonings.

~~ I had some leftover chopped greens from another dish, so I added it to the Coddle. This could be kale, collard greens, turnip greens (you could throw in the turnip, all sliced up, too), mustard greens, etc. But the original recipe does NOT call for this!

Place the lid on the lazy cooker, make sure it's plugged in & turned onto low for 4-6 hours. (I placed on high for 1 hour, and then low for the rest of the time...and it came out great.)

Stir & serve.

You could probably add in some stout beer, like Guinness, to the pot, too!

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All I know is that the Dublin Coddle turned out to be amazing comfort food for a chilly day! I so want to do it again!

I served it with Mustard Dill slaw. It didn't turn out as great. Too much bite for us. So we may end up scrapping the mustard & dill part. I think sticking with our favorite KFC-style cole slaw will work out just fine from now on! Plus, due to timing issues, I just served a loaf of Old Style Potato bread. Meh. 

I hope to have time to make Traditional Irish Soda Bread next year. But the plate sure was pretty!

I followed up this hearty meal with my APPLE IRISH CREAM CAKE for dessert! I was so happy with this much more authentic meal!

Dublin Coddle & a slice of Apple Irish Cream Cake

This is also a challenge for you to either try Dublin Coddle or find another authentic Irish dish for St. Paddy's Day. Corned Beef is not your answer. If you like it...have it another time.

But in the meantime...

ENJOY!

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UPDATE: Made on the stovetop...

It's April 23rd, and I decided to make the coddle for lunch. It's a cold & nasty, wet day. It's a perfect day for warm comfort food. Since a couple of my potatoes were going bad before they were supposed to, I thought I'd better use 'em up. So I threw my stuff in a pot on the stove. Here's how that went:

Directions:

Since I try to make turkey smoked sausage mimic the likes of Irish sausage, and had already planned on making this dish very soon, I cut up the sausage into chunks & placed them into an airtight container with the garlic, thyme & rosemary. I punctured the sausage pieces so they could absorb the flavorings better. My original plan was to marinade it this way the night before hand, but I let it set for a couple of days...only because of family scheduling being out of whack.

I had some beef broth to use. I poured it into a large pot on the stove. I also had a couple of chicken bouillon cubes that I threw in, too. I brought it to a boil, then added parsley, salt & pepper. After letting that boil for a moment. While I let the broth boil, I cut up my potatoes & onion. 

After letting the seasonings boil for a moment, I turned the heat to mid-hi, then added the potatoes & onion slices. I, then added in the marinaded sausage. I placed about 1 cup of water in the sausage container, closed it, shook it up, and then poured the water & remaining marinade into the pot. I didn't have time to work up any bacon, so I threw in some turkey bacon bits that we had on hand.

Then I brought all of that up to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and then placed the pot's lid on top. I allowed the coddle to simmer for 45 minutes to about an hour...until the potatoes were tender.

Once the potatoes are good & tender, serve it up! YUM!