What a Week

Every year on the 17th of March, the world finds its inner Irish. Streets glow green, fiddles seem to play a little louder, and even the most respectable among us start contemplating a second pint before lunch.

St Patrick’s Day is that rare celebration where history, heritage, and hearty food all gather around the same table, preferably with a creamy pint of Guinness close at hand.

There’s something wonderfully comforting about Irish cooking. It doesn’t fuss or preen; it simply gets on with the business of being deeply satisfying.

Think slow-simmered pots, generous potatoes, and the sort of dishes that warm both the kitchen and the soul. It’s food built for laughter, storytelling, and the kind of evenings that stretch pleasantly longer than planned.

In that spirit, this little feast brings together three stalwarts of Irish-inspired comfort. First, a rich Irish beef stew, the sort that bubbles away patiently until the meat is meltingly tender.Irish Beef Stew.

Heat the oven to a low 160C whilst roughly chopping chunky carrots, onion and celery. Into a casserole with splash of oil and wedge of butter. Soften the veg, add 2 tbsp of flour and 2 beef stockpots. Stir in the flour with 2 tbsp of our Real Tomato Ketchup, 1 tbsp of Real Brown Sauce, and a tablespoon of Cider & Horseradish Mustard for deep layers of flavour. 

Add 750g of stewing steak and cover with hot water (about 500ml or so). Into the oven, covered, for 2 hours. Then out, check seasoning, lid off, simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve with hunky soda bread.

Then there’s colcannon, that glorious marriage of buttery mashed potatoes and greens that proves, once again, the Irish know exactly what to do with a spud.Colcannon.

As there is lots of butter in this dish, we naturally turn to James Martin. Peel, slice and boil 4 large Russet potatoes. Pull the curly kale of its stems and slice (you can include cabbage and spring onions too).

Mash the spuds with butter* and a couple of glugs of full fat milk, then fold in the greens.

Transfer to a serving bowl and, with the back of a spoon, make a well in the top of the Colcannon. Add more butter to the well, and when it melts you have a true Irish Colcannon ready to serve.

[* To make it really special, add a couple of teaspoons of our Creamed Horseradish whilst mashing the potatoes.]

And to finish? A whisky bread and butter pudding, because if dessert isn’t indulgent enough to justify loosening a belt notch, what’s the point?Whisky B&B Pudding.

This is really very simple and truly, deliciously grownup. Follow the recipe – HERE – and, when you get to the eggs, milk and cream bit, only use 100ml of milk, but add 100ml of Jameson Irish Whisky.

Pour one for yourself and toast ‘slange’ to St Patrick.

Of course, no St Patrick’s Day spread would be complete without the velvety black magic of a good pint of Guinness. Its deep, roasted flavour seems practically designed to accompany slow-cooked beef, buttery mash, and a celebratory toast or two.So, pour yourself a glass, pull up a chair, and let’s celebrate the day the Irish gave the world an excellent excuse to eat well, drink well, and perhaps sing just a little louder than usual.

Simple Nachos

For a simpler Nacho Sharer, all you need is the nachos, sliced red onion, sour cream, melted cheese and coriander garnish – oh yes … Stokes Burger Relish. It’s a rich, slightly sweet tasting red pepper, tomato and onion salsa with a subtle note of chilli.Korean BBQ Wings

[A quick look through our recipe pages – HERE – will soon reveal lots and lots of super-snacking ideas, including 1001 Wings (practically).]

With 15 minutes, an Air Fryer, wings, sauce, ginger and onions, these KBBQ Wings will be ready for kick off.

Get the recipe HERE, and your Korean BBQ Sauce HERE. It’s a really special sweet and fruity barbecue sauce with rich dark brown sugar, soya sauce, and sweet Mirin wine.BBQ Bacon & Cheese Skins – enjoy the filling recipe HERE. You will find other skins recipes here too, showing just how versatile the old spud and an Air Fryer can be.Habanero Buffalo Wings

The simple video recipe HERE, shows how easy it is to change the tasting experiences you get from these wonderfully versatile wings.

Made with fiery, fermented Habanero chillies, it delivers a rich, intense depth with a subtle, clever fruity finish, our Habanero HOT Sauce should be used … sparingly.Chunky potato wedges generally pair almost exclusively with Ketchup or Mayo, or in Germany both – rot und weiss bitte.

Of course, we would say it wouldn’t we, our REAL Tomato Ketchup and our REAL Mayonnaise will make your chips, fries, wedges, crisps – even your fingers … taste so much better.

That’s – Taste without compromise.

Succulent Seafood

Healthy simple fast food from the sea. Something to savour in a quiet moment of well-earned relaxation, far away from the TV tension. Anything fishy can be enjoyed with our Real Mayonnaise or / and Garlic Mayonnaise.

This platter is served with Tarragon Mayonnaise, made simply by finely chopping fresh leaves of tarragon and stirring it into our velvet smooth Real Mayo.Mackerel Paté

It took Anna a massive 8 minutes to create this absolutely amazing paté. Pull the skin off a pack of smoked mackerel, break it up and combine it with creamed cheese and then her secret (not any more) ingredient – our Creamed Horseradish.

But hey, why read this when you can see Anna’s recipe HERE.Smoked Salmon Bagel

One of  the interesting facts about smoked salmon is that you don’t actually need to soak it in lemon, as we so often squeeze to please. Here’s why.

The lemon was / is use to cut through the slimy, flavourless cheaper salmons made with Forman’s London Cure rather than some of the deliciously natural artisanal cures that are widely available in stores, delis and Farm Shops.

In this Brunch Bagel, we do bring lemon, but it’s the sunshine sparkle of Sicilian lemons & dill found in our Sicilian Lemon Mayonnaise. See how Anna makes it HERE.‘Posh’ Fishfinger Sandwiches

Cook the fingers (or fish goujons) to a crispy crust around a juicy fishy centre. On buttered white bread, spread a layer of Stokes Tartare Sauce (smooth, creamy sauce, jam-packed with coarsely-chopped gherkins and capers – tartare without the ‘tart’).

Lay the fingers on the tartare and a good layer of minted, crushed peas on top. Gently cook frozen petits pois in butter. Drain, crush and stir in a little sweet garden Mint Sauce, and season to taste.

You won’t believe how good this is until you try it.Pint of Prawns & Real Mayonnaise

A look ahead to Summer, sitting on the wall of a harbour peeling prawns and dunking them in the finest mayo – amayonnaising!

At the heart of our Real Mayonnaise is the egg – British free-range whole eggs, no less. We use an impressive 12% (more than anyone else we know), to create a rich and authentic flavour. Combined with a drizzle of Mediterranean extra virgin olive oil, this recipe delivers a truly luxurious, velvety finish that’s more than a cut above the rest.

We simply thought we’d show you what your loving, grateful kids (and grandkids!) are up to these days.

Enjoy: