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We had this wonderful soup when we stopped for lunch at a pub in County Armagh in Northern Ireland. Pub lunches in Ireland were wonderful because most offered a daily special. The regular menu items were rather mundane so we always ordered the specials. This particular "stew" as it was listed on the menu was particularly delicious. I got lucky that day as the lunch cook shared the recipe with me so I am able to share it with you. It features Ireland's best: seafood, cream, butter, and cheese.
This is a group of boys at St. Michael's Christian Brothers School in Trim in the spring of 1985. My son Eli is the blonde in the center of the photo fighting for his life. They were a wild crew, and Eli certainly had some adjustments to make. Every time I visited the school or his classroom, I thought I'd entered an old English movie of a boy's boarding school where the kids were uncontrollable. A usual occurrence would be me speaking to Brother Breheny outside the classroom and looking through the door window at the boys climbing the windows from the radiators. I felt guilty leaving Eli there as I left the building. It was very different from Hamagrael, his Delmar elementary school. Eli was in fifth grade and would come home and say, "Why don't they just do what the brother asks?"
It is also an ancient religious site of worship of Celtic paganism. In 839 and 869, the monastery in Armagh was raided by Vikings. As with similar raids, their objective was simply to acquire valuables such as silver, which the churches and monasteries often kept. The Book of Armagh came from the monastery. It is a 9th century Irish manuscript now held by the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. It contains some of the oldest surviving specimens of Old Irish.
The city of Armagh has been an educational center since the time of St. Patrick, and it has been referred to as "the city of saints and scholars." Among the city's chief glories is the public library on Abbey Street. Founded in 1771 by Archbishop Richard Robinson (later Lord Rokeby), using his own library as its nucleus, it is especially rich in 17th and 18th century English books, including Dean Jonathan Swift's own copy of the first edition of his Gulliver's Travels with his manuscript corrections. Brian Boru is believed to be buried in the cemetery of the St. Patrick's Church of Ireland cathedral. After having conquered the island during the 990's, he became High King of Ireland in 1002, until his death in 1014... And now that amazing soup or stew as it was listed on the menu.
Irish Scallop Stew [Makes 4 dinner-sized portions]
Ingredients:
4 cups of fresh bay scallops [Bay scallops are perfect for this dish. The more expensive sea scallops would need to be cut anyway.]
6 tbsp. of butter
1 tbsp. of fresh chive
Salt and white pepper to taste [I use black pepper. During the 80s in Ireland black pepper was much more expensive than the white so the Irish always used the white. I don't mind a little fleck of black in the white soup, but if you do, use the more expensive white pepper.]
3 cups of whole milk
3 cups of heavy cream [I subsitute light cream.]
3 tbsp. of butter
8 oz. of Swiss cheese, shredded
½ cup of sherry or dry white wine
Fresh flat parsley sprigs for garnish, coarsely chopped
Preparation:
Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the scallops, chive, salt, and pepper. Cover and heat on low for just a few minutes without stirring. Be sure not to overcook the scallops as they can get rubbery very quickly. Let set. In a large sauce pan, heat the cream, butter, milk, sherry, and half the Swiss cheese stirring constantly to avoid the bottom scorching to just below boiling. Do not boil as it might curdle. Remove from heat immediately. [If you desire a thicker cream broth, you could make a light roux in the saucepan--for novices: melt 3 tbsp. of butter with 3 tbsp. of flour to make a paste before blending in the liquids.]
Assembly:
In large individual soup bowls, place ¼ of the scallop mixture and pour the cream broth over the scallops. Garnish each with the remaining Swiss cheese and chopped parsley.
We had this wonderful soup when we stopped for lunch at a pub in County Armagh in Northern Ireland. Pub lunches in Ireland were wonderful because most offered a daily special. The regular menu items were rather mundane so we always ordered the specials. This particular "stew" as it was listed on the menu was particularly delicious. I got lucky that day as the lunch cook shared the recipe with me so I am able to share it with you. It features Ireland's best: seafood, cream, butter, and cheese.
This is a group of boys at St. Michael's Christian Brothers School in Trim in the spring of 1985. My son Eli is the blonde in the center of the photo fighting for his life. They were a wild crew, and Eli certainly had some adjustments to make. Every time I visited the school or his classroom, I thought I'd entered an old English movie of a boy's boarding school where the kids were uncontrollable. A usual occurrence would be me speaking to Brother Breheny outside the classroom and looking through the door window at the boys climbing the windows from the radiators. I felt guilty leaving Eli there as I left the building. It was very different from Hamagrael, his Delmar elementary school. Eli was in fifth grade and would come home and say, "Why don't they just do what the brother asks?"
County Armagh is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Ulster and is part of Northern Ireland. It was named after the town of Armagh, its county town or capital. County Armagh is known as the "Orchard County" because the land is so fertile for apple-growing. It is situated directly south of a freshwater lake Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles.
Lough Neagh attracts bird watchers from many nations due to the number and variety of birds that winter and summer in the boglands and shores around the lough. Eel fishing has been a major industry here for centuries. Today Lough Neagh eel fisheries export their eels to restaurants all over the world. Alas, I did not partake of any el dishes during our visit in the county.
There are also a number of uninhabited islands in the county's section of Lough Neagh: Coney Island, Coney Island Flat, Croaghan Flat, Derrywarragh Island, Padian, Phil Roe's Flat, and the Shallow Flat.
Armagh has been Ireland’s spiritual capital for 1,500 years and the seat of both the Protestant and Catholic archbishops. The venerable city of Armagh predates Canterbury as a Christian religious site. Armagh was also the legendary seat of the Celtic kings of Ulster. It's a vibrant city, with hospitable people and great attractions. When Christianity spread to Ireland during the mid-400s, Armagh became the island's "ecclesiastical capital," as St. Patrick established his principal church there. Thus, Armagh was the seat of St. Patrick, and in Catholic tradition, continues to be his see. County Armagh is one of four counties of Northern Ireland to presently have a majority of the population from a Catholic community background.
It is also an ancient religious site of worship of Celtic paganism. In 839 and 869, the monastery in Armagh was raided by Vikings. As with similar raids, their objective was simply to acquire valuables such as silver, which the churches and monasteries often kept. The Book of Armagh came from the monastery. It is a 9th century Irish manuscript now held by the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. It contains some of the oldest surviving specimens of Old Irish.
The city of Armagh has been an educational center since the time of St. Patrick, and it has been referred to as "the city of saints and scholars." Among the city's chief glories is the public library on Abbey Street. Founded in 1771 by Archbishop Richard Robinson (later Lord Rokeby), using his own library as its nucleus, it is especially rich in 17th and 18th century English books, including Dean Jonathan Swift's own copy of the first edition of his Gulliver's Travels with his manuscript corrections. Brian Boru is believed to be buried in the cemetery of the St. Patrick's Church of Ireland cathedral. After having conquered the island during the 990's, he became High King of Ireland in 1002, until his death in 1014... And now that amazing soup or stew as it was listed on the menu.
Irish Scallop Stew [Makes 4 dinner-sized portions]
Ingredients:
4 cups of fresh bay scallops [Bay scallops are perfect for this dish. The more expensive sea scallops would need to be cut anyway.]
6 tbsp. of butter
1 tbsp. of fresh chive
Salt and white pepper to taste [I use black pepper. During the 80s in Ireland black pepper was much more expensive than the white so the Irish always used the white. I don't mind a little fleck of black in the white soup, but if you do, use the more expensive white pepper.]
3 cups of whole milk
3 cups of heavy cream [I subsitute light cream.]
3 tbsp. of butter
8 oz. of Swiss cheese, shredded
½ cup of sherry or dry white wine
Fresh flat parsley sprigs for garnish, coarsely chopped
Preparation:
Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the scallops, chive, salt, and pepper. Cover and heat on low for just a few minutes without stirring. Be sure not to overcook the scallops as they can get rubbery very quickly. Let set. In a large sauce pan, heat the cream, butter, milk, sherry, and half the Swiss cheese stirring constantly to avoid the bottom scorching to just below boiling. Do not boil as it might curdle. Remove from heat immediately. [If you desire a thicker cream broth, you could make a light roux in the saucepan--for novices: melt 3 tbsp. of butter with 3 tbsp. of flour to make a paste before blending in the liquids.]
Assembly:
In large individual soup bowls, place ¼ of the scallop mixture and pour the cream broth over the scallops. Garnish each with the remaining Swiss cheese and chopped parsley.
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