MWNN loves his cooked breakfast. He's been away doing the Chief Engineer thing on the boat for two weeks and has been deprived the full English (or Irish) breakfast. So, for his return, I decided to cook him a very special brunch with the addition of home-made potato farls. In the upshot, I didn't make the potato farls but am leaving this recipe here for reference.
Potato farls
Also known as potato cake or potato bread, this is very much a northern (Ireland) dish. It is an important - indeed essential - constituent of the Ulster Fry, alongside bacon, egg, sausage and black pudding.
The recipe calls for cooked, mashed potatoes. These should be freshly boiled, or, better still, steamed and passed through a food mill (I used a hand masher), and used warm.
2 lb/ 1 kg/ 2 cups mashed potatoes
4 oz/ 125 g/ 1 cup plain flour
2 tbsp butter
salt
Melt the butter and mix into the potatoes with the salt. Work in the flour quickly but thoroughly and knead lightly. Divide in two and roll out each half on a floured board to form a circle about the size of a large dinner plate. Cut in quarters (farls) and cook for about 3 minutes on each side in a heavy frying pan in a little bacon fat.
From the Appletree Press title: A Little Irish Cookbook.
Best served with bacon, sausages, black pudding and fried eggs - NB No beans - motorway service stations take note.
