A Bit Of Potato Bread For St. Patricks Day

It's St. Patricks day tomorrow so I thought I'd give you my recipe for Irish potato bread. When we were younger we celebrated by colouring our beer green and drinking lots of it, or by concocting an Irish Stew entirely from Guinness and a couple of carrots. But those days are long gone and now we make do with a big plateful of this. It has to be dripping with butter to be entirely authentic. But that's ok, because I'm fairly sure that some years ago calorie counting was declared illegal on St Patricks Day. Possibly on all other public holidays as well, come to think of it. It is also best served warm and the traditional way of achieving this is to cook in batches and keep on a plate under a fresh tea towel in a low oven until you are ready to feast. We like to savour it without any additions; but it is good with ham, bacon, sausages and eggs.

• 1 lb and 4 oz cooked mashed potato
• 1 oz butter
• 5 oz plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• oil for frying

1. Put the mashed potato in a mixing bowl and add the butter and the salt. Gradually add in the flour, kneading it gently
2. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least an hour
3. Roll out the dough on a floured surface so that it is about 1/2cm thick and cut into triangles
4. Heat oil or fat (whatever you cook your roast potatoes in) and fry until browned.

And that's all there is to it.