© Anita Murphy
Potato Farls from The Irish Cookbook (Phaidon)
Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking: 30 minutes Serves 4
Ingredients
500 g/1 lb 2 oz (about 4 medium) potatoes, peeled and cut into halves or quarters, depending on their size
100 g/3. oz (1 cup) rye flour, plus a little extra for rolling
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
50 g/2 oz (. cup) rolled oats
3. tablespoons milk
50 g/2 oz (4 tablespoons) butter, softened,
plus a little extra for frying
sea salt
To serve
25 g/1 oz (1. tablespoons) butter
100 g/3. oz black pudding (blood sausage) sliced and grilled (broiled) until crispy (optional)
Method
Put the potatoes into a pan of salted water over a high heat, bring to the boil and simmer for about
10 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Don’t allow the potatoes to become mushy as they will
absorb too much water. Drain the potatoes and leave to dry out for a few minutes before pressing them through a drum sieve.
Sift the rye flour with the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and add to the potatoes. Add the rolled oats and milk and season with sea salt. Knead the dough until it comes together, adding a little more flour if necessary.
Divide the dough into two halves.
Traditionally, each half is shaped into one large round, rolled into a flat circular shape and cut into four, but you can also divide and shape the dough into individual patties.
Heat a little of the butter in a heavy-based frying pan (skillet).
Fry the individual patties or all four quarters of the one large round for about 3 minutes on both sides until nicely browned. (pictured, shaped individually)
Serve with some butter and black pudding (blood sausage), if using.
A traditional Irish flatbread made from mashed potatoes, flour, and butter. They are typically shaped into a round, cut into quarters (a "farl" literally means fourths), and pan-fried until crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
Part bread, part potato, potato farls (or fadge) were traditionally served as part of an ‘Ulster’ breakfast of eggs, bacon and black pudding (blood sausage). The word ‘farl’ comes from the Scots Gaelic word ‘fardel’, meaning ‘fourth’. The bread was scored into four before frying to make it easier to share. Before the advent of white flour and bread soda, farls were made with oats and butter.
Order The Irish Cookbook here.