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Irish Pork and Fruit Curry: Review of Real Irish Food

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A rich and slightly sweet curry with shredded pork, grapes and peaches. A copy of Real Irish Food was sent to me for purposes of an honest review. Affiliate links were used to link to items I am discussing in this post.

Irish Style Curry with Pulled Pork, Grapes and Peaches

I can barely move. We are in Asheville for a weekend getaway, and Friday night we ended up dancing at a drum circle. Yeah I have barely worked any muscles in the region of my abdomen since my surgery earlier this summer and I think I might now be broken. This getting old business is for the birds.

But! While I can still type anyway I wanted to share this cookbook and curry with you. First, the cookbook. The publishers sent me David Bowers’ Real Irish Food: 150 Classic Recipes from the Old Country for reviewing earlier in the summer. It is full of delicious sounding recipes (and photos!); I have bookmarked, for example, Whiskey Chicken, Roast Potatoes, Gingerbread, Irish pancakes, and more. It is also an enjoyable read–I actually sat down one night and read the entire thing, cover to cover. Bowers’ voice is personable and charming. He takes great pleasure in correcting various misapprehensions about Irish food (for example: apparently almost no one in Ireland even knows what corned beef is!); my only complaint is that he also took great pleasure in pointing out all of the ways in which the Irish dish is in some way superior to the American, which got a little old. But not so old that I stopped bookmarking or reading!

Irish Style Curry with Pulled Pork, Grapes and Peaches

I decided to either conform to expectations or turn them on their head, depending on whether you are talking about my blog or Irish food in general, and make the curry  in the book. I was intrigued by the fruit, and I was happy to see the curry had a rotisserie chicken option, which was handy as I had just returned from my parents’ house with several large bags of pulled pork. I figured that would substitute no problem for the chicken, but obviously you can use rotisserie chicken or start with raw chicken as per the instructions. Actually, I think just about any protein would work here, even tofu or chickpeas for a vegetarian option.`

We loved this dish. You can use just about any sweet or at least not bitter fruit that is in season; I can imagine apples and pears for the fall (but not cranberries without additional sweetener) or even chunks of winter squash. Come winter I might still use the apples, but add pomegranate seeds for a yummy garnish. You get the idea.

Irish Style Curry with Pulled Pork, Grapes and Peaches

Irish Pork and Fruit Curry

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Reprinted with permission of publisher; from the author: We do have a taste for a little sweetness with our meat in Ireland and that extends even to curried chicken. This version has a little soft fruit in it. I like peaches, but you could use plums, apricots, pineapple pieces, or a few chunks of ripe pear. If you prefer, skip the fruit. But we do like a mild curry: we don’t go in for the blistering hot vindaloo curries that are so loved in the UK. Still, curry is a dish that regularly pops up on supper tables because it’s warm, and comforting, and quick. This recipe starts with raw chicken, but if you pull the meat off a rotisserie chicken and cut it into bite-size pieces, you can skip cooking the chicken and just add the meat to the finished sauce in step 3 to heat through. Serve over rice. My (Laura’s) notes are in itallics in the recipe itself.
Author: David Bowers
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Irish, curry
Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used leftover pulled pork)
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 2-inch piece ginger, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tablespoons mild curry paste (or to taste)
  • 1 14-ounce container coconut milk
  • 2 ripe, medium peaches, peeled and cut into chunks (I used a mix of peaches and grapes; I think any fruit would work that sounds good)
Instructions
  1. In a large skillet over medium heat, place the cooking oil and cook the chicken pieces until lightly browned, 6 to 7 minutes. With a slotted spoon, lift the chicken into a bowl and set aside. (Skip this step if using rotisserie chicken or pulled pork.)
  2. Put the onion into the fat remaining in the pan and cook over medium heat for 6 to 7 minutes, until the onion is softened and lightly browned. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a minute. Stir the curry paste into the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
  3. Blend in the coconut milk, a little at a time. Bring the coconut milk to a boil. Reduce the heat and return the chicken to the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes to cook the chicken through. Add the peaches and continue cooking for 5 minutes or so to thicken the sauce slightly.

Comments

  1. I have a family member who is tragically allergic to peaches and other stone fruits. What kind of substitution would you recommend that would still complement this dish? I really want to try it.

    Reply

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