Eat First

Irish Soda Bread

I've been to Ireland several times and never had anything resembling what we in the States commonly call Irish Soda Bread. We did enjoy hearty brown soda bread everywhere we went -- with no raisins, no caraway seeds and, I'm guessing, no sugar. It's wonderful -- even more so slathered with that amazing Irish butter. So maybe this recipe should be called Irish-American Soda Bread.

Whatever you call it, this bread is easy to make and uses ingredients you are likely to already have on hand. There is no kneading and no need to run out and buy buttermilk, unless you want to. You can substitute sour milk, made with milk and white vinegar, a trick I learned from my Mother (see instructions below).

 

When she was still able to bake, my Mother made Irish Soda Bread every St. Patrick's Day -- and made multiple batches for sharing. It smells wonderful when it's baking, thanks to the caraway, which is similar to anise seed, but not quite as strong. It took me a while to make sense of this recipe, found in Mom's recipe file but not in her familiar, tidy script. Far from it.

 

"I wonder whose handwriting that is,'' my sister Anne said when I showed her the recipe. I keep studying the card and wondering the same thing. The mystery is part of the recipe's allure now, and makes it even more of a treasure. My interpretation/adaptation is below.

 

Irish Soda Bread

 

Adapted from a recipe in my Mother's recipe file (but not in her handwriting)

 

3 cups flour (including half-cup whole wheat flour, if you like)
Pinch of salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons caraway seeds, plus more for garnish (optional)
1.5 cups plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk or sour milk (divided use; see note)
1 cup or more raisins (mix of golden and dark)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a large loaf pan.

To make sour milk: Add 2 tablespoons white vinegar to glass measuring cup. Add milk to 2-cup line. Let rest for at least 5 minutes. Stir to combine. Recipe uses 1.5 cups. Save remaining sour milk to brush bread (you will not use all).

To make the bread: Combine dry ingredients (including caraway seeds) in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. Add 1.5 cups plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk or sour milk; mix gently, scraping down sides of bowl, until just combined. Do not over mix. Toss raisins in a small amount of flour (they should be lightly dusted) and fold the raisins into bread dough.

Scrape dough into prepared pan, spreading it evenly. Pan should be about three-quarters full (see note on using extra dough, below). Using a pastry brush, gently brush/"mop" some buttermilk on top and sprinkle with a few caraway seeds.

Bake on middle rack in oven for 45-55 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. All ovens are different; to check for doneness insert cake tester or toothpick in center of loaf. It should come out mostly clean. The bread will be brown on the outside and pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool bread in pan for about 15 minutes. Run a thin spatula around the edges and turn bread out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Makes one large loaf.

Note: If you have extra dough, grease a custard cup and use dough to make a mini bread round. Check for doneness at 20 minutes.

 

PB&J's Lunch Box on James

These are blackened haddock tacos with Southwest slaw, a recent Friday lunch special at PB&J's Lunch Box on James, the recently opened storefront version of Pat Orr's popular PB&J's Lunch Box food truck.

PB&J's is perhaps best known for Pat's signature grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a gooey, slightly crunchy delight, thanks to the addition of chopped pecans. The sandwich earned Pat the Judge's Choice award in September at the first food truck competition at the New York State Fair.

 

The "brick and mortar'' location is at 989 James St., in the Imperial Gardens apartment building. It's tucked a little out of the way, in the small space that chef Steve LeClair and Steve's Street Eats called home for a couple years. It later became Paul's Street Eats, with chef Paul Cox at the helm. Pat says she didn't plan to open a restaurant, but when opportunity knocked, she said yes. After Street Eats closed, Orr spent a week cleaning and freshening the space and making the kitchen and counter area more open and efficient. She opened PB&J's Lunch Box in early February, with help from a small team, including chef and kitchen manager Kelly Robertson.

 

I visited PB&J's Lunch Box on James recently for -- what else? -- lunch. Standing items, like Orr's now-famous grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich, "huge" grilled cheese sandwich, muffuletta and turkey club sandwich are listed on a big chalkboard menu. Daily specials, including soups, plates and a grilled cheese of the day,  are posted each morning on the PB&J's Facebook page. The specials when I visited included a shrimp po'boy and the blackened haddock tacos. The tacos were a nice change of pace from the traditional Friday fish fry: two soft tacos filled with spicy chunks of blackened haddock, a zippy Southwest-style slaw, a drizzle of citrus cream and garnish of cilantro.  I would order them again, no problem, or try something different, like Pat's "killer chili,'' a Caesar salad or the grilled cheese of the day.

 

Pat has developed a loyal following with her food truck. She's already rolled it out for a couple of special events and plans to set up at the weekly Syracuse Food Truck Association food truck rodeos when they resume in April at the Lyncourt Plaza, 2301 Teall Ave. The rodeos are held on Wednesdays, weather permitting.

 

Until then, you can enjoy Pat's food at PB&J's Lunch Box on James. The restaurant is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday. Morning offerings include coffee, homemade blueberry muffins and breakfast sandwiches. In addition to lunch specials, a different earlybird dinner special is offered each day. Eat in or get it to-go. There's patio seating in warmer weather -- like today.

 

PB&J's Lunch Box is at 989 James St., Syracuse. Information: 476-3287, Facebook website

 

Food trucks ready to roll: Read more about local food trucks in this week's Syracuse New Times. Click here.