Cook Club: Lamb sliders, coleslaw pay to tribute to Irish cuisine

When you marry someone with Irish in their blood, you learn to cook the food of Ireland even if it's just one month out of the year. As is the case in our home, March and St. Patrick's Day just cannot go by without at least one dish from our small collection of Irish cookbooks. Likewise, it is difficult to ignore this holiday for our March Cook Club feature. Thus, the food of Ireland is this month's international focus.

One of the first Irish meals my husband and I cooked together involved a rack of lamb and a curious sounding side dish, colcannon. I know we cooked other dishes, too, but I honestly cannot remember what they were. These two dishes, however, have stayed strong in my mind. That being said, while I remember enjoying the rack of lamb the details of the process is vague as my husband was in charge with trimming, seasoning and cooking. I was, however, the maker of the colcannon. For its funny name, which you might expect to see on a Balderdash game card, it is a surprisingly straightforward dish. Colcannon is simply mashed potatoes combined with boiled cabbage or kale. Not being overly impressed by the humble list of ingredients I expected to just be OK with this dish. Instead I found a dish that was not only comforting but made mashed potatoes more interesting in my book. It has become an Irish dish that I make even outside of March.

Outside of the celebratory corned beef and cabbage (which, by the way, is primarily an Irish-American dish that is now rarely eaten in Ireland) and Guinness chocolate cake many consume on St. Patrick's Day here in the states, the food of Ireland often gets put in a box. It's all stews, potatoes, strange and game-y meats and dishes that lack color and flavor. In reality, traditional Irish cooking chooses to mess little with the natural flavors of its ingredients. With its beautiful, lush land where livestock, vegetables, herbs and wild fruits flourish there was no need to go far for delicious, fresh ingredients. Not surprisingly, the cuisine celebrates this bounty. Vegetables like potatoes and cabbage grow easily in Ireland which is why there are numerous recipes showing their versatility.

Can you imagine the bright green pastures of Ireland without roving herds of sheep or cows? The Irish are fortunate to have access to fresh, local meats that often cannot be matched in flavor by much of which we find in our grocery stores. This access explains the often meat heavy dishes so associated with Irish cuisine. Why not if you have access to the freshest meat available?

For this month's recipe, I wanted to play off (very loosely) that first Irish meal that we made in our kitchen to create Lamb Sliders with Yogurt Mint Sauce. I brought in the traditional spices often used for rack of lamb — garlic and mint. Colcannon was ushered in by shredding a potato and mixing it in with the ground lamb to add not only moisture but to mellow out lamb's sometimes strong flavor. I couldn't resist adding some shredded Irish cheddar to the mix for a bit of creaminess and sweet tang.

The yogurt mint sauce is my take on the usual mint sauce served with rack of lamb. Instead of vinegar and sugar often used to make a thin sauce, I opted for yogurt to make a thicker topping with a heavy hint of mint.

These sliders are extremely moist and I dare say would convert even those who are typically lamb haters. To be honest, I am someone who has a love-hate relationship with lamb. Sometimes the flavor is just too overwhelming for me.

I have found two keys to making lamb that is always delicious. The first and most important is to buy local and organic lamb. I have found that when I do, the lamb is typically milder in flavor. Secondly, embrace spices and sweetness and/or tang. A good dose of your spices of choice along with a bit of sweetness (could be honey, yogurt, tomatoes, etc.) or tang (think grainy mustard or a sharp cheese) add to lamb's appeal.

In serving this meal to my family, I couldn't leave the other colcannon ingredient (cabbage) out, so I made a quick coleslaw to complete my Ireland-inspired meal. While these lamb sliders are certainly not a traditional Irish dish by any means, they give a nice celebratory nod to the strengths and story of Irish cuisine.