Boxty

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Boxty - about this recipe

Boxty (bacstaí in Gaeilge) is a traditional Irish potato pancake. The dish is mostly associated with the north midlands, north Connacht and southern Ulster, in particular the counties of Mayo, Sligo, Donegal (where it is know locally as Poundy or Poundies), Fermanagh, Leitrim and Cavan.

There are many different recipes but all contain finely grated, raw potatoes and all are served fried. The most popular version of the dish consists of finely grated, raw potato and mashed potato with flour, baking soda, buttermilk and sometimes egg. The grated potato may be strained to remove most of the starch and water but this is not necessary. The mixture is fried on a griddle pan for a few minutes on each side, similar to a normal pancake. Traditional alternatives include using only raw potatoes, boiling it as a dumpling or baking it as a loaf. The most noticeable difference between boxty and other fried potato dishes is its smooth, fine grained consistency.

Traditional limmerick:

"Boxty on the griddle,
Boxty in the pan,
If you can't make boxty,
You'll never get a man."

Served at tea-time, these potato cakes can also be fried up to accompany bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Ingredients

• 115 g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ salt
• 50 g butter
• 450 g potatoes, peeled and boiled
• 30 ml milk

Mise en place

Pre-heat oven to 220° C (425° F - gas 7)

Method

1. Sieve the dry ingredients and rub in the butter.
2. Mash the potatoes with the milk and add to the flour mixture.
3. Bind the mixture together and divide into several balls.
4. Flatten the balls so that they are only 5 mm thick.
5. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Serving suggestions

Serve hot and spread with butter. Sprinkle some grated cheese over them.

Variations

Add finely chopped herbs or other flavourings to the mixture.