Gold at the End of the Rainbow

I'm a day early for St. Patrick's Day, but that's because we had Irish food last night and will be revisiting the cuisine of the Emerald Isle tomorrow night. I wanted to share this dish with you while I'm taking a break from prepping for tomorrow night's feast (hey, I told you the Irish blood lives strong in me). I've been baking a whiskey cake and getting things ready for tomorrow. My mom and college roommate will be joining the hubby and I for a feast fit for Brian Boru.

Dublin Coddle is one of those dishes that if you've never heard of it before, you're going to scratch your head trying to figure out the name. One of my coworkers asked what I was eating at lunch today, and when I told her she just stared at me like I was speaking Gaelic (and for all I know, coddle could be Gaelic). It's made with bangers and rashers, or suasage and bacon (but more like ham here in America) and also potatoes, onions, and sometimes parsely. I found the recipe in two of my Irish cookbooks and just went with the slightly simpler recipe (slicing instead of dicing, plus the other called for an apple which I didn't have), but I think the other cookbook is the more traditional version.

I wish I could have gotten better quality sausages, but what I had was still pretty good. I completely forgot the parsley and should have used more salt. This was really good though and even better the next day, especially with all my coworkers salivating and staring greedily at my lunch. On another note, these are the first pictures on my new camera. Still not the greatest pictures, but I am trying and hopefully after my class this summer it'll be much better.

Dublin Coddle
Recipe by Irish Food & Cooking

8 1/3-inch thick ham or dry-cured bacon slices (we had just some thick-cut deli ham that tasted excellent)
8 best-quality lean pork sausages
4 large onions, thinly sliced
2 lb potatoes, peeled and sliced (you know mine weren't peeled)
6 Tbl chopped parsley
Salt and ground black pepper

1. Cut the ham or bacon into large chunks and cook with the sausages in 5 cups of boiling water for 5 minutes (I just used enough water to cover the meat in a large stock pot). Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.
2. Put the meat into a large stock pot with the onions, potatoes, and parsley. Season and add just enough fo the cooking liquid to cover. Cover with a tight-fitting lid; lay a piece of buttered foil or baking parchment on top before putting on the lid (I used all of the liquid plus a little, and I only used 3 small onions so you may need more if you follow this exactly).
3. Simmer gently over a low heat for about 1 hour, or until liquid is reduced by half and all the ingredients are cooked but not mushy. Serve hot with the vegetables on top.