Darina Allen: Barmbrack, bodice and meringue púcas for Hallowe'en

Then we’ll toast the seeds for a crunchy snack or topping and save some to plant next year’s pumpkin crop.

All round the country, shop windows are packed with tempting scary masks, ghoulish costumes and witches' hats for Halloween parties and trick-or-treat forays around the neighbourhood.

In the midst of the cost-of-living crisis, Halloween costume swap shops are popping up and booming everywhere and the call to #SwapnotShop is gathering momentum, while still ever more elaborate and exciting Púca and Samhain festivals celebrating the myth, music, food and folklore of Halloween are popping up around the country.

Halloween apparently has its origins in the ancient druid festival of Samhain, a pagan religious festival celebrated over 2,000 years ago by the Celts around the 1st of November. 

Halloween apparently took root in the US sometime around the 19th century when the Irish emigrated to America bringing their superstitions and traditions with them which were by all accounts enthusiastically embraced by Americans.

But for me, one of the most exciting places to celebrate Halloween is definitely in Mexico where families welcome back their loved ones from the other world on November 1st, the Day of the Dead. 

They cook their favourite foods and bring a picnic to the local graveyard.

Here in Ireland, we simply must have a barmbrack. Sadly, many of the famous barmbracks we looked forward to from our local bakeries have long since lost their quality in an effort to keep the price unrealistically low. 

Please, please let’s make the original barmbrack again and give us a choice to look forward to. 

The Halloween version was always richer with the symbolic ring, stick, a pea and a rag hidden inside. 

Remember the excitement, as the brack was sliced…if you got the ring, you would be married within the year even if you were only six. 

The stick meant that your husband would beat you, a pea indicated that you would be facing hungry times, whilst the rag indicated a life of poverty.

How many of you remember the original Bewley’s barmbrack? Crotty’s in Kilkenny made a delicious fruity brack too and of course Thompson’s, now long gone. 

Many of you will have had other favourites that you remember fondly.

The few places that kept up the quality like Nuala Hickey’s Bakery in Clonmel are inundated with orders.

Here’s the recipe for the Ballymaloe tea brack, delicious, but not at all the same as a yeasted Halloween brack from a good bakery. Contact us if you know of a really good traditional Halloween brack.

We also love to serve bacon ribs and colcannon on Halloween. It’s become a bit of a tradition in our house. Make a trip to the English Market in Cork city, you’ll find lots of juicy ribs at Noonan’s butcher stall and several others also.

Here's a recipe for meringue púcas to make with the children, they love making spooky shapes and decorating them with their friends. Don’t fret about the mess, this is what memories are made of - perfect gifts for the trick or treaters also!

Happy Halloween.

Ballymaloe Irish Tea Barmbrack

By:darina Allen Recipe

Preparation 3 Of Loaf Takes Halloween One Favourite, A Bit Ones A Overnight 1 But Large That Makes Small Or

Time Preparation

 30 mins

Time Cooking

 1 hours 40 mins

Time Total

 2 hours 10 mins

Course

 Baking

ingredients

• 110g Sultanas

• 110g Raisins

• 110g Currants

• Halved Quartered Natural Cherries, Or Glacé 50g

• Tea 50ml Strong Plus Tea 225ml Hot Whiskey Or Irish 300ml

• Raising 225g Self Flour

• Brown Soft Sugar 175g

• Candied 50g Peel

• Tsp Mixed 1 Level Spice

• Whisked 1 Egg,

• for The Bun Wash:

• 150ml Water

• Granulated 110g Sugar

method

1. To Dried In Put Tea Plump Cherries Hot The A And Tea Whiskey) Bowl Strong Fruit Overnight (or With Cover Leave Up And And The The

2. With (450g) 180°c/350°f/gas Loaf Oven Day, 13cm × Paper Mark The (14 Three Next Preheat Or Tin Small 6cm) Line A To × 7 Tins 20cm Loaf Parchment 4 6cm The

3. The Then Add Put Sugar, Brown Stir Fruit Mixture Mixed And The Soft Mixture Well, Tin(s) Loaf Into Flour, To Peel, Egg Candied Lined Spice The Whisked The And Tea

4. Bake About In Until Clean Hours, For Out A Preheated Oven Skewer The Es 1½

5. Minutes Wash The The Bun Granulated Boiling By And Make For Water 5 Sugar

6. Tin Sweet, It Give In Cool And Remove Brush Wire Well Oven Very Immediately Bun The Keeps On Sticky With The To Brack Rack From Wash Glaze Airtight A A This An

Bide Bodice or Salted Ribs with Champ or Colcannon

By:darina Allen Recipe

In Skirts! 'bodice' Cork We Of Cork A Bought Salted Great Items Of Ribs, Naming Cooked As Tradition Of Known Sheet, And Eat Speciality, Also Follows This Clothing The Women's Often Bits Offal After A Pork Various Are

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Time Total

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Main

ingredients

• for Bodice: The

• Bacon Bodice, About 1 11 Ribs

• for The Champ:

• 'old' Or Pinks G Kerr’s Golden 5kg Unpeeled Wonders E 1 Potatoes

• Chopped Onions Chopped Stem) Or Spring Chives And Scallions 45g The (use 110g Or Bulb Green

• Milk 350ml

• Butter 50 110g

• And Freshly Ground Pepper Salt

method

1. Bodice: The for

2. Cold Simmer Cover To Or The Hour In Water, An Bring Soft More Juicy Boil And For Until And

3. Are Your That Often And Carrots With Are English Halloween Or Eat Associated Potatoes, Traditional Potato Love Champ Bodice, Mashed Always But With Colcannon, Most Our With The Ones Dishes Served Mustard Or Fingers Using We Turnips Swede

4. for The Champ:

5. Their Potatoes In The Jackets Them Scrub Boil And

6. Scallions The Centre Bring With Mash And Finely In Large Melting 6 Hot, Cover Chop With A Freshly About Individual Boiled Infuse 1 Butter Butter The Peel And Milk With Turn Onions, Leave Heat Bowls Or Onions The Pepper Cold Serve Boil With And Spring Simmer Season And Knob In Taste Slowly Milk And 4 Beat To In Boiling The Chopped The Of While Off Chives For Salt The 3 Mix To Ground Potatoes The Minutes, Freshly Or Or To And

7. 4 Later Oven, Be May In And A Scallion Put Mark Aside Moderate Reheated 180°c/gas Mash

8. Cover The Doesn’t Reheats Skin Get That It It Add Serving A Paper Parchment With And Before Just Note: So Of Butter Lump While

Spooky Meringue Púcas

Recipe By:darina Allen

An And Fluffy Scanrúil Fad! Ar Light,

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Time Cooking

 4 hours 0 mins

Total Time

 4 hours 30 mins

Course

 Dessert

ingredients

• 2 Whites Egg

• Sugar 110g Caster

• No And Bag Pipe éclair 9 Piping

method

1. The Fill In Paper In A The Mixture Piping Until Cover Beat Sugar Half To A Fold Create But The Whites Piping Sugar Meringue Of Willowy With Yet Until Not The Carefully Parchment A A Peak Dry Dry Into Paper Pulling Will Baking Firm Fold Bag Upwards Quickly Beat Of Stiff Couple Pipe Remaining Small Blob In The Bag Again Sheets A Point Onto Stand The

2. Oven, Mark In A For Bake Hours 100°c/gas ¼ Low Very Approx 4

3. Cool Pletely To Allow

4. Mouth Chocolate Piping Plate Meringues Dots Eyes On A Decorate Little A Into And Arrange And Meanwhile, Paper Melt Fill Piping The By Oval Scary A Bag Appropriate An For Little For Some

5. A Bowl Whipped Softly Of With Serve Cream

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