'Mammies tell me their kids love it - Unique tradition of Boxty and its Leitrim roots

As a youngster, Pádraic Óg Gallagher was given one clear instruction as he grated potatoes at home with his mother: “If you see red, STOP”

Growing up in Mohill, Pádraic says he would watch his mother make boxty with interest and delight.

“We would be pouring over the plates waiting for our turn, and there was 9 of us so you had to be quick! My father was a vet, so we travelled around a lot.. I remember back then every house made a different boxty, or had a different take on the recipe. It was a staple in a lot of houses back then…One of my friend’s mothers, Mrs. Mulligan, made the best boxty. She’d do it on a Friday and often with a bit of fish.”

Pádraic opened Gallagher’s Boxty house in Temple Bar in 1989. It’s famed for its Irish cuisine as well as its offerings of the trinity of boxty – boiled, baked and pan.

“Like so many others, I emigrated from Leitrim for work in 1979. I was in South America watching Syrians making flatbreads, and I had a longing for Irish staples and Irish food. I decided to come home and give it a go, and I’m still at it! We go through about a tonne of potatoes every week, and it’s labour intensive, but thankfully we have machines that grate the potatoes now!”

The restaurant’s success he says, is down to hard graft and a lot of experimentation.

“We’ve brought boxty into the 21st century and adapted the recipes. Our biggest seller is probably the Gaelic boxty which is boxty with a cream-based whiskey and portobello mushroom sauce. We also do a very popular boxty platter, and the boxty fries are a big hit too. But my favourite has to be the corn beef and cabbage boxty with parsley sauce.”

We know that boxty is widely associated with the Northwest, but how much do we really know about its origins?

Dr Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire is a chef, lecturer and food historian. He says there “is no definitive explanation of the word. There was some talk that it came from the Irish word ‘boch tÍ’ meaning ‘poor house’ but that doesn’t match with what we know. Boxty is a celebratory dish… nothing poor about it. It might come from the potato, but it’s enriched with milk, salt or flour. In the past, it was eaten at special times of the year and has close links with the ancient Irish festivals such as Samhain, LÚnasa and Imbolc. Often at Halloween, if you didn’t have a bÁirÍn breac you’d put tokens like a coin or a ring into the boxty.”

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Potatoes arrived in Ireland around 1590 and by the 1660s it had become a staple in the Irish diet. As time went on, people began to experiment with different ingredients.

According to Máirtín “Transcripts from schools in the 1930s show boxty mentioned by children in Leitrim as far back as the 1930s. Honestly, we think times are hard now, but back then people used to make the graters by stabbing a nail into a tin can several times. You’d grate the potatoes and have to hope that nothing else came off. In those days there was also a wonderful oral tradition of composing poetry or songs about food. I’m sure most people have heard of ‘Boxty in the griddle, Boxty in the pan, if you can’t make boxty you’ll never get a man’ There was definitely different versions of it, and there would have been a bit of craic element to those songs. Raithneach a bhean bheag, Amhrán an Steampaí are other examples. You have to remember that they were making these dishes before the arrival of the TV. It was a much more oral society.”

Packets of boxty are as much a part of the supermarket shelves in Leitrim as the customary rashers and sausages Áine Faughnan is the MD of Dromod Boxty. She took over the business from her parents Timmy and Angela in 2015.

“We just do the pan boxty, it’s traditional to the area. I think what makes us unique is that we hand pour the mixture and literally make them one by one. That’s the way Granny Faughnan did it. It’s a highly skilled process, and there’s definitely a knack to it. In terms of boxty production, we’re making between four and five thousand a week. That’s a lot of pours on the pan!!!”

Aine describes pan boxty as “raw grated potatoes, mixed with flour and a bit of salt. You mix it into a liquid consistency and cook it on the pan… the other versions are boiled and baked, with cooked mashed potato. I suppose what they all have in common is grated raw potato…It’s an awful pity it’s not made at home as much anymore, but I do understand why. Blood sweat and tears went into the making of it, and because you had to squeeze the liquid from the potatoes too, it took an awful long time to make. When my granny was cooking it there was five kids, but she wasn’t driving round to soccer, dancing and swimming. I think people just don’t have the time anymore. I still get handwritten letters from people who love the taste and say how it brings back memories and nostalgia. Mammies tell me their kids love it, and honestly it would be so sad if it died out, It’s a few basic ingredients and a good wholesome meal, it’s important we continue to give it to our children and continue the tradition of eating boxty.”

ABOVE: Aine and Timmy Faughnan

Aine’s own experience with boxty was enriched by her father Timmy.

“In the 80s, Dad was making Granny Faughnan’s recipe…He would be cooking it that day and selling it in our shop. Bread men started telling him it was really good, and they would take it on their routes as well. Dad ended up making more boxty that working in the shop, and when I was young we’d travel the length and breadth of the country selling the boxty. I took over in 2015 and to this day, people are always asking for dad.”

Plans to secure PGI (protected geographical indication) status for boxty are at a stalemate with the Department of Food. This is despite intensive efforts from local producers and interested parties. When asked why, Sligo Letirim TD Marian Harkin has no concrete answers.

“I was an MEP when this process began in 2014. I’ve been to so many meetings and there is so much push for this to happen… to give it a protected status. We have about 10 or 12 products like Waterford blaa that have this European status and, as well as protecting the identity of the product, it would be a unique selling point to producers. I don’t know why it’s taking so long. I’ve spoken to Noel Grealish (Minister of state at the Department of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine) and I really hope there is some movement on this sooner rather than later.”

So for now, the future of the local dish rests with us. Chef Pádraic Óg Gallagher has kindly offered a recipe for anyone wishing to try something new or to relive the smells and tastes of their youth!

Boxty Pancakes topped with St. Tolas Goats cheese and Goatsbridge Trout Caviar

Ingredients

250g Raw Potatoes Grated

250g Cooked Potatoes Mashed

250g Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Pinch White Pepper

500ml Water

Butter/Veg Oil

Topping

St. Tola Goats Cheese/Spreadable Goatscheese

Goatsbridge Trout Caviar/Smoked Salmon

Equipment

Box Grater

1 Large Mixing Bowl

1 Small mixing Bowl

1 Whisk

Clean Tea Cloth

Chopping Board

Frying Pan

Spatula

Ladle

Knife

Method

Grate the raw potatoes into a clean tea towel and squeeze as much liquid as possible into a bowl.

In a Separate bowl, mix grated potatoes with mashed potatoes, flour, salt and white pepper

Slowly add 3/4 water to form a batter of pouring consistency.

Check consistency. Add more water if needed.

Depending on the potato you may not need to use all the water. If the batter is too heavy add more water. You are looking for a nice dropping consistency.

Leave batter resting for 30 mins.

Drop a ladle full on to a lightly oiled or buttered non-stick pan on medium heat and cook on first side for 2-3 minutes (depends on how heavy the batter is and how much you use).

It is important the pan is not too hot as you must cook out the raw potato.

Check colour (should be a nice golden colour) on bottom side and adjust heat if necessary. Turn and cook on other side for 2-3 minutes more.

Makes about 6 Boxty Pancakes.

Boxty pancakes are best left overnight in a fridge and reheated in a pan in good butter.

Reheat in pan and top with Goats cheese and Caviar or strips of Smoked Salmon.

Cut in quarters and enjoy.