Dublin via Aruba

*Photography: shutterstock / Elena Veselova.*

As the name might indicate, Aruba Beach Café isn’t an Irish pub. But on St. Patrick’s Day, the Lauderdale-By-The-Sea legend’s Chef Chris Nealon looks significantly northeast from Aruba for culinary inspiration. For three decades, Chef Chris has been doing corned beef and cabbage the way it ought to be done. At the restaurant, that means 500 pounds of corned beef brisket slow-cooking overnight in a large steam kettle. We asked him to translate that method to something a bit more manageable for those who want to create a little Irish pub atmosphere at home.

Ingredients:

4 lbs of raw corned beef brisket with spice pack
1 large head green cabbage (cut into wedges)
1 lb sliced carrots
1 lb fresh green beans
1 Spanish onion (sliced)
2 lbs small red new potatoes

Method:

Place corned beef and spices in a large pot, then cover and bring to a boil. Slowly begin to reduce the heat and let simmer for about 3 ½ hours or until tender. Remove from the heat and place into a baking dish. From there, cover with foil to keep warm. Then add cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onions and green beans to the beef stock and cook for 25 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

To Serve:

Slice corned beef and arrange it on a large platter.Place cabbage, potatoes and vegetables around the beef and cover it with some of the cooking broth. Serve with creamy horseradish sauce on the side.

If you want to make your own creamy horseradish sauce, here’s how Chef Chris does it: Take ½ cup of prepared horseradish, 1 cup of sour cream, ¼ cup of mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of Tabasco sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until blended. Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve.