Corned Beef with Roasted Carrots and Beets with Za’atar, Sautéed Cabbage and Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes

Roasted Red and Yellow Beets and Rainbow Carrots with Za’atar Spice

Irish Soda Bread

I am not a huge fan of corned beef, but I like to have it a couple times a year and especially on St. Patrick’s Day.  I bought 2 flat cut corned beef so I could have extra to make corned beef and hash another day and cooked some extra potatoes to save time.  In a Dutch oven I poured a bottle of Guinness stout, cut a whole garlic in half, added the spice package that came with the corned beef, added 6 whole cloves and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and brought it to a boil over the stove before I added the corned beef. I slathered Dijon mustard on the top and braised it in a 325° oven with a lid for 3 hours.  To give it a nicer color, I quickly broiled it to get the top a little browner before I served it.  The corned beef was really moist and flavorful and had a lot of flavor.  For the vegetables I sautéed an onion until caramelized and added roughly chopped cabbage and cooked it until it was lightly browned.  Before I served the cabbage, I drizzled some Balsamic glaze. I roasted beets and carrots and sprinkled za’atar spices which is a Middle Eastern spice mixture with thyme, sesame seeds and sumac over them for the last 5 minutes of roasting to give them a little extra umph.  I made some Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and went the extra mile and even made a quick Irish Soda bread.  It’s easy to make in the food processor and it is leavened with baking soda and buttermilk instead of yeast which needs several hours to rise.  The crust is nice and hearty, and slathered with butter, is a great accompaniment to the whole dinner.  Click here for the recipe….