In the centenary year of the most famous Irish novel, James Joyce's Ulysses, it can be fun and interesting to try your hand at some of the recipes mentioned in the book, or even closely observe the presence of food in its various chapters.
Ulysses was published for the first time on February 2, 1912, and food, as well as many aspects of daily life of the time, is an element that runs through its chapters: in fact, many references are scattered throughout its pages. emphasizing the relationship of food with the characters' lives or their fantasies. Or how it is connected to social class, individual temperament and the creation of opportunities for interaction.
And in this regard, the protagonist Leopold Bloom, during the lunch of his day-odyssey dated June 16, 1904, reflects on the food choices of the "Crème de la crème", contrasting them with the "hermit with a plate of legumes" and also pointing out through the phrase "Know me come eat with me" that food, like a dress, defines the personality.
So, if this year, you want to be inspired by Joyce, as do many Irish people and readers around the world, you can try to replicate the main dish of Bloom's famous lunch (in chapter 8):
gorgonzola and mustard sandwich
, accompanied from a glass of Burgundy.
Here are the ingredients: sliced soda bread; a thick slice of spicy gorgonzola; spicy mustard; tomato slices; lettuce sautéed in butter; unsalted butter; fresh ground pepper.
Preparation: grease the bread, spread it with a veil of mustard, add in succession on one of the slices, a couple of lettuce leaves, the tomato and the gorgonzola. Sprinkle generously with pepper and close with the second slice.
Tip: Don't skimp on mustard. Bloom did not. As we read: "He dotted yellow drops under each raised strip".
The recipe is that of the Davy Byrnes Pub, a landmark of the city of Dublin since its opening in 1889, and a place of worship in world literature since Leopold Bloom went there for lunch on June 16, 1904. The Green Cheese Sandwich is still on the menu.
If you want you can also try the traditional recipe of
Soda bread
, the typical Irish bread with a very simple preparation.
Ingredients: 2 ounces of flour, 2 ounces of wholemeal flour, half a liter of buttermilk, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of baking soda.
The preparation is typical of any bread, with a single warning: remember to engrave the characteristic cross before baking it, because, as they say, it serves to let the fairies out ...