Born and raised in County Donegal, Ireland, chef Aidan McGee now serves the flavors of his home country across the Atlantic at The Dubliner and McGonagle’s, his two restaurants in Boston. At both restaurants, McGee uses his menu to challenge the long-standing stereotype that Irish food is bland or heavy. “In reality, it’s incredibly produce-driven and seasonal, rooted in the land and the ocean.”
This is true year-round, but even more so on St. Patrick’s Day, when diners seek a themed night out or plan to cook a traditional dish at home. “St. Patrick’s Day food isn’t meant to be novelty, it’s meant to reflect real Irish home cooking: humble ingredients, treated with care,” says McGee.
For McGee, St. Patrick’s Day has always reflected this approach to simple, honest food that brings people together. “Not restaurant food,” he says, “but the kind of meals you’d grow up eating at the family table.”
This year, he will prepare a three-course menu consisting of cream of vegetable soup, shepherd’s pie, and apple crumble to represent the comfort, warmth, and generosity of the holiday. “Which is really what the day is about beyond the parades and pints,” he says.
That’s not to say a creamy pint of Guinness doesn’t make the perfect pairing with this meal, but McGee stresses that the food is deeply nostalgic. “These are the flavors of Sundays, of cold Donegal evenings, of big family dinners where everything was served in the middle of the table and shared,” says McGee.
He often makes this meal throughout the year because in Ireland, “shepherd’s pie isn’t holiday food, it’s just dinner.” For St. Patrick’s Day, though, he uses tradition as the anchor and gives the dish a seasonal twist. “The spirit stays the same,” he says, but “creativity keeps it alive.”
As McGee prepares to set the table for friends, families, neighbors, regulars, and first-timers on March 17, he says St. Patrick’s Day is one of those days when the table just grows bigger and bigger. Start planning your own authentic, feel-good feast with his recipes below.
