Irish curry sauce adapted from All in the Cooking

Irish curry sauce adapted from All in the Cooking, which Colaiste Mhuire (Mhuire College) first published in 1946. It remained the standard cooking textbook for Irish girls (the republic under de Valera was nothing if not sexist) “throughout the land,” as one of its four authors explains, “until the 1970s.” The book then fell out of print until 2015, when The O’Brien Press in conjunction with The Educational Company of Ireland reprised it in facsimile. It is well that they did. This is a lovely Old School curry sauce for universal use. One of its unique applications; saucing butter beans.

• 1 oz unsalted butter
• 1 oz minced onion
• 1 oz flour (preferably Wondra)
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• ¾ pint stock of your choice
• ½ apple, peeled, cored and minced
• 1 Tablespoon chutney of your choice
• 1 “soft tomato,” peeled and chopped
• salt

1. Melt the butter over medium heat and fry the onion until deep brown
2. Whisk the flour and curry powder into the onion, turn the heat to low and gradually whisk the stock into the spiced roux.
3. Bring the sauce to a boil and skim away any scum.
4. Stir the apple, chutney and tomato into the sauce, cover the pot and simmer it for about 45 minutes.
5. Check the sauce for salt, strain it and “use as required.”

Note:

-The original recipe does not specify the use of butter, which was an expensive luxury in the straightened Ireland of 1946. It calls for “fat.”