What do most Americans think of when they’re talking about Irish food? Probably corned beef and cabbage—but this dish is practically not known in Ireland. The corned beef and cabbage recipe was born of necessity, back when the price of pork was out of reach for most Irish immigrants in America.

Traditional Irish recipes were influenced by the type of farming that could be done in Ireland’s temperate climate, and of course the introduction of the potato in the late 1500’s changed Irish cuisine forever. Some examples of Irish food include Irish stew, potato pancakes (called “Boxty”), and an Irish recipe with boiled pork sausages called “Coddle,” which is associated with Dublin. There is also the famous Irish breakfast, which is a meal made of bacon, eggs, sausages, black and white pudding, fried tomato and fried potato slices. Here are some more particulars on traditional Irish foods:

Irish stew
A traditional Irish dish. The main meat ingredient in Irish stew can be either lamb, beef or mutton (less tender, fattier and therefore more flavorful meat from an older sheep). Other ingredients in the Irish stew recipe are potatoes, onions, parsley, and of course a good measure of stout if you want a true Irish stew!

Colcannon
A favorite traditional Irish recipe made of mashed potatoes and shredded wild garlic, cabbage or curly kale—a very filling Irish food.

Champ or Poundies
To “champ” means to smash or pound, which explains the alternative name, “poundies.” This Irish food is simply mashed potatoes with green onion. Make a well in the center of the individual serving and fill it with butter. Eat from the outer edge of potatoes, dipping each forkful into the well of butter.

Boxty
A staple Irish food, boxty are simply potato pancakes. Traditionally, the recipe was made from mixing grated raw potatoes, leftover mashed potatoes, baking powder, and sweet milk. Today, boxty is often flavored with onions and/or garlic.

Seafood
The two most common types of seafood used in Irish recipes are salmon and cod. However, the use of shellfish is becoming more popular, and there are lots of oyster festivals held on the coast which serve oysters together with Guinness.

Bread
Traditional Irish breads include soda bread, wheat bread, and “blaa,” a doughy white bread roll most commonly found in Waterford.