Roasted Lemon-Dill Salmon

Considering the blog is named "The Redhead Baker," you're not surprised that I'm a little bit Irish, are you? Only about 50% (the other half is Scottish).

I love celebrating Saint Patrick's Day. I bake Irish soda bread. I love to have a slice fresh out of the oven with a smear of Kerrygold Irish butter for breakfast.

Everyone thinks it's tradition to have corned beef and cabbage for dinner. But I have to break it to you — it's never been considered a traditional Irish meal. Which makes me feel better about saying, I can't stand corned beef or cabbage. The association between corned beef and Saint Patrick's Day came about after Irish immigrants came to the United States, and substituted corned beef when they couldn't find pork.

So, what are some traditional Irish meals? There's shepherd's pie, colcannon (mashed potatoes and cabbage), or coddle (a stew-like dish of pork sausage, bacon, potatoes and onions).

The Irish also eat a lot of fish, cod and salmon being the most popular. Lemon and dill aren't particularly "Irish" flavors, but they do complement the salmon very well. I served the salmon with chopped spinach and the most iconic Irish side dish, mashed potatoes.