Potato Stuffed Soda Bread with Shepherd's Gravy

Instructions

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1. 1 For potato filling, boil potato in a saucepan filled with salted water until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well and add to a mixing bowl. Mash until smooth. While still hot, add green onions, salt, black pepper, and cayenne, and mix with a spoon. Let cool for about 10 minutes while you chop the parsley and grate the cheese. Add parsley and cheese to the bowl, and mix with a spoon until thoroughly combined. Set aside until needed, or cover and refrigerate for future use.
2. 2 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. 3 For soda bread, add flour, salt, and baking soda to a mixing bowl and whisk for 30 seconds to combine. Make a well in the center, and pour in buttermilk. Use a fork to stir everything until you achieve a shaggy dough. Flour your hand and use it to press dough into a ball, cleaning the sides of the bowl while you do.
4. 4 Generously flour a piece of parchment paper and transfer 45% of the dough on top. Press dough into a rectangle, about 1-inch thick. Flour the top generously, and place another piece of parchment paper over the top. Use your hand or a rolling pin to press and smooth dough out into a rectangle about 10 inches wide.
5. 5 Peel off parchment paper, and if any dough sticks to parchment, add it to the remaining dough portion.
6. 6 Spoon potato filling onto dough, pressing down lightly as you do, leaving a 1-inch border of dough uncovered around the edge.
7. 7 Generously flour another piece of parchment paper; place remaining dough in the center. Press dough into a rectangle, generously flour the top, and place a second piece of parchment on top; flatten into a rectangle slightly larger than the bottom dough.
8. 8 Peel parchment off the top, and turn top dough over and align to cover potato filling; remove parchment. Pinch and press top and bottom edges of dough together to seal potato filling inside. Dampen fingers with water if dough is sticking to them.
9. 9 Remove any excess dough from parchment paper, and slide a baking sheet underneath. If desired, brush top of dough with a little buttermilk, to give it a more golden brown color once baked.
10. 10 Bake bread in the preheated oven until nicely browned, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer immediately onto a cooling rack. Let cool to room temperature before serving.
11. 11 While bread is cooling, make the optional shepherd's gravy. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat in a skillet. Add lamb, onion, and salt, and cook, stirring, until everything is very well browned, 6 to 7 minutes. Season with black pepper and cayenne, and then stir in flour.
12. 12 Cook and stir flour for about 2 minutes. Pour in cold chicken broth. Stir with a spatula, scraping any caramelization off the bottom of the pan. Bring gravy to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, gravy can be reduced slightly for a thicker texture, or just reduce heat to low and keep gravy hot until service.
13. 13 To serve, cut bread into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Melt a little butter in a skillet over medium-high heat; add slices and cook until heated through and golden brown, a few minutes per side. Serve with the hot shepherd's gravy.