Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In the spirit of our favorite green holiday my Honey and I decided a good ol' Irish stew would be the way to go for dinner. Now, wanting to keep it authentic I had to google a good recipe. I found one the included both red wine and Guinness, so you know it had to be good. I found the recipe at :

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/irish_beef_stew/

This was our creation. =-)

Of course, I didn't follow it exactly. I didn't have tomato paste, so instead of adding the paste and sugar and Worcestershire I substituted ketchup. I used red potatoes instead of russet, and I used round steak (from the side of beef we purchased). I made sure to tenderize it first, since round steak can be tough. 

I also didn't have two hours to devote to cooking the stew, so once I sauteed the veggies for 20 minutes I went ahead and threw them into the pot to finish cooking. I cooked the stew a total of an hour and it was still delicious. 

I served it with a nice chilled Killian's Irish Red and a loaf of potato rosemary bread. I also made a side of broccoli since my kids needed a green side, and this is the green holiday. =-) Slainte!

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 1 hour, 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/4 pounds well-marbled chuck beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces (NOT extra-lean)
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
• I cup of Guinness beer
• 1 cup of fine red wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

METHOD

1 Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Lightly salt the beef pieces. Working in batches if necessary, add the beef (do not crowd the pan, or the meat will steam and not brown) and cook, without stirring, until nicely browned on one side, then use tongs to turn the pieces over. Continue to cook in this manner until all sides are browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

2 While the meat and stock is simmering, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes. Set aside until the beef stew in step one has simmered for one hour.

3 Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Tilt pan and spoon off fat. Transfer stew to serving bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. (Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.)

Yield: Serves 4 to 6.

Irish Beef Stew Recipe