Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day and since my kids are actually 1/4 Irish, we usually do some celebrating at our house. Green smoothies and bagels for breakfast, green clothing and of course, green toilet water from those naughty leprechauns. And the day would not be complete without a traditional Irish dinner. Since I am not a huge fan of corned beef and cabbage, I thought I would make this hearty Irish Lamb Stew with Guinness beer and vegetables. The lamb is seared and then braised in a yummy Guinness-spiked broth until it is fall-apart tender and then mixed with some earthy root vegetables. It is an easy, satisfying, family-friendly dish that is truly perfect for any St. Patty’s Day celebration. Enjoy!
Lamb Stew
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1½ lb. boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1″ pieces (or buy cubed stew meat)
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup flour
- Olive oil
- 1 cup pearl onions, peeled
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup Guinness beer
- 2-1/2 cups homemade beef stock
- 1 pound small white boiling potatoes (baby Yukons), cut in half
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
- 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into large pieces
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
Instructions
- Season the lamb meat generously with salt and pepper. Dredge lamb in flour mixture, shaking off excess flour.
- Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Brown the lamb in three batches, adding one more tablespoon of oil for each batch. Do not crowd the pan and let the meat develop a brown crust before turning with tongs. It should take 5-8 minutes per batch. Transfer the browned meat to clean plate and set aside.
- Add the onions, garlic and 2 tablespoons of water to the pot. Cook until the onions are soft, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, parsnips, and potatoes and cook another 5 minutes.
- Return the browned lamb to the pot and add beer, rosemary, stock and tomato paste bring the mixture to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer the stew until the meat is tender about 60-90 minutes (Be sure to stir a few times to prevent vegetables from sticking to the bottom.) ***You can also put the mixture in a slow cooker (see picture) and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Season with salt and pepper. Stir in parsley just before serving. Serve hot!
Leave a Reply