Green Beer and Guinness

Happy St. Patrick's Day, readers! This year Nate and I decided to stay in (mainly due to money tightness...we just bought a car, remember? But also to avoid the crowds). We considered going to O'Neill's, a local Irish pub with a location only a couple miles from our apartment but then remembered they'd probably be packed and we'd be looking at around a $40 tab (before tip) for 4 beers (2 for each of us) and two entrees. Needless to say, that idea was quickly scrapped and decided to invite a couple friends over for an Irish meal instead. 

Irish Beef Stew 

1 pound stew beef

1 C rutabaga or turnip, diced (we used a turnip)

1 C carrot, diced and peeled

2 potatoes, diced and peeled 

2 bay leaves

3/4 tbsp dried basil

3/4 tbsp dried Rosemary 

3/4 tbsp garlic, minced 

1 Tbsp parsley, chopped 

6 Tbsp olive oil 

3/4 C celery, diced 

3 C water

5 Tbsp Tamari (or regular soy sauce)

1/2 head of cabbage, leaves quartered

2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 

2 Tbsp cool water 

First dry your beef on paper towels, according to Julia "if you don't dry meat, it won't brown properly" well, not sure if this is necessarily true but Queen Julia hasn't steered me wrong yet. 

Brown beef in 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Remember it's going to cook in the stew so you really just need to sear it on all sides. Remove the browned meat onto a plate and drain off the fat. 

Sauté the vegetables (excluding celery) over medium heat for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 3 cups of water, Tamari (or soy sauce), cabbage leaves and meat to stock pot with the sautéed vegetables and simmer for about 15-20 minutes over low-medium heat. 

Add in celery and stir in dissolved cornstarch. Simmer, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens. 

Serves 6

We invited our friends Eli and Brandon over to help us eat because I detest leftovers and that's an awful lot of stew for 2 people to eat. 

We served our stew with Irish Soda Bread bought from Great Harvest Bakery and an assortment of Irish cheddar cheeses. Oh and of course Guinness, Irish Car Bombs and green beer. 

Hope you all had a safe St. Patty's Day and aren't too hungover to go to work today!