Irish Beef Stew & Mashed Potatoes

So I guess tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day. I won’t be wearing green. Please don’t pinch me.

Feel free to kiss me though cause I’m Irish!

And by Irish I mean Canadian. My husband is like 1/32 Irish, so that sort of counts right? Irish through marriage?

Riiiiiight?

Well, I was feeling like celebrating this holiday, so I came up with stew.  Ya know, comfort food to bring me back to the roots of my ancestors. There ain’t nothing like it.

Now, what makes stew Irish?

Do you think I know the answer to that? Cause I do 🙂 ….well sort of. Through my research, I’ve concluded that beer + stew = Irish Stew.  So, since I don’t drink any kind of booze, what am I left with? Irish Stew – beer = stew. Yup, plain ol’ stew. But since it’s the holidays, I called it Irish Stew because I can. Don’t be a hater. You know you want to jump on the Irish/non-Irish band wagon too.

So all that riff raff aside, this stew is amazing. It’s stellar on it’s own {cough cough super tender meat, gravy aka liquid gold and sweet carrots & peas} but totally life changing with mashed potatoes. Who doesn’t love a creamy spud? Honestly. So, moral of the story: {1} I’m weird. Duh. {2} make this. {3} Make this with mashed potatoes. You’re welcome.

Here’s how to make it:

Start by browning some stew meat in a little olive oil. You want every side brown. Brown food = good.

While the meat is doing it’s thing, chop up some onion and carrot.

Oh, and garlic too.  I love garlic.

Once all the meat is browned, toss in those veggies and cook for a few minutes.

Now, we’ll toss in some salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and a bay leaf. All yummy flavors to have in a hearty stew.

So now comes the easy part. Well, I guess it’s all pretty easy up until this point….so, uh, yeah. Pour in some beef broth. I know. SO HARD, right? Cover and simmer this 2-4 hours {or longer…whatevs} until that meat is super tender.

So, once you’re ready to actually eat the stew, toss in some peas….

and this little concoction of butter and flour. Basically, this is equal parts really soft butter and all purpose flour–this is going to make that beef broth liquid into the best gravy known to man.

So all you do is plop that mixture into your hot pot and stir it in to melt. Everything should tighten up and become creamified. That’s not a word.

So here she blows. The tastiest stew in the northwest….and Ireland, apparently.

Make sure your mashed potatoes are extra creamy, buttery and tangy! Find out my secret ingredient here.

Enjoy your weekend! 🙂

Irish Beef Stew

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb. stew meat
• 4 large carrots, peeled & chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon rosemary
• 1 large bay leaf or 2 small
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• heaping 1/3 cup frozen peas
• mashed potatoes (recipe found here)

Directions:

1. In large pot or deep skillet, brown stew meat in olive oil until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Pour in onions, carrots, garlic and spices. Cook another 5 minutes. Deglaze pan with beef broth. Cover and simmer 2-4 hours or until meat is very tender. (This would be perfect to cook in the crockpot!) When you are ready to serve, remove bay leaf. In a small bowl stir softened butter and flour together until smooth and incorporated. Stir butter mixture into the stew with the frozen peas. Once the gravy thickens slightly, it's done. Serve hot over mashed potatoes.

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