Baby It's Cold Outside- Irish Stew

In our house, Irish food does not often make its way to our table. However, we found this recipe and just had to try it. It was perfect for a chilly evening at home. So without further ado, I give you Irish Stew with Cheddar Biscuits.

The recipe calls for lamb, but unfortunately our local grocery store's lamb looked more like old goat. Therefore, we substituted beef, which worked out just fine.

Prep/Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours
Serving Size: 8 cups

Ingredients:
2 lb. lamb (or beef) stew meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks, seasoned
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups onion, diced
2 T. garlic, minced
2 T. tomato paste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark beer (Guinness)
2 cups beef broth
2 cups chicken broth
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
1 cup carrot, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup savoy cabbage, sliced
Salt/Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Brown lamb in 2 T. oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, 8 minutes. We like to use our trusty cast iron for any soup or stew. Transfer lamb to a bowl and set aside; reduce heat to medium.

2. Add 2 T. oil and onion to the pot and sweat, covered, until soft, 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste. Cook this until the paste darkens, 2 minutes. Add flour, stir, and cook 1 more minute.

Make sure you always use a good wooden spoon for stirring. It keeps your pots from getting scraped, and I truly believe it makes everything taste better!



3. Deglaze the pot with beer, scraping up bits from the bottom. Add in both broths, lamb and its juices, and thyme sprigs. Bring up to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 1 hour. Keep a lid on it. No peeking!





4. After the hour, stir in potatoes and carrots. Cook until tender (this depends on the size of pieces), about 15 minutes. Then add in peas, cabbage, salt and pepper. Simmer another 5 minutes.

Dish it up and enjoy!
Oh and don't forget the biscuits! Here's recipe we use. If you don't want to spend time on biscuits from scratch, just get the pillsbury kind and roll in some cheese and chives. We also half the recipe when its just the two of us.

Prep/Cook time: 50 minutes
Servings: 32
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/4 t. baking soda
10 T. unsalted butter, cold, cubed
1 cup Cheddar, shredded
1/3 cup minced chives
1 cup buttermilk
2 T. water
1 egg blended with 1 T. water

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a fork until pea-sized.
3. Stir in the cheddar and chives. Add buttermilk and 2 T. water; knead gently to blend. Dump the dough onto a floured cutting board and pat into an 8 inch square. Cut into 2 inch squares; then cut into triangles if you want scones. Space on the baking sheet 1 inch apart.
4 Brush the tops with egg wash mixture and bake until golden, 25 minutes.


Now it's time to curl up with a movie, a snoring pug, and my sweetie.