Being a mixed-breed girl, I've always had a difficult time identifying with certain countries as my "own." But I remember the first time I took a sip of Guinness and never felt more Irish in my life. In terms of my heritage, the largest portion of my inheritance (so to speak) is Irish. So I basically took that and ran with it.
Going vegetarian never really affected my relationship with food, and so when I got the urge to make an Irish Guinness Stew, I made a goddamn Irish Beefless Guinness Stew. I used a few pointers from three different recipes, but as I do with most of my cooking, I mostly improvised. And damn if this stew didn't turn out delicious.
The recipe and ingredients are after the jump!
Beefless Guinness Irish Stew!
Ingredients:
1 Bag of Gardien Beefless Tips (or whatever fake-beef product you have on hand, but I love the way these taste in the stew)
Two Large Onions, chopped
1 Cup of Sliced Carrots (I used baby carrots since that's what I had on hand, but larger carrots would do fine!)
4 Cups Vegetable Broth (or whatever kind of broth you want to use - I used a vegetable boullion cube)
2 Large Potatoes, cubed (Between half an inch and an inch, I wasn't too picky)
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1 Pint Guinness Extra Stout
6 Tablespoons Flour
1 Tablespoon Salt (or to taste)
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Black Pepper (or to taste)
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil or Oil of choice
1. Prepare your vegetable broth on the stove, either by using a bouillon in four cups of water or by simply heating up the vegetable broth that you have in a large pot. Keep this pot on medium heat.
2. Put two tablespoons of olive oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat and throw in the beefless tips, sauteing until they're completely warmed through and browned on all sides. Set the pan on a inactive back burner to cool.
3. Throw the chopped onions in a saucepan along with the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat. After about two minutes, add the chopped garlic and continue cooking for about eight more minutes.
4. Then, add the carrots and cook for another five minutes or so. After all the vegetables seem cooked through, add the beefless tips to the mixture, including any extra oil still in the pan from the beefless tips. Reduce the heat to medium.
5. Add three tablespoons of flour to the vegetables and beefless tips mixture, mixing it thoroughly. Add about half of the pint of Guinness and stir thoroughly, scraping up anything that sticks to the bottom of the pan.
6. Transfer the entire mixture to the large pot with the vegetable broth, and add your salt, sugar, and pepper, as well as the remaining tablespoon of flour. Stir well.
7. Add the cubed potatoes, and as much Guinness as you see necessary (I added about fourth more and drank the last fourth, because like I said, I love Guinness.)
8. Keep the heat on medium-high for ten minutes, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat to medium for another ten to twenty minutes, or until the potatoes are soft enough to eat. If you like your stews thicker, let it simmer until it's thick enough for your tastes. However, once poured into individual bowls and allowed to cool, it does thicken up considerably.
9. Serve with Irish soda bread or your bread of choice and enjoy!
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| Photo courtesy of my lovely friend Sharon via her Instagram (shirinxo) |
Note: This stew is vegetarian as well as vegan!
I know, drinking Corona just seems unforgivable with all of my Irish pride before, but we had a wheat baguette too, so obviously we were just celebrating all kinds of cultures.
I may include these little cooking bits on here from time to time just because I love cooking and eating and the like.
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