Irish Stew!

Happy St. Patrick's to ya! That's about as Irish as I get since I can no longer drink whiskey. However, my rather British husband made us an amazing Irish stew that is so worth sharing. He insists that a proper Irish stew really ought to be made with a minimum of ingredients, though we weren't able to find any mutton (though we did find goat, and more on that later).

 



This recipe speaks for iteself, and I strongly recomend trying it, so don't let the picture fool you. It was amazing!

Irish Stew
Serves 4

• 1 1/2 lb lamb shoulder, bone in and cubed (get your butcher to do this)
• 1 bottle gluten-free beer (we used BSG Atypic Ale 8)
• 2 medium onions
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts chopped
• 8 small spring carrots, chunked
• 8 small spring potatoes, about an inch and a half diameter, hole and skin on
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon savoury
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 6 cups of beef stock

Marinate the lamb in the beer for at least an hour, longer if possible. Drain lamb and reserve beer. In dutch over, add about 2-3 tablespoons of oil and sear the meat. Add the onions and the leeks, cook till softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the reserved beer, carrots, potatoes, rosemary, savoury, bay leaves, salt, pepper and stock. Cover and bring to a boil; uncover and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer about 2 hours (making sure that all ingredients are covered to begin). Broth may reduce by abou half, so check periodically to ensure that your potatoes are covered. Enjoy with Irish soda bread and the gluten free beer of your choice!

This is even better the next day, but the trick is not eating it all to begin with!