When we make it to March, it seems like all possible ‘holidays’ are cause for celebration, and we New Englanders embrace them with glee, anything to ease cabin fever as we slide into mud season.
Of course, this week was National Pi Day, March 14 (3.14) which most of us are aware of, but alas, I forgot to make a pie! We also had a spectacular lunar eclipse this week, which was a very special reason to celebrate, although setting my alarm clock for 1 a.m. didn’t exactly feel like a holiday.
National Quilting Day
Today is National Quilting Day, and I’ll haul out the quilt I have been promising myself I’d finish. It seems fitting, but I don’t think I’ll actually celebrate that one with balloons and streamers. My birthday happens to fall on several wonderful holidays: National Pig Day, National Fruit Compote Day, and National Peanut Butter Day, all celebration-worthy events. Who is the person who thinks these up? Is it an actual job? Where do I apply?
Let’s do a jig, and cook some too!
One celebration that makes many of us happy in March is St. Patrick’s Day. With Irish roots from my father’s side of the family, I can say I look forward to this one and its jubilant music and traditions. Over the years, I’ve made many a leprechaun trap with my grandchildren, although I must say we’ve never been successful in catching one and getting the pot of gold. Once, one of the wee folk did leave an Irish coin and a few shamrock leaves just to taunt us, but that is as close as we got to the gold.
Green bagels, anyone?
I can do without the green bagels and green beer, but little pots of shamrocks and daffodils are certainly good for the soul just about now. We always cook something traditional, often with a twist, and this year Irish Stew came to mind because it’s been cold and I’m still looking at a few snow/mud banks. Today is to be in the 60s, so I’m hopeful to see the last of them finally.
Mom’s version
When I think of Irish Stew, my mind immediately goes to my mother’s. Although lamb or mutton and lots of slow simmered vegetables is traditional, mom wasn’t a big fan of lamb so she made hers with beef. I know, the purists will tell me this is simply beef stew! Sometimes she added cabbage because it is always on sale the week of St. Patrick’s Day. Low and slow, thick and hearty, full of flavor, and dad loved it. But, I wanted to lighten it up and avoid the artery clogging saturated fat, so mushrooms once again became the star of the dish – this time big portobello mushrooms and their little sister baby bellas, or criminis. By adding lots of colorful vegetables, I upped the nutrition as well.
Add a little Guinness
Guinness went into the pot, of course, a dark stout with lots of flavor and a bitter edge, so I drizzled in a bit of our dark amber maple syrup to balance that out. Potatoes, of course, little multi-colored pink, blue, and yellow potatoes which have more minerals than plain white. Same with the carrots, rainbow with some of the dark red. This is a perfect dish to use all those root vegetables still readily available at our farm stands and CSAs.
The rest of the cast
For the base, I used both a leek and an onion, but you could use only one or the other if that’s what you have. Fennel added a bit of sweetness, but sub celery if you like. I also coaxed some extra sweetness with cherry tomatoes I put whole in the freezer last fall. They are extremely sweet and added a nice dimension to the broth. Lots of garlic, and a couple of big sprigs of rosemary and fresh bay leaves rounded out the enhancements.
Deep, dark color and flavor
Using all the vegetable trimmings and a handful of dried mushrooms, I made a quick stock for this dish. You can use any preferred stock, or even just water here, but I had the onion skins and mushroom stems, so why not use them before tossing in the compost. The beer is the important flavor element, and you can feel free to substitute a favorite, or even one of the new generation of quite tasty non-alcoholic beers. Look for a dark which will have the most flavor.
Options, always
You can let this simmer for several hours in the oven on low as I did or in a slow cooker, or make it quickly under pressure if you don’t have as much time. It will all be good.
While it simmers, you can make a quick loaf of Irish Soda Bread, above, if so inclined, or just listen to some Celtic music and plan this year’s leprechaun trap!
A New Irish Stew
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large portabella mushrooms, large chop
- 8 oz. (225 g.) large crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large leek, sliced
- 1 purple or yellow onion, diced
- 1 medium bulb fennel, or two celery ribs, diced
- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 oz. (350 g.) or so baby carrots, rainbow if available
- 2 large sprigs rosemary
- 2 or 3 baby leaves, fresh or dried
- 1 bottle Guinness stout, or other beer
- 1.5 quarts (1.4 liters) vegetable stock or water
- 1 lb. (450 g.) potatoes of choice
- A half pint of cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup frozen green peas
Preheat the oven to 250 F. or 130 C.
In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil and add the mushrooms. Let these sauté until they take on a little color. Remove from the pan, add a little more oil, and toss in the leek, onion, and fennel (celery). Let these cook until translucent, the season with salt and pepper, and add the tomato paste and garlic. Let these bloom for a minute or so, mix it all up and add the carrots, rosemary, and bay, then pour in the Guinness and scrape up the lovely glaze on the bottom of the pan. This will add tons of flavor and color.
Return the mushrooms to the pot, add the stock (water), season, and bring to a boil. Cover, place in the preheated oven, and cook for 1 ½ hours. Remove from the oven, add the potatoes and tomatoes, and return to the oven, uncovered so it will thicken a bit, for another 45 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender. The timing is not crucial here, you will know when it is ready, and you really won’t overcook it. Put on some Celtic music, and work on your leprechaun trap.
Toss in the peas, as many as you want, and you are ready to eat. If you want a thicker sauce, bring the stew back to a boil, make a slurry with a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch and cold water, and stir it in until thick.
Variations:
Irish Stew with Cabbage – Add a small head of cabbage, cut into six wedges, core intact, after the first hour’s cooking in the oven. Cabbage is still on sale everywhere this week, so it is to be found in abundance and at a good price.
Mix up the vegetables – If you would like to make this with less carbohydrates, use cauliflower, turnips, celeriac, or rutabaga rather than the potatoes. But, gee, potatoes are so good! Don’t like peas? How about broccoli?
Lunar eclipse early hours of Friday morning. As predicted, the Worm Moon was a magnificent rusty red! If it wasn’t the middle of the night, I would have felt more like celebrating, and might have been able to get my good camera to function because of a dead batteruy. This, my husband took with his phone, a little wonky, but kind of fun.
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This looks and sounds sensational, D! I’m ready for a bowl right now, especially with that yummy Irish soda bread! 🍀
I’ll save you some!
I should have known that a Vermonter’s Irish Stew would include some maple syrup alongside the Guinness! The soda bread looks great too and I’m sure makes a lovely accompaniment to that gravy. Have a great St. Patrick’s day, Dorothy.
Thanks Kevin! We slip that maple syrup in wherever we can!
Hearty and beautiful!
Thank you! And plenty to share.
One would feel very happy after enjoying a hearty bowl out of this gorgeous pot full of good stuff!! 😂🤣
Mary :))
Thanks Mary! It’s one of those deeply flavorful dishes that is nice to enjoy by the fire.
What an inviting bowl of hearty Irish Stew! Looks quite delicious!
Thank you Jan! It was delicious, and some for the freezer for a chilly, rainy April night!
Thank you, dear Dorothy, for the wonderful dish! I like everything despite not drinking normally but I would make an exception for this stew!
Joanna x
Never fear, it’s just as good with one of the dark non-alcohol ales!
Thanks for stopping by!
Well, and a happy St Paddy’s Day to you! Normally I am not a big one for Irish stew but I really and truly like yours – it is not ‘boring’ as the dish oft seems to me :)! And you have taught me that criminis are small portobellos – thank you! Must send your version to a few friends who do say they have leprechauns in their garden . . .
Those leprechauns are everywhere, and I’m not sure the fairies are pleased!
My kind of recope. Thank you for posting.
You are very welcome! An enjoyable bowl of stew!
Dorothy, you’ve just given me a wonderful idea for dinner! We are off to a dance social today. I’m now envisioning my crock pot with these wonderful ingredients slowly combining into a glorious meal ready for when we get home. And the smells… divine
Wonderful, and how marvelous to attend a dance social! 🕺💃
Irish (I wish) I had some right now. Lucky you! 🍀☘️🍀☘️🍀
Thanks! Irish you were here!
☘️💚🍀
I have the blood of Irish Travelers in my veins and your stew looks yummy – and vegetarian to boot!
BTW, March 17th is also St. Gertrude of Nivelles Day.
Hope you have a lovely St. Patrick’s Day my kindred Irish-blooded friend! Thank you for the info on St. Gertrude of Nivelles Day! She was quite the personality!
I like the versatility of this dish and darn, I keep throwing my peelings in the compost and forget to boil them up as stock. I will make a mental note about that. Based on your recommendation, I have been trying fennel dishes, as a prelude to cooking with them, and so far so good. I like it. And the soda bread looks so good. Thanks, Dorothy.
Every little step counts Amanda! I’m so glad you are starting to enjoy fennel. I find myself using it in place of celery most of the time, although celery keeps well in the refrigerator, fennel is even better! If the outside layers get a little brown, just use a peeler to remove the brown, no need to discard the whole layer. I just learned that myself and I cringe at how may lovely little fennel petals I’ve put in the stock pot.
Now that it is a great tip. I tend to use celery a lot but recently, when the cyclone hit us, I couldn’t get fresh produce – especially things like celery. Fennel might keep a little longer than celery.
Fennel is a good keeper, that’s for sure!
My Mom was a big stew maker. It was just fine with me, but my daughter to this day can’t even stand to hear the word ‘stew.’ 🙂 I bought a beautiful loaf of soda bread at a Boston bakery and will be enjoying that today and tomorrow. I hope your stew was delicious because I can almost smell it cooking. 🙂
Thanks Judy! I love soda bread, it’s so easy and also reminds me of my childhood. Mom was always making quick breads and biscuits, often baking powder biscuits and she never measured a thing!
You always have lovely options to make it interesting and different.
Ah, thanks Elaine! My family just says I can’t leave anything alone! But much of it is born of trying to work around food allergies and restrictions in my tribe!
Thanks for this wonderful vegetable forward rendition of a favorite recipe. It is amazing how you got the gravy so brown and savory looking. Yum!
Thank you! The glaze on the pan and the Guinness provided the deep, rich color Bernie, and much of the flavor as well.
Oh my goodness, and you know how to quilt too!!! Bravissima! Re this ‘new’ Irish Stew – at heart it’s a vegan vegetable stew. Maybe we could call this your Vegan Ratatouille? Or, even better, you should invent your own name for your dish? Name or no name, it sounds very hearty and delicious. And, like you, I love potatoes and do not know why they are always so maligned. Read just recently that they are an important source of fibre, so there …
Thanks Jo! I was hoping the Guinness would push it slightly into the Irish domaine!
Potatoes are my number one favorite food, and while I do have to watch how many I eat, they are so very nutritious. Four times more potassium than a banana, tons of fiber, protein, Vitamin C and B6, calcium, etc. and no saturated fat! Someday, people are going to realize they have been eating a true superfood all along!
I love ratatouille! In the summer, I make many a batch with garden surplus. Here’s one of my takes, and not a drop of beer! https://vintagekitchen.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=16386&action=edit
I will definitely be tucking this post into my recipe folder. That new stew sounds utterly delicious.
In central Maine, the snow is melting rapidly, just like the Wicked Witch of the West. 😉
Also, belated happy birthday! I don’t remember you mentioning your birthday in January. And lucky you to have a birthday on National Peanut Butter Day. Oh how I love peanut butter.
My birthday is March 1, and those special days all came up when I checked. I with you and adored the fact it was National Peanut Butter Day!
Almost all our snow left yesterday except one tiny plow pile, 65 degrees! It’s already 62, so I think we’ll be clear by lunch. The hayfields are trying to green up too.
I think we’re out of the woods!
For some reason I thought it was in January. Ah, well! Still, a belated happy birthday. Just not so long ago.
Thanks Laurie!
This is such a great vegetarian stew, perfect for this time of the year! Guinness beer adds such nice deep color and flavor to it.
It reminded me a visit to Dublin, that included a tour in the Guinness brewery. We had more than one taste! 🙂
Oh, we did the same tour, and I loved it! I loved everything about Dublin, even getting lost because everyone was so nice, except the cabbie who wouldn’t pick us up at a pub (the only phone I could find).
Looks yummy! I’d totally eat the stew with green bagels.
Happy St. Paddy’s Day! ☘️☘️☘️☘️
This sounds wonderful, and as always, is so pretty to see in your fun dishes! I must give it a whirl.
I think you’ll like it!
Oh this looks soooooo good! I need a good Irish Stew to go with my Irish Soda Bread. I love the idea of maple syrup added. Brilliant!
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! ☘️🍀
Thank you Nancy! Can’t resist the little drizzle of the maple!
I like stew, doubly so with a bottle of beer in it. Your photo is making me drool. Happy St Paddy’s Day ☘️
Happy St. Paddy’s Day to you too Ally!
I included a link to this delicious-looking recipe in my Post today. Can’t wait to try it tonight!!
Um, here’s my Post:
https://m2labs.wordpress.com/2025/03/17/beannachtai-na-feile-padraig-oraibh/
Thank you my friend!
I think you will enjoy this, we certainly did! Happy St. Paddy’s Day! ☘️☘️☘️
Mmmm! You have a gift, being able to create so many satisfying meals without meat! A nice warm bowl of this with a crusty bread is all I would ever need!
Thanks Terrie! We really loved this one. No one noticed there wasn’t any meat!
That’s some stew there! Beer and herbs… it’s like an Irish jig in a pot.😋
That it is, especially when you add the Vermont maple. Everyone dances.
Your meal looks hearty and scrumptious. Happy Birthday, Dorothy. May you be richly blessed. Love to you.
Thank you Mary! I do indeed feel blessed!
Looks delish!
Thanks Marilyn! It was really good!
This looks like such a good, hearty stew!
Thank you Nancy! It was a winner on all counts.
enjoyable! 70It’s time for a snack, how about some Homemade Pita Bread and Muhammara Sauce, but no nuts please!
Thanks! It hit the spot!