mum o'3 Food Journal

(Promoted from the diaries - K)

Being that my husband is from sunny..hatch that... rainy Donegal Ireland, I have been schooled on what is authentic Irish food and what is not. Case and point is the "traditional St Patrick's meal" of corn beef and cabbage. My husband had never even heard of corned beef until he moved to the USA. Ham and cabbage sure, but not corned beef and cabbage. Let's not get started on the green beer ;)

For a more authentic Irish meal I would go with my husbands favorite mince and potatoes. You and I would call it an Irish stew. disclaimer: I am not a chef by profession, I just love to cook for my family!!

Irish Stew

Ingredients

2 lbs mince meat or cubed lamb
1 medium onion chopped
3-4 carrots coined
3 parsnips coined or chopped
1 small turnip sliced
(you can get the vegetables in a “stew pack” )
12-14 potatoes scrubbed and chopped.. put aside in a different pot (my husband is from ireland so he likes his potatoes.. we boil them all half for dinner tonight & half we mash for the left over conversion)
1 pkg beef gravy mix (we use Bisto which is what they use in Ireland I use that for my honey’s sake, but American brands work well as well)
1 dark beer (optional.. don’t substitute with a light beer, but you can substitute with red wine or even the equivalent oz in water.. just loses the irish mood but is yummy)
1 cup ½ water which you have mixed your gravy in.. other wise if you add the mix directly to the stew.. you get globby lumps.
Olive oil to “wet your stew pot”
Salt
Pepper

2 large stew pots..

1. if you are doing mince (ground beef) fry that up first. When it is done I rinse out my meat in a colander . otherwise this will turn out to greasy. If you are using lamb start with step 2 and then add the meat.

2 heat up olive oil til it spits. Add onions and let them brown.

3. once meat is fully browned add your vegetable minus potatoes start those boiling to the side

4. add your liquids

5 salt and pepper to taste

6. bring mix to boil and then lower temp to simmer and cover.

7.let it simmer for about an hour. Stirring every once in a while
8.serve with boiled potatoes, salt pepper and a bit of butter.

Now, as a bonus for those of you hungry for more irish yumminess, for the convertible left over recipe

Shepherd’s pie

8x8 pan
1 – 2 c cheddar cheese
1 can corn
2 -3 handful frozen peas
butter

1. fill the bottom of the pan with Irish stew..
2. top with the (drained) corn and peas
3. I like cheddar cheese.. but that is optional
4. top with your mashed potatoes you made with the extra potatoes
5. I like to add a few pats of butter to the top
6. put in the fridge to heat up tomorrow in the oven
7. next day you have no mess to clean up, just put in the oven 375 for about 40 minutes… and a no fuss meal is here.

My family loves both incarnations of this meal. I hope that this blesses you as it blesses them