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| Irish Stew made with B&Z Brown Ale |
It's that time of year. March
has me wishing for spring, but the winter winds continue to blow something
fierce through the woods behind my house, sounding as loud as a freight train.
The chilly temperatures call for something hot and hearty. Here's a meal that
is sure to stick to your bones and ward off the cold. Enjoy!
Irish Beef Stew
The broth of this stew is so rich
and complex that it completely transforms everyday beef cubes, potatoes, and
carrots into something extraordinary. I. Am. Not. Joking. I used a brown ale
home-brewed by my son (the "B" in B & Z), but any store-bought
brown ale will do.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ pounds of chuck beef, cut
into 1 inch cubes
4 large garlic cloves, minced
6 cups beef stock (store
bought is fine)
1 cup of hearty brown ale
1 cup of good red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
½ tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
sauce
2 - 3 bay leaves, depending
on the size
3 pounds golden potatoes,
peeled, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
5 - 6 carrots, peeled, cut
into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh
parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
Heat olive oil in large,
heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Sear the beef cubes until brown on all
sides. Work in batches if necessary. Crowding the pan will steam the beef, not
brown it. The resulting brown bits in the bottom of the pot add lots of flavor
to the finished stew. Searing the meat should take about 8 minutes. Remove all
beef from the pot and set aside.
Add garlic to the pot and
sauté for about a minute. Add beef stock, brown ale, red wine, tomato paste, sugar,
thyme, Worcestershire, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to simmer.
Add beef back to the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 1 hour,
stirring occasionally.
After meat has cooked for an
hour, add potatoes, onion, and carrots to the stew. Simmer until vegetables are
tender, approximately 30 more minutes. Remove the bay leaves. Add salt and
pepper to taste. Stir in fresh parsley and serve this rich, delicious stew
steaming hot.
Irish Soda Bread
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| Real Irish Soda Bread |
Soda bread is a quick bread that
uses baking soda as the leavening ingredient, rather than yeast. The buttermilk
contains lactic acid that reacts with the soda to make the dough rise. Do not
knead this bread. Simply mix, pat into a circle and bake. The resulting
"round" of baked bread will be rustic and lumpy. The crust will be
crisp and the inside will be dense and chewy. Here's an interesting tidbit:
read the oldest known recipe for Irish Soda Bread at the Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread.
Ingredients:
4 cups cake flour (all
purpose will also work)
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups buttermilk
Directions:
Heat oven to 425º F. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray. (I bake my soda
bread directly on a pizza stone.)
Combine flour, soda, and salt in a large bowl. Gradually stir in buttermilk,
mixing constantly, until dough is moist enough to be gathered into a ball. If
dough is dry, add a little more buttermilk, a couple tablespoons at a time,
until it's moist enough to hold together.
Place dough on a lightly floured board and pat into an 8-inch round loaf. Don't
over handle it to avoid developing the gluten.
Place loaf on baking sheet and slash the traditional, deep "X" into
the top of the dough with a sharp knife.
Bake about 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Serve warm with soften
butter.
