more potatoes, please!

So I’m in line at Whole Foods with a parsnip in one hand and a Rogue’s Chocolate Stout in the other.  The Irish woman in line ahead of me looks at my hands and says, “looks like you are having an Irish dinner tonight!”  It was funny to me that stout and parsnips screamed “Irish” to her.  My lovely sister shares her birthday with St. Patrick’s Day.  She’s lucky, as there is always a party on her birthday.  This year is a milestone b-day for her, and I’m bummed we can’t be together.  However, if there’s anything that can make your bummed belly happy, it’s a good Irish beef stew.  The Rogue’s Chocolate Stout imparts a velvety, barely there, chocolatey taste.  I highly recommend using it.  Alternatives for Rogue in your grocery store are Guinness, Murphy’s Irish stout, or your favorite locally brewed stout!  I can’t help but think a Bell’s Porter from Kalamazoo would also be phenomenal in this stew.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of Rogue Chocolate Stout
• 1 1/4 lbs stew meat (I used bison, but beef is fine too)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced parsnip
• 1 cup thickly sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 2-3 cups of beef stock
• 2 of sprigs of thyme and 2 sprigs of rosemary, tied in a bundle
• mashed potatoes for topping
• parsley for garnish

mmmm, chocolatey!

Instructions:

Try to chop all your veggies to roughly the same size so they cook evenly.  Heat the olive oil in your stew pot (I used a dutch oven) to medium high heat until it smokes just a little bit.  Add your stew meat and sear until browned.  Add all the veggies and cook around 7-10ish minutes, just so they sweat a little bit.  Pour in your stout and let it reduce by half.

hot tub of deliciousness

Add enough beef stock so that it almost covers the contents of your pot.  Place your lid on top and reduce to a simmer for about 2 hours.  Meanwhile (not necessary but it made for a delightful accompaniment), peel some potatoes and boil for 15-20 minutes.  Add some butter, maybe a little lowfat sour cream, milk, and salt.  Mash them and set aside.

Take your lid off for the last 30 minutes so the sauce can reduce a little bit.  If it isn’t thickened enough, you can always mix a little flour or Wondra roux into it.  1 tablespoon of Wondra with 2 tablespoons of water in a separate bowl and then stir into your stew pot.  It will thicken your broth nicely to a silky smooth texture.  To serve, ladle the stew into your bowl and plunk a scoop of mashed potatoes on top.  Finish with chopped parsley.  SOOO good!

the hubs had 2 helpings!

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