With St. Patrick's Day a few days away, thoughts turn to classic Irish food and, of course, beer.
Today's recipe features beer and potatoes in one of Ireland's national dishes: a stew. This stew is a little different in that the meat and vegetables are served with the concentrated beef stock/beer pan juices poured over them.
Guinness, Ireland's most famous stout, gives this stew its deep flavor. The dark, coffee-colored beer has many culinary uses. While it may look like it would be a heavy beer, its flavor is smooth and light. In cooking, the stout almost caramelizes, becoming sweet. That's why you also see it used in cakes, cookies and brownies.
The idea behind a great stew is to take complex flavors and balance them in one pot. You do this by cooking the ingredients, a few at a time at first, to develop their flavor. In this recipe, the protein base is cubed leg of lamb. You could also use beef if desired. Typically, leg of lamb that is already boneless is oddly shaped. Take a look at it and figure out how best to cut the lamb in even cubes. Before you get started, trim the lamb of any excess fat.
Once you cube the lamb, pat the pieces dry with paper towel. This helps them sear, instead of steam, and develop a nicely browned, flavorful crust. Also, this helps develops what is called "fond" in the bottom of the pot. Fond are those little bits of food and concentrated juices that are full of flavor.
Next up is the pearl onions. When cooked and browned, these small onions become sweet, adding another layer of flavor.
What you end up with from just those two ingredients is a base of richly concentrated sweet and meaty flavors in a small amount of liquid. Now you can add to that liquid with the beef stock and beer.
When it comes to the potatoes, use a variety that can hold its shape during long cooking. In this recipe, all-purpose Russet potatoes suffice. You can cut them into cubes or thick slices. Creamy smaller potatoes like red skin or Yukon Golds can be used but add them during the last 30 minutes of cooking, along with the mushrooms. The smaller potatoes tend to cook quicker.
Round out this dish with a pint of Guinness and some bread. For recipe inspiration, check out the Healthy Table Irish Soda Bread.
