No need to wait for St. Patrick’s Day — with its herbs, frozen vegetables and Armanino Gourmet Meatballs, this Irish stew is delicious any time of year.
½ large white onion, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 ½ cups low sodium beef stock
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ lb baby red potatoes, halved or quartered if large
1 cup carrots peeled, cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces (1-2 large carrots)
⅔ cup celery, cut into ½” pieces (1-2 stalks)
½ cup frozen peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
egg noodles, for serving
Directions
Measure out the ale, let the foam settle and then top off as needed.
With a piece of kitchen string, tie the parsley sprigs, thyme and bay leaf together to make a ‘bouquet garni”. While this is optional, it will make it much easier to remove the herbs later. Set aside until needed.
Heat half the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat.
Brown the defrosted meatballs in a single layer, turning frequently (depending on the size of your pot you may have to do this in two batches). Browning adds and extra layer of flavor and helps the meatballs to stay in one piece during cooking.
Once browned, remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the remaining oil and the diced onion; sauté over medium-high until soft, translucent and lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and flour, cook for 1-2 minutes until the paste darkens in color.
Stir in 1 cup of the ale, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add the beef stock and bring to a boil, then add the bouquet garni (or the loose herbs) to the pot as well as the salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat to medium and with the pot uncovered and at a steady gentle boil, reduce the liquid by half, about 15-20 minutes.
Add the remaining ½ cup ale, potatoes, carrots, celery and browned meatballs.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover slightly and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about another 15 minutes.
In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the peas (the peas just need to warm through).
Remove and discard the bouquet garni (or pick out the loose herbs). Serve hot with egg noodles, if desired, and garnish with chopped parsley. Can be made up to 2 days ahead and freezes up to 2 months.
Chef’s Tips
Don’t limit yourself to the typical carrot/celery/potato combination; any hearty vegetable will work well in this stew – turnips, mushrooms and butternut squash would all be nice.
For a thicker stew, increase the flour to 2 Tablespoons and simmer until rich and silky.
Instead of egg noodles, serve the stew over a thick slice of toasted country style bread to help sop up the delicious sauce.
