It’s St. Patrick’s Day so we decided to have Stew and Irish Soda Bread while listening to some great pub-style Irish music.
First, a little history — St. Patrick’s Day has been commemorated on March 17 since St. Patrick’s death on this day in the 5th century. He became a priest and founded schools, churches, and monasteries throughout Ireland. His popularity gave him his sainthood, but he was not formally given it by the church. St. Patrick’s Day slowly went from a religious holiday (a feast day for a break in Lenten fasting), to a secular one celebrating Irish heritage.
It is said that St. Patrick used the shamrock to teach pagans Christianity and the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He supposedly ran snakes out of Ireland and into the sea, but historians are not sure that Ireland ever inhabited any snakes.
Back to our meal!! Typically Irish stew contains lamb, potatoes, carrots, onion, thyme, chives and parsley. Since I do not have any lamb (it’s not something we normally eat), and any meat I’d usually put in a stew is completely frozen (I did not plan ahead!), I decided that I am making an Irish-inspired stew using vegetables.
Yes, vegetables. And this will be a frugal meal containing such ingredients as potatoes, carrots, onion and seasonings. This stew is costing just a few dollars to make since we are using garden onion and potatoes!
Let’s get started!
Toss onion, celery and carrot into pot with lard, tallow or oil of choice. Add seasonings.
I see some onion are starting to brown, so I’ll add a bit of water to the pot. Cook until onion is tender.
Add flour and stir. Cook until flour is slightly cooked and no longer visible.
Add a splash of water and stir, so you do not get lumps, then add potatoes and water or broth.
Stir well. Add enough water to cover potatoes.
Cover pot slightly and cook for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked.
Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Simmer for a few minutes longer.
Add chives and parsley. Stir well. I am using chives and parsley that we chopped up and froze this past fall.
Looks so good and tastes amazing!
I made Irish Soda Bread to go with our stew using both regular flour and stone ground flour.
Time to eat! This stew is very hearty and a great stick to your bones kind of meal — plus it’s a frugal meal!
Irish-inspried Vegetable Stew
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, sliced
4 small carrots or 1 large carrot, sliced
Sprinkle salt and pepper
Sprinkle thyme
2 tbsp flour
3 cups potatoes, chopped
3 to 4 cups water or vegetable broth
Few pinches of chives and parsley
Toss onion, celery and carrot into pot with seasonings, and lard, tallow or oil of choice. Cook until onion is tender, adding a splash of water if needed. Add flour and stir. Add a bit of water so the stew does not have any lumps. Add potato and water or broth. Cover slightly and cook for 20 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally. Add chives and parsley. Stir. Serve with Irish Soda Bread.
