Rich vegan Irish Stew

Posted in Main courses, Vegan classics

A rich vegan Irish stew! The very words conjure up all kinds of mystical revelries. It’s a brilliant way to get some good old root vegetables into a pot with some of that Irish stout. You can use Guiness, Murphy’s or Beamish if you can get hold of them. Thyme, rosemary & sage are the herbs you need. Fortunately, Sainsbury’s, and I suspect other supermarkets, sell them in a single pack for “roasting” which cuts out a lot of waste.

Turnips are one of those vegetables it’s hard to know what to do with. Well they go really well in this particular dish. You could add some swede too, but you have to be careful as it can go very mushy. All of the veg I’ve chosen are good at holding their shape. There’s plenty of fibre here and when you add in some white or cannelini beans the protein is really boosted too.

I like to add some faux meat just to fool the non-vegans, but you could just as easily add in tempeh. I don’t think tofu would work though, although feel free to try.

There’s lots of other seasonings and things added in there to give it body, and boost the flavour. The Irish stout is very important though to give this rich vegan Irish stew those real earthy notes.

The corn starch is another key ingredient – flour would make it too gloopy, to get that nice viscous but delicate consistency it has to be corn starch.

Irish Stew

This is recipe based on Irish Stout and root vegatables - potatoes being essential. It's a warming winter dish, and very easy to prepare - if you have the right ingredients.

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Prep Time 25

Cook Time 45

Servings: 8 people

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Irish

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

660 ml of Irish Stout or Guinness 1 ½ Cans maybe more poss 880ml, I will update next time I make this.
3 veg stock cubes – possibly 4 plus 500ml of water – may need a little more.
50 g of tomato puree up to 100g – according to taste
4 Tbsps. of corn starch less if using lentils.
3 medium carrots
3 small parsnips
2 small turnips
250 g of charlotte potatoes Half a bag
1 30g Bag of mixed roasting herbs – Thyme Rosemary & Sage – most supermarkets sell them combined which saves on waste.
1 teasp of Natex/Marmite
2 medium onions
3 sticks of celery used 2 last time
5 cloves of garlic use more if you live garlic!
50g Some red lentils optional - use less cornstarch
250 g mushrooms – portobello – or chestnut
150 g large white beans - cannelini or similar optional
½ teasp white pepper
1 teasp onion powder
1 teasp garlic powder
1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 pack of meatless farm, moving mountains or similar “beef strips” or a pack of veggie sausages/meatballs.
1 tbsp Yeast flakes? optional
2/3 of a mix of dumpling mix to form 12 dumplings. see general dumpling recipe on this blog

Equipment

wide oven proof pan

Method

Roughly chop the onions, garlic and celery (1 cm pieces) & Sauté in a butter substitute or rapeseed oil.
As they soften add the rest of the root veg roughly chopped into 2cm chunks – potatoes a little larger. Add a little more oil if necessary and continue to sauté for approx. 10 mins.
Meanwhile in a separate pan sauté the mushrooms until nicely browned. You can just add them to the mix with the other veg, but it’s not quite as good.
Add in the cornflour and all other seasonings and give a good stir around to coat all the veg in them – this helps to avoid lumps forming when you add the liquid.
Add all the liquid plus the fresh herbs – whilst stirring and bring to the boil and simmer briefly.
Add in the pre sauteed mushrooms and mix.
Add in the white or cannelini beans
Adjust liquid content and add in dumplings carefully by making a well and dropping them in.
Transfer to the oven and cook for 45 minutes on around 150°C.
It should have a nice consistency – sauce not to runny, but not too thick either – adjust to your taste with extra liquid. Serve with some polenta or cous cous.