In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here is my favorite stew recipe. It requires a little time for preparation, but it's worth it. As with all stews, it tastes better the second day than the first. It also freezes well. Serve with a green salad and a slice of crusty bread.
Serves: 8 Cups (Serving Size: 1 Cup)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsps. extra virgin olive oil
3 bay leaves
1½ lbs. Gelson's Natural beef lean stew meat
1 large yellow onion, sliced in ¼ inch slices
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. dried thyme or 1½ tsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp. dried rosemary or 1½ tsp. fresh rosemary
2-3 Tbsps. all purpose flour
1 cup homemade beef stock or a low sodium beef stock or broth, such as Health Valley Brand No Salt Added Beef Broth
12 oz. Irish Stout, such as Guinness Extra
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
¾ lb. carrots, sliced
1 lb. white potatoes, quartered
½ lb. cabbage, coarsely chopped (about ¼ head)
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions:
Heat 6 quart store top casserole pan and add oil and bay leaves. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute then add ½ meat. Brown on all sides then put aside. Repeat with second Tbsp. olive oil and the rest of the stew meat.
Put all meat together back in pan and add sliced onion. Cook for a few minutes until onion is translucent.
Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic, thyme, rosemary, and flour and stir well until ingredients are coated.
Add stock and stout; simmer, stirring until the stew thickens.
