Almost Clean Irish Stew

‘Twas a cold and rainy night that had me craving an Irish Stew.  I hated Irish Stew when I was a kid, so I never appreciated it (being that my parents are from Ireland, and my Mom would make it often).  But thankfully my taste-buds have changed and I can appreciate the deliciousness!!  This recipe is almost clean because I cannot make a good irish stew without a little Guinness Stout, and of course, beer is not clean.  So if you want the recipe completely clean, you can just omit the 12 oz of beer and add 12 oz more of beef broth.  But I am telling you, you’ll want the beer ;)

Also, I am not sure how traditional it is to put garlic in Irish Stew, but I put garlic in everything, so I did this stew, and it works wonderfully!

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil

1 pound of lean beef stew meat

2 tbsp whole wheat flour

2 onions, chopped large

2 cups sliced mushrooms

6 cloves of minced garlic (or 3 tsp of pre-minced garlic)

1 can (6oz) tomato paste

2 cups beef broth

1 can or bottle of Guinness Stout (not Extra Stout, or it will be a bitter stew)

3 cups baby carrots (or sliced carrots, I prefer baby carrots because they are a little sweeter)

4 baking potatoes, peeled and diced large

1 tbsp corn starch

1 tbsp cold water

Fresh parsley for topping

Directions

Heat oil in a Dutch Oven or Large Pot over medium-high heat.  Coat beef cubes in with flour, shaking off the excess.  Fry beef cubes until browned on all sides and remove from the pot.  Add the onion, mushrooms and garlic to the pot, and cook stirring constantly until onion is tender (about 3 minutes).

Return beef to the pot, and stir in tomato paste, beef broth and beer.  Add the potatoes and carrots, cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour.  Mix together the cornstarch and cold water in a separate bowl.  Add mixture to stew and simmer until thickened.  (If stew is not thick enough for you, add another mixture of 1 tbsp cornstarch/1 tbsp cold water).