Since becoming an Irish-by-marriage, I have been working to discover a wonderful meal to serve on St. Patty's that everyone will love, that is simple and special at the same time. Something that we don't make except on that special day. We are not fans of the Corned Beef and Cabbage that so many seem to force down on this day every year and I frequently make Shepherd's Pie so that doesn't feel special enough. This year I trolled the internet and found a gem of a recipe on Food Network's website that I just had to try. They called it Roasted Root Vegetable Irish Lamb Stew and the reviewers all raved about how wonderful it was and how it was just like the one Mam used to make. So I thought I'd give it a try. The only problem was that I couldn't find any lamb. Nope, none. I went to the three major grocers around my home and the only thing that ONE of them had was one of those racks of lamb that you make into a crown roast. I have to admit that I considered this for a minute. But needing 2 roasts to come up with enough meat for this stew would 
set me back about $40 and that's just not going to happen. So I just got the good old beef stew meat at $2.99/lb. This recipe also gave me the opportunity to work with Parsnips, a veggie I have never used before. It is a very tasty root, somewhat like a carrot but kind of spiced in flavor and with a very odd consistency. I can't say that I liked the texture of the roasted parsnip, but I did like the flavor. We shall have to explore a bit more with this veggie. 
Like I said, I was afraid it would be a bit beer-ish, but it wasn't. The Guinness just added a richness to the sauce and complimented the rosemary and spicy parsnips and buttery leeks well. I had to resist going back for seconds, but the Hubs just couldn't. He had two full servings, so I'm guessing it was a hit all around! It may not look like much, but it was fantastic. Although I have to admit that I think the first photo of the ingredients IS a more appetizing picture. But this is the way of the stew I suppose!
set me back about $40 and that's just not going to happen. So I just got the good old beef stew meat at $2.99/lb. This recipe also gave me the opportunity to work with Parsnips, a veggie I have never used before. It is a very tasty root, somewhat like a carrot but kind of spiced in flavor and with a very odd consistency. I can't say that I liked the texture of the roasted parsnip, but I did like the flavor. We shall have to explore a bit more with this veggie. So the recipe was quite simple, but did take a long time as there were veggies roasting in the oven and meat simmering on the stove for 2 hours. The gravy base for the stew was Guinness based and tied in nicely with my Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes (see previous post). I was a bit worried that Moo wouldn't care for the stew because it contained so many veggies (none of which are on her Yumm! list) and it smelled VERY Guinnessy while cooking. But I gave her some of the meat, some potato and a few peas and she ate them all. Although I'm not sure if she did this for love of the stew or because she wanted a cupcake...I'd like to think it was the stew.
The Hubby and I both thought it was delicious.
Like I said, I was afraid it would be a bit beer-ish, but it wasn't. The Guinness just added a richness to the sauce and complimented the rosemary and spicy parsnips and buttery leeks well. I had to resist going back for seconds, but the Hubs just couldn't. He had two full servings, so I'm guessing it was a hit all around! It may not look like much, but it was fantastic. Although I have to admit that I think the first photo of the ingredients IS a more appetizing picture. But this is the way of the stew I suppose! If you want to try this recipe, and I strongly suggest that you do, just go to...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/roasted-root-vegetable-irish-lamb-stew-recipe/index.html
Delicious!!!
Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone!
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