One day is just not enough time to try out all the Irish goodies I found while perusing the webs.
Guinness chocolate cake, Guinness beef stew, Guinness ice cream!
Are you seeing the pattern here?
So here’s another Irish meal. Warm. Hearty. Filling. Cheesy. Oh. And boozey.
Yea. I added Guinness.
I couldn’t resist!
This was actually easier than I thought it would be to put together. I usually shy away from multi-step, multi-method cooking, but for a holiday, I always throw caution to the wind. And, this somehow manages to still only be a 2 pot meal!
This involves making mashed potatoes, sauteeing meat and vegetables, and then assembling and baking. You can easily make the mashed potatoes ahead of time. Or use leftovers if you have them handy.
For this recipe you will need:
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 1 cup each of frozen peas, carrots and corn.
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1/2 cup Guinness
- 2 tablespoons flour
- olive oil
- butter
- salt
- pepper
- cheddar cheese (if you’re feeling indulgent)
Start by setting the potatoes in a pot of water and bringing to a boil. I read somewhere to always start boiling potatoes in cold water, rather than adding potatoes to already boiling water. I don’t know why. But it has stuck with me and I always do that.
While the potatoes boil, drizzle some olive oil into a pot and add the onion and a touch of butter, maybe a tablespoon. I cooked the filling in an oven-proof cast aluminum casserole so I could just transfer from burner to oven. If you don’t have something that would work, sautee in a frying pan then transfer to a lightly buttered casserole.
When the onions turn translucent, add the ground beef.
Let the beef brown with the onions. When it is about halfway cooked, pour in some Guinness. I used about a 1/2 a cup. You can use as much or as little as you like. Or you can use beef broth instead.
Add about two tablespoons of flour to the pot to help the juices firm up a bit.
Give the pot a good stir and season with salt and lots of black pepper. The add in your frozen vegetables.
Meanwhile, your potatoes should be fork tender by now. Drain the water and place the potatoes back in the pot.
Add some butter and start mashing! You can add a touch of milk if you like. I leave a bit of water in the pot to help the potatoes along. I was trying not to add too much richness. Since I’m going to dump some cheddar cheese into the pot in a second.
Yup, there we are. Shredded cheddar into the potatoes. And lots more coming up on top.
When your meat is cooked and your veggies are nice and defrosted, layer the potatoes over the filling.
And top with cheese.
Yup. There it is. There’s why I didn’t add milk to the potatoes.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for about thirty minutes, until everything is all golden and bubbly.
Scoop out heaving platefuls.
And get ready for a nap!
