8614903@ul.ie (Desmond P. O'Donoghue) (05/14/91)
Well this is my mother's recipe for Irish Stew. The best stews are
those that are "thrown together" and therefore I am not giving accurate
measures as they don't matter anyway.
Cooking time is 1hr or whenever it tastes edible.
IRISH STEW.
Ingredients (for 4 people) :
1 1/2 lbs Steak (stewing or round),
3 medium sized carrots,
3 medium sized parsnips,
1/2 cup pearl barley,
stock or soup mixture (beef or oxtail),
Salt,
Pepper,
Mixed herbs,
8 Potatoes (or more if you're hungry).
Method :
1. Boil some water ( sufficient to cover the meat and have apprx 1" left
above) in a large saucepan,
2. Put in the chopped (large chunks) meat,
3. Lower heat to keep the stew simmering,
4. Put in the chopped/diced carrots and parsnips,
5. Add herbs, salt and pepper to taste,
6. Leave simmer for a while (say 20 mins),
7. Add the peeled whole potatoes and some stock/soup mixture or cornflour
to thicken,
8. Keep the mixture simmering and stir occasionally,
9. After about 1hr from start-time taste and check the potatoes,
10. If it tastes ok then its done. Remember the best stews are left on for
a long time 1 1/2 hrs or more.
Hope you can follow this recipe - I normally cook without measurements
and things work out ok.
Des.