#169 Stobhach Gaelach: Irish Stew

Some purists suggest that the authentic Irish stew or Stobhach Gaelach  should only have the following ingredients: neck mutton or kid, onions, potatoes and water. Recognized as early as the 1800's, there are many variations that are suggested nowadays. I chose to add carrots. I did not find mutton or goat in the grocery stores, and so I chose lamb--shoulder blade. I also used leeks and added fresh rosemary based on the recipe I adapted it from . I was worried that it won't turn out ok, but it did! 

STOBHACH GAELACH

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 lbs lamb shoulder blade
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 cups of water
5 large potatoes
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 cup thinly sliced leeks
parsley for garnishing

Directions:

1. Brown Lamb by batches, remove from pan once browned, set aside. (see pics below)
2. In the same pan, add onions and cook until translucent.
3. Add the browned lamb, salt, pepper and water. Cover and bring to boil.
4. Lower heat, and simmer meat for 1.5 hours or until tender.
5. Stir in potatoes and carrots, add water if needed, simmer for another 20 minutes.
6. Stir in leeks and rosemary, continue to simmer until potatoes are tender.
7. Serve hot and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
8. Enjoy!

Ahh, this was so good! I'm so happy that I learned how to cook this dish. I have always used beef for my stews, I rarely bought lamb because I really was not sure how to cook it. Back home in the Philippines, we did not have abundant supply of lamb meat, in fact I have never even tried it until I moved to California. This dish makes preparing lamb easy. It is also very delicious, and the meat was very  very soft!

The starch from the potatoes thickened the sauce, and so there is really no need to add wheat flour to this recipe. Season it according to your taste, I'm sure you will love how this dish will warm up your belly in this cold winter season...

If you enjoyed this post, follow this blog as we will be posting 196 more recipes this year! 196 recipes to discover, learn to cook, take pictures and post here to complete the goal of 365!  

Will I finish this big task? Check back often to see my progress! xo Van

#137 Irish Potato and Parsley Soup

I discovered a green soup, that's also Irish, so perfect for St. Patrick's Day next year! :) I love this soup. I just happened to have so much Parsley and a quick search for "parsley soups" led me to the discovery of this delicious recipe, which I tweaked a little bit. What I love about it? It is very simple, it requires a blender after cooking to liquefy the potatoes, so the soup comes out really smooth and filling as well. Parsley is very inexpensive and has a unique delicious taste, it's nutritious and it comes in bunches when you buy it; since I love it's flavor, I used A LOT of fresh parsley for this traditional Irish soup. It is usually added with bacon, potatoes, milk, cream and chicken stock. I omitted the bacon, it still came out so tasty. What I learned about blending soups that just came out of the stove top? DO NOT fill the blender, or it will overflow, and hold the lid down very firmly! The heat of the soup creates a steam that will send the blender's lid to the ceiling and will paint it green! Best to cool it a little bit before blending, or add soup half a blender at a time.

Yield: Serves 4

IRISH POTATO and PARSLEY SOUP

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Irish butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
3 potatoes, washed, peeled and chopped
2 cups chicken broth, OR 2 teaspoons chicken base + 2 cups water
2 cups of milk
3 cups of chopped fresh parsley
1 cup of chopped fresh celery
salt and pepper to taste
cream

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat butter and then add onions, and then garlic, don't let it brown.
2. Add potatoes, cover to let it cook, don't let it burn.
3. Add broth, parsley and celery, and then let it boil once then reduce heat. Add milk and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Then, add soup in a blender to liquefy. It is best  (based on my experience!) to do it half a blender at a time.
5. Return the blended soup in the pot, simmer for another 5 minutes.
6. Salt and pepper to taste, serve with cream on top.

Delicious Irish Potato and Parsley Soup