Warming Winter Meals
The evenings are cold and dark, you are cuddled up by the fire. The thought of cooking your evening meal crosses the mind. What can you rustle up to provide you or your family with a good, wholesome and hearty Irish meal? We spoke to our head chef, who provided us with two great recipes for you to follow this winter!
Beef and Guinness Stew
It doesn’t get more Irish than a good old, warming stew – even more so with a renowned Irish twist in the form of Guiness. This is a warm, comforting traditional Irish recipe to warm you up this winter.
Time: 120 mins Serves: 6
Ingredients:
- 1-2 tbsp of oil
- 1kg shoulder of beef, cut into one-inch chunks
- 2 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- As much garlic as you like, finely sliced
- 150ml beef stock
- 500ml of Guinness
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 30g of plain flour
Method:
- Heat the oil in a large pot until piping hot and fry your meat till nicely brown on both sides. Season with salt and pepper as you go.
- Scoop the meat out when done and transfer to a plate, do not drain the juices – they’re important!
- Add another drop of oil to the pot if necessary and fry the onion, carrots, celery and garlic in the leftover juices and stir.
- Pour in the Guinness
- Add the meat back into the pot and stir.
- Add the stock, season to taste and stir it all together. Add the bay leaf, place the lid on and leave your stew to gently simmer until the liquid has reduced and the meat is delicious and tender. This should roughly take 1½ hours
- If you want your stew to be thicker transfer the excess liquid from the top into a smaller saucepan and mix in the flour slowly, on a medium heat, until you have the desired effect. Mix back into your main pot.
Roast Lamb With Rosemary and Garlic
This flavoursome dish is the perfect combination of festive and classic. This hearty meal is one of the most versatile additions to your collection of traditional Irish winter recipes. It is suitable for any occasion from Sunday roasts to Christmas dinners and casual dinner parties.
Ingredients:
For the lamb:
- 1 leg of lamb, on the bone (roughly 2½ kg to serve 6-8)
- As much garlic as you like, sliced finely
- 3 sprigs of rosemary leaves, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp of oil
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200˚C/400°F/Gas Mark 6
- Place the lamb in a roasting dish and make a number of incisions over the lamb and stuff the rosemary and garlic in the holes.
- Drizzle with oil and generously season
- Place in the oven to roast for 15 minutes per ever 500g/1lb for medium-rare or longer if you prefer your meat more well done.
