Some people like to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day with green beer, but I prefer to consume a traditional Irish stout stew instead. If you’re with me on this, give this recipe (adapted from one found on Allrecipes) a try. To add a Canadian twist, the Guinness has been replaced with Toronto-based, Mill St. Brewery‘s Cobblestone Stout.

Ingredients:

- 2 pounds lean beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

- tablespoons olive oil, divided

- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

- 1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste

- 1 pinch cayenne pepper

- 2 large onions, chopped

 (more if you love garlic!)

- 2 tablespoons tomato paste

- 1 1/2 cups Irish stout beer (such as Mill St. )

- 2 cups chopped carrot and potatoes (any mix of root vegetables

- 1 sprig fresh thyme

- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish

As you can see, I had a fair bit more meat to work with. My stew ended up being about double the size of what the above ingredients list would get you. Whatever you do, try and buy the best meat that you can!

Toss the beef cubes with 1 tablespoon of oil. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Dredge the beef in this to coat.

Heat the remaining oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef, and brown on all sides. Add the onions, and garlic. Stir the tomato paste into a small amount of water to dilute; pour into the pan and stir to blend. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 minutes

Pour 1/2 cup of the beer into the pan, and as it begins to boil, scrape any bits of food from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. This adds a lot of flavor to the broth. Pour in the rest of the beer, and add the vegtables and thyme. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley.

For extra flavour, I sprinkled in some bacon rind and chopped kale. I find it hard to cook anything without adding in bacon and kale, yum!

Serve with a side of bread of healthy salad and enjoy. Happy St. Paddy’s Day!