Inspiration for Creating Healthy Home-Cooked Food Every Day: Meal of the Month

By RUTH LAURENT-KOCHER | Contributing Writer

As a follow-up to “Step Up To Dinner”—my series of articles that hopefully inspired you to spend a little time creating a weekly meal plan for healthier dinners—each month, I will bring you one of my favorite recipes. Many contain meat or fish, but I will offer a vegetarian option and gluten-free alternative ingredients where possible.

Holidays and special days in my house are a great excuse to try something new and tasty for dinner, featuring a particular flavor or ingredient to accompany the celebration of the season. They can become regular “go to” dinners, or sometimes just one-offs I only cook that day, a special dinner that only comes around once per year.

March – St. Patrick’s Day

My first recipe to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 brings all the flavors and foods of Ireland together in a fabulous Guinness Stew. Apart from being a wonderfully warm comfort food, it guarantees your house will smell delicious and sometimes wafts gloriously out onto the street. What better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, traditionally known as the Feast of Saint Patrick in honor of Ireland’s patron saint, than with a feast of Irish flavors?

Irish Guinness Stew

Time: Two hours, 15 minutes (15 prep; two hours cook). Serves six to eight.

Ingredients

• 3 lb. stew beef or beef chuck, cut into bite-size chunks
• For the vegetarian version, replace beef with 1 peeled, cubed turnip and more vegetables
• ½ cup plain flour or gluten-free alternative
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 sticks celery, chopped
• 2 parsnips, peeled, halved and chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 can or bottle of Irish Guinness
• 1 cup of beef broth (or vegetable broth for the vegetarian version)
• 1 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 tsp concentrated beef broth (or Marmite for the vegetarian version)
• 3 springs of fresh oregano
• A handful of fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Put flour and salt in a bag; add meat and shake to coat in flour.
2. Heat two tbsp of olive oil in a Dutch oven or a large pot with a lid; add the meat and brown and cook for five to seven minutes.
3. Take the meat out and place it on one side. While hot, add the red wine vinegar to the pot and scrape the brown bits off; add a little Guinness if necessary. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for five minutes.
4. Add the carrots, celery, parsnips, Guinness, broth, tomato paste, concentrate or Marmite, and all the herbs; mix well and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper.
5. Cover and cook in the oven for one-and-a-half hours or longer until the meat is very tender/only one hour if the vegetarian version (add more broth if necessary to keep stew moist, so you have enough gravy).

Serve with buttery mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli, or boiled baby potatoes and roasted sprouts. Just make sure you have something to soak up all that delicious gravy and a healthy green vegetable too. This meal is great for leftovers, as it tastes even better the next day.

Palisadian Ruth Laurent-Kocher brings executive function to her personal passion for healthy home-cooked food in her first book, “Step Up To Dinner,” a “how to” guide to meal planning, plus 30 favorite recipes to inspire you. To buy a copy, arrange a group workshop or book a private consultation, email ruth@uptotheplate.org or go to uptotheplate.org, and follow Laurent-Kocher on Instagram @upto_theplate.