Vegetarian Irish Stew

Irish stew of potatoes, cabbage, onions and carrots with colcannon mashed potatoes.

3.94 from 15 votes

Savory vegetarian Irish Stew, loaded with mushrooms, potatoes, carrots and celery, and a lighter beer than the traditional Guinness.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Irish

Keyword: Vegetarian Irish Stew

Servings:

Calories: 318.5kcal

Author: Susan Pridmore

Ingredients

8 ounces baby bella mushrooms quartered
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms sliced in half
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion about 2 cups
3 large carrots peeled and sliced into rounds
3 celery stalks, including the leaves diced
3 cloves garlic smashed and minced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
12 ounces beer I used Corona beer, see the ingredient notes
4 cups vegetable broth
4 large russet potatoes
¼ head green cabbage
¼ cup soy sauce, or tamari
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon kosher salt or 1 ½ teaspoons of sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
3 large sprigs of thyme left intact

Instructions

Prep the mushrooms, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven, or other heavy bottomed pot, over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mushrooms all at once. They should sizzle. Sear for 5 minutes, or until starting to brown.
Pro-tip: Don't move them around more often than once every 30 seconds, to allow a fond to develop on the base of the pot.
Remove the mushrooms and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium heat, and add the onions, carrots and celery to the pot. Add a little extra olive oil if needed. Toss to coat and cook until the onions are translucent, and starting to brown on the bottom of the pot.
Pro-tip: Don't move them around more often than once every 60 seconds, to allow a fond to develop on the base of the pot.
Melt the butter in the pot, stir with the veggies, and add the flour. Using a wooden spoon, move the veggies around in the flour to coat them. Cook for a few minutes until the raw flour scent is gone. Nudge them around the pot every 15 seconds to make sure the flour is cooked.
Slowly add the beer, while constantly stirring the veggies. A thick, paste-like gravy will develop. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown fond on the bottom of the pot.
If it doesn't all come up, no worries. It will continue to release while the stew simmers.
Add the vegetable broth, potatoes, cabbage, soy sauce, tomato paste, salt, pepper and thyme sprigs. Cover and simmer on low for 30 - 35 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
Add the mushrooms back in, and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
Serve warm.

Nutrition