Guinness Stew is a classic Irish dish and something I love to make almost as much as I love to eat! This rich stew is further elevated by the Cheddar cheese pastry topper, which amplifies the flavours in the dish.
Ontario is well known for crafting exquisite, award winning Cheddars, and using an aged Cheddar gives dishes richness and depth of flavour. As cheese ages, the flavours sharpen and intensify, revealing unique nutty, smoky or even fruity notes. The more a cheese is naturally aged, the more intense and complex the flavours become.
Being from Ontario, I was excited to try one of our many amazing local stouts to make a local version of this iconic dish. While Guinness will always hold a place in my heart, I’ve also welcomed Woodhouse Brewing Co.’s Irish-style Stout, but there are a great many Ontario craft stouts you can choose from.
Step 1
Combine salt, flour and stewing beef in a clean plastic bag and shake to coat. Set aside.
Step 2
Pre-heat oven to 325∞F
Step 3
In a large oven-safe pan, heat butter over medium-high heat and sweat onions until translucent. Add celery, carrots, parsnips and mushrooms and cook until they all get a bit of colour. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, then remove from pot and set aside.
Step 4
Using the same pot, heat canola oil and then add the flour-coated beef and sear on all sides. Deglaze pot with beer, add beef stock and return all cooked veg to the pot. Add rosemary and thyme and put into oven for 2 1/2 hours.
Step 5
Remove pot of stew from the oven, remove rosemary and thyme stems. Stir in green peas, 1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Step 6
Line the bottom of a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange 4 – 6 oven-safe bowls on top and divide the stew evenly in each. Divide 1 cup of shredded Cheddar between all your dishes, sprinkling shredded cheese on top of each.
Step 7
Cut puff pastry into squares or circles, roughly 2 cm larger than your oven safe bowls. Set aside. Brush round the edge of each bowl with egg to help bind the pastry. Lay the pastry on top and pinch around the edges to adhere. Use a small, sharp knife to cut an air vent in the centre. Brush pastry with egg and bake in oven for 25 minutes or until the pastry is starting to turn golden brown and puff up. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar and bake for another 5 – 10 minutes.
Tips:
- ‘Deglazing’ is the process of adding liquid to a pan to release caramelized ingredients that may have adhered to the bottom and sides during the cooking process. Deglazing helps preserve the flavour of your dish can be done with virtually any liquid.
- You can make the stew a day ahead and then just finish in the individual bowls with the pastry toppers.
- Stew also freezes beautifully you can make a batch and freeze it till you’re ready to enjoy.