Who likes Guinness?!
Not me. I am not a dark or stout-y beer dranker, but I do know that Guinness lends a delicious taste to many different foods, from cake to soup. I saw this recipe for vegetarian Guinness stew on The Kitchn back in 2009 and have held onto the thought of making it for that long. What held me back from making it til now was an uncertainty of how to replace the pound of mushrooms it calls for. I felt like leaving them out would detract from the chunky quality of the stew, and it didn't hit me until recently to duh, use tempeh to replace the mushrooms. I made a few other tweaks to it as well, including substituting bouillon paste for vegetable stock since I had it on hand, and adding a wee bit more salt than the original called for.
Vegan Guinness Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 ½ large onions
- 1 package unflavored tempeh
- 3 lb. russett potatoes peeled
- 3 large carrots peeled
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 11.2- ounce bottle of Guinness
- 1 tsp mustard
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Lightly spray a skillet with olive oil and heat the pan to medium high heat while cutting the block of tempeh into one inch cubes.
- Place tempeh cubes in pan and toss occasionally to mostly brown the sides of the cubes. This can be achieved while you’re completing the next steps.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot and add the celery and carrots. Saute til softened, about ten minutes.
- Add flour to the pot and stir to coat. Pour in the Guinness and stir well. Add the remaining ingredients, herbs and spices, including the tempeh, and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables can be pierced with a fork, about 10-15 more minutes. Remove bay leaf. Add salt to taste once complete.
Notes: I did not like this stew at first bite, honestly. It took a little extra salting and some more time for the flavors to mingle and for the liquid to absorb more into the veggies and tempeh before I really enjoyed it. The warm, hearty taste of this was perfect for my at-the-desk office lunch the next day because I was freezing at work even though it was a glorious near 80 degrees out.
Happy St. Patrick's Day and best o luck to ya!