Flexitarian Food

Sometimes there’s no substitute for the flavor meat brings to the table. This seems to be especially true for soups and stews where the meat has a big chance to shine with its luscious goodness melting into the broth.

This past St. Patrick’s Day I made a beef and Guinness stew, and I also spun it off into a vegetarian tempeh version that had quite a bit of flavor in its own right.

I served it with a brown Irish soda bread and Guinness, as usual!

Here’s how I did it.

Ingredients for Both Dishes

• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 2 large carrots, cut into 1/2″ chunks
• 1 large potato, cut into 1″ chunks
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 bottle Guinness
• 2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon, No Beef Base, Vegetarian
• salt and pepper to taste

Additional Ingredients for Beef Version

• 1 pound chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes

Additional Ingredients for Vegetarian Tempeh Version

• 1 8oz package tempeh, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Additional 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon, No Beef Base
• Additional 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Preparing the tempeh and meat

1. Mix flour on a large plate with salt and pepper.
2. Dip tempeh in water and dredge in flour, shaking off excess.
3. Heat 1/2 of the olive oil and 1/2 of the butter in a large stockpot or dutch oven until hot.
4. Fry tempeh until brown on all sides. Remove from pan and turn off heat.
5. Dredge meat in remaining flour.
6. Heat remaining olive oil and butter in another large pot until hot.
7. Sear meat allowing it to brown on all sides. Remove from heat.

Instructions

1. Returning to the pan where the tempeh was fried, heat the excess oil on moderate heat.
2. Add mushrooms and onions and a pinch of salt until they’ve given off their liquid.
3. Add carrots and potatoes, cooking for an additional 2 minutes.
4. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute to meld the flavors.
5. Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and the spices. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
6. Remove 1/2 of the vegetables (make sure to remove 1 of the bay leaves) and add it to the meat pan on medium heat.
7. Add the tempeh back to the pan that contains only vegetables.
8. Add 1/2 bottle of Guinness to both pans and scrape off all of the bits from the bottom of the pans.
9. Add 1/2 of the water to each pan with the bouillon. Add the additional bouillon and tomato paste to the vegetarian version.
10. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for 1/2-2 hours until meat is very tender. Season with additional salt and pepper and serve.