Recipe: Vegan Irish Stew with Sea Change Irish Red Ale

Easy and tasty – if I can make this, anyone can

I am not much of a cook. Instead, I think of myself as more of a “food preparer.” A microwave is involved far too often. Sounds appetizing, doesn’t it?

This isn’t by choice. I just don’t really know how ingredients work. I do try now and then, when motivated. I was very pleased, then when Karen Anderson, founder and president of Alberta Food Tours, asked me to provide a recipe for St. Patrick’s Day. She thought it would be a fun way to help promote my book about Alberta craft beer, Tapping the West. I agreed! (Thank you, Karen.)

It turned out to be a tasty way, too. A friend of mine pointed out a recipe for a lentil and root vegetable stew he liked, and I modified it a touch, most importantly by trading the recommended wine addition for a local Irish brew. And it worked! Maybe there’s hope for me yet! But I’ll let you be the judge. Here’s the recipe from Karen’s Instagram post on St. Paddy’s Day 2021. Enjoy!

*

Vegan Irish Stew with Red Irish Ale

This recipe for a Vegan Irish Stew incorporates Irish Red Ale from Edmonton’s @seachangebrewingco. “It’s a malty, mostly dry beer but for a hint of caramel sweetness to counter a mild roastiness,” says Scott. He recommends cracking another open for dinner because It pairs “marvelously” with the finished product.

Time: 60 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Equipment: knife, cutting board, measuring cups and spoons, large pot

Ingredients:

* 2 Tablespoons canola oil
* 1 large carrot, washed but not peeled, sliced thinly
* 1 large parsnip, washed but not peeled, sliced thinly
* 1 large leek, roots and green parts removed, halved, washed and thinly sliced
* 2-4 cloves garlic, minced (or to taste)
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme
* Cracked pepper – to taste
* 1 Tablespoon Maggi sauce
* 2 (540 mL – 19-ounce) cans of dark-coloured lentils (drained, rinsed and set aside)
* 4 cups vegetable stock (Tip: you can also, use 2 vegetable bouillon cubes and 4 cups boiling water)
* ½ cup Sea Change Irish Red Ale (or other Alberta dark, malty ale)

Directions:

1. Heat the canola oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.
2. Add the prepared carrot, parsnip and leek and cook until softened – 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic – around 30 seconds before stirring in the parsley, thyme, salt and pepper.
4. Add the beer and vegetable stock and bring to a simmer before stirring in the lentils and Maggi sauce.
5. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes, covered.
6. Simmer uncovered for additional 10-15 minutes to your desired stew-like consistency.
7. Enjoy in big bowls with thick slices of crusty bread and more cold Alberta dark, malty ale.

Thank you to The Tomato for recommending Tapping the West!

“If you love craft beer,” writes says The Tomato, a long-time Alberta food magazine, “you’ll love this book.”

There’s not much more than that, but I am very grateful to see Tapping the West in these pages – and so close to the holiday gift-giving season, no less. (Hint, hint.)

Thank you, Avenue Edmonton: An interview about Tapping the West

If someone’s willing to think of me as an artist for having a written a book about beer, I’ll take it! Thanks to Avenue Edmonton and writer Cory Schachtel for this interview in the May issue of the magazine.

“The book is about the beer scene, but it’s also about business diversification in Alberta. And to me, that’s something that the craft beer industry represents.”