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David Tanis’s five-star Irish stew needs only six ingredients, but the result is classic comfort.
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Good morning, and Happy St. Patrick’s Day! For as long as I can remember, New York City has celebrated the holiday with corned beef and cabbage, green bagels and a River Shannon’s worth of viridian beer. Having traveled and eaten in Ireland over the years, including a maximally delicious trip just last month, I like to mark the day with a freshly baked loaf of crumbly Irish soda bread, spread thick with salty Irish butter.
I could happily make a meal of warm bread and good butter, but I realize that some people like to tackle more than one food group at a time. In such cases, David Tanis’s Irish stew would do wonderfully.
His minimalist take on the classic recipe relies on nothing more than nuggets of lamb with carrots, onions, potatoes and a single sprig of thyme, simmered in broth until everything but the thyme becomes meltingly tender. An uncluttered ingredient list shows each one at its best without distractions.
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Irish Stew
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As David writes, you can leave the broth thin and souplike (perfect for mopping up with bread, soda or otherwise), or thicken the sauce by adding a flour slurry or some barley, or by mashing up some of the potatoes already in the pot. Add roasted cabbage with lemon on the side, a slice of Yossy Arefi’s new fudgy chocolate Irish cream cake for dessert, a dram of Irish whiskey and sláinte! A bona fide St. Paddy’s Day dinner, no dyed beer or bagels needed.
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