Its a triple header this week at The Lodge, as we simultaneously honor St. Patrick’s Day, mark the start of a new season, and celebrate my one year “vegan-niversary”!  I wanted the recipe that would be featured here on the garden menu this week to incorporate all three, so today on the first day of Spring, we will give an Irish flair to our garden fare, with a rustic Irish vegetable stew that brings out the fresh flavors of the season.

After a few overcast and rainy days here in Washington, its always such a cozy and welcome idea to pull out the slow cooker and make a hearty stew. I usually prep everything the night before, so all I have to do in the morning is put it in the slow cooker, and turn it on. I do tend to use my slow cooker all year round, so I hope to share many more slow cooker recipes here as we go along. But for now it’s time to visit the Emerald Isle and give a nod to my Celtic roots with a culinary trip to Ireland, for an Enchanted Garden Goddess take on a home and hearth favorite here at The Pine Creek Lodge.

This recipe calls for roasted garlic, which I roast ahead of time and add in to the stew on the day of. You can also purchase whole roasted garlic cloves (it also comes chopped and minced) if you wish to skip this step. I just adore the flavor of fresh roasted garlic, and prefer the soft buttery cloves added directly into the stew.

Here is what you will need:

Rustic Irish Stew with Barley and Spring Vegetables

Yields 12 cups, with 1 cup per serving (see bottom for Weight Watchers PPV)

Shopping List and Ingredients-

*Fresh roasted garlic- 3 bulbs (see below for instructions on roasting, will need aluminum foil, olive oil and Italian seasonings. 2 bulbs go into the stew, and I save the third for spreading on crusty bread to serve alongside.

Carrots- 2 cups peeled, sliced in half and cut up into 1 inch pieces

Celery- 2 cups cut into 1 inch bite sized chunks

Fresh Portobello Mushroom caps- 2 cups-Sliced longways and then cut into 1 inch squares

Small fingerling potatoes- 2 cups either whole or cut into bite sized pieces

Pearl onions- 12 oz fresh or frozen

Worcestershire sauce- 4 Tablespoons

Fresh herbs- chives, sage, and thyme- 1/4 cup of all combined and finely chopped

dried herbs- tarragon, rosemary, parsley, oregano, basil, dried mustard, smoked paprika- 1 teaspoon of each *I also added fresh rosemary sprigs that were later removed before serving, but its not a necessary addition.

sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

Tomato paste- 4 oz

Stewed tomatoes- 28 oz

Dried mushroom medley- 2 oz- will be pulsed in a food processor into a fine powder

Broth- 4 cups (3 cups for cooking barley and 1 cup into stew) I do a mixture of 2 cups Vegetable broth, and 2 cups of Mushroom broth, and divide it up.

Pearl barley- 1 cup uncooked

*for garlic- cut top of bulb to expose raw garlic. Place in foil and drizzle olive oil over top.Sprinkle Italian seasonings,wrap tightly in foil and seal at top. Place in oven on cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 1 hour until garlic is fork tender. Once cooled, garlic cloves are easily removed with a fork or spoon.

Step 1: Stew mix

Add carrots, celery fresh mushrooms, potatoes, pearl onions, roasted garlic, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, fresh and dried herbs, to a large mixing bowl, and toss all ingredients together.

Once stew mix is well combined, add to slow cooker on low for 4-6 hours, and stir in stewed tomatoes. Since there is no meat to be cooked, the stew may be done sooner depending on your particular pot. The stew is finished when all vegetables are fork tender and sauce has thickened.

Step 2: Mushroom Gravy

Into the slow cooker we will now add the dried mushrooms (ground into a fine powder in either a coffee grinder, food processor, or other similar appliance), into the 1 cup of  broth, and mix well. Pour over stew, and fold together all ingredients.

Step 3: Barley

In a medium saucepan bring 3 cups of broth to a boil, add 1 cup of pearl barley, turn down heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Once liquid is absorbed, take barley off the heat and fold into the stew.

Step 4: Enjoy the smell of your house, and dance an Irish Jig!

The finished stew should have a rich savory consistency, that includes flavorful barley, toothsome vegetables and meaty mushrooms in every delicious bite. Serve it family style in a large bowl, or in smaller individual single serving size crocks. How ever you dish it up, its bound to warm your insides and fill your senses with homemade goodness. Enjoy!

A nice accompaniment to the stew is a fresh mixed green salad and some crusty french bread toasted up with a little olive oil and schmeared with some of that buttery roasted garlic. Mmmmm. Feel free to add more or less of the spices to satisfy your taste buds, and play around with the amounts. I hope this week finds you in the kitchen enjoying the abundant flavors of a garden feast from our kitchen to yours.

As always, plant your comments and questions here in the garden, and “lettuce” know what you think!

Thanks for visiting The Enchanted Garden Goddess. See you next week!

Weight Watchers PPV for 1 cup of stew=3 PPV