Savory Guinness & Veggie Cobbler

I attended a small Catholic school as a kid. Our school "mascot" was The Shamrock.

Exciting/menacing, I know.

Anyway, because of our obvious ties to the emerald emblem, I grew up with a strong appreciation for St. Patrick's Day & figured that everyone else in the world celebrated it as enthusiastically as we did.

{For us, it was "Spirit Day". Read: Pep rally, fun activities, and the biggest thrill of all -- getting to come to school dressed in non-uniform attire.}

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that adults liked celebrating St. Patrick's Day, too... just for different reasons.

As fond as I am of St. Patrick's Day festivities & fare, I've never really been one to dye food unnatural {and unappetizing} colors for the sake of thematic authenticity. Maybe that's the reason I've never hopped on the Red Velvet bandwagon.

But I digress.

Now, beer, on the other hand. That's a celebratory tradition I can stand behind. {Again, minus the dye.}

This recipe idea came to mind out of nowhere {after my initial idea drought}, and I just had to try it out and see if it would work. It did. Though sadly, it didn't look as pretty as it tasted.

However... if you're the type that wouldn't let a perfectly drink/meal/dessert go to waste just because it's tinted a funky green color, then maybe you can overlook the flaws of this dish, too.

While Guinness is perfectly fine on its own as the star of the show for an evening of carousing, it plays a great role in the background of this rich, hearty meal as well adding deep flavors to both the "gravy" and the dumplings. I made mine a vegetarian version, but I bet it would be good with beef or chicken for the meat-eaters among you.

If you're looking for something a little less "shamrocky" to make for St. Patrick's Day {or need something to help soak up those pints of green beer}, give this a try.

Otherwise, check out these other boozy delights from past posts!

Irish Cream Cookies

Homemade Irish Cream

 

Chocolate Whiskey Cupcakes

Or these cute Pot O' Gold Favors for the kiddies:

Savory Guinness & Veggie Cobbler

For Filling:

1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 medium carrots, peeled & chopped
1 clove, minced
3-4 small Yukon gold potatoes, about 1 inch dice {about 2 cups}
1 12 oz. container sliced mushrooms
1 dried teaspoon rosemary or thyme (or 1 tablespoon if using fresh}
3 {heaping} tablespoons flour
6 ounces Guinness {approx}
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Salt to taste

For Topping:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
8-10 oz. Guinness or stout beer1. Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, sprkinkle with a dash of salt. Cook until the onions are beginning to get translucent and the veggies start to get tender. Add garlic and cook for about a minute.

2. Toss in potatoes, mushrooms, and herbs and stir well. Cook for about 6-7 minutes to soften up the potato and let the mushrooms start giving off liquid.

3. Sprinkle the veggies with flour and toss well. Cook for about 1-2 minutes.

4. Pour in the Guinness and chicken broth. Stir well and let it simmer until it comes up to a bubble. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until the liquid thickens up and starts to look more like a sauce or a gravy, scraping the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is sticking and you're getting all those tasty brown bits. {Plus, less scraping when it's time to clean!} Season with salt to taste.

5. Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cheddar in a medium bowl. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

6. Add about 8 ounces of Guinness and mix it until just combined. It'll be kind of lumpy. If it's still too dry and you have large patches of flour left, add a little extra beer at at time until it's moistened. Otherwise, leave as is. {You don't want it to be too wet or it'll spread too much like mine did. The consistency should be like drop biscuits.}

7. When the potatoes are pretty much fork tender and the sauce is thick, pour the stew mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish.

8. Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, plop little mounds of batter over the top of the stew. It doesn't have to cover the whole thing.

9. Bake for about 20-22 minutes or until the dumplings have set and the stew is bubbly.