Thursday 31 July 2014

Honeyed beer and barley stew

Sometimes a blog post does not come easily.  So let me just tell you how it is.  I am drinking Camomile Honey and Vanilla Tea as I look for words to begin and thinking how much I love honey.  Sourdough bread is in the oven.  Fresh bread is one of my favourite things.  And I look at my notes and remember what a fun day we had in the school holidays when I made this stew.  A stew filled with happy memories deserves a place on the blog.

The day didn't begin well.  Sylvia rose at 6am and put on the Frozen CD.  Nooooooo!  We went swimming.  Yessssssss!  We met Sylvia's school friend and her little sister at the pool.  They joined us and a couple of other little kids that we know who were taking lessons.  It was a fun time splashing about.  I was complimented by an old lady on 'how wonderful you young mums are taking the kids to the pool'.  ('Moi?')  Followed by lunch at Zaatar where Sylvia actually now eats the zaatar pizza with not too much scraping off the zaatar.  Then a play in the park where the kids had fun scrambling up a tree and watching the ducks.

Later I felt good about my little victories.  I finally sold our Ikea Trofast wardrobe (sob - I did love it but there is no room) after discussions with 3 potential buyers and 3 cancelled pick-ups.  I sewed up a coat pocket that was torn in an anxious moment!  I bravely fished out a 'black hissing thing' from under the coffee table (it was a piece of lego, Sylvia!).  I sorted the collar on the cat who had managed to lose her old collar and slip out of her new one.  I even used up lots of vegies from the farmers market in the stew.

I love the pretty striped choggia beetroot but never know what to do with it.  (Any ideas are welcome!)  Initially I had hoped to make a chunky beetroot soup I love but add barley.  Then I sort of got influenced by a beer and barley recipe I wanted to make but had no Worcestershire sauce on hand.  I winged it.  And it was very good.  Much better than a honey and cider stew I made some years ago by adapting a meaty recipe.  I left potato out of this stew so that I could put it in the freezer.  (Actually I think that might be what is in the mysterious tubs!)

In looking at the recipe it seems a lot of stock powder.  You might need to reduce to taste.  I found that it needed quite a bit of seasoning.  However I think this is the reason I added honey.  Vegans could add other sweeteners to taste but I found that a little honey went a long way.  Barley made the stew very thick but it was packed with plenty of vegies that add flavour and nutrition.

The stew was even better for being served with a hunk of fresh seeded soda bread.  I was not sure it was quite cooked in the middle but even so it was a treat.  I had the bread ready for Sylvia's dinner but the stew took longer.  I waited until she was in bed and ate it listening to the Wonderland soundtrack.  Good music and a sleeping child are every bit as lovely as good stew with fresh bread.

I will end with a note about the choggia beetroot that I bought at Coburg Farmers Market.  I had hoped some of the stripes would show through in the final stew.  You can see in the photos that there is not a hint of beetroots pink hues.  The beetroot stripes lost their colour and became the faintest of shadows.  However I was pleased that E actually said how much he enjoyed the beetroot in the stew.

I am sending this stew to Elizabeth's Kitchen for her Shop Local event that challenges bloggers to feature locally sourced ingredients.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Savoury sandwich ideas
Two years ago: Irish No Knead Bread
Three years ago: Apple Spice Cake
Four years ago: Lentil quinoa balls and fun links
Five years ago: Bizarre gnocchi and strange crumble
Six years ago: Paella with thanks
Seven years ago: Mushroom Yoghurt Pie with Spinach Crust

Honeyed beer and barley stew
An original recipe inspired by me (Green Gourmet Giraffe) and Vegan Eats
Serves 6-8

1-2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup beer
5 cups water
1 heaped cup dried barley
1 cup red lentils
1 large carrot, chopped
1 large turnip or swede, peeled and chopped
1 large parsnip, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
3 medium beetroot, chopped choggia or golden are best
2 leeks, chopped
8-10 button mushrooms, sliced
6 tsp stock powder
2 bay leaves
few springs parlsley, finely chopped, plus extra to garnish
1 tsp salt flakes, or to taste
few stalks fresh thyme
400g tin of  lima beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1-2 tsp honey
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil over low heat in a stockpot and fry onion and garlic for a few minutes until translucent.  Add beer, water, barley, lentils, remaining vegies, stock powder, bay leaves, parsley, salt and thyme.  Bring to the boil and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring regularly.  Add lima beans, vinegar, honey and black pepper.  Cook for another 5 minutes until warmed through.  Garnish with parsley.

On the Stereo:
(Michael Winterbottom's) Wonderland soundtrack: Michael Nyman

20 comments:

  1. I am growing some chioggia beet root. I've cooked with it in the past and yes it loses it's beautiful colouring upon cooking, the one thing I now do is slice it thinly with a mandolin and drizzle some dressing over it like a side salad, I,ve also made quiche with it in the past and I think the colours stayed in place. I will see if I can find the link on my blog to share with you.

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    1. Thanks Shaheen - I have seen a few raw spiralised beetroot noodles lately - wonder how choggia beetroot would look presented this way? I have a feeling I have roasted it before but can't remember how well it kept its colour. I think slicing thinly sounds wise but I am reluctant to use mandolin as we just don't get along well :-(

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  2. I'm a big fan of honey as well and this sounds like an awesome stew to me! Love how veggie-stuffed it is.

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    1. Thanks Joanne - it was just the vegies at the bottom of the fridge but I think it was rather full after a visit to a farmers market

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  3. I loved reading about all your victories this week - these things count. And your stew sounds devine.

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    1. Thanks Cakelaw - little victories are cheering

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  4. Such pretty beetroots, I suppose if you want to show them off visually you'd have to leave them raw. I have no doubt they are delicious in the stew though, it looks extremely wholesome and comforting!

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    1. Thanks Leaf - you are probably right about leaving the beetroots raw but I do love mine cooked - and I guess there are times you want that beetroot flavour but not the colour :-)

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  5. I was just commenting on another blog about how I'm seeing a lot of recipes using beer as one of the ingredients! I think there are a lot of parents who cringe when the days starts with the Frozen soundtrack! xx

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    1. Thanks Charlie - I rarely drink beer but enjoy cooking with it - and yep frozen is not always the way to start a day - I can cope with it after being fortified by breakfast :-)

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  6. Apart from finding a vegan honey equivalent (agave?), it looks ideal. There's something incredibly comforting about any stew with barley in it, alongside a bit hunk of bread. I can't say I'm counting the days til winter, but your stew will help cheer me up when it does arrive nonetheless!

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    1. Beer, barley, lentils, lima beans, and tons of beautiful veggies in a stew?! Sounds tasty right now since it’s tad chilly here in Turin. I would love to dip this with some nice piece of sourdough bread….and the beetroots are just gorgeous, aren’t they?

      Not a huge fan of honey, but I think this lovely stew will go with any type of natural sweetener such as maple syrup (mmmm) and I’m obsessed with maple syrup, hehe. Mmmmm!

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    2. Thanks Joey - hope you enjoy the stew (if not the winter weather!)

      Thanks Rika - I had thought maybe rice malt syrup might work though I also considered maple syrup so glad to hear you agree on that. I think the smoky flavours of maple syrup might give some nice depth of flavour.

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  7. How mysterious that the beetroot colours disappeared (almost as mysterious as a lego piece hissing!). It sounds like this was a whole-hearted (and whole food and hearty) success despite that, and I loved the insights into your day. Barley and honey also sound like a great mix. I know vegans theoretically don't have honey, but I do like it on occasion and barley is a great pairing.

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    1. Thanks Kari - It is strange that regular purple beetroot gives such strong colours and choggia colours just disappear, and the hissing lego piece gave me a good laugh! Barley and honey are comfort food for me and are great together!

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  8. I love honey too! We go through so much of it. The bit that really made me giggle was the black hissing thing under the table. Oh what an imagination Sylvia has! :D

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    1. Thanks Lorraine - we go through quite a bit of honey - and Sylvia does have quite an imagination - there are far more spiders in her imagination than in our house :-)

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  9. yep i definitely am craving a stew right now.. perfect for this winter weather we're experiencing here in australia at the moment!

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    1. Thanks Thaila - it is well and truly stew weather - so cold tonight

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  10. It's a shame the beetroot colour disappeared. I had a family friend back in Canada complain about the same when she tried to use it to dye wool. The colour doesn't stick. Lovely recipe though, thank you for linking up with Shop Local :)

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