Serves 8
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes || Active time: 45 minutes
Oh my shamrocks, this is good. A fluffy potato biscuit soaking up a deeply savory gravy that is at once mysterious and familiar. The stout really gives this dish an allure, and two kinds of mushrooms make it meaty and earthy and just umami like nobody’s business. And ya know, for a special occasion, it’s not tooooo fussy.
I’m going to give you a few options here for the filling: one with frozen thawed tofu and one with straight-up kidney beans. I enjoyed both, with a slight preference for kidney beans only. My boyfriend, however, vastly prefered the tofu version. And he’s Scottish. And Scotland is near Ireland. So, you know, he’s kind of an authority.
I think it would also be great with some sauteed seitan or a few seitan sausages. But I’ll shut up now, and get to the recipe. Happy St. Paddy’s everyone!
UPDATED: I changed the broth to 3 cups after a few people said theirs looked a lot thinner than mine.
Notes
~ For the tofu variation:
Omit 1/2 of the kidney beans. Freeze and thaw a 14 oz block of extra firm tofu. Press tofu to remove excess water (wrap in a kitchen towel and place a heavy book and a few cans on top, for an hour or so.) Cut 1/2 inch dice and add to the pot when you add the beans.
~ This recipe calls for “leftover mashed potatoes” but you may not have any laying around! To make about the cup called for here, microwave a russet potato, and mash with 1/4 cup unsweetened vegan milk, 2 tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of salt. Let cool, then measure and use!
~ Stout is often processed with animal products (namely, isinglass, from fish) so check out Barnivore to see if a brand is vegan-friendly or not.
~ If you don’t have a stovetop-to-oven pot, then simply make the stew, place it in a 9×13 casserole and form the biscuits into a rectangle instead of a circle. Slice and arrange them on top of the casserole and bake as directed.
~ If you’re feeling lazy, or just want a simpler weeknight meal, make the stew portion of the recipe, and leave off the biscuits. Serve with some nice crusty bread.
Ingredients
For the stew:
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced medium
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 lb carrots, peeled, sliced into thin half moons
1 1/4 cups stout beer
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Fresh black pepper (a lot!)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups cooked kidney beans – 2 15 oz cans rinsed & drained [see note for tofu version]
For the biscuits:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup leftover mashed potatoes [see note on leftover mashed potatoes]
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cold water
Directions
Make the stew:
Place porcinis in a bowl that’s large enough to contain the 4 cups vegetable broth. If the porcinis look large, tear them into bite sized pieces. Boil the vegetable broth and pour it over the porcinis. Cover with a plate to keep hot, and prep everything you need for the recipes. This will soften them and make the recipe a bit faster.
Preheat a stovetop-to-oven dutch oven over medium heat. (See notes for non-dutch oven directions.) Saute onions and a pinch of salt in oil until until translucent, 4 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, for about a minute, until fragrant.
Add sliced cremini mushroom (not the porcinis yet), celery, thyme and rosemary (crush herbs in your fingers) and saute for 5 minutes, until mushrooms release moisture and brown slightly.
Add carrots, stout, tomato paste, fresh black pepper and salt and bring to a boil. The liquid should reduce in about 3 minutes.
Add porcinis and vegetable broth, cover and bring to a full boil for 5 minutes or so, to finish cooking the porcinis.
Once porcinis are soft, in a measuring cup, mix the flour into one cup of cold water with a fork until no lumps are left.
Slowly add the water/flour to the pot, mixing well as you go. Let thicken for 5 minutes or so. Add the kidney beans, turn heat off and cover to keep warm. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425F and make the biscuits.
Make the biscuits:
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, use a fork to mix together mashed potatoes, olive oil and water. It should be very loose and mushy.
Make a well in the center of the flour and add the potato mixture. Mix with a fork until a stiff dough starts to form, then turn the dough on to a clean surface and knead a few times to smooth out. Flatten into a disc 2 inches smaller than the pot with the stew in it. Slice like a tic tac toe board into 9 pieces and arrange the pieces on top of the stew.
Bake for 20 minutes, until lightly browned on top, and bubbling up thickly around the biscuits.
Let sit for 15 minutes or so, then serve!
I don’t have russet potatoes but I do have sweet potatoes. Would this work as a sub?
I made this with lots and lots of substitutes because I really only had stout and potatoes on hand, but as long as you have a dark stew and biscuits on top, it is going to taste delicious. I didn’t use mushrooms at all, but I used Bragg’s and water as the broth, which has a good umami flavor. I also added a piece of kombu and took it out before baking (to add some “earthy” flavor). I used canned tomatoes instead of tomato paste and added less water. I didn’t have celery, so I added some celery seed. I subbed chickpeas for kidney beans and added a package of Upton’s chorizo seitan. Turned out great!
Thanks to Sarah re the comment about Paddy versus Patty! I’ve been wondering this very thing for YEARS! My Irish godparents (now deceased) would be sooo pleased that I finally have it right!
Erin go bragh!
I’m definitely making this on Wednesday night for a friend! Thanks for the great recipe Isa!!!
This one was TOO much work, though I love your other recipes….
THIS one took hours, between making mashed, soaking mushrooms, then you got to strain them for grit after another rinse thru cheesecloth….okay if you have some leftovers…. and I did NOT care for “potato-biscuit,” as the potato makes the “biscuit” seem raw; would opt for a true biscuit dough for crisp layer OR mashed potato-layer for shepard-like pie. UNPLEASING TEXTURE.
Used LESS than 3 cups broth, & still a bit soupy, less stout might help too….
STILL, it gave me ideas as to how to adapt some of these ingredients into a recipe that was more appealing to our tastebuds.
Wowzer…and again I say unto you Wowzer! So so good…the ultimate stuff-your-face and rejoice-in-a-great meal. I can convert omnivores with this…I know I can! Trouble is do not want to share…hehehe.
I used the full 4 cups of broth because I love my veggies and added diced peppers and new baby potatoes to the pot. I also used smoked tofu along with my own baked kidney beans. Gawd this is so yummy! In your debt as ever….
this looks utterly lush 🙂 which stout did you use – need to ensure it is vegan, cos i don’t think they all are? cheers! (btw – i’m scottish too, nice work in choosing your bf!)
Thank you for this recipe! It worked a treat! I’d never had biscuits on a stew before, but they were SO GOOD 🙂 A hearty endorsement!
This recipe was absolutely and wonderfully DELICIOUS after adding some nutritional yeast to it for extra added seasoning. It’s now a staple dish within my household
Just made this for the fourth time and holy crap it’s good. I add some seitan (your recipe-thanks!!) in with the mushrooms and it’s fabulous. Potato biscuits are super fluffy and perfect. I’m looking forward to eating this the rest of the week. Cheers!
A fantastic recipe and exactly what I was looking for! I made this with 3 cups of stock and the first day it was on the soupy side.. I even added some additional flour water. However, the leftovers were perfect: not soupy and definitely more of a stew. The tofu added another dimension of texture that I really enjoyed. Will be making this again, perhaps with the addition of diced potatoes. One word of “caution”, this is not a quick recipe and is one of the more involved recipes that I have made in quite a while. That said, if you have the time and are looking for something savory and hearty, this is recipe is well worth it!
Made this for a late St. Patricks Day- I thought this recipe was a little hard to follow (when do the carrots cook?) and ended up simmering a little longer . Maybe I didn’t cut them small enough? After all the posts I used 3 1/2 cups of veggie broth :). The result was swoon worthy- My husband (who is not a vegan) finished his bowl and kept dipping his bread into my bowl! When I suggested he just have seconds I knew I (Isa) had won the battle. I did use a dry version of mashers, chilled from the fridge and the biscuits were light and wonderful. Thank you Isa I hope you know by now that you are a food/flavor genius!!!
This looks soooo delicious, but I’m highly allergic to mushrooms of all kinds. Has anyone found a successful replacement for the mushrooms? Lentils, maybe? Thanks!
Really want to try this old style recipe, but don’t have a dutch ovev–Could this be made in a stove top capable slow cooker? Any suggestions for how to alter the cooking time to do it in a slow cooker?
I’m not vegan or even vegetarian–I just love great food–and when a copy of “Vegan with a Veangance” fell into my hands I used the recipes often; even sometimes taking them back out of vegan territory to satisfy my then-housemates. I’ll definitely be taking on this recipe–what can go wrong with mushroom chili?
That was the best vegan recipe i’ve tried so far. I’ll be trying many more on your website for sure.
Do these biscuits work on their own (not in the stew)?
This recipe was AMAZING!!! Even my meat loving husband absolutely LOVED it. He wouldn’t stop talking about it all weekend. It was the perfect winter weather dish. Do you mind if I post my adaptation of it with a link back to you?
Just made this for Valentine’s Day/Irish Dinner tonight. It was bomb. Used about 2 cups of the broth to be conservative at first and added a few splashes here and there. I did the all the prep work the night before which was so much easier. I also decided to make heart-shaped biscuits for the occasion using a cookie cutter. I baked them for ten minutes then moved them into the stew for the remaining time. Wish I could upload a photo! Wow, Isa. First time commenting on a recipe ever–you’re one incredible person. Thank you!
I made this for fun one night and boy was it good! My cooking technique is not superb, so my potato dumplings sunk to the bottom of the stew halfway through baking and I ended up having to fish them out and continue baking them on the pan. Also, I don’t know if anyone found the stew tasted bitter because of the stout, but it turns out I didn’t boil it off enough. Once I did that, the bitter notes calmed down. I definitely wouldn’t call this a beginner recipe!
http://whoneedssalad.com
Tried this at a cookbook potluck and it was hearty and delicious!
Ummmmmm this was AMAZING. The dumplings were so much easier than I thought they would be, and the stew reminded me of dishes from my omni days! My omni boyfriend also devoured this. Will definitely make again many times! Thank you Isa, your recipes are always winners and a sure bet for deliciousness.
We made this tonight, and although I used chilled water, the dough came out very sticky and wet and impossible to work with. I think you should let people know that the dough should be chilled in the freezer for an hour before shaping. Otherwise it’s a gloopy mess.
The flavor of the stew and biscuits is overall bland. You put a different stock amount in the ingredients than in the directions and the directions are not specific enough. Won’t be wasting my time making this again