Vegan Irish Stew and Colcannon
With a name like Grogan, you've probably guessed that my husband is Irish (well, half-Irish, and half-Scottish). His request this year was my vegan Irish stew with dark Irish ale or stout in it. (see below about vegan beers, stouts, and ales.) The recipe from my book "The Almost No-Fat Holiday Cookbook". This time I had an organic turnip, so I used that in the stew (you can use parsnips instead, if you like), along with mushrooms and carrots, and I used textured soy protein (TVP) chunks for the "meat". I served it with Colcannon, a traditional dish of mashed potatoes with cabbage or kale added (I only had savoy cabbage in the house, so that's what I used, along with some green onion). My version is almost fat-free and very delicious with the gravy from the stew (see the Colcannon recipe below)!
VEGAN BEER, STOUTS AND ALES:
In the book mentioned above, I call for Guinness Stout in the stew. I later learned that Guiness is not vegan. Below you can read why this can be the case, and what alternatives you can use.
Why isn’t alcohol necessarily vegan?
Wine is clarified, or cleared, after fermentation. Some of the ingredients used include:
- edible gelatins (made from bones)
- isinglass (made from the swim bladders of fish)
- casein and potassium caseinate (milk proteins)
- animal albumin (egg albumin and dried blood powder)
In the UK beer (bitter) is also commonly fined using isinglass. Many bottled bitters and most lagers are vegan. Guinness is not suitable for vegans. Most spirits are vegan except for Campari (contains cochineal) and some Vodkas (passed through bone charcoal).
Resources
The best resource for finding vegan wines, beers and other alcoholic beverages is http://barnivore.com/
book and also low-fat):
(reduced-fat, if you like) 
, plain (see below recipe for where to purchase),
plus a pinch of 
6 comments:
Thanks Bryanna! We also had Irish Stew, made with Seitan. It was really good. Also, Irish soda bread made with some soy milk "fermented" I guess you'd say with vinegar to make buttermilk. Made chunky mashed potatoes, but I always tell people, for bread-spreading or table use I much prefer the taste of Smart Balance Light Spread. It really tastes delicious, but watch out the non-Light version is not vegan.
I've heard good things about Smart Balance light-- alas, we can't get it in Canada!
Wow! The photo looks really delicious. I love colcannon. The Irish make another dish (champ) that's similar, but it's not nearly as good nutritionally (although I've read recipes that call for dulse in champ which is kind of interesting).
The Yves beef chunks are also fun for that kind of stew. Their beef skewers might also provide an interesting alternative to the TVP.
Anyhow, I usually make mine with wilted kale instead of the cabbage (everyone I cook for prefers kale to cabbage, but I like the cabbage variation). If I'm feeling really energetic, I'll bake it in ramekins with nutritional yeast (so, more like bubble and squeak).
Maybe next St. Pat's I'll make colcannon with some purple fingerlings and kale for the colour.
Looks wonderful I have never had colcannon but it sounds like something I would love. Prince charming loves all things Scottish and Irish, so that would be a hit with him too! I have saved both recipes, thanks so much!
Your Irish meal looks fantastic! My daughter and I were just talking about bread pudding. She is going to be happy about your recipe!
Bryanna, great great stuff. Such an enlightening post. And the food... SO GOOD!!
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