This is an absolute favourite recipe of ours. We originally got it out of the book The Wisdom of the Shire: A Short Guide to a Long and Happy Life by Noble Smith many years ago, but have since changed it slightly and have been making it from memory, as the mood takes us, for almost as long.
Hearty, filling, and pretty simple to make, it’s great for warming the soul through these wintery days.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 500g Mushrooms sliced
- 150ml Stout
- 1 Carrot
- 1 Onion
- 2-3 Garlic cloves depending on your preference, or A small handful of chopped garlic chives
- 100ml Thickened cream
- Chicken/Bacon (optional) as much as desired
- Flour to thicken (optional)
- Salt
- Pepper
Method
Optional first step: If adding meat then start off by sealing it before adding butter and mushrooms.
- Melt butter in large saucepan and add all the mushrooms. Saute and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add onion, garlic, and carrot, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add stock and bring to the boil.
- Add stout and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Add the cream and cook for a further 5 minutes. If you want it slightly thicker this is the time to add some flour that has first been mixed with a small amount of cold water.
- Serve hot with crusty bread, butter, and maybe mashed potatoes!
Enjoy!
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First ever reference to garlic chives I recall. My wife is into herbs and naturals in a big way. Has a handsome (huge) pot of garlic chive, fresh until early October, then from her stores of dried herbs in the cupboard through the winter. This may interest her. It certainly interests me. We are not vegans, vegetarians, piscatarians, or any such, but we have greatly reduced our animal protein consumption. Recipes like this, with so many possible ways to improvise are always interesting. Thank you for this lovely post/
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We’re very fond of garlic chives too. Though they’re very likely to spread, they’re a forgotten staple of the vegetable garden.
The versatility of this recipe is a big reason we love it so much. For our handfasting we made up three different versions of it – a (meat-heavy) pork one, a chicken and vegetable one, and a vegetarian one – quite different, yet at their core all Hobbit Stews that (with some buttered crusty bread) kept everyone in good spirits.
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