Ahead of reopening Market Garden Brewery, Bier Markt, Bar Cento and Nano Brew Cleveland this month, owner Sam McNulty offers a roundup of three authentic Irish recipes to make this year a satisfying celebration at home.
Beastie Brown Bread
This dense soda bread pulls inspiration from McNulty’s Irish roots as a nutritious side that’s eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner. “My grandmother and grandfather emigrated from Ireland and my wife’s parents and brother emigrated from Ireland. My wife and I have deep roots and close ties to the old country,” says McNulty. “It’s a very dense, nutritious soda bread, with a lot of healthy probiotic qualities that are missing in processed white flour breads.”
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly oil a baking sheet. In a large bowl, stir together 3 cups organic whole wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose white flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, dash of black pepper, 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda, and 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in 2 tablespoons molasses or brown sugar, 1-1/4 cups whole-milk buttermilk, 4 ounces Market Garden Brewery Beastie Stout, and 2 tablespoons melted butter.
Stir together just until blended. Some lumps will remain.
Place the dough out onto a floured board and knead about 10 times, or until it holds together.
Form the dough into a large ball and place on the oiled baking sheet.
Sprinkle a small handful of oats on top and cut a deep cross or shamrock in the top.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.
Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a rack. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Prosperity Beer, Beef and Barley Stew
A combination of what McNulty grew up eating and a few twists from his wife’s cooking, this stew pairs Market Garden Brewery’s Prosperity Wheat beer with browned beef chuck roast, onions, carrots, celery and an assortment of spices and herbs. “As we’re cooking the beef cubes and rendering fat, the beer helps to break that down and release the flavors of the fat,” says McNulty. “When there’s whole barley in the stew as well as a barley-based beer, the flavors work really well together.”
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste with 1/4 cup whole wheat flour.
Roll 2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes, in flour so that all sides are lightly dusted. In a large Dutch oven, heat 6 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high.
Add the beef to the hot oil. Cook, turning occasionally, until beef is well-browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.
Reduce heat to medium then add 5 or more minced garlic cloves and 4 tablespoons tomato paste to the pot the beef was seared in. Cook 2 minutes while stirring often. Stir in 1 bottle of Market Garden Brewery Prosperity Wheat, 5 cups beef stock, 1/2 cup barley, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, and 6 sprigs fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried).
Bring to a low simmer then add the beef back into the pot. Cover with the lid and transfer to the oven.
Cook for 1 hour or more, stirring occasionally.
While the beef cooks, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a skillet.
Add 2 large peeled roughly chopped onions, 1 pound roughly chopped carrots, and 6 roughly chopped medium ribs celery.
Season with salt and pepper and cook about 10 minutes, stirring until vegetables are slightly brown.
After one hour or so, stir the onions, carrots, celery, and 8 ounces peeled small potatoes into the pot of beef. Simmer on low heat with the lid partially open, until the beef is tender, approximately 1 hour longer.
Add extra beef stock if needed to cover meat and vegetables.
Howth Harbour Banoffee Pie
“Howth Harbour is a beautiful seaside village where my wife’s family lives — her grandmother, uncles, cousins galore — all kinds of relatives who we go back and visit every year,” says McNulty. One of their storied family traditions is to enjoy banoffee pie, a dessert made with bananas, cream, dulce de leche and assorted toppings such as shaved coconut or chopped pecans. “You can experiment with the toppings. Use a total of a half cup, but feel free to mix and match until you find a combination you like.”
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
To create the dulce de leche, pour one 14-ounce-can sweetened condensed milk and a pinch of kosher salt into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and cover tightly with foil.
Set pie plate in a roasting pan and add enough hot water to pan to reach halfway up pie plate. Bake milk in middle of oven for 45 minutes. Check water level and add more to maintain level, then continue to bake 45 minutes more, or until milk is thick and caramel-colored.
Remove pie plate from water bath and cool, uncovered. In a medium bowl, stir together 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1/3 cup melted salted butter until combined and moistened.
Using your fingers, press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan and up the sides to form an even layer.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool for one hour, until firm.
For a crispier crust, bake the crust at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Allow to cool before filling.
Spread 1-1/4 cup dulce de leche gently on top of the crust and smooth the top.
Thinly slice 3 ripe bananas and layer them over the dulce de leche. Using a mixer, whisk together 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract on high speed until soft peaks form. Avoid overbeating.
Spread whipped cream over bananas.
Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.
Top with 1/2 cup grated chocolate, shredded coconut, or chopped pecans.
