Irish Stew from the Tomb Raider Cookbook

Irish Stew is a classic from... Ireland, classically made with mutton or lamb, potatoes, carrots, onions and a rich stock. It's the Irish version of beef bourguignon and an incredibly flavorful and economic dinner. The Tomb Raider Cookbook's recipe for it sticks closely to tradition, and I made it on a chill day to be eaten for dinner the following night.

While lamb is the traditional meat used, the cookbook says you can also use stewing beef. I had to opt for that when I couldn't find lamb shoulder, which is a lot more tender and less expensive than leg. One day I'd like to remake this with lamb, but for now the beef would suit me fine.

Lara Croft visits Ireland during her teenage years, as seen in Tomb Raider Chronicles. Keen to prove herself as an adventurer, she sneaks aboard a ship destined for a deserted, paranormal island, only to run into trouble and require rescue. The adventure is recapped by Von Croy and other friends of Lara as they await news on her fate following the collapse of an Egyptian pyramid she became trapped in.

The stewing meat I got was pre-cut, but I had to cut each piece further in half, or they would have been too large. As with any meat stew, you have to season and flour the meat and then sear it in a hot Dutch oven or other pot until deliciously bronzed. It won't be fully cooked at that point, all you're doing is getting color on it, and as the late Anne Burrell said, "Browned food tastes good."

Then you cook your vegetables in the fond ("brown bits" or "free flavor") the meat left behind in your port. My fond somehow often gets a bit too dark when I’m cooking something to braise, so I deglazed the pot before adding the onions to ensure they didn’t turn black and get bitter. It then simmers for an hour.

You're meant to skim fat off the top of the stew after its first simmering, but since I used lean stewing beef, there wasn't any fat to remove. I put the potatoes and carrots in, brought it back up to a boil and then simmered it for an additional hour, by which point the meat had become tender. All that remained was to season the stew, then it was done. The recipe doesn’t say to, but I added seasoning in layers as I knew it would taste better that way, and it does. I seasoned the meat, the onions and the potatoes/carrots. There's also two sprigs of thyme in the stew, which you remove at that point, the leaves having come off the stem and infused throughout.

Now, I made the stew the day before I served it, which turned out to be rather humid. That was something I didn't account for. If you're not living in Ireland, New Zealand or somewhere lamb is readily available year-round and not only Easter, you can make this anytime in the fall, winter or spring, or a cold summer day if you have one. It was hearty, filling and perfect for dipping some buttered soda bread into, as the recipe recommends.

If you want to make this recipe for Irish Stew yourself, you can find it in Tomb Raider: The Official Cookbook and Travel Guide.