irish beef stew

IRISH BEEF STEW via damn delicious

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup beef broth**
1 cup dark stout beer
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup frozen peas

FOR THE GARLIC MASHED POTATOES***
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup half and half
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To make the garlic mashed potatoes, place potatoes and garlic in a large stockpot or Dutch oven and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes; drain well and return to the stockpot.
Stir in half and half and butter. Using a potato masher, mash until smooth and creamy; set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season beef with salt and pepper, to taste. Add beef to the stockpot and cook until evenly browned, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
Add garlic, onion, leek and carrots to the stockpot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste until well combined, about 1 minute.
Whisk in beef broth, beer, parsley, thyme, bay leaf and beef; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until the beef is tender, about 90 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine butter and flour. Add mixture to the stockpot until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in frozen peas until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
Serve immediately over mashed potatoes.

**I used way more stock than this.  Prob because i like to add more carrots than it says.  I probably added some frozen peas in there.  Stew needs peas!

***I made these in the instant pot. 
I used a 3 lb bag of yellow potatoes.  The skins were thin so i just quartered the spuds and tossed them in the pot along with a big heaping spoonful of chopped garlic from a jar.  I added a cup of water, or if im fancy bullion or broth.  Cooked on manual or high for 10 min.  then i let it sit for 2 min before doing the quick release.  then i started mashing without draining.  Then i added butter and half and half.  If you use bullion broth you really dont need to add much more salt. add salt and pepper to taste.