David Pollard's Irish Stew
David Pollard (Economic History, 1976)
"I invented this recipe one evening when some fellow students came back to our Little Hickling-rented cottage after being in the pub all evening.
There were six of us, and I didn't have a lot in. What I did have was potatoes, carrots, onions, 1/2lb of mince and a reasonably stocked kitchen. This recipe has never been changed and remains a favourite with my family – and it can be produced in just 12 minutes!"

Ingredients
- 3lbs of peeled and sliced potatoes
- 1lb of carrots
- 1/2 an onion
- 1/2lb of minced beef
- 3 tablespoons of brown sauce
- 1 tin of baked beans
Method
- Supply potatoes and carrots to the saucepan and boil for 10 minutes.
- Halve an onion and supply half to the saucepan roughly chopped, and the other half finely chopped to a frying pan with a small amount of oil or butter.
- After 3 minutes, add minced beef to the frying pan plus a crushed garlic clove or two. Fry evenly for the next 7 minutes until the garlicy-mince is very well cooked and the onion virtually disappeared.
- Add directly to the saucepan with the vegetables and water still in.
- Now add brown sauce, copious seasoning and a small dash of Lea & Perrins (or if in Sheffield, Henderson's Relish). Finally, add the tin of baked beans. Stir in but do not bring back to the boil for any lengthy period.
- It's now ready to serve!
Photo by Syd Wachs on Unsplash