Make "Eyes Smile" with Irish Stew

The love of farming prompted John Wilson to leave his native Ireland and study agriculture at Iowa State University (ISU) just as his father had.  The difference is that upon graduating from ISU his father returned to northern Ireland.  John Wilson, however, immigrated to the United States.

Without an opportunity to farm in his native Ireland, young John Wilson moved to the central Iowa community of Laurel. He soon began farming land that had been in his mother’s family.  And today the family’s farming tradition continues as his son, Johnny, farms in partnership with him in Marshall County.

“My dad has been really good about allowing me to get my feet wet and about entertaining new ideas,” says Johnny, who returned to the family farm four years ago.  “We buy equipment together.  We make our seed selections and we buy our chemicals together.  We each have our own roles, but we’re both very passionate about continually educating ourselves in an effort to increase yields.”

In addition to raising row crops, Johnny operates Marshall Ag in Laurel.  He sells chemicals, fertilizer and seed with the objective to make every seed a success.

“I’ve always wanted to be in business and technology.  But in my wildest dreams, I never thought I’d farm with my dad,” says Johnny, who completed an engineering internship and then worked four years for Mechdyne, one of the world’s largest companies dedicated to consulting and developing advanced Audio Visual (AV), immersive 3D, networked, and collaborative visualization solutions.

“The cool thing is that agriculture incorporates business and technology,” adds Johnny.  “I’m delighted to get back to my roots in agriculture.”

Like any good farmer, Johnny appreciates where his food comes from.  And like any good Irishman, he especially enjoys his meat and veggies.  Fried lamb chops with mint sauce is one of his favorite meals.  Another favorite is Ulster Fry.

“As my grandparents say, there’s nothing more northern Ireland than an Ulster Fry,” he says.  This full breakfast consists of several courses.  It traditionally begins with fruit juice, cereal, potato bread and soda bread.  It also includes several entrees such as bacon and eggs, blood sausage, small pancakes, fried tomatoes, baked beans and sometimes black pudding. Hot tea with milk is the traditional beverage.

As a tribute to the Emerald Isle, today we’re sharing a recipe for Irish Stew that’s very similar to what Johnny’s grandmother makes.  Fortunately, the recipe below calls for “cups” and “teaspoonfuls” rather than grammes and milligrammes.  Whip up a batch of Irish Stew with a side of soda bread and see if you can make your family’s eyes smile!