Make A Classic Never Goes Out of Style!
There's nothing quite like a comforting bowl of beef stew, especially when topped off with fluffy little dumpling pillows. The meat is made meltingly tender in his recipe by braising it for several hours, and adds flavor with salty pancetta, star anise and plenty of hearty veg.
Beef Stew and Dumplings
Serves 8
Total time: 2 hours
Ingredients
Beef Stew
3 lbs of braising beef (chuck roast works well)
3 oz of pancetta, chopped
3 tbsp of red wine vinegar
5 tbs. of butter
1 leek, sliced
1 1/2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1 star anise
1 3/4 oz of large flat mushrooms, sliced
1 large ripe tomato, halved
2 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tbsp of bouquet garni
2 quarts of chicken stock
6 oz of baby onions, peeled
6 oz of button mushrooms
1 tbsp of parsley, chopped
1 dash of vegetable oil
1 dash of olive oil
Dumplings
1/2 cup of plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 pinches of salt
1 1/2 oz of vegetable light suet (see note below/substitute Crisco Baking Sticks if you can not find suet)
Directions
Cut the braising beef into large pieces - you are going to braise the meat until tender, if the pieces are cut too small they may break up.
Place a large pan over a medium heat and add a dash of oil. Add the meat and pancetta, cook until browned then add the vinegar and stir thoroughly for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Place a saucepan over a medium heat and add a tablespoon of butter. Once melted, add the leek, celery and carrots and cook until soft and golden brown, then remove from the heat.
In a separate pan, repeat the process with the sliced onion, star anise and butter. Then, do the same in another pan using the large flat mushrooms and a tablespoon of butter.
Preheat the oven to 425°F
Cut the tomato in half and toss with the caster sugar in a bowl. Arrange cut-side down on a baking tray and drizzle with a dash of olive oil.
Cook the tomatoes in the oven for 20 minutes, or until tender and caramelized
Combine all of the caramelized vegetables with the meat, pancetta, tomatoes and bouquet garni in a flameproof casserole dish. Pour in enough stock to cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
Once the meat is very tender, strain the sauce from the pan into a large stock pot. Bring the juices to a simmer and reduce it down to a thin gravy like consistency.
Return the meat and vegetables to the stock pot with the sauce and remove from the heat.
Place a frying pan over a medium heat and add a tablespoon of butter. Add the baby onions and cook until browned. Remove the onions and set aside.
Add another tablespoon of butter to the same pan and return to the heat. Add the button mushrooms and fry until browned. Add both the baby onions and mushrooms to the beef stew.
For the dumplings, mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the suet and enough water to bind the mix.
Roll the dough into small dumplings - approximately the size of cherry tomatoes. This mix should yield 16 dumplings.
Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a simmer add the dumplings. Cover the pan and poach for 15-20 minutes.
Reheat the stew on the stove until hot.
Divide the hot stew into bowls and finish with chopped parsley and the dumplings. Serve immediately.
Recipe note: Suet, typically used in British and Irish cooking, is the fat found around the kidney and other organs in animals. It is a saturated fat and used traditionally in pastry, in steamed puddings and sweet mincemeat. There are ready-made vegetarian alternatives available which can be bought in leading supermarkets. You can also make friends with your butcher and ask for the fat from the kidneys. Make sure it is clean and then freeze and grate it to use in your recipes. You can use Crisco Baking Sticks and achieve much of the same results as suet. Freeze the baking sticks and then grate the amount needed in your recipe. Freezing and grating the fat will help keep your dumplings lighter and fluffier.
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