A comforting British beef stew topped with fluffy suet dumplings and a medley of root vegetables — proper cold-weather comfort food.
- 2 tbs Olive Oil
- 25g Butter
- 750g Beef
- 2 cloves minced Garlic
- 175g Onions
- 150g Celery
- 150g Carrots
- 2 chopped Leek
- 200g Swede
- 150ml Red Wine
- 500g Beef Stock
- 2 Bay Leaf
- 3 tbs Thyme
- 3 tblsp chopped Parsley
- 125g Plain Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 60g Suet
- Splash Water
Tags:
Stew BakingVideo
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
- Heat the oil and butter in an ovenproof casserole and fry the beef until browned on all sides.
- Sprinkle over the flour and cook for a further 2–3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and all the vegetables and fry for 1–2 minutes.
- Stir in the wine, stock and herbs, then add Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar to taste, and season with salt and pepper.
- Cover, transfer to the oven, and cook for about two hours, until the meat is tender.
- For the dumplings, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, add the suet and enough water to form a thick dough, then roll spoonfuls into small balls with floured hands.
- After two hours, remove the lid, place the dumplings on top of the stew, cover, return to the oven and cook for a further 20 minutes, until the dumplings have swollen and are tender (leave the lid off if you'd like them golden on top).
- Serve with a spoonful of mashed potato, topped with the stew and dumplings and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.
