Bring a bit of cheer to a cold, drab day by dishing up this simple, hearty stew with dumplings and buttered carrots.
Ingredients
- For the beef stew
-
- 2 tbsp
olive oil - 25g/1oz unsalted
butter - 750g/1lb 10oz stewing
steak, cut into 2-3cm/¾-1¼in pieces - 2 tbsp
plain flour - 2 garlic
cloves, chopped - 250g/9oz round
shallots, peeled and left whole - 150ml/5½fl oz
red wine - 500ml/18fl oz
beef stock - 2 fresh bay leaves
- 3 tbsp fresh
thyme leaves Worcestershire sauce, to taste - salt and
black pepper
- 2 tbsp
- For the dumplings
-
- 125g/4½oz
plain flour - 1 tsp
baking powder - pinch
salt - 60g/2¼oz
suet
- 125g/4½oz
- For the Vichy carrots
-
- 4 medium
carrots, peeled and left whole - 50g/1¾oz unsalted
butter - 1 tbsp
sugar
- 4 medium
Preparation method
-
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
-
For the beef stew, 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 shallots and fry for 1-2 minutes.
-
Stir in the wine, stock and herbs, then add the Worcestershire sauce to taste. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
-
Cover with a lid, transfer to the oven and cook for about two hours, or 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. With floured hands, roll spoonfuls of the dough into small balls.
-
After two hours, remove the lid from the stew and place the dumpling balls on top of the stew. Cover, return to the oven and cook for a further 20 minutes, or until the dumplings have swollen and are tender. (If you prefer your dumplings with a golden top, leave the lid off when returning to the oven.)
-
For the Vichy carrots, place the carrots, butter, sugar and four tablespoons of water into a pan and bring to a simmer.
-
Cover with a lid or cartouche (a circle of greaseproof paper arranged so that it covers the top of the carrots) and cook gently for 4-5 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Season with salt and black pepper.
-
To serve, place a spoonful of the stew onto a plate and place one whole carrot and a dumpling next to it.