Beef Stew with Dumplings

Beef Stew

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 lb stewing beef diced
  • Roughly chopped: 1 medium onion, 1 large carrot, 2 celery stalks
  • 2 cloves garlic sliced thin
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 1/2 cup red wine
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 3 medium potatoes large diced
  • 6 large closed cup mushrooms quartered or 12 or so small button mushrooms
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Dumplings

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Heat the oil to its smoking point in a large Dutch oven; add the beef, some salt and pepper and stir occasionally until browned. Add the chopped onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Season and cook over medium heat until the onion turns translucent (about 3-5 minutes) adding thyme and bay leaf in the last minute or so. Sprinkle in the flower; stir and cook for another 3 minutes, then add the red wine. Simmer off the alcohol from the wine for a few minutes and then add the beef broth. Add the potatoes. Cover and simmer slowly for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the beef is nice and tender and the consistency is quite thick.

Make the dumpling dough when the stew is almost finished. Combine the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately. Add the wet into the dry ingredients and stir with a fork only until they are just combined.

Remove the stew from the pot and set aside. Add 2 1/2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil, scraping up any stuck bits of stew into the liquid. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes or until they start to go soft. Add the frozen corn and peas and bring back to a boil.

Using a tablespoon to portion out the dumplings, drop the dough into the boiling pot. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid at any point before this. The dumplings will absorb most of the liquid in the pot.

Remove the dumplings and add the stew back to the pot to combine with the mushrooms, peas and corn. Bring it all back to temp then stir in the fresh parsley and adjust the seasonings with salt & pepper. Place the dumplings back on top of the stew to serve (cover the pot to reheat them if necessary).