Beef Casserole with Dumplings
Hearty beef stew and dumplings with beef stock and a good red wine.
"Dumplings are not just pockets of dough. They're pockets of love." - Ching-He Huang
What is the difference between stew and casserole?
We often interchange stew and casserole together, but as pointed out to us while cooking this recipe, there is a key distinction! A beef stew would be cooked on the hob in a dutch oven, with the liquid fully submerging the ingredients. Our casserole however, is baked in the oven in a casserole dish (duh!!) combining all the vegetables together in one place.
Casseroles are also thicker than stews and are much more unctuous, making them perfect to accompany dumplings.
What is a suet dumpling?
Traditionally suet dumplings were risen dough balls that were made from animal fats, specifically suet. It is now possible to get vegetarian suet from most supermarkets however, so if making a vegetable stew or casserole, you can still enjoy the comforting nourishment of dumplings on top.
This type of dumpling is very traditional and has often been seen as old fashioned. But when it is wet and cold outside and you want something filling with a hearty casserole, there is nothing more perfect than a few dumplings mushed into the gravy and beef. It is amazing!
Song for this recipe:
Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis - Ralph Vaughn Williams
Audiobook for this recipe:
The Fellowship of the Ring - JRR Tolkien
Ingredients:
1 x Reasonable knob of butter
Olive oil to combine with butter
2 tbsp x plain flour for the gravy)
1 x 500g pack of stewing/braising steak cut into cubes
1 x large clove garlic, finely chopped
2 x Small onions roughly chopped
1 x Large carrot cut into chunks (don’t make them too small)
5 x Medium mushrooms - quartered (chestnut work best)
500ml x Beef stock
150 ml x Red wine
1 x Bay leaf
1 tsp x Thyme
1 tsp x Rosemary
Salt and pepper to season
100g x Self raising flour (for the dumplings)
50g x Suet
1 tsp x Salt
How to make beef casserole and dumplings:
Preheat the oven to 180-200c (fan/conventional)
In a large, deep, casserole dish melt the butter and a splash of olive oil on a medium/high heat
Once melted, add the steak in batches and brown
Once the meat has browned, coat in the two tablespoons of plain flour and stir until coated
Keep frying for another 2 minutes or so.
Next add all the vegetables and garlic and stir into the beef, cook for another few minutes.
Now add the liquids (stock and wine) and bring back to the boil. Scrape all the good beef stuck to the pan into the sauce and mix well.
Season to taste then cover with a lid and place in the pre-heated oven
This now needs to cook for between an hour and 2 hours depending on the tenderness of the beef
While the casserole is in the oven, make the dumplings. They will need to go into the casserole around 20 minutes before it is ready to serve. So bear that in mind as you cook
Mix all the ingredients for the dumplings together (self raising flour, suet and salt) and then add enough water to make a pretty thick dough.
Combine together so no flour is unmixed
Now using two soup spoons, spoon the mixture into one and then shape into a ball with the other spoon
Drop onto the top of the casserole with enough space left to allow the dumplings to rise.
Return to the oven, if you leave the top of the casserole dish off, then you will get crispier, but heavier, dumplings. With the lid on, the dumplings will be lighter but without that tasty crust - it’s your choice!
Remove from the oven after 20 minutes. It will be filling enough on its own, but is also amazing with a good fresh baguette, mash or you can add pearl barley before putting in the oven and that also tastes amazing!
