Beef Stew & Dumplings – A Hearty Winter Warming Recipe

During the colder winter months, my husband goes mad for this beef stew and dumplings.

It is so straight forward to make. The “secret” ingredient which was given to me by my Grandma is a tin of oxtail soup!!! I prefer Baxter’s but any variety will do.

If you prefer to cook the stew on the hob then these Joie Pot Watchers are great for controlling the flow of steam and will keep the pan lid from rattling. You can decide whether they're facing in or out of the pan. 

Serves 2 people

Ingredients

For the beef stew

• olive oil
• a knob of butter
• 1 small onion peeled and chopped
• a small handful of sage leaves
• 400g rump steak
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• plain flour to dust
• 1/2 a suede cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 2 carrots cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 2 potatoes cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 1 400g tin of oxtail soup
• 200 ml of beef stock

For the dumplings

• 100g/2 oz plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 50g/1oz suet
• water to make a dough

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C/300 degrees F/gas 2.
2. Put a little olive oil and a knob of butter in a casserole pan/pot of an appropriate size.
3. Add the onion and sage leaves and fry for 3 minutes being careful not to let them brown.
4. Toss the steak in a little seasoned flour and add to the pot together with all the vegetables, tomato puree, oxtail soup and gently stir.
5. Top with the beef stock until the vegetables and steak are completely covered.
6. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and place in the preheated oven.
7. Cook for a minimum of 3 hours until the meat is tender.
8. Ideally leave to cool overnight and skim off any surface fat and re-heat in the oven for 30 mins before adding dumplings.
9. For the dumplings, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and add the suet and enough water to form a thick dough. You can use vegetable suet.
10. Use floured hands to roll dumplings the size of a golf ball.
11. Add the dumplings to the pot once it is bubbling and cook for 20 minutes.
12. Take the lid off and cook for a further 10 mins to get a crispy top to the dumplings.
13. The best way to serve the stew is to place 2 dumplings in a bowl and ladle the stew around the dumplings. This is a hearty supper for cold winters evening, real comfort food.
14. If you don't want to use the oven just cook on the hob on a low heat for 3 hours, do stirring occasionally so the bottom doesn't catch, then add the dumplings on top of the stew and cook with the lid on for another 30 minutes or until they are fuffy.

Enjoy! Norah X