Traditional Beef Casserole With Herb Dumplings
A lovely casserole to keep you warm and nourished during the winter months.
Ingredients
- for the casserole:
- 1lb lean stewing beef
- 1 medium onion (cut in slices)
- 2 carrots (peeled and chopped into dice)
- 1/2 turnip (chopped into small dice)
- 1 parsnip (peeled and chopped)
- 30 g plain flour
- 1 large teaspoon of tomato puree
- 750 ml beef stock
- 2 sticks celery
- for the herb dumplings:
- 200 g self raising flour
- pinch salt
- 1/2 medium onion (very finely diced)
- 1 dessertspoon freshly chopped parsley
- 60 ml soured milk (approx)
Method
- For the casserole:
- In a large saucepan heat a little oil.
- Add the stewing beef, having cut it into small dice and fry quickly until coloured or sealed all over.
- Prepare the vegetables (Carrots, celery, parsnip, onion, turnip) and cut them all into bite size dice similar to the beef.
- Add the vegetables into the sealed beef and mix them well around and cook for 3-4 minutes until all the vegetables are sealed and glazed as well as the beef.
- Next mix in the tomato puree and sprinkle the 30g flour on top of the mixture.
- Mix in the flour (this will act as a thickening agent) ensuring that all the vegetables and meat are covered and coated lightly.
- Pour in the stock and mix it well to ensure that there are no lumps of flour stuck in the sides of the saucepan.
- Allow this mixture to come to the boil and then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook or 1 1/2 -2 hours until the meat and vegetables are tender and the sauce is a nice consistency.
- About 1/2 hour before the stew is ready you need to drop in the dumplings.
- These cook in the stew and take about 25-30minutes
- If you wish you can finish the stew off in the oven by transferring it to a casserole dish with a lid and placing in a moderate oven.
- For the dumplings:
- Mix the flour, salt, finely diced onion and fresh parsley together.
- Mix well.
- Gently stir in the soured milk, do not add all the milk at once because it may not take all of the liquid. The mixture should be similar to a soft dough (like a scone).
- Knead the dough very gently, just until it comes together and then cut out the dumplings using a cup or a scone cutter. They should be no thicker that 3/4 inch.
- It’s best to make them about 30 minutes before you need them and hold them in the fridge until required.
- Sometimes people like to mix in a little cheddar cheese in with the dumplings (no more than 50g).
