Friday, January 2, 2009

Beef Stew with Herbed Dumplings





Look at this beauty Jon gave me for Christmas -



Doesn't it just make you want to cook some comfort food? As soon as I opened it on Christmas morning I started to think of all the delicious meals I would cook in it. And eat all you want - lifting this from the stove to the oven and back again is a workout!

For my first meal I decided to make a stew. Jon and I have both cooked beef stew before but were never completely happy with the results. I was ready to take on the challenge yesterday.

I found a recipe on the Epicurious web site that sounded good -
Beef Stew with Herbed Dumplings. I made a few minor revisions and adjusted the amounts; although I cut the amount of beef in half, I only slightly adjusted the other amounts and in the end it was perfect.

Ingredients
For stew

  • 4 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used 2 pounds)
  • 2 tablespoons peanut oil (I used vegetable oil)
  • 4 thick-sliced bacon strips, chopped
  • 3 cups finely chopped onions (used 2 cups)
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 5 1/2 cups canned beef broth (used 4 1/2 cups)
  • 1 14 1/2-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added purée
  • 6 medium carrots, peeled, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces (used 3)
  • 3 medium rutabagas, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (I used 1 large turnip and 1 large potato instead of the rutabagas)
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch

For dumplings (the amounts in the original recipe are listed below and were for 12 dumplings; I cut everything in half and still had 8 good-sized dumplings)

  • 2/3 cup whole milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons minced chives
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

  • Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°F.
  • Pat beef dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  • Heat oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat.
  • Working in batches, cook beef until brown, stirring occasionally and scraping up browned bits, about 8 minutes. Transfer meat to bowl.
  • Add bacon to same pot. Sauté until crisp, scraping up browned bits, about 5 minutes.
  • Add onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Cover and cook until onions are tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
  • Return beef and any accumulated juices to pot. Add 5 cups (4 cups) canned beef broth and crushed tomatoes with purée. Cover and bring to simmer.
  • Transfer pot to oven. Bake until beef is just tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.
  • Add carrots and rutabagas (potatoes and turnips). Cover; bake until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 30 minutes.
  • Uncover; bake until beef is very tender, about 25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, prepare dumplings (I started this step when I removed the lid from the stew in the oven):
  • Whisk milk and eggs in medium bowl to blend. Stir in chives and parsley. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
  • Sift flour, baking powder and salt into large bowl. Add milk mixture. Stir just until blended.
  • Remove stew from oven and bring to simmer over medium heat.
  • Whisk remaining 1/2 cup canned beef broth and cornstarch in small bowl to blend. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into stew. Return stew to simmer, stirring until sauce thickens.
  • Spoon dumpling batter in 12 (8) dollops atop simmering stew. Cover tightly; simmer until dumplings are puffed and tester inserted into center of dumplings comes out clean, about 15 minutes.
  • Serve stew with dumplings.

This is, by far, the best beef stew I have ever eaten. All of the flavors were perfect, it was the right consistency, it was stick-to-your-ribs food, and the dumplings were delicious! I can't wait to have leftovers tonight.

Here is another view of it - you can tell it's Jon's plate because he doesn't like carrots..

I'd highly recommend this recipe with the slight changes that I made. It takes a few hours to cook, but most of that isn't active kitchen time, so it's a pretty easy stew as well.

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5 comments:

  1. Looks and sounds great! I made chicken dumpling soup with herbed dumplings before and they were so good! I'll have to try it with beef stew.

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  2. your dutch oven is gorgeous! This dish looks great, can't wait to try it! : )

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  3. Love the new Le Creuset! I've been eyeing those herbed dumplings and I'm itching to make some soon!

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  4. Enjoy your new pot! I got one last year and just love it! Your first meal from it looks delicious.

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  5. The stew looks delicious, I have never had dumpling before though. They seem like they would be to slimy or something. LOL

    Love the new Le Creuset, I got that same exact size this Christmas. I love it so far.

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