Beef stew on it’s own is fabulous, but adding homemade dumplings to it brings it to a whole new level! The dumplings are made with simple ingredients that you most likely have in your kitchen already, are a cinch to execute, and looks so gourmet. This dumpling studded stew is sure to warm and impress you and your family!
Servings: 6-8
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours 15 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound stewing beef chunks, cubed
- 1 cup yellow onion, peeled and chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 celery sticks, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 heaping tablespoon Herbes de Provence
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
- 1 litre beef broth (or enough to cover the veggies and meat)
- Salt, to taste
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup parsley, for garnish
Dumplings:
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions:
Place a large stockpot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once hot add the cubed beef chunks to the pot. You want t sear the meat on all sides so to do this, do not over crowd the pot or else the meat will steam. Just make sure that the beef cubes are not touching and there is lots of space in between them. You will likely need to work in batches, placing the seared beef on a separate plate once seared, approximately 4-5 minutes, or until a dark brown crust forms.
Once all the beef has been fried and removed from the pot, reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, carrots, celery, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Fry these vegetables together for 8-10 minutes until they become soft and have lifted all those tasty browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add the tomato paste, Herbes de Provence and bay leaves and cook for an additional two minutes. Once this time has elapsed, add the beef cubes back to the pot along with the potatoes and beef stock. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.
After 2 hours on low heat the meat will be falling right apart! SO GOOD! Once the stew is ready, you can make the dumplings.
For the dumplings, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and Herbes doe Provence in a bowl using a whisk. Gradually add the milk and butter, whisking as you go. Try to work out most of the large lumps (a few small lumps are totally fine).
Bring the stew to a boil. Use a 1/4 cup measure to drop dollops of the dumpling batter onto the top of the stew making sure to space them at least 5 centimeters apart (they will expand a lot!). Once the batter is in the pot, cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium and let it cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes have elapsed, use a spoon to carefully flip the dumplings onto the other side. Cover and continue to cook the dumplings for another 5 minutes.
Once the dumplings have cooked, add the peas to the stew and let it cook for a few minutes to thaw out the peas. Spoon a heaping ladleful of stew into individual bowls and top with a dumpling and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
