Beef Stew with Cheesy Dumplings
Comfort food upon comfort - rich, tender beef stew topped with light parmesan dumplings!
I would guess that almost every American has a favorite beef stew recipe in their collection, some with names like Mom's Beef Stew, Aunt Nell's Beef Stew or Irish Jo's Beef Stew. In Germany and Austria they eat a stew-like Goulasch. There are Portugese seafood and oyster stews, and in North Africa, cous cous stews - the common denominator for all of these being meat braised in liquid with vegetables and various spices.
Moms everywhere pass down recipes with their versions of warm, comforting, "love" in a bowl! These recipes take us right back to idealized memories of childhood, times with family and eating with relish when you knew every bite would be delicious. These are the recipes that are the "keepers" and seem to never go out of fashion.
But even stews take on spins of new flavors at times and this is one of those versions. With a topping of biscuit-like dough, steamed on top of the bubbling stew at the end of the cooking process we create dumplings. The parmesan cheese in the dough makes the stew perk up and take notice to create a great partnership with the rich beef stock, sweet carrots and tender meat and potatoes. The dumplings are quick to make and pop on and and it's almost like serving the bread that goes so nicely with stew, in the stew itself. A robust and complete meal. Moms would be proud!
Beef Stew with Cheesy Dumplings
1 1/2 pounds beef chuck steak or roast, trimmed of fat, cut into
1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 1/2 cups beef stock or beef bouillon
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup red wine
2 bay leaves
6 bruised black peppercorns
salt and black pepper to taste
1/3 cup chopped parsley or parsley flakes
For Cheesy Dumplings:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup soft butter
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon paprika
-Place beef cubes in plastic bag with flour and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Shake bag to coat meat. Heat oil on high in large dutch oven or soup pot. Add half the beef cubes and sear on all sides. Remove from pan. Add a bit more oil if necessary and add the remaining beef cubes and sear.
-Return the beef to the pot along with the onions and cook about 2 minutes over medium heat. Pour in the wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Add 4 cups of the broth, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves and peppercorns to the meat. Stir well and bring the stew to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Lower the heat to low and cover the pot and continue cooking an hour and 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally and adding more water if the stew becomes too thick or begins to stick.
-Meanwhile, make the biscuit dumpling dough by placing flour, salt, baking powder and parmesan cheese in a medium bowl. Add the butter and paprika to the mixture and work in with fingers or fork until dough resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and gently push dough together until it forms a loose slightly sticky batter. Set aside.
-Remove lid from stew and add potatoes and carrots. Cover and cook over medium heat until vegetables are just about tender, about 20 minutes. Stir and season broth to taste with salt and pepper.
-Stir 1/2 cup more broth into stew. Drop clumps of dough about the size of a golf ball onto the simmering stew to cover the top. Cover with a lid and simmer over medium-low for 10 minutes. Remove lid and continue cooking another 5 minutes without stirring. Sprinkle chopped parsley over top. Let stew cool 5 minutes and serve.
Cook the stew “low and slow” for the tenderest meat.
The tender Parmesan dumplings, steam right on top of the simmering stew.
A bounteous bowl-full, brimming with things we love to eat!
Stew’s On!
Mix cheesy dumpling dough together to form a loose, slightly sticky batter.
Fluffy cheesy dumplings top a rich, deeply flavored, satisfying stew.
