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A Winter's Walk Beef and Carrot Stew With Herb Crusted Dumplings

By French Tart on December 11, 2007

Photo

Photo by French Tart

12 Reviews
  • timer
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins
  • Servings: 4
Photo

Photo by French Tart

About This Recipe

"I named this A Winter's Walk Beef Stew, as it is JUST the kind of hearty and welcoming meal to come back to after a cold and energetic winter's walk! The dumplings are baked for the last 20 minutes on top of the stew and are deliciously crisp and golden, but still fluffy and light underneath. This can be made with minced beef/ground beef as well as braising/stewing steak or chuck steak. I have allowed 2 dumplings per person here - please adapt the quantities to suit, but we always find 2 dumplings each very satisfying! There is no need to serve much else with this filling comforting stew, maybe some steamed cabbage, baby potatoes or greens would be nice.....or a few extra carrots. This serves 4 people with very generous helpings. You may need a walk AFTERWARDS!! A nice glass of robust red wine or a pint of ale would be great accompaniments! This can be made in a crockpot - up to the dumpling stage and then the stew can be put into an ovenproof dish and baked with the dumplings. Likewise, if you are going for a pre-dinner walk - make the stew right up to the dumpling stage, and then finish off when you get home."

Ingredients

    BEEF AND CARROT STEW

    • 1 1/2 lbs lean stewing beef or 1 1/2 lbs braising beef, trimmed of fat and cubed or 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
    • 2 tablespoons plain flour
    • 1 ounce butter
    • salt
    • black pepper
    • 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
    • 2 -4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely diced
    • 4 large carrots, peeled and diced
    • 2 small turnips (optional) or 2 small swede, peeled and finey diced (optional)
    • 8 ounces chopped plum tomatoes
    • 1/2 pint beef stock ( made up with half water and beer or beef stock, made up with half water and wine)

    DUMPLINGS

    • 8 ounces self raising flour
    • 1 teaspoon dried herbs (such as parsley, sage, thyme, majoram and rosemary) or 1 tablespoon freshly chopped mixed herbs ( such as parsley, sage, thyme, majoram and rosemary)
    • 4 ounces shredded vegetable suet or 4 ounces grated frozen butter
    • water, to mix

Directions

  1. BEEF AND CARROT STEW:.
  2. Toss the meat in the flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper.
  3. Fry the meat in the butter (over a medium to high heat) in a large roomy frying pan or skillet until browned, turning constantly.
  4. Remove the sealed browned meat and set aside.
  5. Add the onions, garlic and carrots (and optional vegetables) to the same pan and fry for 5 to 7 minutes or until golden and coloured.
  6. Put the meat in to a suitable sized oven proof casserole dish or dutch oven, such as a Le Creuset. Add the fried vegetables, tinned chopped tomatoes and the beef stock - mix well, cover with a lid and place into a pre-heated oven 170C/325F/Gas Mark 3 for 2 hours.
  7. Twenty minutes before the end of the 2 hours cooking time, take the stew out of the oven, remove the lid and add the dumplings, drop them on top of the stew. Do NOT replace the lid, continue to bake uncovered for a further 20 to 25 minutes or until dumplings have risen and are crusty, crispy and golden brown.
  8. Serve immediately with steamed cabbage, greens and baby potatoes.
  9. DUMPLINGS:.
  10. Mix the flour with the salt, pepper and herbs in a mixing bowl.
  11. Stir in the suet or grated frozen butter and then add water VERY carefully and slowly - mixing in between, until the dumpling dough is soft, but not sticky.
  12. Shape the dough into 8 round dumplings, and drop them on top of the beef stew 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
Page 2 of 2 A Winter's Walk Beef and Carrot Stew With Herb Crusted Dumplings (cont.)

Private Note

No Notes

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 (972 g)

Servings Per Recipe: 4

Amount Per Serving
%
Calories 4692.3
 
Calories from Fat 4325
92%
Amount Per Serving
%
Total Fat 480.5g
739%
Saturated Fat 125.1g
625%
Cholesterol 139.6mg
46%
Sugars 7.4 g
Sodium 425.5mg
17%
Total Carbohydrate 63.4g
21%
Dietary Fiber 5.3g
21%
Sugars 7.4 g
29%
Protein 44.4g
88%

Reviews

  • "The title of this recipe lured me right in and I'm so glad it did! What a scrumptious meal this provided. We went on a fall bike ride through the woods while this was simmering and came back to the delicious aroma. The flavoring is lovely and I love the addition of herb crusted dumplings. C'est magnifique! ~Made for the Nov. Aussie/NZ Swap~"

    By LifeIsGood on November 21, 2009 | 993268

  • "What a great stew recipe!!! I made this last night and we loved it. It was a little runny for stew, but I will use a bit more flour next time when browning the meat....easy enough fix. The dumplings were a great addition to this stew. I used my food processor to grate up the frozen butter and it was a breeze. Thank you so much for sharing this very good stew recipe with us. I plan on making this many times in the cold winter months."

    By mommyoffour on October 19, 2009 | 972399

  • "This stew is wonderful. I made this all in one dutch oven careful to keep the "fond" in the pot. I did have to add butter between browing & removing the meat & adding the vegtables. Also I added a full pint of liquid, half beef stock & half red wine. As for the tomatoes I chopped two roma tomatoes into chuncks. It was the most amazing stew I ever made or ever ate. I didn't make the dumplings because it's just me & I was feeling lazy tonight, but definately going to make them next time. This could feed a family of four or five easy. Thank you French.. I've saved just about every recipe you've posted & am working through them one by one! :)"

    By Chef #1166993 on October 17, 2009 | 971028

  • "Lovely recipe.. I doubled it and added extra liquid..we had leftovers in a piecrust the next day. thankyou for a great recipe."

    By SaintAllie on September 16, 2009 | 948007

  • "Wonderful dish it has a very rich flavor. I always love stews and this one will definately be made again. I only changed some of the veggies adding in parsnips and a turnip from the garden I also used the wine option. My only complaint is idiot that I am I made this ahead and froze it and then FORGOT the dumplings! But I'm sure they are good too"

    By mrs mack on September 14, 2009 | 946290

  • "This was very tasty. I really liked the turnip. It does only serve 4."

    By MoreWithLessMom on March 10, 2011 | 1199126

  • "Absolutely wonderful! I was making this for a larger group (of *very* hungry people ;) ), so I doubled the recipe, and used ground beef because I had an abundance of it that needed to be used up. Having not quite enough carrots for a doubled recipe, I added in two parsnips and loved what that did for the flavor. I also added four smaller-sized potatoes that needed to be used up, which made the dish even more complete. Because of the extra veggies, I included a bit more liquid than called for, using some of the reserved liquid from the 14.oz can of diced tomatoes that I'd drained and added. This was a HUGE hit with my fiance and our friends! People went back for seconds -- and in some cases, thirds! Thanks for sharing a keeper of a recipe!"

    By Lynne the Pirate Queen on January 05, 2009 | 780694

  • "Excellent recipe, FT! I made it in the crockpot and added some bouquet garni. It has an excellent flavour. Thanks."

    By Amanda in Adelaide on May 06, 2008 | 629314

  • "Absolutely brilliant. I also did improvise a little by adding some tomatoe puree and reduced Rioja to "lift the flavours". Great !"

    By Chef #824794 on April 24, 2008 | 622136

  • "Very nice stew! I did however improvise (sorry) by adding a turnip and potatoe to the veges. I also (sorry) added 2 bay leaves. The dumplings were superb! Lovely dish. Thank you for sharing!"

    By Iluv2cook59 on February 24, 2008 | 586757

  • "When I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it. It was awsome, I served it with your saffron roast vegetables. I did not have suet so I used chilled butter as you suggested. I cooked in the slow cooker for 4 hours on high. Best stew recipe I have had, thanks french tart."

    By Chef #244631 on January 15, 2008 | 557601

  • "Thank you so much for this recipe. I made this as a special dinner for us for Christmas Eve. I made just as stated except that I diced one med potato and added it to the stew. I used a 10oz can of Rotel tomatoes with green chillis to give it a little kick. Excelent meal."

    By MsSally on December 26, 2007 | 541492
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