Nothing says comfort food quite like a beef and dumpling stew and our version just got a lot easier thanks to the help of a slow cooker (one of our favourite appliances ever).
Slow cookers allow you to throw everything into the base, walk away and return to a delicious warming meal, with very little hands-on time or attention. For the best slow cookers, tried and tested, read our review on which brand makes the best one.
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Yields:
6 serving(s)
Prep Time:
25 mins
Cook Time:
5 hrs
Total Time:
5 hrs 25 mins
Cal/Serv:
526
Ingredients
For the stew
2Tbsp.
vegetable oil
1
onion, roughly chopped
2
medium parsnips, cut into 2.5cm pieces
2
medium carrots, cut into 2.5cm pieces
1
large leek, cut into 1cm slices
3Tbsp.
tomato purée
1
.2kg braising steak, cut into 4cm chunks
Plain flour, to dust
200ml
red wine
600ml
beef stock
3
fresh rosemary sprigs
For the dumplings
1Tbsp.
dried parsley
60g
suet
125g
self-raising flour
Directions
Step 1
Put the oil, vegetables and tomato purée into the bowl of your slow cooker. Dry the beef pieces with kitchen paper and dust with the plain flour (tapping off excess). Add to the slow cooker together with the wine, stock, rosemary and some seasoning. Stir to combine.
Step 2
Cover and cook on high for 5hr or until the beef is tender.
Step 3
After 5hrs of cooking, make the dumplings. Sift the flour into a large bowl and stir in the suet, parsley and lots of seasoning. Add 100ml cold water and stir to make a soft (and slightly sticky) dough.
Step 4
Remove the lid and discard the rosemary sprigs. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough, gently roll into a ball and place on top of the stew, spacing apart. Recover and cook for 1hr more. Check the seasoning and serve with mashed potatoes.
GH TIPS:
We've avoided browning the beef first as it's not necessarily needed (although you can do this step if you'd like for an added boost of flavour). By avoiding this step you will reduce the total time needed for preparation.
The dumplings are just three ingredients and are simply added into the bowl of the slow cooker, atop the casserole, during the last hour of cooking.
A tbsp of onion marmalade, stirred into the casserole at the end of step 2, will mimic the sweetness of caramelised onions with none of the hassle.
This casserole doesn't even need stirring throughout the cooking process, so it can be left alone, allowing you to get on with your day. In fact, slow cooker's temperatures drop dramatically when the lid is lifted and they take a long time to reach up to temperature again, so it's imperative to keep the lid closed throughout the cooking process.
Alternative Dumpling Flavours: If you want to take the dumplings to the next level, try using the following alternatives;
Different herbs such as chives, thyme, rosemary, sage or tarragon.
Stirring through 1/2-1tsp (depending on taste) mustard or horseradish into the dumpling dough.
Mixing 50g of cheese of your choice through the flour, prior to the water being added, such as gruyére or cheddar.
Good Housekeeping UK
What to Read Next
Per Serving:
Calories: 526
Fibre: 4 g
Total carbs: 27 g
Total fat: 28 g
Saturated fat: 12 g
Protein: 38 g
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An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
