Showing posts with label dumplings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dumplings. Show all posts
My Todd is a real stew and dumplings kind of a guy. We are running into warmer weather now and so I took advantage of the colder temps to make a nice big casserole of beef that I could divide up once cooked, and freeze ahead, along with some tasty dumplings, which you can also freeze ahead. That way in the warmer months ahead if Todd is wanting something hearty for his tea one day, I can just thaw the stew out and reheat it quickly with only a short time in the oven to brown the dumplings.
I adapted the dumpling recipe from one I found of Mary Berry's. I trust everything Mary Berry does and they sounded delicious. We both LOVE horseradish and I knew we would love these.
The dumpling dough gets patted out and is slathered with a horseradish and parsley mixture. I used creamed horseradish, but Mary Berry used Hot horseradish. I did not want to overpower anything and I don't like really spicy/hot food and so I used the creamed as it is milder.
Once you top the dough, you roll it up like a jelly roll and cut it into slices to pop onto the hot stew and then bake until golden brown. This was a gorgeous combination. Tender, flavourful beef stew/casserole and flaky buttery dumplings on top with just a hint of horseradish. I used half grated butter and suet in my dumplings this time because I didn't have enough suet and it worked just fine.
If anything they were better. I think you could also use the same amount of butter just alone or a mix of shortening and butter, in which case I would rub the fat into the flour with my fingertips until crumbly. Just look at how flaky they are.
This was totally delicious and I had one very happy man on my hands. I love it when that happens!
*Beef Stew With Herbed Dumplings*
Serves 6 - 8
Serves 6 - 8
Hearty and delicious! My own oven stew recipe with a lovely dumpling recipe borrowed from Mary Berry, and adapted to my own needs.
For the stew:
3 TBS olive oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 large carrots, peeled, sliced in half and then cut into half moon chunks
2 parsnips, peeled, sliced in half and cut into half moons
1/4 of a small swede, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 1/2 pounds good quality braising steak, cut into cubes
2 TBS plain flour
10 fluid ounces of beef stock (1 1/4 cups)
a bouquet garni (see note below)
5 fluid ounces of good red wine (generous half cup)
salt and black pepper
For the dumplings:
75g shredded suet (generous 1/3 cup, can use grated frozen butter or shortening)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
10 TBS cold water
3 TBS creamed horseradish
3 TBS chopped fresh parsley
Fresh parsley to garnish (optional)
Preheat the oven to 150*C/300*F/ gas mark 2. Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion and garlic until softened. Add the vegetables and sweat for about 10 minutes. Scoop everything into a large casserole dish.
Trim the meat and cut it into thick chunks. Using the remaining oil, fry the meat in the same pan over high heat, stirring well until it is rown all over. Sprinkle with the flour and stir well to prevent lumps. Season well with salt and pepper. Over medium heat pour in the stock and the wine, stirring constantly to make a smooth sauce. Continue to heat to boiling. Carefully turn the contents into the casserole with the vegetables. Give it a good stir and then add the bouquet garni. Cover tightly and cook gently in the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Make the dumpling dough
while the stew is baking. Sift the
flour, suet,salt and pepper into a bowl. Add enough of
the water to make a firm but soft dough. Gently pat out on a lightly
floured surface to a 6 by 8 inch rectangle. Mix together the horseradish
and parsley, along with some seasoning, not too much. Spread this over
top of the dough, making sure you spread it right to the edges. Roll
up tightly from the six inch side as if rolling a jelly roll (Swiss
roll.) Wrap in plastic cling film and store in the refrigerator until
you need it.
Once the stew is nicely cooked and the
meat tender, remove it from the oven. Remove and discard the bouquet
garni. Taste and adjust seasoning. Increase the oven temperature to
200*C.400*F/ gas mark 6. Cut the roll of dumpling dough into 8 evenly
sized rounds. Place onto the hot stew, cut side down, placing one in
the middle and the remaining ones around the outside. Return to the
oven and cook for a further half an hour, until the dumplings are cooked
through and achieve a golden crust. Remove from the oven.
Serve piping hot, sprinkled with the fresh parsley (if desired) and some mashed spuds on the side.
Note
- Today because there are only two of us, I divided the cooked stew
into several smaller containers to freeze after it was tender. I
returned just enough for one meal to a smaller casserole dish. Make sure
it is well heated for the dumplings. Cut your dumpling dough and place
four on top. The remainder can be frozen (sliced) for up to six
months. When you go to use this up. Heat the thawed stew to boiling and
then top with the frozen dumplings and proceed as above. It may take
slightly longer to cook the dumplings.
Note -The bouquet garni is a bundle of herbs usually tied together with string and mainly used to prepare soup, stock and stews. The bouquet is boiled with the other ingredients, but is removed prior to consumption.
There is no generic recipe for bouquet garni, but most recipes include parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Depending on the recipe, the bouquet garni may include basil, chernet, chervil, rosemary, tarragon, peppercorns and Savoury. Sometimes vegetables such as carrots, celery (with leaf attached) leeks, onion, celeriac and parsley root and are also included in the bouquet.
Sometimes, the bouquet is not bound with string, and its ingredients are filled into a small sachet, a net, or even a tea ball instead. Traditionally, the aromatics are bound within leek leaves, though a coffee filter and butcher twine can be used instead of leek.
If there is an important man or men in your life, I just know they will enjoy this! Bon Appetit!
We grow a lot of our own soft fruits in our garden . . . tay berries (a cross between a black and rasp berry), raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, strawberries and black currants. They all start to ripen about the same time. And right now is the peak time for the logan, rasp and strawberries, and the black currants. Oh and gooseberries. The blueberries are not quite ready yet, but in a few weeks they will begin . . .
I just adore gnocchi. Those lovely little italian dumplings are just so scrummy and quite versatile.
You don't need to reserve them for only supper time . . . served with sauce or whatever. They do make a lovely supper dish with a creamy gorgonzola sauce and some rocket stirred in . . . but that's not all they are good for, no, no . . . no.
They make a fabulous addition to breakfast! If you have never eaten gnocchi sauteed in butter until they are golden brown . . . you have not lived!
I've served them before along with fried eggs and sage . . . oh so scrummy. I've also used them to make a delicious macaroni and cheese type of dish with purple sprouting broccoli. Also very tasty!
Today I cooked the Toddster a delicious breakfast of scrambled egg and gnocchi. Oh my . . . I had a taste and it was delicious!!
The gnocchi all golden brown and buttery . . . the eggs softly scrambled, along with some bacon . . . crisp and salty, chopped chives . . . it went down a real treat!
Todd just loved this. I think any man would. Next time I make it I may add a few chopped tomatoes or peppers. Not only would they add a bit more colour, but I think they'd be delicious in this as well.
I do hope you'll give this a try and if you do, let me know how you liked it!
*Gnocchi Breakfast Scramble*
Serves 4-6
Printable Recipe
Weekend breakfast fare. Differently delicious!
1 pound of potato gnocchi (fresh or frozen)
4 slices of streaky bacon
3 TBS of butter
10 large free range eggs
fine seasalt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 TBS water
3 TBS snipped fresh chives
freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano to taste
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. While you are waiting for the water to boil, fry the bacon until crisp in a large skillet. Remove to paper kitchen towelling to drain. Reserve the drippings in the pan. Add 1 TBS of the butter and stir to melt. Keep warm.
Add the potato gnocchi to the boiling water and cook according to package directions. As the gnocchi float to the top, scoop them out with a slotted spoon, allowing any water to drain off. Drop them into the pan with the butter. Once all of the gnocchi are in the pan, turn up the heat and cook, stirring and flipping until they are golden brown. Scoop them out onto some kitchen toweling and keep warm.
Wipe out the skillet. Beat the eggs together with some water, salt and black pepper. Heat the remaining butter in the cleaned skillet until it begins to foam. Pour in the eggs. Start to scramble them, turning them over with a wooden spoon. While the eggs are still soft, add the bacon bits and chives. Before the eggs are completely done, fold in the golden hot gnocchi. Do not overcook the eggs. They should be soft and fluffy. Stir and adjust seasoning as required. Spoon out onto a heated platter, sprinkle with some grated Parmigiano and serve immediately.
With the autumn virtually on our doorsteps the weather has turned rainy, windy and quite chilly. Not cold like winter . . . mind . . . but there is a definite chill in the air.
On afternoons when we go for our walk, we return to the house with a real chill in the bones and longing for something comforting to warm our bellys . . .
Something that is nourishing and rib sticking . . . rich and homey . . .
This delicious beef stew with it's herb filled suet dumplings fits the bill on all counts!!
The meat . . . fork tender and the gravy thick and rich and filled with deliciously simmered root vegetables . . .
The dumplings . . . rich and meltingly tender on the insides . . . herbily soaking up that lucious gravy. Oh my . . . but this is some good . . .
Mashed spuds on the side are a given! This is comfort food at it's very best!
*Beef Stew With Herbed Dumplings*
Serves 6
A satifisfying dish on a cool and wet autumn evening. Long slow cooking ensures that the meat is melt in the mouth tender. Topped with old fashioned herby suet dumplings, this is guaranteed to satisfy the heartiest of appetites. Delicious!
For the stew:
3 TBS olive oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 large carrots, peeled, sliced in half and then cut into half moon chunks
2 parsnips, peeled, quartered and sliced into 2 inch long bits
1/4 of a small swede, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 1/2 pounds good quality braising steak
2 TBS plain flour
10 fluid ounces of beef stock
a bouquet garni (see note below)
5 fluid ounces of good red wine
salt and black pepper
1 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley to garnish at the end
For the dumplings:
4 ounces of self raising flour, plus extra for shaping (1 cup)
2 ounces shredded suet (about 1/4 cup heaped)
1 tsp dry mustard
1 TBS chopped fresh parsley
1 TBS chopped fresh sage
4 TBS cold water
salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 150*C/300*F/ gas mark 2. Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion and garlic until softened. Add the vegetables and sweat for about 10 minutes. Scoop everything into a large casserole dish.
Trim the meat and cut it into thick chunks. Using the remaining oil, fry the meat in the same pan over high heat, stirring well until it is brown all over. Sprinkle with the flour and stir well to prevent lumps. Season well with salt and pepper.
Over medium heat pour in the stock and the wine, stirring constantly to make a smooth sauce. Continue to heat to boiling. Carefully turn the contents into the casserole with the vegetables.
Give it a good stir and then add the bouquet garni. Cover tightly and cook gently in the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Make the dumpling by placing the flour, suet, mustard, herbs and seasonings into a bowl. Add enough of the water to make a firm but soft dough. Break off the dough into 12 equal pieces and shape with lightly floured hands into round balls. Drop these on top of the hot stew, pushing them down a bit into the hot liquid. Cover and return the dish to the oven.
Cook for a further 15 minutes, until the dumplings have doubled in size and the stew is nicely tender.
Serve piping hot, sprinkled with the fresh parsley and with some mashed spuds on the side.
Note -The bouquet garni is a bundle of herbs usually tied together with string and mainly used to prepare soup, stock and stews. The bouquet is boiled with the other ingredients, but is removed prior to consumption.
There is no generic recipe for bouquet garni, but most recipes include parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Depending on the recipe, the bouquet garni may include basil, chernet, chervil, rosemary, tarragon, peppercorns and Savoury. Sometimes vegetables such as carrots, celery (with leaf attached) leeks, onion, celeriac and parsley root and are also included in the bouquet.
Sometimes, the bouquet is not bound with string, and its ingredients are filled into a small sachet, a net, or even a tea ball instead. Traditionally, the aromatics are bound within leek leaves, though a coffee filter and butcher twine can be used instead of leek.
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