Serves 2 people
Chef’s tip: You can either use a casserole for the whole process or use a frying pan and oven dish which is how I’ll describe it.
Ingredients
- 600g stewing beef (either casserole beef or brisket is fine) cut into chunks
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 sticks of celery
- Optional other veg: mushrooms, potatoes etc
- 3 bay leaves
- 1tbsp butter
- 1tbsp olive oil
- 1.5tbsp plain flour
- 1.5tbsp tomato puree
- 1.5tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 beef stock cube (I use Knorr)
- 400ml boiling water
- 100ml red wine
Method
- Preheat your oven to 150C/140C Fan/Gas 2
- Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan on a medium-high heat.
- Add the onion, carrots, celery (plus mushrooms if using) and bay leaves and soften for 10-15 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour in and stir until it’s not dusty anymore.
- Add the purée and stir through
- Add the Worcestershire sauce and stir through
- Add the wine and wait for it to mostly cook away
- Add the stock cube and water.
- Stir until it simmers
- Add your potatoes now if using (I usually cut them into big chunks)
- Add the beef and simmer for 5 mins.
Transfer to an oven dish/casserole dish, cover and cook for at least 3hrs.
- Turn the oven up to 200C/180C Fan and remove the lid.
- Make your dumplings! Pop the dumplings on top of the sauce.
- Cook for another 20-30mins or until the sauce has thickened up and the dumplings are crispy on top.