Beef & Guinness Stew with Dumplings

Beef and Guinness Stew with Dumplings

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Source: Adapted from the recipe found using the Jamie Oliver Recipes, app for ipad. 2012.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. diced stewing  beef
6 oz shallots
3 garlic cloves
2 celery stalks
4 portobello mushrooms
1/2 C. dried porcini mushrooms
15 oz Guinness
2 1/2 C. beef stock
7 T cold butter, diced
1 T all purpose flour
1 2/3 C. self-rising flour (or convert regular flour to self-rising flour)
3 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh parsley
2 oz cheddar cheese
ground nutmeg
olive oil
salt
pepper

Preparation:
Season the beef with a little salt and pepper and dust all over with the all purpose flour until evenly coated. Add two good lugs of olive oil into large pot on medium high heat. Add the beff, shaking off the excess flour. Fry until brown all over, stirring now and then.

Peel and cut the shallots and garlic. Trim and chop the celery. Peel the thin skin off the top of the mushrooms and cut them into big chunks. Place the porcini mushrooms into a mug and half fill with boiling water.

Put the shallots, garlic, celery and bay leaves in the pot with the beef and turn the heat down to medium. Keep stirring and frying until the vegetables are soft and lightly colored. Take the porcini mushrooms out of their soaking liquid. Chop them and add to the stew, along with the portobellos. Pour in the mushroom soaking liquid (leaving behind any gritty sediment at the bottom). Then add the Guinness and beef stock, and bring to a boil.

Place the lid on the pot, and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add the butter and flour to a mixing bowl, with a few pinches of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Rub the fat into the four with your fingertips. Grate in the cheese and add just enough cold water to bind the mixture together to make a dough. Roll into balls, roughly the size of a large cherry tomato then place on a baking sheet, cover and place in the refrigerator.

When the stew has cooked for 1 1/2 hours, take it out of the oven and remove the lid. Drop in the dumplings and poke them under the surface of the sauce using a wooden spoon. Replace the lid and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

The dumplings should be risen and puffed up now so remove the stew from the heat. Quickly chop the parsley and sprinkle over the top. Enjoy!

White Bean Stew

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White Bean Stew

Source: Everyday with Rachael Ray, February 2009, pgs. 77 & 79. Available online.

Ingredients:
Meat Sauce 
1/4 C. extra-virgin olive oil 
1/4 C. chopped pancetta 
1 onion, finely chopped 
1 carrot, finely chopped 
2 ribs celery, finely chopped 
1 clove garlic, finely chopped 
2 lbs. ground beef 
1/2 C. dry red wine 
1 28 oz. can tomato puree
Salt and pepper

Stew 
1/2 lb. baby potatoes, halved 
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil 
1/2 lb. pork sausage links, cut into 1/2-inch rounds 
2 15 oz. cans  cannellini beans, rinsed 
3 C. Meat Sauce 
2 C. chicken broth 
4 tsps. herbes de Provence
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Create the meat sauce. In a large, heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the pancetta and cook until the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the beef and cook, breaking it up, until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook until the liquid is cooked off, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomato puree and 1 cup water; season with salt and bring to a simmer. Partially cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for the last 30 minutes, until thickened, about 2 hours. Season with salt and pepper.
  
Place the potatoes in a large, heavy pot and fill with enough salted water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes; drain in a colander. 

Using the same pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, just until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Stir in the beans, meat sauce, cooked potatoes, chicken broth and herbes de Provence; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.

Senate Bean Soup

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Senate Bean Soup

Servings: 6-8

Time: 2 hours 55 minutes

Source: Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:

1 lb. dried navy beans, picked over

1 lb. ham (preferably with bone)

1 large russet potato, peeled and quartered

Kosher salt

1/2 C milk

2 T unsalted butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 C chopped fresh parsley

Freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Put the beans in a large bowl and cover with about 3 times their volume of cold water. Soak overnight in a cool place.

Drain the beans and transfer to a large pot or Dutch oven. Add 10 cups water and the ham. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour, 30 minutes. Transfer the ham to a plate to cool slightly, then remove the bone, if used, and dice the meat. Return the meat to the pot.

Meanwhile, cover the potato with water in a saucepan and season with salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potato is fork-tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain the potato; transfer to a bowl with the milk and mash with a potato masher or fork until smooth. Add the mashed potato to the bean soup and stir until combined.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic and parsley and cook until the vegetables are translucent, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the vegetable mixture to the soup, reduce the heat to low and cook 1 hour, adding up to 2 more cups water if the soup is too thick. Season with salt and pepper.