Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Dumplings

• 800 gbeef chuck steak, cut into 4cm chunks
• 3garlic cloves, minced
• 300 mlbeef stock
• 2 tbspplain flour
• 3carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 3parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2celery sticks, sliced
• 2 tbsptomato purée
• Fine salt, to taste
• 2leeks, trimmed and sliced
• 1large onion, diced
• 1 tspdried thyme
• 2 tbspvegetable oil
• 2 tbspWorcestershire sauce
• 2bay leaves
• 175 gself-raising flour
• 8 tbspcold water, approximately
• 75 gshredded suet
• 1 tspdried mixed herbs
• 15 gflat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 10 gflat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
• Black pepper, to taste

Method

1. 1Pat the beef dry with kitchen paper. Toss the chunks in the plain flour seasoned generously with salt and pepper.
2. 2Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Brown the beef in three batches for 6–8 minutes per batch, turning to colour several sides. Transfer each batch to a slow cooker of at least 5 litres.
3. 3Drop the onion and celery into the same pan and cook for 5 minutes, scraping at the brown fond on the base as they soften and turn glossy. Add the garlic and stir for just 30 seconds, until fragrant and pale gold.
4. 4Stir in the tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook for a minute until the purée darkens a shade and smells sweet rather than raw. Pour in the beef stock and scrape every last stuck bit off the base. Tip the lot into the slow cooker.
5. 5Add the carrots, parsnips and leeks. Stir gently so everything is coated in the dark stock. Cover and cook on LOW for 7–8 hours, until the beef collapses under a fork and the gravy has thickened to a glossy, deep brown.
6. 6Once the beef is tender, turn the slow cooker to HIGH. Reserve 1 tbsp of the self-raising flour for shaping. Mix the rest with the suet, mixed herbs and a pinch of salt. Add the cold water gradually until it forms a soft dough; stop once it comes together. Divide into 12 small dumplings, shaping lightly with the reserved flour.
7. 7Arrange the 12 dumplings on top of the hot stew with space to expand. Cover and cook on HIGH for 45–60 minutes until puffed and cooked through; split one to check there is no sticky raw dough in the centre. Keep the lid on during cooking.
8. 8Fish out the bay leaves. Taste the gravy and add salt or black pepper if needed.
9. 9Divide the stew between six bowls, with two dumplings per person. Scatter the 15 g chopped parsley over the batch and add the optional extra parsley if using.

Per serving

kcal

698

protein

30.4g

fibre

7.7g

carbs

49.4g

fat

42g