Introduction: Beef Stew With Dumplings

By Paige Russell Design
About: Made in Canada, I grew up crafting, making, and baking. Out of this love for designing and creating, I pursued a degree in product design from Parsons School of Design in NYC. Since then I've done work for Mar…

This beef stew with dumplings recipe is super simple and incredibly delicious! Perfect for chilly weather!

Step 1: Gear Check

Gear check for both the stew and dumplings:

large cooking pot with lid
cutting boards (one for vegetables, one for meat)
chopping knife
measuring cup & spoons
peeler
stirring spoon
pastry cutter
medium mixing bowl
butter knife
soup spoon

Stew Recipe:

1 lb cubed beef steak (ask butcher for recommendation)
1 white or yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (and then to taste)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
6-8 cups water
2 lrg carrots
2 medium potatoes
2 turnips
*the shaped vegetables were leftover from my "How to Make Edible Flower Garnishes" Instructable





Step 2: Let's Get Started!

Cut your meat into 1 inch cubes.
Cut your onion into 3/4 inch chunks

Step 3: The Heat Is On

Set your pot on a front burner and turn the heat to just above medium (towards high).
Add the oil and allow it to heat up for 1 minute-.

Add in the beef and onion, giving it a good stir to make sure everything gets a good coating of oil.
You're going to keep stirring every few minutes while you prepare the next ingredients - until the meat is cooked through.

Step 4: Flavor Flavor!

Peel and finely chop the two garlic cloves.

A super easy way to peel garlic is to put the flat side of your chopping knife on top of a clove (do one at at a time) and hit down on the top side of the flat knife with the heel of your hand, squishing the clove underneath. The skin will then be easy to remove.

Add chopped garlic to the onions and beef along with the salt, pepper and cinnamon.

Continue to stir.

Step 5: Peel & Chop!

Now, use your peeler to remove the skins of the carrots, potatoes and turnips and chop 'em up.

There's no right or wrong shape/size for these veggies, so think about what you enjoy eating the most and go with that. Small cubes that are one easy bite? Larger pieces that require a few nibbles? Get crazy! As I mentioned, I had left over shaped carrots and turnips from my "How to Make Edible Flower Garnishes" and they made for fun spoonfuls... : )

*Don't forget to keep stirring your meat and onions while you prepare the above!

Step 6: Get It Together

Once your beef is cooked through, or almost there, add in your chopped veggies and four cups of water.
Give it a good stir.

I like to leave my stew to simmer and cook for a few hours at least so that the meat gets nice and tender. If you have time, I'd even make it a day ahead and allow it to get even more settled and delicious. But a few hours is also just fine.

Give it a good stir every half hour or so while it's simmering and add more water as needed. The water level should stay just below the tips of the top layer of vegetables. The stew will get thicker the longer it cooks, so it's up to you how thick or thin you'd like the finished product to be. This is decided by how much water you add.

A timing FYI: Give yourself about 1/2 to 3/4 hour to prepare the dumpling dough. Then they take 14 minutes to cook and 5 minutes to get to serving temperature.

Step 7: The Dumpling Recipe

When you're 1 to 3/4 hour from go time (aka serving time), start preparing your biscuit dough.

2 cups flour
4 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsps. butter
1 cup milk

Step 8:

In the medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Step 9: Easy Being Green

Finely chop 1/2 cup of parsley and add it to the dry mix.

Step 10: Butter Up

Mix in the butter using a pastry cutter until the dough looks like fine crumbs (pictured).

Step 11: Got Milk

Using a metal butter knife, gently mix in the milk to form a soft dough.

Step 12: 20 Minutes to Meal Time!

When you're 20 minutes out from eating, drop spoonfuls of dough onto the stew, allowing enough space in between each for dumplings to rise. Put on lid tightly and boil hard for 14 minutes. Resist the urge to lift the lid and peek at the progress and do not let the stew stop boiling for even a moment.

After your timer has gone off, remove from the hot burner and remove the lid. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy the coziest meal of all time!!

And if you do try it, please post a picture in the comments section. I'd love to see the results!!