Tag: stew

Chicken casserole and herby dumplings

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

The most savoury, comforting food you can imagine. Brilliant for celebrating friends, mending heartache or just for dinner. Serve with greens and bread for mopping. Feeds 4.

  • 700-800g boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 tbsp salted butter
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 150g pancetta, cubed
  • 1 large leek, washed and chopped
  • 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
  • 3 carrots, halved lengthways and chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 heaped tbsp plain flour
  • 200ml white wine
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 1 heaped tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper
  1. In a large heavy-bottomed pan over a high heat, melt the butter and oil together until they bubble and start to turn golden
  2. Pop the chicken thighs into the hot fat in a single layer and brown on both sides
  3. Remove into a plate (they don’t have to be fully cooked) and turn the heat down
  4. Add the pancetta to the pan and fry until golden brown and catching round the edges
  5. Drop in the prepped leek, celery, carrot and garlic
  6. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 mins until soft
  7. Sprinkle over the flour and stir in well, cooking for 2 mins
  8. Add the wine and stir until it disappears, then add the chicken stock, mustard, lemon juice, thyme and bay
  9. Season well with pepper and salt to taste
  10. Bring the sauce to a bubble until it’s glossy and thickened
  11. Pop the browned chicken back into the pan, pushing the pieces just under the surface
  12. Put the lid on and simmer for 30 mins
  13. While it’s cooking, make the dumplings
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 60g plain yogurt
  • 1 egg
  • 40g butter, melted
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
  • 2 tbsp finely grated parmesan
  • 150g fresh white breadcrumbs
  1. Whisk together all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs
  2. Then stir in the breadcrumbs until just combined
  3. Gemtly roll between your palms into 12 round-ish dumplings
  4. Drop them into the stew and gently press beneath the surface
  5. Cook (without stirring or poking) for 15-20 mins

Serve immediately to those you love (or to those barely tolerate – maybe this casserole will change things for the better, you never know)

Spiced beef and chickpea stew

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A marvellous marriage of a British beef stew and a Moroccan tagine. Sounds delicious – definitely is.

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 500g beef shin, cut into chunks
  • 2 large onions, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 beef stock cube
  • 2 tsp harissa paste
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 heaped tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 1 preserved lemon, skin only, diced
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 200g green beans, cut into pieces
  • Handful of green olives
  1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over a medium-high heat
  2. Brown the beef in batches, removing it to a plate on one side
  3. Lower the heat and add onions
  4. Cook for 5 mins, stirring occasionally
  5. Add garlic and continue to cook for further 5 mins until soft and golden.
  6. Add spices, crumbled stock cube, harissa and tomato puree, and stir together. Cook for 2 mins while the kettle boils.
  7. Add approx 500 ml boiling water and the pomegranate molasses
  8. Season well with salt and pepper
  9. Bring to the boil and then cook over very low heat for an hour
  10. Add preserved lemon and zest, stir in and cook for another hour
  11. Add chickpeas, olives and green beans, cook for a further 30 mins.
  12. Serve with a pile of lovely cous cous

Goulash

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A big family Sunday lunch classic and a nod to the Hungarian bit of my heritage. Goulash can take all sorts of forms, but this one is made with beef, no peppers, no sour cream, but with a solid hit of paprika. 100% simple, delicious and cosy.

  • 600g beef shin, cut into chunks
  • 600g of onions, chopped
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp veg oil
  • 3 tbsp plain flour
  • 3 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • Large pinch hot smoked paprika
  • 600ml beef stock
  1. Mix the flour, 1 tsp paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper
  2. Dredge the beef in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess
  3. Heat oil and butter in a lidded casserole dish over a medium-high heat
  4. Fry the beef in batches, browning well on all sides
  5. Remove the beef, turn the heat right down and add a little more oil if needed
  6. Fry the onions gently until translucent
  7. Add the other 2 tsp paprika, the tomato puree, 2 tspnof the leftover flour in the bowl, and the hot paprika
  8. Stir in and cook for a minute
  9. Then pour over the beef stock, bring to the boil and pop the browned beef back in, along with any juice that has accumulated on the plate
  10. Cover and cook for 2 hours – either on the hob on a low-low temperature or in the oven at 160C fan
  11. The beef should almost be falling apart with succulent deliciousness. Check the seasoning, add a bit more salt, pepper or paprika as needed
  12. If you want to thicken the gravy a bit, put the pot on the hob and bring to a simmer. Either mix together equal parts of flour and butter to make a paste (beurre manié, ooh fancy!) Drop bits of the paste into the stew and stir in to achieve your desired thickness. Alternatively, mix a couple of heaped tsp of cornflour with a bit of water and pour in, stirring all the time
  13. Serve with egg noodles, dumplings or spaetzle. Or mashed potato or bread or rice. Any carb really. But whatever you choose, I highly recommend a cucumber salad on the side

Spicy sausage stew and dumplings

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A dish as happy outdoors as indoors, cook it over a campfire or on the stove. Either way, people will be happy to dig their spoons into this russet red bowl of warm loveliness. Feeds 4

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 pork sausages
  • 1 piece of chorizo about sausage-sized, cut into pieces
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 red pepper, cut into 2cm pieces
  • 4 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 2cm pieces
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • ½ pint veg stock
  • Pinch of chilli flakes
  • 1 heaped tbsp paprika
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp thyme
  1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed casserole or saucepan over a medium heat
  2. Briefly cook the chorizo until some of the oil starts to come out, then remove from the pan
  3. Pop the sausages in and brown them, then remove (they don’t have to be cooked through)
  4. Tip in all the veg
  5. Cook over a medium heat until the onions are softened
  6. Sprinkle over the flour, stir in and cook for a minute
  7. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, stock, herbs and sugar, season and stir everything together
  8. Cut the sausages into pieces. Weirdly this is easier with kitchen scissors than a knife
  9. Add the sausages pieces and chorizo
  10. Cook over a low heat with the lid on (or in the oven at 140C fan) for 45 mins, stirring occasionally. Add more water if it thickens too much.
  11. Check the seasoning, maybe add a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of chopped parsley, maybe a dollop of plain yogurt on top, and serve.

I love this stew with dumplings, cooked in the stew. There’s a couple of types you could do. One is a flour dumpling, the other made with bread. I don’t know which I like best. Both result in dumplings that are light, tender and deeply satisfying. Pop them into this stew, add them to soup, casserole, stew. Lucky for you, both recipes are below. I love this combination of textures and tastes (especially with this stew), but feel free to vary the flavourings.

REGULAR DUMPLINGS

  • 100g flour
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 50g shredded vegetable suet (like Atora)
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 4 tbsp finely grated parmesan
  • 4 tbsp toasted pine nuts
  • 4-5 tbsp cold water
  1. Mix dry ingredients (that’s everything except the water)
  2. Add the water gradually as you mix
  3. Knead dough briefly to bring it together
  4. Form into small dumplings about 1 inch diameter
  5. Drop into the stew and gently press beneath the surface
  6. Cook (without stirring or poking) for 30 mins. Test and then give them longer if needed

BREAD DUMPLINGS

  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 70g plain yogurt
  • 1 egg
  • 40g butter, melted
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 4 tbsp finely grated parmesan
  • 4 tbsp toasted pine nuts
  • 150g fresh white breadcrumbs
  1. Whisk together all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs
  2. Add the breadcrumbs and mix gently until just combined
  3. Shape the mixture into 12 dumplings
  4. Drop into the stew and gently press beneath the surface
  5. Cook (without stirring or poking) for 15-20 mins

Beef and red wine stew

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A testament to the power of low heat and time. It starts as an unprepossessing combination of chunks of stuff floating in red wine and stock. Ends as a bowl of rich, warm, comfort food. Eat it with dumplings, eat it with mashed potatoes or just dunk bits of crusty bread in it.

  • 500g stewing beef (I like beef shin, but it works with any stewng cut except that extra-lean stuff)
  • 3 tbsp flour, mixed with salt, pepper, a sprinkle of paprika and garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 3 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 stick celery, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 300ml red wine
  • 1 beef stock cube
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 stalk of fresh thyme
  • Salt & pepper
  • Additions such as whole peeled shallots, trimmed chantenay carrots, button mushrooms
  1. Cut the beef into chunky cubes and dredge in the seasoned flour
  2. Melt the butter and 1 tbsp oil in a lidded casserole over a medium heat
  3. Brown the beef (in batches) in the hot oil, removing it into a bowl afterwards
  4. Turn the heat down and, into the empty pan, add 2 tbsp oil and the garlic, onion, carrot and celery
  5. Cook for 5 mins until softened, then add the crumbled stock cube and tomato puree
  6. Stir in and cook for a further couple of mins
  7. Add the red wine, turn the heat up and bring to the boil, stirring and scraping to get all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan
  8. Boil for 2 mins and then add the beef, herbs, seasoning and enough boiling water to cover everything
  9. Put the lid on and cook over the lowest possible heat on the stovetop, or in the oven at 140C fan (160C)
  10. Cook for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t catch on the bottom
  11. Add the additional veg and cook for a further 40 mins

If cooking dumplings in the stew, add them with the extra veg

If you want to make this into a pie, leave it to cool and use ready-rolled shortcrust pastry to line a pie dish. Fill with stew, seal the pastry lid and brush with egg wash. Make a small hole in the pastry lid to let the steam out and bake at 180C fan (200C) for 30-40 mins until golden brown and crunchy.