Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Dumplings
A winter-warmer beef stew, slow-cooked with root vegetables and topped with fluffy suet dumplings.
Source
Recipe Info
Servings: 4
Prep: 20m
Cook: 8h 20m
Total: 8h 40m
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 800g stewing beef, roughly chopped
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
- 4 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
- 150ml red wine
- Few sprigs of rosemary and thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 800ml beef stock
- Small handful of parsley, to serve
- 150g self-raising flour
- 70g suet
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and brown the beef all over — do this in batches. Remove, leaving any oil behind, and put in the slow cooker. Add the remaining oil to the pan, turn the heat to medium-low, and fry the onion, carrot and celery for 10-12 minutes until softened but not golden. Add to the slow cooker.
- Pour the wine into the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes before pouring into the slow cooker. Add the remaining stew ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7 hours.
- Shortly before the time is up, make the dumplings. Put the flour and suet in a bowl and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix to combine, then make a well in the centre and pour in 3 tablespoons cold water. Stir, then gradually add a teaspoon of water at a time until the mix easily comes together into a soft dough.
- Form into 8 balls and carefully put on top of the stew. Cook for a further 1 hour, then serve scattered with parsley.