JP Food: Delicious beef hot pot & herby dumplings

From Tallaght, John Paul Kennedy is a self-taught cook with a passion for good old-fashioned home cooking.

I really love this time of year and the change from summer to autumn, as it means I can conjure up delicious one pot stews and casseroles, that cook low and slow, but are bursting with delicious flavours.

Like any stew or casserole, the longer it cooks the better the flavour and what I love most about them is; it’s merely some prep upfront, bung everything into a pot and leave to cook away while you get on with your day.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

2lb piece of stewing beef, rib-eye or shin – something with some marbles of fat (best to source this from a good butcher)

2 large carrots, chopped and diced

1 chopped onion

2 tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves

600ml beef stock

200ml red wine

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

2 tablespoon of flour

Teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce

Sea salt & ground black pepper

Dumplings

250g self-raising flour

50g grated cheddar cheese

100g cold butter cubed

2 tablespoons of chopped parsley

100ml milk

Sea salt & black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees / 160 fan. Using an large oven proof casserole dish, add two tablespoons of olive oil and heat on a medium to high heat.
2. Chop the beef into big pieces and cover evenly in flour, season with salt and pepper. Add to the casserole dish off and brown off the meat. You may have to do this in two batches, don’t overcrowd the pan or the beef will steam and won’t brown off. Remove the browned beef from the pan and set aside on a plate.
3. Add the carrots, onion and garlic powder and cook off for about 5 minutes, then add the red wine and allow to simmer and reduce in half. Return the meat to the pot, pour over the beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, stir through, season generously with sea salt and cracked black pepper clamp on a lid and place into the pre-heated oven to 2.5 hours.
4. To make the dumplings add the flour, cheese and butter into a mixing bowl and using your finger tips rub through until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the parsley, season and pour in the milk a little at a time and using your hands mix together to form a dough ball. Flip out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a long sausage shape.
5. cut into 9-10 individual pieces and roll each one into a ball. remove the beef hot pot from the oven. Tear up the beef a little using two forks before and placing the dumplings on top and pop on a lid. Pop back into the oven to cook for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and pop back in to cook for another 15 minutes to make the tops of the dumplings nice and golden. Scatter on some fresh chopped parsley, I love to serve this directly from the casserole dish at the table and ladle into my guests bowls.
6. Serve with some buttered cabbage, broccoli or peas – something green!

This is ultimate, one-pot seasonal cooking that is perfect for this time of year or those rainy days when you have nowhere to go but crave something comforting and delicious to kick back, relax and enjoy! The aromas as this cook, fill the house and are a warm inviting welcome when guests arrive. These dumplings are so easy to make and taste somewhat like a savoury, herby scones, perfect to soak up the gravy and delicious flavours from the beef hotpot!