Beef Burgundy stew with horseradish dumplings

When it comes to comfort cooking, it doesn’t get much better than this. This hearty stew is just the thing to warm you up and satisfy your hunger, with a deliciously rich sauce, plenty of veggies, tender beef and amazing little dumplings on top. It couldn’t be easier either with everything thrown into the slow cooker and left to work its magic over the next few hours. Dish up a big serve in a bowl and place a few dumplings on top to mop up the sauce at the bottom of the bowl. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 750g braising beef, trimmed of fat and cubed 1 large onion, chopped
• 2–3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 300ml Burgundy red wine
• 300ml beef stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato purée
• 2 bay leaves
• 150g baby carrots, larger ones halved
• 250g leeks, trimmed, cleaned and thinly sliced salt and pepper

Horseradish dumplings

• 150g self-raising flour
• 75g shredded suet (available from the butcher)
• 2 teaspoons creamed horseradish
• 3 tablespoons chopped chives
• 5–7 tablespoons water
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat the slow cooker if necessary – see manufacturer’s instructions. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the beef, a few cubes at a time, until all the pieces have been added to the pan. Fry over a high heat until just beginning to brown then add the onion and fry, stirring, for 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the garlic and flour then gradually mix
in the wine and stock. Add the tomato purée and bay leaves and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then transfer the mixture to the slow cooker pot. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 7–9 hours.

3. Stir the stew then add the carrots and cook on high for 30–45 minutes. Meanwhile, make the dumplings: mix the flour, suet, horseradish, chives and salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir in enough water to make a soft but not sticky dough.With floured hands, shape into 8 balls.

4. Stir the leeks into the stew then add the dumplings, replace the lid and cook for another 30–45 minutes until the dumplings are light and fluffy. Spoon into shallow dishes and serve, remembering to remove the bay leaves.

This recipe is from Ultimate Slow Cooker, available now from Hachette Australia. Click here to learn more.