Why I Love Winter

I have always loved winter, even spending some time in the UK during colder months I still loved the cold, the rain and even the snow, not least because of the hearty and homely cooking you can do on a cold and miserable day. a couple of week ago I had just such a chance, so I made up a delicious casserole with dumplings, what could be more wonderful than a house warmed by the oven and filled with the smell of dinner cooking?

Beef and Guinness Stew with Dumplings

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

· 1kg diced beef (I used chuck steak, but any of the cheaper cuts will do)

· Two large onions. Sliced

· 2 carrots, diced

· The inner, yellow core of a bunch of celery including leaves

· 3 or four cloves of garlic, pealed, but left whole

· One large sprig of rosemary

· 1 cup Chicken or beef stock (be aware that your will get a very rich stew if you use beef stock)

· 1 1/2 cups of Guinness

· Seasoned flour.

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180˚C

Place the seasoned flour in a zip-lock bag and add the diced beef, shake so the flour coats the meat.

Add some olive oil to an oven proof dish and start to brown the meat, this is best done by cooking it in small batches. Once the last batch of meat is browned remove it from dish and add the Onion, celery, carrot and garlic, cook until onion is soft but not brown.

place meat back into the dish and cook for a few minutes while stirring constantly, then add the stock and Guinness- the amounts given above are only suggestions the actual amount of liquid required should just cover the ingredients in the dish. Add the rosemary sprig and some bay leaves.

Beef and Guinness Stew with Dumplings

Place casserole dish into oven, turn oven down to 150˚C and cook for at least 2 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and taste the gravy, season if needed.

Dumplings

Ingredients

200g self raising flour

100g butter

Small bunch flat leaf parsley

1 teaspoon English mustard

1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar or parmesan)

Salt and pepper

Milk

Method

Turn oven up to 180˚C

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the flour using the tips of your fingers- try not to over-work the mixture. Stir in the cheese and herbs, season with a little salt and pepper. Mix the Mustard with a little of the milk and add to the flour/ butter mixture. Continue to add a little milk at a time until the mixture forms a firm dough. Roll out small-ish balls and place these on top of the stew. Drizzle with a little olive oil and return to oven cook for approx 30mins or until dumplings are golden brown.