Beef Casserole with Frothingham Best | Great Newsome Brewery

A hearty beef and dumpling casserole to get you through the cold!

Ingredients (Casserole)

For 4 – 6 servings:

• 1kg Cubed Stewing Beef
• 2 Onions (Thickly Sliced)
• 400g of Carrots (Peeled, Cut Into Chunks)
• 2 Sticks of Celery (Thickly Sliced)
• 350g of Turnip or Swede (Peeled, Cut Into 3cm x 3cm x 3cm Cubes)
• 2 Rounded Tablespoons of Plain Flour
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1 500ml bottle of Frothingham Best
• 2 Bay Leaves (Optional)
• A Few Sprigs of Parsley (Optional)
• 1 Pint of Water
• Beef Stock Pot

Ingredients (Dumplings)

• 200g of Self-Raising Flour
• 100g of Margarine
• 2 Tablespoons of Marjoram
• 2 Tablespoons of Cold Water
• Salt + Pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C
2. Mix flour and seasoning in a bowl before adding the meat. Make sure to coat the beef well!
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a casserole dish over a medium-heat hob. Brown the meat in batches to seal the flavour in, making sure to add more oil if required. Set this browned beef aside onto a plate for now.
4. Add the onions and any remaining flour to the dish and stir for a minute. Next, stir the remaining vegetables, herbs and browned beef into this mixture. After another minute, add the Frothingham Best, water and beef stock pot. Bring to the boil and stir.
5. Cover the dish and place in the oven for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. We’ll crack on with the dumplings whilst the stew’s cooking. Start by stirring the dry ingredients together in a bowl, then rub the margarine into this mixture with your hands until it resembles breadcrumbs.
7. Add the water to the bowl and mix it in with a knife (you’re aiming for a stiff dough here). Form into a ball, then pat onto a work surface until it’s around 2cm thick. You can then stamp out 8 dumplings.
8. Once the casserole’s done cooking, remove from the oven and raise the temperature to 160°C. Finally, arrange the dumplings on top of the casserole and place back into the oven for a further 20 minutes.

Tips

• If preferred, the casserole itself can be cooked on a low-heat stove instead of an oven.
• If you’re planning to save the dish for another time, put it into the fridge to cool before adding the dumplings. The dish can then be placed in the freezer.
• Don’t have any of our award-winning Frothingham Best on hand? Feel free to use a bottle of Holderness Dark!

Recipe by Doreen Hodgson