A Lovely Pint - From Real Ale to Stout, Homebrew or Pub, for Tickers, Scoopers and Drinkers

A delicious and easy-to-make winter warmer, this hearty stew is the first in our series of classic beer recipes. You really cannot go far wrong with this, so what are you waiting for? Come on, tuck in!

 

Ingredients

For the stew

2 tbsps olive oil

25g/1oz butter

1kg/2lbs stewing steak, trimmed and chopped into bite-sized pieces

2 tbsp plain flour

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 large onions, sliced

2 leeks, sliced

4 sticks of celery, cut into large chunks

200g/7oz carrots, cut into large chunks

200g/7oz swede, cut into large chunks

500g/1lb potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

2 tbsps tomato puree

2 pints good beer or stout

1 pint beef stock

2 fresh bay leaves

large sprig of fresh thyme

Worcestershire sauce, to taste

2 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt and black pepper to taste

For the herb dumplings

125g/4.5oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

60g/2.5oz vegetable suet

large sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped (leaves only)

water, to make a dough (around 4 tbsp)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4
2. Heat the oil and butter in a large ovenproof pot and brown the beef on all sides. It is best to do this in two or three smaller batches, depending on the size of your pot
3. Sprinkle over the flour and paprika, stir well to coat the meat and cook for a further 3 minutes
4. Add the garlic, leeks and onions and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
5. Add the rest of the vegetables and cook for a further 5 minutes
6. Pour over the beer and stock and stir well, making sure that all the veg is covered (if not, add more beer or stock)
7. Add the Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, tomato puree, bay leaves and thyme and season to taste with salt and black pepper
8. Stir well then cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for two hours
9. For the dumplings, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl
10. Add the vegetable suet, chopped rosemary and enough water to make a thick dough. Start with 4 tbsp and gradually add a bit more if needed
11. Divide the dough in half, then repeat until you have sixteen pieces of roughly equal size
12. With floured hands, roll the pieces of dough into small balls
13. Place the balls on a floured plate, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate
14. Once the stew has been cooking for 2 hours, remove from the oven and place the dumplings on top. Pop the lid back on, return to the oven and cook for a further 20 minutes, by which time the dumplings will be swollen and tender
15. Serve in huge bowls with a thick slice of bread and butter. And a pint!

This stew tastes even better when reheated the next day. I tend to make a massive batch which keeps me going for at least three days! You can subsitute any of the vegetables (I sometimes add parsnips or sweet potato) and I encourage you to try it with different beers.

Let us know how you get on in the chat forum. Feel free to post pictures of your tasty creations.