I’m cruising into the week with a hearty irish beef stew! That has DUMPLINGS. Omg.
Before spring hits us in full force, I must sneak in one more serious comfort food. Because it’s everything. And that’s what we have here.
Serious
comfort
food.
Cue all the exclamation points!
You guys LOVE my guinness short ribs and guinness pot pie with beer bread biscuits. I knew I wanted to make one more delicious stout infused recipe for saint patrick’s day – and why not do a play on one of theeee most popular recipes on the blog: chicken and dumplings! Also one of my personal favorites.
P.S. this might just be the last soup of the season?! Kind of makes me sad but oh man am I ready for SUNSHINE and spring.
But let’s take a back a minute. To some cool and chilly weather that will no doubt rear its ugly head here. And to a delish recipe for Saint Patrick’s Day. Frankly, it can work anytime of year, but it will be super good next week.
Just sayin’.
So the base of this stew is ridiculously flavorful. Onions, potatoes, carrots – the works, hit with a bunch of seasonings and cooked with tomato paste until deep and rich and caramely in flavor. And color. This might be the best base for any stew I’ve ever made.
Next up, we use a bit of beer and a lot of beef stock, the beef itself and a few more herbs.
The result is a silky, rich, decadent stew. And to make it even more rich? Let’s just go ahead and add some bread right there in our stew. Oops!
Finally, the dumplings.
The herbed dumplings are so good. What I love about these are that you can truly make them any size you wish. Do super mini dumpling dough balls or big ones that you can split in half.
Melts in your mouth!
Actually this entire bowl will melt in your mouth. The veggies are soft, the beef is tender. The broth is silky and smooth. It’s obviously a complete meal already, but adding in those dumplings? It’s the epitome of comfort and satiety.
The perfect bowl of love for your Monday!
Irish Beef Stew with Herbed Dumplings
Yield: 4 people
My new favorite soup! Irish stout beef stew is flavorful and hearty and topped with delicious herb dumplings. Perfect comfort food.
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
- 2 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into pieces
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 baby yukon gold potatoes, halved
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 ounces stout beer, like guinness
- 4 cups beef stock
herb dumplings
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary or thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
Heat a large stock pot over medium heat and add the oil. Toss the beef piece with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, then toss them with the flour so all the pieces are coated.
Add the beef to the pot and sear until each side is golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. You may need to do this in batches. Remove the beef pieces with a slotted spoon and place them on a plate until ready to use.
To the same pot, toss in the butter, onions and garlic. Stir and toss, scraping the bottom so you remove some of the brown bits of flavor from the beef. Cook for 5 minutes, until softened.
Stir in the potatoes and carrots with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and make sure all the pieces are coated. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes to develop the flavor, stirring often so the tomato paste doesn’t burn on the bottom. Add the beef back to the pot.
Pour in the stout to deglaze the pan. Stir to release any more bits of flavor from the bottom. Stir in the beef stock. Add a sprig of thyme or rosemary to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 to 60 minutes, until the beef is tender and falling apart. You can simmer it for even longer as long as it’s covered! I like to taste it here and see if it needs any additional salt and pepper. If so, add it!
To make the dumplings, whisk together the flour, baking powder, herbs and salt in a large bowl. Combine the milk and the eggs, then stir into the flour until just mixed. Set the mixture aside for 10 minutes.
Once the beef is tender, uncover the soup and add spoonfuls of the dumpling dough directly to the broth. I don’t worry about crowding the pot and usually cover the entire top of the stew mixture. You want the mixture to be bubbling for 10 to 15 minutes so it cooks the dumplings – after 10 minutes I usually gently flip the dumplings over and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve the stew immediately with chopped parsley or rosemary, or both!
Dumpling pillows for life.
