Lesley Waters-Beef Braised in red wine with porcini finished with cheese and sage dumplings
Serves 4
20g / ¾oz dried porcini mushrooms; 2 tbsp olive oil; 900g / 2lb braising beef, cut into 4cm / 1½ inch chunks; 425ml / ¾ pint red wine; 225g / 8oz shallots, peeled and cut in half; 110g bacon lardons ; 2 carrots, peeled and sliced thickly on a slant; 3 large, flat field mushrooms, peeled and cut into 8 wedges; 1 tbsp plain flour; 1 bay leaf; 1 tbsp thyme leaves
For the dumplings
225g / 8oz plain flour; ¼ teaspoon salt; 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder; 55g / 2oz gruyere cheese, grated; 2 tbsp sage, roughly chopped; 3 tbsp chives, chopped; 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 150ml / ¼ pint milk; salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Method
Preheat the oven to 150 C/ 300 F/ Gas Mark 2. Rinse the porcini mushrooms and then place in a bowl, cover with 600ml / 1 pint boiling water and leave to soak.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until hot. Add half the beef and sear on all sides until brown.
Remove the beef from the pan and reserve. Repeat the process with the remaining beef. Add a good splash of the wine, and stir well to remove the sediment. Pour out and reserve.
Add the remaining oil to the pan, add the shallots, carrots and bacon then fry for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.
Add the mushrooms to the pan of shallots and continue to fry for a further 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour to the pan and toast for 1-2 minutes
Pour in the remaining wine, beef stock and reserved chunks of beef. Add the bay and thyme. Bring to the boil and transfer to a medium-sized shallow casserole dish. Cover and place in the oven and cook for 2 hours.
Just before the two hours are up, make the dumplings. In a large bowl, sift in the flour, salt, baking powder. Stir in the cheese, herbs and a generous seasoning of black pepper. Stir in the olive oil and milk, using a fork, lightly combine the ingredients to form a soft dough.
Transfer the mixture to a lightly floured surface and knead very lightly. With floured hands, shape the mixture into 8 dumplings.
Remove the stew from the oven and place the dumplings on top. Return to the oven and cook uncovered for a further 35-40 minutes, or until the dumplings have risen and are light golden brown.
would advise putting a bit more liquid in at beginning**
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