Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 25g/1oz unsalted butter
• 750g/1lb 10oz stewing steak
• cut into 2-3cm/¾-1¼in pieces
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 2 garlic cloves
• chopped
• 250g/9oz round shallots
• peeled and left whole
• 150ml/5½fl oz red wine
• 500ml/18fl oz beef stock
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• Worcestershire sauce
• to taste
• salt and black pepper
• 125g/4½oz plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 60g/2¼oz suet
• 4 medium carrots
• peeled and left whole
• 50g/1¾oz unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp sugar

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• For the beef stew
• heat the oil and butter in an ovenproof casserole and fry the beef until browned on all sides.
• Sprinkle over the flour and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and shallots and fry for 1-2 minutes.
• Stir in the wine
• stock and herbs
• then add the Worcestershire sauce to taste. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Cover with a lid
• transfer to the oven and cook for about two hours
• or until the meat is tender.
• For the dumplings
• sift the flour
• baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add the suet and enough water to form a thick dough. With floured hands
• roll spoonfuls of the dough into small balls.
• After two hours
• remove the lid from the stew and place the dumpling balls on top of the stew. Cover
• return to the oven and cook for a further 20 minutes
• or until the dumplings have swollen and are tender. (If you prefer your dumplings with a golden top
• leave the lid off when returning to the oven.)
• For the Vichy carrots
• place the carrots
• butter
• sugar and four tablespoons of water into a pan and bring to a simmer.
• Cover with a lid or cartouche (a circle of greaseproof paper arranged so that it covers the top of the carrots) and cook gently for 4-5 minutes
• or until the carrots are tender. Season with salt and black pepper.
• To serve
• place a spoonful of the stew onto a plate and place one whole carrot and a dumpling next to it.