IN THE POT | ITALIAN BEEF CASSEROLE WITH DUMPLINGS

I was drooling before I had even seen the finished product; the smell of this dish cooking is divine!

I must admit the thought of making dumplings for some reason petrified me. I don’t know why but I had visions of them becoming masses of coagulated flour sinking to the bottom of the dish, but these were awesome.

It’s such a simple dish but so yummy and on a cold winter night it was just the thing that we were looking for.  I’m totally making it again.

(Note, I didn’t serve it with pesto – we had pesto in the fridge but I forgot – well I think I forgot or maybe my subconscious didn’t remind me because I dislike pesto so much…)

Italian Beef Casserole with Dumplings

1kg chuck, blade or skirt steak

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

250ml beef stock

2 x 425g tins chopped tomatoes

450g jar roasted red capsicums (I used grilled), drained and thickly sliced

1 tablespoon chopped oregano

90g ready-made pesto, to serve

Dumplings

40g plain (all-purpose) flour

35g polenta

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg white

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Trim the beef and cute into 3cm cubes. Put the beef cubes, onion, garlic, stock, tomatoes, capsicum and oregano in the slow cooker. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook on high for 4 hours, or until the beef is tender.

2. To make the dumplings, combine the flour, polenta, baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the egg white, milk and olive oil. Stir well to combine. Using teaspoonfuls of the polenta mixture, form into small balls. [It’s sticky so I used 2 teaspoons to make balls – you know, like the real chefs do!] Add the dumplings to the slow cooker and cook for a further 30 minutes, or until the dumplings are cooked throgh.

3. Check the seasoning and add extra salt and pepper if needed. Serve the casserole and dumplings topped with a dollop of pesto.

Source: Kitchen Classics; Slow Cookers