Beef Stew with Cheese and Herb Dumplings

For some reason, it is more common to add dumplings to a chicken soup, but there is no reason not to dress up a beef stew with these tasty treats, and it’s a very efficient way to create an entire meal in one kettle.

Stew
1 pound beef steak with plenty of marbling
¼ cup olive oil
Carrots – peeled and cut into large chunks
Potatoes (Yukons are very good.) – wash, and cut into chunks
Onion - diced

Biscuits
1 cup cheddar cheese - grated
1 ½ cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons soft butter or vegetable oil, pinch of ground rosemary, pinch of basil, pinch of parsley
½ cup milk

1. Cut the steak into small cubes – approximately 1”.
2. Dice a medium sized onion.
3. Sauté the onion and cubed steak in the olive oil over low heat for 20 minutes or until steak is browned and onions are translucent.
4. Put steak, oil, onion mixture into a large soup kettle and add about 1 ½ quarts broth.
5. Simmer on low for about one hour or until the meat is very tender
6. Add carrots and potatoes.


When vegetables are almost done cooking, mix the dumpling batter:
1 ½ cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup milk, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1 cup cheddar cheese, and spices

When the meat is tender, bring the stew to a gentle boil, and drop the batter by spoonfuls on the top of the vegetables. Turn the heat to low, cover and let the dumplings steam for about 15 minutes.

Serve in large bowls. Be sure to allow the stew to cool in the bowls; dumplings really trap heat and the stew will be scalding hot.

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. Albert Einstein