Beef Stew & Herby Dumplings Especially for Mary...

I made this stew for my dear friend Mary when she was feeling under the weather. We lived in America at the time but have since moved back to England
So Mary this is for you so you can make it when your feeling ill, or even better get someone else to make it for you.

It does freeze well, so you could make it and freeze it for when you need it..

Serves 6

Prep time 15 minutes

Cooking time 3 hours

Pre heat oven to 180c, 380f, gas mark 5

2 tbsp olive oil

1 kg stewing beef cubed

1 large onion chopped

5 carrots sliced

250g chestnut mushrooms sliced

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 tbsp dried oregano

½ tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped

½ tbsp fresh thyme finely chopped

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

3 tbsp flour

2 tins plum tomatoes

1 tsp Worcester sauce

½ bottle of red wine

500 ml beef stock

Dumpling Ingredients

250g self raising flour

140g suet

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp dried oregano

roughly 60ml water

In a large casserole dish that has a lid, heat oil then season and brown beef, remove from dish.
Add the onions to dish and sauté till softened, then add the carrots and sauté for 3 minutes, then add the mushroom and sauté foe 3 minutes, add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Add all the herbs, pepper and celery salt and sauté for 1 minute, stir in the flour, then add the beef back to the dish, add the wine cook out for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes, Worcester sauce, and beef stock bring to the boil then turn down heat and simmer for 2 ½ hrs.
Make the dumplings by mixing all the dry ingredients together, then gradually add the water till you have a dough that is slightly sticky, roll into balls about the size of a golf ball and place in the stew, make sure you leave enough room for them to expand.
Cover the dish and cook in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Poor Mans Beef Wellington

I found this recipe in one of the food magazines i subscribe to, and thought it looked good, so decided to add it to my weekly menu.

Basically it is a meatloaf wrapped in pastry with a layer of mushrooms.
I served it with roasted potatoes, vegetables and a red wine and mushroom ju.

The meatloaf was moist and juicy and had a lot of flavour, the sage came through in the mushrooms and the pastry was lovely and crisp.

I would have put some chilli in the meatloaf, but i was serving it to my 2 year old son, so omitted it this time.

Pre heat oven 200c

Prep time 30 minutes
Cook time 1 hour

1 kg Minced beef
100g Tomato ketchup
3 Eggs
2 Onions finely chopped
1 Red chilli finely chopped - optional
Small handful of sage leaves
Small handful of parsley leaves
2 Garlic cloves finely chopped
25g Butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
200g mushrooms finely chopped
300g Puff pastry

Mix the mince beef with the ketchup, 2 of the eggs, onions, half the garlic and half the herbs and the chilli if using, season, then form into a sausage shape and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Let it cool, turning it over half way through cooling so the juices disperse through the loaf.

Melt the butter and olive oil in a pan and saute the mushrooms with the rest of the garlic and herbs for 5 minutes, drain off any excess liquid, let cool.

Roll out the pastry and brush the inside with beaten egg, spread the mushrooms over the pastry, then put the meatloaf on top.

Cut strips in the pastry and braid the pasty, brush with egg and bake for 30 minutes. Cover if it starts to brown too quickly.

Especially For Ashley Spaghetti Bolognese...

This Recipe is dedicated  to my good friend Ashley.

When i lived in America, and i offered to cook a meal, this was one of the meals she would always ask for.

So just for you my dear Ashley a delicious Spaghetti Bolognese!!

Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 2 ½ hours

Serves 6

1 tbsp Olive oil
1 kg Mince Beef
1 Large onion chopped
3 Large carrots diced
5 Portabello mushrooms sliced
2 Garlic gloves finely chopped
½ tsp Celery salt
1 tbsp Dried oregano
1 tsp Worcester sauce
1 tsp Balsamic vinegar
2 Tins plum tomatoes
1 tbsp Tomato puree
1 tsp Sugar
150ml Red wine
500ml Beef stock
Salt & pepper to season
10 Leaves of fresh basil sliced

1 packet of Spaghetti
Parmesan Cheese to garnish

In a large casserole dish/dutch oven heat the olive oil and brown the mince beef in batches, remove from dish.
Add the onions to the dish and saute till softened, then add the carrots and mushrooms, saute for 5 minutes.
Return the beef to the dish and stir in the celery salt, oregano, Worcester sauce, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, tomato puree and sugar, cooking for a minute between each ingredient.

Bring to the boil and add the red wine, cook out for 2 minutes, then add the beef stock, turn down the heat to low, season to taste and simmer for 2½ hours.

Cook the spaghetti as per the packets instructions.

Garnish with Parmesan cheese and the sliced basil.