So… this is my first post in what I hope will be an informative, useful and, most importantly, tasty recipe and food blog. Hopefully I can bring you guys out there reading good hearty, well cooked, interesting food using interesting and delicious ingredients. Anyway – without any further ado, here is the first recipe – EASY BOOZY BEEF STEW. I chose something fairly simple and straight forward for the first recipe so I could explore how the blog is best photographed, written up and put together. I was unsure how much of the process to document and if you think there is too much or too little let me know. Now… I use the word ‘boozy’ in the title because the stew contains some ALE, some RED WINE and also, a little unusually, a splash of Chinese RICE WINE too. In fact this whole stew, whilst predominantly remaining a traditional, deep, bold beef stew, is slightly influenced by the fact I’m half Chinese on my mothers side. Therefore the ingredients include what may at first glance appear to be a couple strange and incongruous items. The first of which is the Shaohsing Chinese cooking wine – which I believe adds a aromatic, pleasantly sweet, and nutty taste element to the dish. The second is a small amount of light soy sauce which adds a nice earthy, depth to the sauce and of course a little salt and umami flavouring. Obviously everyone knows a good stew is perfect comfort food for a cold winter evening, but its also great because its simple and low on stress – throw everything in a pot and wait for the the awesome flavours to mingle and develop together over time. And whats more pretty much any root veg can be substituted/added to the mix. And the addition of the wholesome, fluffy dumplings will give you  that great cosy, warming feeling. So here it is – what I believe to be the ultimate, meat-melting, hearty, slightly-sweet, tangy beef stew.

INGREDIENTS:

For the beef stew:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 25g/1oz butter
• 750g/1lb 10oz beef stewing steak
• 2 tbsp plain flour 2 garlic cloves, sliced and chopped
• 175g/6oz baby onions, peeled
• 150g/5oz celery, cut into large chunks
• 150g/5oz carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 200g/7oz Potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 150ml/5fl oz red wine
• 150ml/5fl oz Shaosing Dark Cooking Rice Wine
• ½ litre/17fl oz real ale or bitter
• 500ml/18fl oz beef stock
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon thyme leaves
• 3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
• Worcestershire sauce, to taste
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, or to taste
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Dumplings:

• 125g/4½oz plain flour plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g duck fat
• pinch salt
• just enough water to make a thick dough

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. For the beef stew: In a large casserole/oven dish, heat a tablespoon of the olive oil until shimmering. Trim any excess fat from the meat.
3. Pat dry the meat with kitchen paper and fry the beef until browned on all sides. Stir in a large splash of the Shaosing rice wine.
4. Sprinkle over the flour and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
5. In a separate frying pan add the butter, garlic and all the vegetables (apart from the potatoes) and and cook over a moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened. Drain any excess oil. If very oily remove the contents of the pan and pat with kitchen towel to absorb the oil.
6. Add the vegetables to the meat pan.
7. Stir in the wine, Shaosing wine, stock and herbs, then add the Worcestershire sauce and red wine vinegar, to taste. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Then add the honey and stir it in.
8. Add the ale and simmer on a medium heat for 10mins.
9. Cover with 2 layers of foil (or a lid obviously), and transfer to the oven and cook for about two hours, or until the meat is tender.
10. After an hour add the peeled potatoes to the broth.
11. For the dumplings, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
12. Add the duck fat and small amount of water – just enough to form a thick dough. If you’re not sure err on the side of caution you can always add a little more.
13. With floured hands, roll spoonfuls of the dough into small balls – don’t make them too big as they will expand in the stew.
14. After two hours, remove the lid from the stew and place the 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.
15. If you prefer your dumplings with a golden top, take the foil off and bake in the oven until they’re browned off.
16. To serve, place a large spoonful of dumplings and potatoes into each of four serving plates and top with the meat and vegetables from the stew. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley.

MUSIC I COOKED TO: