ZOLA’S BEEF STEW & DUMPLINGS

Serves 4-6

Beef stew:

45ml (3 tbsp) cake flour

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 500g stewing beef

30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil

2 onions, chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

1 bay leaf

4 sprigs fresh thyme

250g button mushrooms, halved

30ml (2 tbsp) tomato paste

1 x 410g can chopped tomatoes

500ml (2 cups) beef stock

Dumplings:

280g (2 1/3 cups) cake flour, sifted

5ml (1 tsp) salt

5ml (1 tsp) white sugar

5g instant dry yeast

About 375ml warm water

Season the flour with salt and pepper and use to coat the beef. Heat the oil in a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid over high heat and brown the beef in batches. Set aside all the meat. To the same saucepan, add the onions, carrot, bay leaf, thyme and mushrooms. Sauté until the vegetables begin to soften and brown.

Add the tomato paste, tomatoes and stock and bring to a simmer. Return the beef to the pan, cover with the lid and gently simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.

In the meantime, make the dumplings by mixing the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowl and adding enough warm water to form a soft and pliable dough. Knead the dough until elastic, cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.

Pinch off small bits of dough, roll into balls and place onto the stew, which by now has been cooking for about 45 minutes. Replace the lid and simmer for a further 15 minutes or until the dumplings have cooked through.

Recipe and image from Simply Delicious by Zola Nene, Penguin Random House SA, R260