Beef Dumpling Stew

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. For the beef stew, heat the oil and butter in an ovenproof casserole and fry the beef until browned on all sides.
3. Sprinkle over the flour and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
   2–3 minutes
4. Add the garlic and all the vegetables and fry for 1-2 minutes.
   1–2 minutes
5. Stir in the wine, stock and herbs, then add the Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar, to taste. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
6. Cover with a lid, transfer to the oven and cook for about two hours, or until the meat is tender.
7. For the dumplings, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
8. Add the suet and enough water to form a thick dough.
9. With floured hands, roll spoonfuls of the dough into small balls.
10. 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. (If you prefer your dumplings with a golden top, leave the lid off when returning to the oven.)
    20 minutes
11. To serve, place a spoonful of mashed potato onto each of four serving plates and top with the stew and dumplings. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Cooking notes

When scaling protein-led dishes, weigh the meat rather than counting pieces, and remember that the pan size limits how much you can sear at once.

For volume-to-weight conversions of any ingredient — flour, sugar, butter, salts — use the ingredient converter. To translate the recipe's oven temperature between °C, °F and gas mark, see the temperature converter.

When you scale this recipe up or down, remember that cooking time does not scale linearly. A doubled cake takes longer, but not twice as long; a doubled soup takes roughly twice as long. The cooking-time guide gives sensible starting estimates by dish geometry.