I love casseroles. Meltingly tender meat, soft and tasty vegetables, thick gravy. YUM. This is based on a Weight Watchers recipe^.
Beef casserole with tomato and chive dumplings
- 800g gravy beef, cubed
- 1 brown onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 stick celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 250g button mushrooms, halved or quartered depending on their size
- a good handful of fresh herbs of your choice, finely chopped (I used flat leaf parsley but I think rosemary would work well)
- 2 tbs tomato paste
- 1 tbs plain flour
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 1/2 cups self raising flour
- 40g butter
- 20g sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil), soaked in boiling water, drained and finely sliced
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1-2 tbs chives, finely chopped
- Preheat the oven to 170C
- Heat a non-stick pan* over high heat and spray with some oil
- Brown the beef in batches and set aside
- Add the vegetables to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes
- Add the tomato paste and the flour and cook for a minute, stirring constantly
- Add the stock and scrape the pan to get anything that has stuck**
- Transfer to the casserole dish
- Bake, tightly covered, for an hour and a half
- Rub the butter through the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs
- Mix through the sun-dried tomatoes and chives
- Mix in the milk with a round-bladed knife – like you would a scone mixture
- Spoon tablespoons of the batter onto the casserole and then cook for a further 20-30 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked through and the meat is falling apart.
Great with: some green salad leaves, steamed broccoli, lightly pan-fried zucchinis
^ Their recipe uses slightly less meat, more celery, no carrots or garlic, dried thyme in the casserole, parsley and reduced fat spread in the dumplings
* You could use a Le Creuset or other enamel casserole pot with lid that can go from stove to oven
** I realise I said a non -stick pan, but you know, work with me