Beef Cheeks Stew

This is a simple dish, made in the style of a "daube," a traditional French stew. Instead of herbes de provence, I used only thyme, building flavor by adding a light sweet/sour element at the end.












1/2 kg of beef cheeks, cut into large chunks
2 slices of bacon, cut into short strips
1 tbsp olive oil
1 parsnip, cut into large bite-sized chunks
1 carrot, cut into large bite-sized chunks
1 onion, cut into large chunks
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup of dry red wine
1 cup of beef or vegetable stock

8-10 brown mushrooms, cleaned and cut into halves
1 shallot, sliced thinly
2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp butter

Using a medium pot set on medium heat, saute the garlic, onion and bacon until onions are cooked down. Toss in carrots and parsnips and saute for another 5 minutes. Set vegetables aside in a bowl. Using the oil in the pot, put beef cheeks, thyme and tomato paste in pot and brown on medium high heat. Add the wine and make sure the browned bits are scraped off into the wine as it lends flavor to the stew. Put the vegetables back into pot and add stock. Turn heat down to the lowest setting and simmer for 2 hours.

In small saute pan, melt butter until sizzling and then add the shallot. Fry until golden brown and add sugar and half of the vinegar. Add mushrooms and the other half of the vinegar and saute until mushrooms are half cooked. Pour contents of the saute pan into the pot with beef. Cook together for another 30-45 minutes.

The cheeks will be tender and you'll have an amazing sauce for which you can eat with good crusty french bread, mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.

Chicken and Dumpling Pot Pie

I had some leftover chicken and dumplings so I spooned the stew into a 6-muffin baking tray, in equal portions. I then crumpled some phyllo pastry on top, sprayed some butter on top, baked in the oven at 150C for about 15 minutes and served with some salad. It made for a nice, comforting meal for 2.

Chicken and Dumplings

It's a blustery Easter Sunday in Wellington. Gale force winds, slightly wet, and totally cloudy. Our cat Pushkin spent the day next to the window, twisted in a pretzel, looking up occasionally to see if there's anything going on outside except for leaves swishing about with the raindrops.

I fashioned some chicken and dumplings from scratch, making my own chicken stock from a whole stewing hen since there's very little else to do today except listen to Nick Cave, write and eat. Most retail outlets are closed and the weather hasn't cooperated at all for outdoor activities.

The dumplings were light and fluffy, and it's really good with homemade broth as the base. I'm using the leftovers tonight to make a pot pie, covering the creamy stew with a phyllo pastry "crown."

Chicken and Dumpling Recipe

Stew Base:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
4 cups of chicken stock (see homemade chicken stock recipe)
1/2 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs
1 cooked chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
3 tbsp finely chopped green onions
1/2 large carrot, chopped into bite-sized coins or half coins
1 large leek, white part only, cut into bite-sized coins
sea salt
fine white pepper

Dumplings:
5 tbsp of polenta
6 tbsp of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, small dice
1/4 cup whole milk
1 egg
2 tbsp minced flat-leaf parsley

Make the stew first. Make roux with melted butter, dried spices and flour on low-medium heat. Using a metal whisk, stir constantly until flour and butter bubble and cook to a golden brown. Gently pour in your chicken stock, one cup at a time as you keep whisking to make the sauce smooth. Boil gently until sauce is thick like pancake syrup. Add chicken and vegetables, including the green onions, and stir until mixed through. Salt and pepper to your taste, although make sure your stew isn't too salty as you'll be adding the dumplings later and can adjust the salt to taste at the end. Turn heat to low and simmer (very little bubbles) while you make the dumplings.

Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Throw the butter pieces into the dry mix and incorporate loosely. It should look somewhat chunky. In separate bowl, whisk egg, milk and parsley together until blended thoroughly and pour into dry mixture, stirring until you get a wet dough. Using a soup spoon, make rounded dumplings and drop into stew. Cook until dumplings are done, about 15-20 minutes. You can check by cutting one of the dumplings in half. If the middle looks like a corn muffin, it's done. Taste and add salt or pepper if desired.

Spoon a few dumplings, chicken and vegetables into a bowl and serve hot. It's delicious with a simple arugula salad with vinaigrette or crusty french bread on the side.