Beef Stew with Dumplings

Two weeks dry and counting. The nights are still hard — not drinking-hard but sleep-hard, the usual machinery of my brain running at two AM when I'd prefer it to be quiet. I've started keeping a notebook on the nightstand. When I wake up at two, I write things down instead of lying there with them. It doesn't fix them but it does something — takes them from inside to outside, makes them less like weather and more like a list. Lists you can deal with.

The farrier work in winter is sporadic but it's there. Drove to the Billings horse operation Thursday — Debbie's twelve horses, quarterly appointment. The warmblood who was cranky last fall was worse this time: he tried to bite me twice and cow-kicked once. I kept him still by staying calm, which is the only way you stay calm around a horse who's telling you he doesn't want to cooperate. You can't out-muscle a thousand pounds. You can only out-wait it. Eventually he settled and I got the job done. He walked out sound.

Patrick has been having a harder week. The tremors in his hands are more noticeable this week — he spilled his coffee twice, which he'd never have done two years ago, and he's been frustrated in the quiet, particular way he gets frustrated, which mostly looks like silence with more weight in it. I don't say anything about it. He doesn't want acknowledgment. He wants to be left to manage it himself. That's the Gallagher way and I respect it even when it's hard to watch.

Mom made chicken and dumplings Wednesday. She does dumplings from scratch — drop dumplings, not the rolled kind, soft and thick, cooked directly in the broth until they puff. I've had this meal my whole life. It never gets less good.

Mom’s chicken and dumplings got me thinking about dumplings in general — the drop kind, soft and thick, cooked right in the broth until they puff up and hold the warmth of the whole pot. This beef stew version is the same idea: something slow, something steady, something that fills the kitchen with the kind of smell that makes the hard weeks feel a little more manageable. You don’t out-muscle a bad stretch. You out-wait it. And you eat something warm while you do.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups beef broth
1 cup water
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf

For the Drop Dumplings:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Instructions

Season and brown the beef. Toss the beef cubes with flour, salt, and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in batches, about 3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
Build the base. In the same pot, add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste, stirring for 1 minute until fragrant.
Simmer the stew. Return the beef to the pot. Add the beef broth, water, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Add the vegetables. Add the carrots, potatoes, and celery. Cover and simmer for an additional 20 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender.
Make the dumplings. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk and melted butter until just combined — the batter should be thick and slightly lumpy. Do not overmix.
Drop and cook the dumplings. Remove the bay leaf. Bring the stew to a gentle boil. Drop the dumpling batter by heaping spoonfuls onto the surface of the stew, spacing them about an inch apart. Cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid. The dumplings are done when they’re puffed and cooked through.
Serve. Ladle the stew into bowls, making sure each gets a dumpling or two. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Beef Stew with Dumplings — The Meal That Holds You Still