Mary Berry food special: Scrumpy beef casserole with parsley and horseradish dumplings

By Mary Berry

PUBLISHED: 19:01 EST, 2 February 2013 | UPDATED: 19:16 EST, 2 February 2013

Just a little bit different and packed with flavour. These dumplings were an experiment that worked well. I patted out the suet dough to a rectangle, spread it with a mixture of parsley and horseradish, then rolled it up like a Swiss roll, sliced it and put it on top of the stew: a sort of savoury Chelsea bun-dumpling! All so simple and can be prepared well ahead.

Serves 6-8

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1kg (2¼ lb) diced braising steak
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 carrots, cut diagonally into 5mm (¼ in) slices
• 2 celery sticks, cut into 5mm (¼ in) slices
• 25g (1oz) plain flour
• 500ml (18fl oz) strong dry cider
• 1 beef stock cube
• a small bunch of fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and freshly ground
• black pepper
• 150g (5oz) button mushrooms, halved
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• a dash of gravy browning

For the dumplings

• 175g (6oz) self-raising flour
• 75g (3oz) shredded suet
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• approx 10 tablespoons cold water
• 3 tablespoons very hot horseradish
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  

♥ Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2.

♥ Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large deep casserole dish. Brown the meat all over (you may need to do this in batches), then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

♥ Heat the remaining oil in the pan, add the onion, carrot and celery and fry over a high heat for about 5 minutes.

♥ Measure the flour into a small bowl, mix with a little cider and stir to make a smooth paste. Add the remaining cider and whisk until smooth. Pour into the pan, stir, then add the stock cube, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to the boil.

♥ Add the beef to the pan, season with salt and pepper, cover and transfer to the oven for about 1 hour 45 minutes, or until the beef is tender. Add the mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce and gravy browning, and return to the oven for 15 minutes.

♥ Meanwhile, prepare the dumplings. Mix together the flour, suet, salt and pepper in a bowl, then stir in enough water to bring them together in a soft but not sticky dough. Turn out on to a lightly floured work surface and pat or roll out to a 15cm x 20cm (6in x 8in) rectangle.

♥ Stir together the horseradish and parsley and a little salt and pepper to form a paste. Spread this evenly over the surface of the dough, right up to the edges. Roll up from one short end, Swiss-roll style. Cover with clingfilm and keep in the fridge until ready to use.

♥ After 2 hours, remove the casserole from the oven and immediately increase the temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

♥ Remove the suet roll from the fridge and cut evenly into eight rounds. Arrange these cut-side up on top of the meat, sitting in the juices, seven around the outside and one in the middle.

♥ Bring up to simmering point over direct heat, then return to the oven to bake for 30 minutes or until the dumplings start to get a golden crust. Serve immediately.

PREPARE AHEAD Prepare and cook the casserole for 2 hours, then cool quickly, cover and put in the fridge. Prepare the dumplings as far as forming the dough into a roll, cover closely with clingfilm and put in the fridge. Both items can be kept for up to 2 days. Reheat the casserole over direct heat, drop in the dumplings then bake in the oven following the recipe.

FREEZE Prepare and cook the casserole for 2 hours, then cool quickly and place in a freezer container for up to 6 months. Make the suet dumplings, slice and freeze for up to 6 months. Reheat the stew and add the dumplings, cooking at a high heat until bubbling.

AGA First cook in the simmering oven for 2-3 hours or until tender. Then bring to the boil on the top, add the cider and flour and stir until the mixture thickens. Top with the dumplings and transfer to the roasting oven fairly near the top for about 25 minutes or until crisp and done.