The Ultimate Beef Stew

I love Stew....more than chocolate I think, and now the weather has turned sour I crave stew, this is the best thing I have ever cooked in my opinion I could easily live of this for the rest of my life, so give it a shot you will not be disappointed.


Ingredients:
Stew:
Olive Oil
Knob of butter
2 garlic cloves
1 onion peeled and chopped
Handful of fresh sage leaves
Handful of fresh rosemary
500g of Prime Chuck Steak
Flour
Salt
Pepper
6 carrots chopped
6 small potato's chopped
8 whole pickling onions peeled
2tbsp of tomato puree
2 bay leaves
3/4 bottle of good red wine
285ml of beef stock


Topping:
Small handful of fresh rosemary
Zest of one lemon
1 finely chopped garlic clove


Herby Dumplings:
250g self raising flour
125g of cold butter
Large handful of fresh parsley finely chopped
Salt and pepper


Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.


Step 2:
Prepare all of your Veg.







Step 3:
 Put a little oil and your knob of butter into an appropriately sized pot or casserole pan. Add your onion, rosemary, garlic and all the sage leaves and fry for 3 or 4 minutes. 





Step 3:
Toss the meat in a little seasoned flour, then add it to the pan with all the vegetables, bay leaves, the tomato purée, wine and stock, and gently stir together. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and just a little salt. Don't like the veg I use? That's the best thing about stew add what you like :) all of my veg and herbs came out of my garden so everything was extra fresh and yummy.


Step 4:
Bring to the boil, place a lid on top, then cook in the preheated oven for 3 and a half hours. Now is a good time to finish off the last 1/4 bottle of wine :p.





Step 5:
After 3 and a half hours it is time to prepare the dumplings. Put your flour and parsley in a mixing bowl then using a coarse grater grate the cold butter into the bowl. Add salt and pepper then rub together the flour and butter until you're left with what looks like breadcrumbs. Add a splash of cold water and bring the dough together. Divide the dough into 10 pieces and roll into a round dumpling, now remove your stew from the oven and place your dumplings on top of the stew until they are half submerged.





Step 6:
Put the stew back into the oven with the lid on for 20 mins and then for last 10 mins with the lid off. You should be left with this beautiful sight.





Step 7:
Before you serve up don't be tempted to miss this step it makes all the difference. Chop up your small handful of rosemary, lemon zest and garlic until your left with fine crumbs. Serve your stew and dumplings in a huge bowl, now sprinkle some of this fragrant crumbs on top of your stew, as it hits the heat the smell and flavour is euphoric.


Step 8:
Now enjoy, the taste will blow you away promise!

Hot Chocolate Fondants

Now I am pretty new at making desserts so was really scared about making these little pots of chocolatey goodness but they turned out amazing! The recipe I had wasn't really enough to fill 4 ramekins that's why mine look only half full haha so I have adapted the recipe for you. 

Ingredients:

100g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease

4 tsp cocoa powder, to dust

100g good quality 70% Chocolate

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

120g caster sugar

100g plain flour

Icing sugar, to dust

Step 1:

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees

Step 2:

Butter four ramekins, then dust with cocoa, shaking out any excess. Save 4 pieces of chocolate for later.

Step 3:
Slowly melt the chocolate and butter in a small bowl set over a pan of hot water, then take off the heat and stir until smooth. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.





Step 4:
Using an electric whisk or a mixer, whisk the whole egg, egg yolk and sugar together until pale and thick, then incorporate the chocolate mixture and fold in the flour. Next divide the chocolate mixture between the ramekins only half way up, remember the saved chocolate pieces? Put one in each ramekin on top of the half way mixture then top up with the remainder, this way you have extra melty chocolate in the middle :) now bake them for 12 minutes.





Step 5:
If you're feeling brave you can turn the fondants out onto a plate but we just ate them from the ramekins :) these are great with cream or ice cream try them for yourselves!