We enjoyed a delicious beef and vegetable stew with old fashioned hard dumplings (sort of like a dense old fashioned homemade noodle) along with bacon cheese Irish soda bread. Though it may not exactly be an Irish meal for St. Patrick’s Day, it was still super yummy!! The flavors of this stew remind me of gramma’s house – she often made a beef barley soup with dill and it was a meal that I looked forward to — simple, hearty and delicious, much like this beef and vegetable stew.
This stew is packed with an assortment of vegetables along with beef in a gravy-like broth which makes it a marvelous hearty meal – perfect for any chilly or rainy day! You can also place all of the ingredients into a crockpot so you have a wonderful meal at the end of a long work day. I heard many stories about great grammas in the kitchen, making hard dumplings (but often made them into “noodles” which where long strands of these hard noodles because it was a cheap way to feed a very large family). The pioneers often began cooking supper just after dinner (or lunch time) so this delicious stew would do just that – stew all day long on the wood stove or over coals from an open fire which helps to develop the flavors.
Let’s get started!
Place chopped onion in a large pot (or stockpot) along with chopped beef. Stew meat works great, but I usually chop up a roast beef so I get at least 3 main meals from one roast.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, dried parsley and dill. I have been using our home grown dill which I chopped and placed in a jar and froze this past fall — we have nearly run out and use it in everything — it’s just like using fresh dill.
Cook for 15 minutes or until meat is lightly browned and onions are tender.
Add flour and stir. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add carrots and celery.
Add beef stock – at this point I add enough to cover the meat and veggies, roughly 3 to 4 cups.
Add potatoes. Add dill pickle juice. Add more water or stock. At this point, I just add enough to cover so that the stew stays thickened. Cook 20 minutes.
Add corn. Cook 10 minutes.
Add peas and green beans. Cook 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
While stew cooks, make dumplings. These dumplings are more like a homemade old fashioned noodle (not like fresh pasta) and are more dense and chewy – check out how we made them here: http://www.ourcityhomestead.com/homemade-old-fashioned-hard-dumplings
Add homemade old fashioned dumplings to the stew and cook until they float, about 10 minutes.
This stew is hearty and quite filling and definitely will feed a hungry family!
We always serve delicious breads and biscuits with our soups and stews because it helps to complete a meal and make it more filling and stretches the stew a little further! I love adding bread to meals for this reason. My gramma served bread at every meal — and with most meals, I like to do the same!
Beef and Vegetable Stew with Homemade Old Fashioned Dumplings
1 onion, chopped
1 lb stew meat – I use a large beef for roasting and chop up
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dill
3 tbsp flour
1 to 2 carrots, diced
1 celery, chopped
4 cups beef stock or beef broth
2/3 cup dill pickle juice
2 cups water
2 cups chopped potatoes
1 cup corn
3/4 cup peas
3/4 cup green beans
1 batch homemade old fashioned dumplings – find recipe here: http://www.ourcityhomestead.com/homemade-old-fashioned-hard-dumplings
To a large pot, add a splash of oil with onion and stewing beef. Add salt, pepper, parsley and dill. Cook for 15 minutes or until meat is lightly browned and onions are tender. Add flour and stir. Cook for 2 minutes. Add carrots and celery. Cook for 2 minutes. Add beef stock and bring to a boil. Add potatoes. Cook 20 minutes. Add corn and cook 10 minutes. Add peas and green beans, cook 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Add homemade old fashioned dumplings and cook until dumplings float, about 10 minutes (they cook much like perogies do). Serve with your favorite bread or biscuit.
This Irish Soda Bread recipe is a delicious quick bread your family will love! I added 3/4 cup of shredded cheese to the batter along with 1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon. Once the batter was smoothed in the cast iron pan, I sprinkled about 1/4 cup cheese over top and then baked. Find the recipe here: https://www.ourcityhomestead.com/quick-irish-soda-bread/
enjoy from Our City Homestead to yours