Fruity Beef Casserole

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Fruity Beef Casserole

Fruity Beef Casserole is a traditional British recipe for a beef stew with mushrooms and vegetables in a red wine, cranberry, and dried cherry sauce. And accompanied by herbed dumplings. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of Fruity Beef Casserole.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

200 minutes

Total Time:

220 minutes

Serves:

Rating:

Tags : Wild Food Beef Recipes British Recipes

This is a classic meat casserole, the descendant of a dish whose provenance goes at least as far back as Anthimus' beef casserole recipe of the sixth century. If ever anything was comfort food, then this is it. It's a recipe I usually reserve until the middle of winter and it's often a dish that I prepare for Guy Fawkes' Night on November the 5^th when it's served with baked potatoes and braised red cabbage.

Ingredients:

For the Casserole:

About 1kg lean beef diced into 2cm cubes
seasoned flour for dusting
2 tbsp vegetable oil<
175g diced smoked bacon
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 large red onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
leaves from 2 sprigs thyme, finely chopped
275ml red wine (preferably a Burgundy)
500ml strong game or beef stock
150ml port
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
12 stoned prunes, quartered
60g dried sour cherries
60g dried cranberries
225g chestnuts, cooked, peeled and halved
115g button mushrooms, halved
2 bay leaves
zest of 1 large orange
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 tsp finely-chopped savory
2 tbsp roughly-chopped parsley
salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

For the dumplings:

250g plain flour (plus a little extra for dusting)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
150ml milk

Method:

Toss the cubed beef in the seasoned flour, then heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole dish and fry the beef to brown it all over. Add the bacon, celery, onion, garlic and thyme and cook for 6–8 minutes without browning. Add the wine, stock, port and Worcestershire sauce along with the dried fruit, chestnuts, mushrooms, bay leaves, orange zest and tomato purée.

Slowly bring the mixture to a simmer then cover with a lid and place in an oven pre-heated to 140°C and cook for two hours. At this point turn the oven up to 180°C (350°F/Gas Mark 4) and cook for a further half an hour, until the beef is tender.

At this point make the dumplings by sifting sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the olive oil and herbs, then pour in the milk and, using a fork, mix to form a soft dough. Tip this dough onto a a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Divide and shape into 16 teaspoon-sized dumplings.

Bring the casserole from the oven and gently place the dumplings on the surface of the casserole. Cover with the lid and place back in the oven and cook for a further 35–40 minutes (or until the dumplings have risen and are a golden brown in colour).

At this point remove the casserole from the oven and allow to rest for five minutes. Skim off any fat that has risen to the surface. Season to taste and fold in a little finely-chopped parsley. Serve with baked potatoes and braised red cabbage.