By popular (okay...four people) demand.
I have no clue if you could modify this for use without a slow-cooker, but seeing as how slow cookers are only about fifty years old and stew is one of those "cavemen probably made this" foods, I'm guessing there are "stew with dumplings" recipes floating around out there on the web. It shouldn't be hard to find.
The real deliciousness of this recipe is in the dumplings -- the trick is to steam them on top of the stew itself rather than boiling them in broth, so that they have a baked consistency but are still very soft and moist.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Garlic Dumplings
As you will see, this is modular and flexible. Measurements are imprecise and you can add a great many things -- sliced bell peppers, stewed tomatoes, some kind of bean, etc -- so long as they are on top of the potatoes and beneath the meat. You could probably use firm tofu instead of meat, but I haven't tried that so I can't say for certain. I AM almost positive that you could use cubed Portobello mushroom.
Stew:
1-2 pounds stew beef, cut into 1" chunks or less
1/4 to 1/2 of an onion, depending on how much meat is being used, chopped fine
A few pinches of fresh chopped sage or rosemary and 1-2 cloves of garlic, if desired
enough olive oil to sautee the onions and meat (cover the bottom of the pan in a thin layer, that oughta do it)
2 large or 4 small potatoes, scrubbed well (peeling optional)
about 2 handfuls of carrots, enough to cover the 'tatoes in the pot (we use baby carrots)
enough chicken or beef broth to cover vegetables (about 2 cups Imperial)
tomato paste or red wine, if desired (see below)
Salt and pepper to taste
In a skillet or frying pan, sautee onions (with sage/rosemary/garlic if desired) in olive oil for about half a minute, then add beef; sautee just until the outside of the beef is browned. It's okay if not every inch of the visible meat is browned, but most should be. Remove from heat and drain off the oil.
Chop veggies while the meat rests. Place chopped potatoes in the bottom of the slow-cooker; they should cover the bottom and be about an inch deep. Deeper is okay, depending on how much you like potatoes.
Cover the potatoes with the carrots and/or other vegetables. Cover the carrots with the meat-onion mixture.
Preparing the broth: I usually stir in a few spoonfuls of tomato paste to give the broth more body; you can also use a bit of red wine for the same effect. Pour the broth over the entire mixture; it should just barely come up over the carrots and should not completely cover the meat. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the top.
I've cooked this in the slow cooker a number of ways; if you're rushed for time, put it on high for an hour or two and then on low for a bit longer, or you can cook it on low for up to about 6 hours without making the meat leathery.
Forty minutes before you want to eat, stir it just enough to mix it up and then add the dumplings.
I stole this dumpling recipe from a website; metric folk, basically just add milk to your baking mix until a thick dough is achieved. Alternately, you can use pre-made buttermilk biscuits from the supermarket or make a drop-biscuit dough from scratch and use that.
The basic recipe is simply:
2 cups bisquick baking mix or other biscuit mix
2/3 cup milk
The optional add-ins that I use are:
2-4 cloves roasted garlic, pressed, or a generous helping of garlic powder
sometimes a heaping handful or two of shredded cheese
Mix all ingredients together until blended -- dough should be thick and sticky -- and drop by the spoonful onto the top of the meat, well away from the sides of the pot. DO NOT spread it around at all once you've dropped it in.
Turn the slow-cooker back up to high and let the dumplings steam untouched for 40 minutes. They will probably not brown at all; if they do brown it will be very slight. They don't look done, but they are.
Scoop and serve. :)
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