Beef Casserole with Herb Dumplings

I haven’t made dumplings for so long and yesterday when I was trying to think of something to do with mince that was a bit more interesting than Spaghetti Bolognaise I came upon my dumpling recipe.

My husband loves dumplings and usually I put them on top of a veal goulash or a traditional beef casserole (using beef strips) but really there’s no reason they can’t accompany any type of casserole.

So feel free to adapt this recipe to any casserole you like, but for now I’ll give you my recipe using a mince base.

1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
500g beef mince (I buy the best quality I can find to keep the fat levels down, or if you’re really keen, you can make your own)
1 tin crushed or whole tomatoes
2 tblspns tomato paste
italian herbs such as basil, oregano and thyme, fresh or dried (I use whatever I have available, but I almost always have these three on hand)
1 tblspn curry powder (optional) This is my secret ingredient to give it a little twist!
chopped vegetables such as carrot, mushroom, capsicum or celery (this is a great recipe for hiding vegetables in - just chop them up very small and the kids won’t even notice they’re there)

Herb Dumplings
2 cups self-raising flour
60g butter or margarine, softened
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
¾ cup beef stock

Cook onion until soft, add garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add mince and cook, stirring frequently until browned.

Add herbs, tinned tomato, tomato paste and vegetables. Simmer for 20 minutes (or longer if desired) to let the flavours develop.

To make the dumplings, sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the butter or margarine and, using fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir the parsley through, add stock all at once, stirring, and mix to form a sticky dough.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Put mince mixture in a casserole dish and drop spoonfuls of the dumpling mixture evenly over the mince to form a lid. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through and golden.

Enjoy!