Guinness & Chocolate Beef Shin Casserole with Herby Pancetta Dumplings
With the Six Nations ongoing Guinness is on the mind. While I’m not a massive fan of a pint myself, it works really well in this rich, comforting beef stew recipe. A little dark chocolate adds slight sweetness to the rich sauce, while some herby potato dumplings with salty pancetta soak up all the yummy flavours and add a whole other level of comfort. Super easy to make and perfect for a Sunday dinner this time of year.
(Serves 6 - £4.56 per portion)
Cut 650g of beef shin into large chunks and add to a little oil in a casserole dish over a high heat. Season and brown on all sides in batches until well coloured and caramelised. Set aside.
Add 2 roughly chopped onions, a couple of chopped celery sticks, and a couple of chopped carrots to the pan scraping up all the lovely caramelised bits from the bottom. Lower the heat to medium, add a pinch of salt and fry the vegetables for at least 10 mins until softened.
Once softened, add a couple of crushed cloves of garlic and stir for a few minutes. Add a bay leaf, a couple of heaped tbsps of plain flour, 1 tbsp tomato puree, 1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves and 600g quartered chestnut mushrooms. Stir well to cook out the flour for a few mins and add the can of Guinness.
Boil for a couple mins so the alcohol has burnt off and return the beef to the pan. Add 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, a splash of balsamic vinegar, and 50g 70% dark chocolate. Stir well and season.
Cover with a lid and slow cook for at least 2 hours at 140C fan/160C until the meat is falling apart (if you have time cook it for as long as you can).
For the dumplings, peel and roughly chop 1kg potatoes and add to a saucepan. Cover with water, add 1 tsp salt, bring to a boil then leave to simmer for 25-30 mins until cooked.
Fry 100g pancetta until golden and crispy. Set aside.
Drain the potatoes and return them to the pan. Add 80g butter, the pancetta and a large handful of roughly chopped flat leaf parsley and some thyme leaves. Stir well, add 200g plain flour and using floured hands, mould the mixture into tennis ball sized dumplings.
Remove the stew from the oven, pop the dumplings on top, brush with a little oil, increase the oven temperature to 180C/160C fan, and the casserole back in the oven uncovered for 35-40 minutes until the dumplings are slightly crispy.
Serve with some steamed greens and enjoy.