I love soup. I love stews. I love them because you can eat and drink them all at the same time, with one utensil! It's such a brilliant invention. If I could, I would eat soup or stew everyday, however, I'm sure my husband would have something to say about that. And of course, there is something to be said about eating foods in states other then a liquid that makes it feel a bit more substantial.
One thing I grew up absolutely loving, whenever my mom made stew, was dumplings. She would cook them right on top of the stew. I can't say why I loved these dumplings so much, but I truly did and always got excited when I saw that mom was making them. Being gluten-free, however, can place a hurdle directly in front of you, when it comes to consuming most-loved, comfort foods. It takes effort to figure out how to jump the hurdle, you can't just walk through it. But with the effort comes much satisfaction and great reward.
With the cooler season upon us, I decided some beef stew was in order, and with beef stew, I HAD to make dumplings. I was just going to have to experiment and make them gluten-free, and why not dairy-free while we're at it as well. So with that, I was on the phone to my mom to get her dumpling recipe, pulled out my crockpot, and got the stew going. I hope you enjoy this adaptation.
BEEF STEW WITH GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE DUMPLINGS
Beef Stew adapted from a recipe on "allrecipes.com"
Adjust measurement according to how many people you're feeding. I was cooking for two and we had leftovers.
Ingredients:
1lb of TLC Farms stew meat
1/8-1/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
1/2 tsp sea salt (more to taste if need be)
1/2 tsp ground pepper (more to taste if need be)
1 clove organic garlic, minced
1 bay leaf (I only had chunks, so just sprinkled some in)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (can contain gluten. Use alternative sauce to make the stew 100% gluten-free. As I am only wheat sensitive and not Celiac, Worcestershire sauce doesn't affect me.)
1 organic onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups organic beef or vegetable broth (I used vegetable)
3 potatoes, diced
4 organic carrots, sliced
1 stalk organic celery, chopped
Directions:
- Place meat in the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt and pepper; pour over meat and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. (My meat was still frozen, so I just covered the outside as best I could)
- Stir in garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, broth, potatoes, carrots and celery.
- Cover and cook on low setting for 10-12 hours, or on high setting for 4-6 hours.
Now for my favourite part! The Dumplings!
This recipe is adapted from a Betty Crocker recipe.
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Grapeseed oil (or oil of choice. Original recipe calls for shortening and that could be used as well)
3/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
3/4 cup quinoa flour
2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
3/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
Directions:
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix the almond milk and oil together in a separate bowl.
- slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until completely combined. The consistency should be similar to a really thick pancake batter or really wet bread dough.
- Plop spoonfuls of the dumpling mixture onto the top of your cooked stew (about 5-10 minutes before you're ready to eat).
- Cook, covered with a lid, until dumplings are firm to the touch and have lost their sheen. You may want to cut one open, just to be sure they're cooked all the way through.
- Eat your heart out!
Hope you enjoy this delicious and simple meal.
Happy Eating!
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