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There’s just nothing better on a freezy day than a loaf of bread in the oven and a pot of stew on the stove. This is what days off were made for.

I had some veal stew meat in the freezer that needed using up so I looked through a few old magazines and found a great recipe in Saveur. Instead of the regular ol’ noodles or potatoes, it called for potato dumplings! It sounded like just what I wanted to make – and I didn’t have to leave the house for anything. A very important consideration when it’s cold outside.

This was another case of just a few ingredients creating big flavor. The slow simmer concentrated the flavors of the stew, making for a rich dish without a lot of extraneous spices. The dumplings added a pleasant change from the traditional egg noodles or potato cubes. I could see this happening, again.

My slightly-larger-than-golf-ball-dumplings cooked up to tennis ball size. They worked perfectly, but if you want ’em smaller, make them smaller than golf balls to begin with.

Veal Stew with Potato Dumplings

Stew:

  • 1 lb veal stew meat
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 4 carrots, cut into 1″ pieces
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 12 oz. mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 cups beef broth

Dumplings:

  • 1 lb potatoes
  • 3/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp dill
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Stew:

Combine flour and spices. Add veal pieces to flour mixture and toss to evenly coat. Heat 2 tbsp butter in a large braising pot over medium heat. Brown veal on all sides.

Add remaining butter to pot and stir in carrots, onion, and mushrooms. Cook vegetables until onions are slightly translucent.

Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until veal is very tender and broth is thickened, about 2 hours.

Dumplings:

Place whole, unpeeled potatoes in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until potatoes are easily pierced with a knife, 30 or so minutes. Drain potatoes and let
cool until they are easily handled.

Peel potatoes, then mash into a large bowl. Add bread crumbs, egg yolks, milk, dill, salt, and pepper. knead together using your hands until mixture is just combined.

Form dough into golf ball-sized dumplings. Place flour in bowl and evenly coat dumplings with a thin layer.

Boil dumplings in salted water until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

To serve, place dumplings in bowls and top with a generous portion of stew.

 

The stew just simmered away, concentrating flavors.

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And the dumplings just kept growing… They were good, though. Like mashed potato balls.

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It was definitely a hit. Nonna ate every bit of her dinner. Well… except the mushrooms.