From the conversation to the kitchen
Beef stew.
Dumplings.
Room for one more.
A recipe interpretation by Holger & Nyx
Inspired by Lerato Thelejane’s childhood memory
Slow-cooked beef with dumplings cooked in the same pot
A pot of tender beef. Dumplings taking in the steam and sauce. A meal to put in the middle of the table and share.
One pot.
A place at the table.
When Holger asks which dish takes her back to childhood, Lerato remembers her grandmother’s beef stew. A dumpling mixture went straight into the pot, where the dumplings cooked together with the stew.
Elsewhere in the conversation, she recalls counting nineteen plates in her household. There were relatives, cousins and children her father had brought closer to give them access to education. What stayed with her was the feeling that there was always enough food.
The recipe
Beef stew with dumplings.
- Serves
- 4
- Active time
- About 35 min
- Total time
- About 3 hours
- Character
- Savoury · soft · warming
Contains wheat and milk. Tick ingredients as you prepare them.
The beef stew
The dumplings — proposed version
Method
Brown the beef
Pat the beef dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a wide, heavy casserole with a close-fitting lid. Brown the beef in batches, leaving room between the pieces. Transfer to a plate.
Build the base
Lower the heat and soften the onions for 8–10 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato purée and cook for another minute. Pour in a little stock and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Let the stew take its time
Return the beef and its juices to the casserole. Add the remaining stock, bay leaf and thyme. The liquid should come almost level with the meat; add a little water if necessary. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook over low heat for about 2–2½ hours, stirring occasionally and checking the liquid level. Add the carrots for the final 40–45 minutes. The beef must be tender before the dumplings go in; some cuts will need longer.
Make the dumpling dough
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 120 ml water and mix briefly into a soft dough, adding a little more only if needed. Divide into 8 small dumplings. Do not knead heavily. This baking-powder dough is our provisional choice; Lerato may suggest a different dough.
Cook them in the same pot
Remove the thyme stalks and bay leaf. Taste the stew and adjust the seasoning. It should still have a generous amount of loose sauce: add hot water or stock if it has reduced too far. Place the dumplings over the gently simmering stew, leaving space for them to expand. Cover tightly and cook on low heat for about 20–25 minutes. Keep the lid on for the first 20 minutes so the steam stays in the pot.
Check, then share
Split one dumpling to check that its centre is fluffy and fully cooked, with no wet floury dough. If needed, cover and cook for a few more minutes. Spoon the stew and dumplings into warm bowls, making sure everyone gets some of the sauce. The dumplings are best eaten freshly cooked.
Cook’s notes
Give the dumplings
room to grow.
The beef: choose a cut suited to slow cooking. Tenderness matters more than a fixed number of minutes. Put the dumplings in only when the meat is ready.
The sauce: it needs to be loose enough to simmer gently beneath the dumplings. A stew that is already very thick may catch on the bottom once the lid stays closed.
The pot: a wide casserole gives the dumplings space. If yours is narrow, make smaller dumplings or cook fewer at a time.
The dough: we have proposed a simple butter-and-baking-powder dough. We are not claiming that this is the dough Lerato’s grandmother used. A yeasted or differently enriched version would need its own method and timing.
The conversation behind the dish
Nineteen plates.
So many stories.
Lerato Thelejane on food memories, community and the limits of AI, in conversation with Holger Nauheimer and Nyx.
Recipe interpretation and text: Holger Nauheimer & Nyx. Inspired by the recorded conversation with Lerato Thelejane.