I’m predicting a come back for dumplings – those plump little balls of delight are the perfect topping for one last warming casserole before Spring arrives. Pigeon is a fantastically lean meat but needs a little help in a casserole situation otherwise it can be a little dry so beef compliments the earthy flavour perfectly.
Beef and pigeon Casserole with dumplings
Serves 6
Casserole
1.5kg beef– chuck steak cut into 4cm cubes
4-6 pigeon breasts cut in half
65g flour
100ml cooking olive oil
150g pancetta cubes or chopped bacon
8 shallots, peeled quartered
2 cloves of garlic. Peeled and crushed
600ml good stock to suit the meat
450ml red wine
2 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Put the flour into a plastic bag and shake the meat pieces in it. You may have to do this in batches.
To make the casserole, heat up half of the oil in a large casserole dish and brown off the meat pieces in batches. Do not over crowd the pan. Put the browned meat to one side.
Heat up the rest of the oil in the same casserole and add the pancetta and cook for a few minutes then add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes or until they are soft. Add the garlic but be careful not to burn it.
Pour the meat and the juices back into the casserole and add the wine, stock, herbs, and any left over flour and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then cover and transfer to a pre heated oven, 180c for an hour.
Turn the oven down to 150c and continue to cook for a further 2 ½ hours. Calculate when you want to serve the casserole and then add the dumplings 20 minutes before the finish time and turn the heat up to 200c and cook the topping there.
Dumplings:
Dumplings need to be cooked on the casserole during the final 20 minutes of cooking time. Or 20 minutes before you want to serve the casserole.
125g Self Raising flour
50g shredded suet
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt and pepper
Cold water
Sift the flour into a bowl and add some salt, pepper, suet and chopped herbs. Mix together then add about 3-4 tablespoons of cold water or more if needed, to form soft dough. Lightly flour your hands and pull off small walnut sized pieces and roll them into a ball. Arrange them on top of the casserole 20 minutes before the casserole will be ready.