Baby It's Cold Outside

We have officially reached below zero temperatures. Brrrrrrr. And what better to do in such weather than cook? Not much.

Here is an amazing recipe that we made this weekend - I highly recommend trying it out:

Dilly Stew with Rosemary Dumplings

Stew Ingredients:
3 Tb. olive oil
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 yellow onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1 tsp. salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 c. vegetable broth, at room temp.
2 ribs celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 lb. yukon gold potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
1 c. carrots, peeled and sliced into chunky half-moons
2 Tb. chopped fresh dill
1 Tb. chopped fresh thyme (we used half this amount of dried thyme)
1/2 tsp. paprika
several pinches freshly ground black pepper
15 oz. navy beans, rinsed and drained

For the Dumplings:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tb. dried rosemary, finely chopped
3/4 c. almond milk (unsweetened)
2 Tb. olive oil

Preheat large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat (we used a large cast-iron dutch oven). Add oil and flour. Stir consistently for 3-4 minutes, until flour is clumpy and toasty. Add onion and salt, toss to coat onions completely in flour mixture. Cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and stir for 40 more seconds.

Stream in broth, whisking constantly to prevent clumping. Add celery, potatoes, carrots, dill, thyme, paprika, and pepper. Turn heat up and bring to a boil. Stir often so it doesn't clump or boil over.

Once  boiling, lower heat to simmer and let cook uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until stew is thickened and vegetables are tender. In the meantime, prepare dumplings.

Dumplings:
Sift flower, powder, salt together in a large bowl. Mix in rosemary. Make a well in the center and add milk and olive oil. Use a wooden spoon to mix together until a wet dough forms.

When the stew is ready, mix in the beans and plop spoonfuls of dough right on top of the stew. You should get a dozen or so dumplings. Cover pot tightly and cook for 15 more minutes. Dumplings should be nice and firm. Use your ladle to dunk them into the stew to coat them.

Ladle stew into bowls, and top with dumplins. Garnish with additional herbs.

Enjoy!


On a separate note, here is a little winter evening project that made me smile. I am a ridiculous foodie. In case you can't read it, it says "UMAMI" - which is one of the five official "tastes" and a Japanese word that essentially means savoriness or meatiness. Mmmmm mushrooms.