Ingredients
• 80ml (1/3 cup) olive oil
• 1kg gravy or casserole beef, cut into 2cm cubes
• 10 pearl onions, peeled, halved
• 4 bacon rashers, rind and excess fat trimmed, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 300g small button mushrooms
• 1 x 425g can diced tomatoes
• 375ml (1 1/2 cups) beef stock
• 55g (1/4 cup) tomato paste
• 80ml (1/3 cup) red wine vinegar
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Potato dumplings
• 2 large (about 400g) desiree potatoes, peeled
• 185ml (3/4 cup) milk
• 60g butter
• 225g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
• 65g (3/4 cup) coarsely grated cheddar
• 40g (1/2 cup) finely grated parmesan
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh continental parsley
• Pinch of salt
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Heat half the oil in a 2L (8-cup) capacity heatproof, ovenproof ceramic casserole dish over medium-high heat. Add half the beef and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until brown. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining beef.
2. Heat remaining oil over medium heat. Add onion, bacon and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Add beef, mushrooms, tomato, stock, tomato paste and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Cover and bake in oven for 1 1/2 hours.
3. Meanwhile, to make potato dumplings, place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain well and return to pan. Add milk and butter and use a potato masher to mash until smooth. Stir in flour, cheddar, parmesan and parsley. Taste and season with salt.
4. Remove casserole from oven. Use a 60ml (1/4-cup) capacity measuring cup to shape potato mixture into 6 dumplings. Arrange over casserole. Cook, uncovered, for a further 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly before serving.
