Beef Stew with Dumplings

One year since the barn.

I didn't mark it the way I marked March 8th — I didn't go to the river and I didn't say anything out loud. I just got up in the morning and went out and fed the horses and checked the cattle and did the work and at some point during the afternoon, standing in the hay shed stacking bales, I let myself think about where I was exactly a year ago. The barn. The bottle. Mom's hands on the rifle. The drive to Billings in the light of a July morning that I barely remember.

A year. I'm still here. That's the whole thing. That's the entire measure of the year: I'm still here and I chose to keep being here, one day at a time, one Thursday meeting at a time, one call to Gary at a time, one biscuit batch at a time, one fence post at a time.

I called Gary after dinner. He answered on the first ring. I said, "It's the anniversary of the barn." He said, "I know." I said, "I'm still here." He said, "I know that too. I'm glad." We talked for an hour, mostly about nothing — the weather, his granddaughter who just learned to ride a bike, a horse I'd shoed that week who needed special attention. At the end he said, "Don't forget that today is Day One Hundred and Eighty-Three. The barn is one thing. The days are another." He was right. The barn is one thing. The days are another.

I cooked a steak that night. Just me, alone, in the cast iron on the stove, a ribeye from our own cattle, salt and butter and nothing else. Ate it at the kitchen table in the dark. For the person who was in the barn a year ago, a steak alone in the kitchen is a gift. One hundred and eighty-three days.

That ribeye was mine alone — just salt, butter, and the dark kitchen — and it was enough, because I was the one standing at the stove to make it. In the days since, I’ve been drawn to meals that take a little more time, the kind where you have to stay present and tend to something, the way Gary taught me to tend to the days instead of the years. This beef stew with dumplings is that kind of meal: honest ingredients, slow heat, a pot you have to come back to — and when it’s done, it sits on the table like proof.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 1 hr 30 min | Total Time: 1 hr 50 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium carrots, sliced into rounds
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 stalks celery, sliced
3 cups beef broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water (slurry)
Dumplings:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions

Brown the beef. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season beef cubes with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown the beef on all sides, about 4–5 minutes per batch. Remove and set aside.
Sauté the aromatics. In the same pot, add onion and celery and cook over medium heat until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute more, stirring constantly.
Build the stew. Return the beef to the pot. Add broth, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
Add the vegetables. Add carrots and potatoes to the pot. Stir, cover, and continue to simmer for another 25 minutes until vegetables are tender and beef is very soft.
Thicken the broth. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the broth thickens to a gravy consistency.
Make the dumpling batter. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add milk and melted butter and stir just until a shaggy batter forms — do not overmix.
Cook the dumplings. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the surface of the simmering stew, spacing them slightly apart. Cover the pot tightly and cook over low heat for 15 minutes without lifting the lid. Dumplings are done when they are puffed and cooked through.
Serve. Ladle stew into bowls, making sure each serving gets a dumpling or two on top. Serve hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Beef Stew with Dumplings — The Meal That Proves You’re Still Here