Dumpling Pie

Instead of a shortcrust pastry, we are going to make a pie crust from suet dumplings, in Ireland this is called a ciste. However, rather than making one large crust as they do in Irish cooking, we are going to make individual dumplings, which will swell to cover the top, becoming fluffy, and when baked in the oven they become golden-brown and crispy on the outside. You will still make out that they are individual dumplings, and this makes it easy to serve the pie from the pie dish.

Dumpling Pie Recipe

Serves 6 – You will need a 1.2-litre pie dish

Recipe Ingredients:

for the pie filling

• 600g minced beef (lean)
• 400ml beef stock
• 200ml red wine
• 1 large onion (peeled and chopped fine)
• 3 carrots (peeled and diced small)
• 2 garlic cloves (crushed and finely chopped)
• 2 celery sticks ( finely sliced)
• 400g can chopped tomatoes – with a pinch of sugar
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp of dried rosemary
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil (for frying)
• pinch of sea salt (ground)
• pinch freshly ground black pepper

for the dumpling crust

• 250g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 125g shredded beef sue
• 2 tbsp very finely chopped parsley
• 200ml cold water
• pinch of sea salt (ground)
• pinch freshly ground black pepper

• softened butter for greasing a sheet of foil

Recipe Method:

In a frying pan, add a little vegetable oil, and under a medium-high heat fry off, in two or three batches, the minced beef. Stir regularly to break up the meat. Fry until browned, reserve each batch of browned meat in a bowl. Do it in batches so as not to crowd the frying pan and cool the temperature. At the end deglaze the frying pan with 2 tablespoons of red wine, scrape the bits clear with a wooden spoon, then pour this over the browned minced beef in the bowl.

In a large saucepan under a low-medium heat add some vegetable oil and fry off the onion, garlic, celery and carrots gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they soften and colour lightly. Add the browned beef (and everything from the bowl), the tomatoes (with a pinch of sugar), tomato purée, beef stock, red wine, rosemary, and bay leaf. Add a good pinch of ground sea-salt and black pepper. Bring this up to the boil, then reduce the heat down, and simmer gently for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Three-quarters cover the saucepan with a lid. For the last ten minutes turn the heat up and reduce the gravy until it is as thick as you like it in a pie.

After 35 minutes spoon the pie filling into your 1.2 litre pie dish.

To make the dumpling crust: sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir in the suet, sea-salt and chopped parsley. Make a well in the centre and add enough cold water (give or take 200ml) to mix it into a soft, silky dough. Lightly flour your hands, evenly divide the suet dough, and roll into 12 small balls.

Preheat the oven to 200°C

Carefully place on top of the pie filling the 12 dumplings (spaced a little apart) and cover with a sheet of foil you have generously buttered. Make sure the foil is tightly sealed around the edges of the pie dish, but loose enough above the pie filling to allow the dumplings to expand and rise without sticking. Put the pie dish on a baking tray.

Place the pie on the tray in the oven to bake at 200C for 20 minutes, until the dumplings are well risen, then remove the foil and put the pie back in the oven for another 5 minutes to brown the top of the dumplings. Remove from the oven. Serve.