We love this hearty, comforting twist on chicken and dumplings.
Roast Beef with Cornmeal Dumplings
Yields: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 (2½-pound) chuck roast
- 2¼ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
- ¼ cup dried porcini mushrooms
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup plain yellow cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cubed
- ½ cup whole milk
- Garnish: chopped fresh thyme, ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275°.
- In a large cast-iron Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle roast with 2 teaspoons salt and pepper. Add roast to Dutch oven; sear, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from pot. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, and garlic to Dutch oven; cook, scraping bottom of pan and using the back of a spoon to crush tomatoes; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; add roast and thyme sprigs. Cover with lid.
- Bake until fork-tender, about 2½ hours. Let stand for 5 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred roast.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, chopped thyme, brown sugar, baking powder, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in cold butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in milk until combined; let stand for 5 minutes. Drop mixture by tablespoonfuls on top of beef. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until a wooden pick inserted in center of dumplings comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Garnish with thyme and pepper, if desired.
