Beef & Guinness Stew With Chilli Cheddar Dumplings

Heat the oven to 150°C. Tip the beef chunks all into a bowl and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Add the flour and toss to thoroughly coat all the pieces of beef. Ensure your butter is very cold.

Heat a large lidded casserole dish over a medium heat and add a shot of olive oil. Working in batches, sear the beef until deep golden-brown in colour. This will take 10-15 mins. Once browned, set aside, leaving any beef fat or residual olive oil in the pan.

While the beef is browning, chop the carrots, celery and shallots into chunks. Add them and the whole garlic cloves to the pan, then fry for 4-5 mins. Deglaze with the Guinness and add the beef stock.

Add the mustard and bring to a simmer. Pop the beef back in and add the rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Slide the casserole, with the lid on, into the oven for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, add the cavolo nero on top, place the lid on and slide back into the oven whilst you make the dumplings.

To make the dumplings, tip the self-raising flour into a bowl, season with lots of salt and pepper, then add the aleppo pepper and dried thyme. Grate in the butter and the cheese and toss through the dry ingredients until coated. Break the gratings down into smaller chunks, leaving a few larger pieces intact. Gradually add the milk while mixing constantly to bring the ingredients together.

Lightly flour a surface and roll out the dough to 2cm thick. Punch out circles with a pint glass or circular cutter of your choice and use them to top the pie. Re-roll any offcuts and cut until you’ve used up all the dough. Sprinkle the top of the pie with extra cheddar and black pepper.

Slide back into the oven for 25 mins, with the lid off, until golden-brown. Serve with greens and a big dollop of mustard!