Beef Stew with Dumplings

A real beef stew is not a hurried dish: the shin turns silkily tender from the slow, long braising, and the sauce becomes deep red and thick. It is at its best with fresh nokedli (dumplings).

1. Clean the beef shin and cut it into cubes of about 3-4 cm.

2. Chop the onion finely and fry it slowly in the lard until glassy and golden.

3. Take it off the heat, add the crushed garlic and the paprika, stir it in quickly, then immediately pour in a little water – this way the paprika does not burn and turn bitter.

4. Add the meat cubes, season with salt and pepper, and add the caraway and the bay leaf.

5. Add the sliced tomato pepper and the cubed tomato, cover, and braise tender in its own juices over a low heat for about 2-2.5 hours – topping up with a little water if needed.

The dumplings

6. Mix the flour, the eggs, the water and the salt into a medium-soft, stretchy dumpling batter, and after a short rest drop it into boiling salted water.

7. When the dumplings float up, cook them for another 1-2 minutes, drain them, and serve with the hot beef stew.

Tip: The secret of a good beef stew is slow, long cooking – it is done when the meat almost falls apart on its own.