Description
I have been making this stew for more than 20 years. It’s a dish I use to celebrate the harvest season. It may be a bit labor-intensive, but it is worth every minute! Experiment with different root vegetables, and use the dumplings in other hearty stews or soups. They are so yummy!
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless country-style pork ribs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 ½ pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 quarts water
- 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
- ¼ cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried sage, crumbled
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- ½ cup milk, or as needed
Instructions
- Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven’s broiler.
- Arrange pork pieces one layer deep in a large baking pan. Broil
- stirring often
- until meat is browned
- about 10 minutes. Pour off and discard the fat.
- Heat vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions; cook and stir until the onions have softened and turned translucent
- about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook
- stirring frequently
- until the garlic is fragrant but not brown
- 2 minutes more.
- Stir in potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in water
- beef bouillon
- sliced carrots
- chili powder
- marjoram
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- bay leaves
- nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- and pepper. Bring to a boil
- then reduce the heat and cover. Simmer until the meat and all of the vegetables are tender
- about 3 hours.
- To make the Sage-Cornmeal Dumplings: combine flour
- cornmeal
- sugar
- baking powder
- sage
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add milk all at once
- stirring just until the mixture holds together.
- When the stew is ready
- remove the bay leaves. Bring the stew to a gentle boil over medium-low heat. Drop the dumplings by rounded spoonfuls evenly over the surface. Cover the pot and boil for 12 minutes
- until the dumplings are cooked through. Ladle the dumplings into soup bowls and top with lots of stew.
Prep Time: 45 mins
Cook Time: 3 hrs 30 mins
Total Time: 4 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 6