Winter is upon us so there’s no better time to start dabbling in stew-making. For me, any stew that doesn’t feature beer as an ingredient is really only half a stew. There’s nothing quite like the aroma of meat bubbling away in beer. If you can’t get your hands on Darling’s Black Mist, you could substitute another dark beer that’s locally available.

Springbok, Black Mist and dumpling stew

Serves 4 | Recipe courtesy of Philippa Wood of Darling Brew

Ingredients

For the stew:

15 ml olive oil

2 onions, chopped

2 sticks celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

750 g shoulder or leg of springbok

1 kg tomatoes, chopped

550 ml (1 bottle) Darling Black Mist (or, if not available, another dark ale)

Paprika

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper

Chives or spring onions, roughly chopped, for garnishing

For the dumplings

240 g self-raising flour

125 g butter

5 ml prepared mustard

Salt and pepper

Method

For the stew:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onions, celery and carrots in olive oil.

2. Add the springbok and fry until brown.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir for 5 minutes.

4. Add Black Mist until the meat is almost covered, taking a sneaky sip while you’re cooking.

5. Add the paprika and bay leaf.

6. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, or until the meat falls off the bone. Add stock if you need to top up the liquid, and season to taste.

For the dumplings:

1. Mix the flour and butter until coarse breadcrumbs are formed.

2. Add the mustard and seasoning and enough water (about 45 ml) to form 12 small balls.

3. Add the dumplings to the simmering stew 20 minutes before serving.

4. Add roughly chopped chives or spring onions for colour. Serve with a cold glass of Black Mist.

Recipe extracted from “African Brew” by Lucy Corne & Ryno Reyneke (Struik Lifestyle), which is available at all leading bookstores in South Africa.