Published Wednesday, February 10, 2010 12:01 AM

Not up for curling? Try sliding a dumpling

This rich and hearty stew was inspired by curling's Scottish heritage. The shuffleboard-like game involves sliding a large granite stone across a sheet of ice. The large dumplings in this stew will slide down your throat just as nicely.

THREE-ONION LAMB STEW WITH DUMPLINGS

* Start to finish: 2 hours (30 minutes active). Serves 6.

* What you'll need:

For the stew

1 pound lamb stew meat, cut into bite-size chunks

2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 large carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 large shallots, peeled and chopped

1 leek, white part only, sliced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed

3/4 cup dark lager or stout beer

2 tablespoons beef bouillon

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3 cups water

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

For the dumplings

1 cup all-purpose flour

11/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

* How to do it:

Use paper towels to dry the lamb. In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high, heat the oil. Working in batches, add the lamb and sear on all sides. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots and celery and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften. Add the shallots and leek, and saute for another 5 to 7 minutes, until the leek is tender.

Add the flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Add the potatoes, beer, bouillon, tomato paste, thyme and water. Stir to combine, then bring up to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, uncovered, for 11/2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more water, if necessary.

Taste the stew and season with salt and pepper.

To make the dumplings, in a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a second small bowl, mix the egg and milk. Gently stir the milk and egg into the dry ingredients, mixing only until just combined.

Drop spoonfuls of the dumpling mixture directly into the stew, repeating until all the dumpling mixture is used up. Cover the stew and let the dumplings steam for 10 minutes.

* Nutrition information per serving: 396 calories; 100 calories from fat; 11 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 99 mg cholesterol; 43 g carbohydrate; 28 g protein; 3 g fiber; 416 mg sodium.

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