A Depression Supper
(AKA Poverty Stew)
My maternal grandmother raised and fed 3 kids and a husband during the Great Depression of the 1930s. When my grandfather passed away my grandmother came to live with my parents and me. She would often make this recipe which she called a “Depression Supper.” It was basically a vegetable-beef stew with these amazing homemade dumplings. Here I omit the beef which is wickedly expensive these days and use beef broth as a base instead. If you can afford the beef, cut it up into cubes and throw it in right in the beginning and substitute water for the broth.
Ingredients
4 whole carrots
4 stalks of celery
1 large onion
½ cup of flat leaf parsley
¼ stick (2 Tablespoons) of butter
1 – 48 ounce can of supermarket brand beef broth
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons of celery seed
1 cup of All-purpose flour
Worcestershire sauce
Salt and Black Pepper
In a large bowl add the 1 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, and the celery seeds and mix it all up good. Make a little crater in the center of the dry mixture and crack in the 2 eggs. Add 1 tablespoon of water. Wet a fork with water and beat the eggs into the flour mixture until a firm dough ball forms. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and set aside.
Chop the carrots and celery up into fairly large pieces (about ¼ inch) and course chop the onions and parsley. Remember this is a stew not a soup, so we want it kind of chunky.
In a large pot, melt the butter on low heat and dust it with a little flour. Stir the butter/flour mixture continuously until you have a golden color roux – then add the chopped carrots, celery, and onions. Stir it around for about 3 minutes to sweat the vegetables a little – then add the beef broth plus 2 cups of water. Throw the chopped parsley in and crank up the heat to high bringing the stew to a rolling boil, then reduce to a mid simmer.
Dust a cutting board with flour and plop the dough ball on it. Dig out ½ teaspoon size chunks of dough. I use the small side of a melon baller – they do not have to be pretty. Shake a little flour over the dumplings and press them down slightly to flatten. Drop the dumplings into the simmering stew until everyone is in the pool. Add salt, pepper, and glugs of Worcestershire sauce to taste. Give a good stir. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer on low uncovered for at least one hour stirring occasionally.
Ladle the stew into soup bowls and serve hot.
Serves 4. My cost – approx $ 6.50 – about $ 1.65 per serving.