This is another recipe which can be thrown together in a matter of minutes in the morning, then left to slow cook all day, filling the house with a delicious, comforting aroma as it does so.
Feel free to substitute any veg you don’t like with those you do, or to add and adapt to suit yours and your family’s taste.
Ingredients:
1kg new potatoes
4 carrots
4 parsnips
1 onion
200g peas
250g mushrooms
200g baby sweetcorn
4 vegetable stock cubes
8tbsp plain flour
4 pints water
200g suet
400g self-raising flour
water to bind
salt and pepper
Method:
We use a 6½ litre slow cooker but if you don’t have one, don’t worry. Just fill up your slow cooker to two-thirds full with vegetables rather than following my quantities above. Then make enough stock to cover, finally adding the dumplings on top.
Halve new potatoes and place them at the bottom of your slow cooker pot. Chop up the onion and garlic, quarter the mushrooms and slice the carrots and parsnips. Throw in peas and any other veg (this is a great recipe for using up the leftover bits of frozen veg that tend to accumulate).
Make up the stock a pint at a time using boiling water and one stock cube to each pint. Add two tablespoons of flour to each and whisk to thicken. Pour over veg. Do this until veg are just covered. Add salt and pepper.
Mix together the suet, a little salt and self-raising flour with just enough water to bind into a dough. Roll into balls and place on top of the vegetable and stock mixture.
Cover with the slow cooker lid then cook on a low heat for 6-8 hours (or as long as you need).
