It is the weather for big warming stews that last at least two days and are easy to put together so we can carry on hibernating. There are several vegetarian ideas on this blog - this is a new recipe with all the tastiness and satisfaction rating of a rich meat one. I took it from the Guardian's recipe pamphlet which I always read, but often throw away unused. I have just tweaked it slightly so now I'll make it again and again. It is so long since I made dumplings and had forgotten how good they are.
Vegetable Stew with Dumplings
feeds 4 or 2 twice very generously
a large casserole pot or saucepan
2 large onions sliced finely, 150 g chestnut mushrooms halved, 2 carrots in large chunks, 2 parsnips in large chunks, 1/2 swede in large chunks, 1/2 celeriac in large chunks.
Dark soy sauce, 500ml guiness/stout/dark beer, dijon or whole grain mustard, redcurrant jelly or any other sweet preserve or tomato ketchup.
Peel and cut the vegetables and put the onions on to sweat slowly in olive oil until very soft. LIghtly brown the mushrooms and then add all the veg plus 2 sprigs of thyme and 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce. Season and let them turn in the fat - now add the beer. Depending on your pot, you will need some water to bring the liquid up to the level of the vegetables without swamping them. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Now taste and add a dessertspoon of mustard and a little sweetner if you find the beer very bitter. Leave the cover off for 10 minutes or so while you make the dumplings. Before you add the dumplings, just check that your veg is nearly cooked.
Mix 150g plain flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder. 75g vegetable suet and 1 tsp chopped thyme leaves and add just enough water to bind a loose mixture. Roll quickly into 8 rough balls and drop them onto the stew.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes. You can add spinach with the dumplings or serve this with a green vegetable, but it is very filling, good for you and delicious just as it is.
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