Vegetarian stew with dumplings

[BroccoliSpears]

Or casserole, or hotpot, or anything like that really...

Would anyone care to share their recipe?

I made this tonight and it was okaaaaay, but not as good as it could be.

What's your secret? I promise not to tell anyone

Watching with interest. Im ok with veg curries/chilli/bolognese but just cannot seem to get stews/hotpots right.

don't follow a recipe, but the key ingredients for me are swede and pearl barley they give it the flavour I love and the thick texture. yesterdays potatoes added so they disintigrate also thicken it. actually that doesn't sound very - wow lets run out and make that but it works for me.

Yes, thickening it would be key. I used cornflour. Pearl barley is an excellent idea. Will chuck some nice floury spuds in too.

I put butterbeans in tonight which were good.

Fry onions gently in veg or olive oil
Add chinks of potato, swede, turnmip, parsnip, carrots, celeriac (any root veg really) plus leeks and mushrooms if you like
Add couple tablespoons of flour and coat veg evenly over the low to medium heat
Gradually start adding veg stock (marigold is very good and not too salty). I use about 2pints for a stew for about 6 adult helpings.
Keep gently stirring and adding veg stock so the sauce is smooth.
My secret ingredients at this point are 1 teaspoon of english mustard and 1 teaspoon of Marmite!
Simmer gently for about 20mins until pots are nearly cooked.
Add dumplings at this point (1 part veg suet to 2 parts self-raising flour) with garlic and/or herbs if you want
Put lid on pot and simmer for another 10-15 mins
You can also add a handful of frozen peas about 5-10 mins before end of cooking (any longer and they go grey)
Keep tasting and adding seasoning as you go.
VOILA!

sorry amounts aren't very precise - I'm a chuck it in type of cook!

and enjoy that lovely tasty turnmip won't you

Ahh it's not a proper stew without chinks of turnmip Moo!

Thank you for that! Marmite is another excellent idea - I try and cook as low salt as poss as dd is only 18 months but I think Marmite negates its saltiness with all the other good stuff.

Oh, the dumplings - on a whim I put a squizz of mixed spice in the mixture and they were REALLY good (well, really good flavour - not very fluffy I must admit but I don't think that was the fault of the mixed spice). Thought I should share as I'm asking everyone else to tell me their secrets.

I ethier add some nut brown ale or some mushromm ketchup which you can get from health food stores and some supermarkets which gives it a lovely rich taste.

Fresh sage is nice in the dumplings. Also you can mix in a bit of grated cheese.

MN is really weird sometimes..... I was just thinking about veggie stew with dumplings.

I have a sort of vague recipe that my brother gave me but I haven't tried it yet. It's definitely for lentils in though

Anyone used the dried soya beef style chunks in veg stew? What is it like? I use the dried mince regularly in other veg dishes but never tried the chunks.

got lentils in - am too tired to type tonight

Mushroom ketchup... sage... god, my next stew is going to be blardy marvellous with all this lot.

The savoury soya chunks are pretty good, but make sure you simmer them for a while so that they soak up all the flavours! Nice and chewy and meaty... in a good way, not a freaky way!

I add Henderson's relish (I think it's only availible "up north") to my vegstew and dried mixed herbs to the dumplings.

I think lentils really improve the texture of a veggie stew. I sometimes chuck in some chunks of pre-cooked veggie sausages as well at the end.

anyone got a good dumpling recipe?

My local Sainsburys doesn't stock Hendersons. Grr. Very annoying - particularly as we're in Leeds, only just down the road from the factory in Sheffield!

I tend to cook with lentils a lot so try and deliberately steer clear of them with certain dishes, otherwise I find my cooking gets a bit samey.

Bean + veg stew:

Fry garlic, 1 lb leeks, carrots, mushrooms (chuck in any other veg you have or whatever is in season) until tender. Add tin tomatoes, 1/2 pint stock, 1 tbsp paprika, splash soy sauce. Bring to boil then cover and simmer for 20 mins. Add tin kidney beans, good amount of frozen sweetcorn and you can add dumplings at this point (not healthy but bloody lovely - mix 4 oz self raising flour, 2 oz suet or veg suet, 1 tbsp dried herbs, 5 tbsp cold water into balls and plop on top of stew). Cover and simmer for 20 mins.

Tommy, these weren't the fluffiest in the world (not sure why... anyone? What makes a dumpling fluffy?), but they tasted really good:

2 parts self raising flour to 1 part shredded vegi suet.
Pinch salt.
half a teaspoon of mixed spice.
Add water in tiny drips until it's just bound into a good dough. Ball. Float in your stew with a lid on for 20 minutes or until they're springy to the touch.

oh and I also do a nice one, not strictly vege stew but tomato based with beans and chilli rather than root veges, pearl barley and stock. HP sauce is also good in the stock one.