Try to keep a straight face - I have never made stew...

[Hopefully]

And I have a big pack of diced lamb. I'm thinking I might like to make a big stew, bulking out the lamb as much as possible (we are poor!)

So what veg/herbs should I put in? Can I put in dumplings? DP loves loves loves dumplings, but I have no idea how I might even begin to make them.

Going to make it tomorrow, so plenty of time for ingredient buying.

How lame am I? Who can't make stew?!

i can't make stew either

will be watching this thread as we are also a bit skint!

Pretty much any root vegetable I normally add the following: carrots, sweede, potatoes, parsnips, onions, leeks etc.

Dumplings - www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/meat-recipes/dumplings

Nice, simple warming meal - perfect in this weather.

This is one I used in Ireland - and it went down very well.

Hope that helps.

www.greatfood.ie/item_display.asp?cde=2&id=123

Bulking stuff thats good - root veg like carrots, parsnips, swede, potatos.

Most stews start with sealing the meat. Basically a splodge of oil in the bottom of a heavy based large pan for which you also have a lid. Get the oil hot and stir the meat in it till its brown all over. Your not cooking it, your sealing it which I think locks in the juices and helps it to hold together in cooking. Add some rough chopped onion (probably two if its lots of meat) and your veg cut into chunks of similar sizes to your meat chunks. Add some stock, tomato puree, some thyme, rosemary, peppercorns and bay leafs. If you're adding potatos they will help to thicken the stock/ gravy/ sauce if not you might want to add a couple of spoons of plain flour (you could mix in a bit of stock from the pan before you add it to make a paste so it mixes in better).

Leave for at least three hours on a low heat stiring occassionally.

Basically once you've done one you can experiment with different flavours etc.

Well

Bulk - pearl barley (couple of handfulls)
4 tbsp vegetable oil
250 g pack shallots, peeled
3 carrots
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
500 g diced lamb
400 g can chopped tomatoes x 2 to bulk out more
2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
284 ml fresh lamb stock/ vegtable stock in cube form or tin.
420 g can cannellini beans
4 tbsp water
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups (175 g) 6 oz self raising (self rising) flour
3/4 level tbsp baking powder
2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
40 g vegetable suet
125 ml water
salt and freshly ground black pepper

method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas Mark 4.

1. For the casserole, heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the shallots until golden, turning them frequently.

1. Add the celery and garlic and cook for a further minute then transfer to a 2 litre ovenproof casserole dish.

1. Brown the lamb in the frying pan and add to the casserole, in addition to, tomatoes, rosemary and stock.

1. Cover with a lid or piece of foil and cook in the oven for 11/2 hours. Or put in slow cooker and add another tin of tomatos and the pearl barley and cook for 7-9 hours.

1. Thirty minutes before the end of cooking make the dumplings by combining all the ingredients to form a dough. Divide the mixture into eight spoonfuls.

1. Before adding the dumplings to the casserole add the cannellini beans.

1. Once the dumplings have been added to the casserole replace the lid or foil and return to the oven for the final thirty minutes.

1. If making in the slow cooker then use froozen dumplings and add 3-4 hours before you are going to eat. Also you can add froozen peas at this stage to bulk out even more.

Should make you at least 6 portions and serve with mash pots. Or slice the pots and place in the bottom of the slow cooker.

I use this recipe alot and I am sure it would work with lamb as well as beef.

The muffin topping is lovely and light (it looks heavy in the picture but it isn't) and is like having a large dumpling on the top.

It is gorgeous

Thank you for the idiot's guides! i will report back on the stew success (and how much I manage to bulk it out and keep it flavoursome Wilkos)

lentils, blackeye peas, haricot beans etc v.good for bulking out lamb.

good luck with the stew - it's really very easy