Serves 2 to 3

Ingredients
1 leek sliced
8oz/225g parsnip peeled and sliced
1 large onion peeled and chopped
6oz/175g carrot scrubbed and sliced
6oz/175g celeriac peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
or 2 sticks celery sliced
1pt/600ml hot vegetable stock made with a cube
1oz/25g plain flour
2 teaspoons of tomato puree
Salt and black pepper

Dumplings
6oz/175g Self raising flour
1oz/25g Vegetable suet
1½ oz/40g butter
Pinch of salt

Method
First, make the dumplings by rubbing the butter into the flour and salt to resemble breadcrumbs. Add the suet, followed by 2 to 3 tablespoons of very cold water. Mix well to form a dough. If the mixture is crumbly, add a little more water very gradually. The dough should not be too wet but should leave the sides of the bowl cleanly. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate.

Preheat the oven to Gas6/200C/400F. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a pan and fry the onion quickly until slightly browned. Transfer to a deep casserole dish. Do this with each type of vegetable, adding a little more oil as necessary, frying them until they brown slightly.

When all the vegetables have been transferred to the dish, add a little more oil to the pan, followed by the flour, stir to mop up the oil and gradually add the stock. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sauce thickens. Add the tomato puree and stir well before pouring over the vegetables. Season with salt and black pepper. Cover with a foil lid, and cook in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into 8 pieces and form into balls. After the 30 minutes, remove the foil lid from the casserole and add the dumplings. Replace the lid, return to the oven for a further 15 - 20 minutes. The dumplings should be golden brown, if not pop back in the oven without the lid for a further 5 minutes.

This recipe is Adapted from Vegetarian Feast by Elaine Bastable/Octopus Publishing Group Limited

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