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Lamb stew with Caerphilly dumplings
Ingredients
Serves 4
Stew
- 2tbsp rapeseed oil
- 550g/1lb 4oz neck end fillets of lamb, trimmed and cut into chunks
- 2 large onions, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 6 tomatoes, halved and seeds removed but reserved
- 25g/1oz plain flour
- 175ml/6floz red wine
- 570ml/1pt chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 1 splash Worcestershire sauce
- 24 small round shallots, peeled
- 175g/6oz green beans
Dumplings
- 100g/4oz self-raising flour
- 100g/4oz fresh white breadcrumbs
- 100g/4oz shredded suet
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 50g/2oz grated Caerphilly cheese
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 eggs, beaten
Method
- Heat the rapeseed oil in a large casserole dish or saucepan. Add the lamb and brown on all sides, then add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, crushed garlic and the seeds from the tomatoes - keep the flesh for later.
- Add the flour and stir well, then add the red wine and stock and bring to the boil.
- Add the thyme and bay leaf and simmer for 1½ hours until the meat is tender but not falling apart.
- Take off the heat and using a slotted spoon take out the meat and put into a clean pan.
- Take out the bay leaf and thyme and discard.
- Using a processor, puree the rest of the sauce and pour into a clean pan on top of the meat.
- Roughly chop the reserved tomato flesh and add to the pan along with the and the Worcestershire sauce and bring back up to the boil.
- Meanwhile mix the flour, breadcrumbs, suet, chives, cayenne and grated cheese together in a bowl. Season with a little salt and black pepper then slowly add the beaten eggs to make a soft dough. Roll into small balls. You might need to add a little iced water if it’s not quite soft enough to come together, but you don’t want it soggy.
- When the stew is simmering, add the dumplings, cover with a lid and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the shallots and cook for 10 minutes until nearly tender, then add the beans and cook for another 2-3 minutes then drain.
- Spoon the stew onto a plate, scatter the vegetables over the top then set the dumplings alongside.