© David Loftus

dumplings

method

• Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5
• Put your flour into a mixing bowl
• Using a coarse grater, grate your cold butter into the flour
• Add a pinch of salt and pepper
• Using your fingers, gently rub the butter into the flour until it begins to resemble breadcrumbs
• Add a splash of cold water to help bind it into a dough
• Divide the dough into 12 pieces and gently roll each into a round dumpling. The dumplings will suck up quite a bit of moisture so if your stew looks dry - add a cup of boiling water and give it a good stir
• Place the dumplings on top of your fully cooked stew and press down lightly so that they’re half submerged
• Cook in the oven or on the hob over a medium heat with the lid on for 30 minutes
beef-and-ale-stew-1">Click here for the Beef and Ale stew recipe.

The perfect ceramic mixing bowl for making dumplings
From Jme

serves:

ingredients

• 250g self-raising flour
• 125g really cold butter
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper