Vegetable Casserole with Herby Dumplings

Vegetable Casserole with Herby Dumplings is a proper comfort food dish and makes a simple supper if you have friends round.

This recipe uses seasonal vegetables and store cupboard staples to create a cheap and simple meal.

Any leftovers can be reheated successfully the next day or blended to create a hearty soup.

This recipe is suitable for vegetarians and vegans but is not suitable if you are following a LCHF or FODMAP diet.

Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 large potato, chopped or 3 small white potatoes chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 ½ cups of vegetable stock

400g sweet potatoes, chunked

150g broccoli, cut into small florets

2 courgettes, thickly sliced

1 cup of self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

20g of vegetable suet or grated cold butter

2 tsp of fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp of fresh thyme, chopped

1 tsp of fresh rosemary, chopped ( if you don’t have any fresh herbs dried will work just as well)

1/3 cup plant-based milk

Preheat oven to 200oC

Heat the oil in a large saucepan.

Cook the onion over a low heat until soft.

Add the garlic and paprika and cook for a couple of minutes .. until they give off their aroma.

Add the chunks of potato, carrot, tinned tomatoes and stock to the pan .. bring to the boil and then add a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the sweet potato, courgette and broccoli and simmer until tender.

Meanwhile, shift the flour into a bowl with a pinch of salt.

Add the butter or suet and combine until the mix looks like fine breadcrumbs.

Stir in the herbs and mix well. (dried herbs also work well here)

Add the milk and combine using a metal knife until the mix comes together.

Turn the mix out onto a floured surface and knead the mix together.

Divide into 8 balls.

Put the casserole mix into a large ovenproof dish and top with the dumplings.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked.

Serve with wilted greens.

I have used leftover vegetable mix to make a think soup.

All I did was blend the ingredients (minus any leftover dumplings) with a little water to the consistence I like.

This soup can be frozen so it means that there are no leftovers.

Enjoy

L x