Traditional English Dumplings

I really tried to make this photo look retro because it's how I think of dumplings - did I succeed?

1y ago

There is nothing fancy about an English dumpling but they are strangely comforting and really pull a stew together.

This little stew doesn't have a name but it just demonstrates to me what stews are all about, economising, making do and being resourceful to create a comforting and filling dish.

This particular stew was actually a dish I made from leftovers cooked very slowly then finally some dumplings were added which made sense of it all - certainly to my husband who called it the best meal of the week!

So here's my recipe - feel free to put these dumplings on any stew or in fact in a chunky soup.

Mix 100g of plain flour with 50g of shredded beef suet and a big pinch of salt.

Add water and mix gradually until you have a soft bendy dough.

Make the dough into 8 balls and place it on top of the stew then cover with a lid and cook for twenty minutes during which time they will expand.

Simple and delicious