Red Lentil and Garlicky Vegetable Stew and Herb Dumplings - Vegan, Organic and Oil-Free

All this cold weather makes us crave warming stews or hippy slop as we usually call it!

For this one we fried 1/3 of a butternut squash, half a red pepper, 2 carrots, a handful of green beans and a bulb of garlic with a good sprinkle of mixed herbs, water and a splash of red wine for around 10 minutes.

Then we added a can of chopped tomatoes, 8oz water, 4oz washed red lentils, a teaspoon of ground cumin and simmered for around 20 minutes.

We made the dumplings earlier, as it's good to let the batter stand for at least 15 minutes.

We used to make the dumplings with vegetable suet, but have used rice as a replacement for years now. This time we used 6oz brown rice cooked in turmeric, 3oz wholemeal flour, half a chopped apple, 2 teaspoons of ground flax seeds, 1 teaspoon each of  baking powder, dried sage and thyme, a good handful of fresh parsley, a pinch of Cornish sea salt and a sprinkle of black pepper.

Use a tablespoon to scoop enough of the mixture to roll into balls on a floury surface...we used maize flour for this.

You should be able to make 12 dumplings, though we made 16 this time...

We added some leftover miso and onion sauce from the day before, stirred the stew well then placed the dumplings on top. The pan needs to be on a low heat and covered. We don't stir again, but simmer for 10 minutes, then lightly press the dumplings down into the stew or if they are still soft - scoop some stew up and cover the dumplings. Simmer again for another 10 minutes.

The dumplings expand and become firm...it's ready to eat!

Yay - Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!!!

Love Kay and Sime xx