I've mentioned a few time how Sunday dinner is one of my favourite meals. Not just for the meal itself but also as a time when the family comes together for a meal. I work most nights until 8pm so by the time I get home the kids have already had their dinner (and are usually in bed) so it's nice to have a catch up over the dinner table.
This week with the clocks going back I decided to use the extra hour to get up early and set the slow cooker away for a warming autumnal casserole.
Ingredients
600g Diced Lamb
3 Carrots
1 Leek
1 Onion
200g Frozen peas
Maris piper potatoes
Thyme
Flat leaf parsley
450ml Lamb stock
100g Self raising flour
50g Beef suet
Salt
Pepper
Method
Start by putting the slow cooker on high temperature and put in a little bit of the stock (enough to cover the bottom of the cooker). In a frying pan heat some oil and brown the lamb, once coloured but not cooked transfer to the slow cooker.
Next peel and finely dice the onion, in the same pan as the lamb fry the onion until translucent and then use a little more stock to deglaze the pan and add this to the lamb in the slow cooker.
Peel and cut the carrots into chunks and add them to the slow cooker. Finely cut the parsley and add to the cooker, put in a few springs of thyme (you can leave the stalks but remember to take them out when ready to serve). Remove the outer layer of the leek and chop in half, cut the top half of the leek in half lengthways and cut into slices around half a centimeter thick and add to the cooker, then top up the cooker with the rest of the stock and just leave it for a few hours.
When you have about an hour to go until you serve, peel and quarter the potatoes and boil them for about 8-10 minutes. In a roasting tin heat some oil (or goose fat if you prefer), once hot add to potatoes and make sure they're all coated and cook for 45 minutes at 200ºc (make sure you turn them a few times during cooking).
Now it's time to make the dumplings, add the flour, suet, a pinch of salt, black pepper and chopped thyme together and mix with 5-6 tablespoons of water and mix into a dough. This mix will make 8 small dumpling but you can divide them as you need.
Add the frozen peas to the slow cooker and mix (if your gravy is a little watery you can thicken it by mixing in a paste made from flour and water) then place the dumplings on top and cover for the remaining 30 minutes.
Once done remove the dumplings and set aside, taste the casserole and season if necessary, you can also add a knob of butter to add a creamy richness to the sauce. Plate up with the roast potatoes and I also sauted the left over leek cut into rounds with some sliced garlic.
What do you think of my casserole. Do you have any slow cooker dishes you like?
Well, that's all for now.
S
