Chicken casserole with dumplings

Chicken thighs and chunky veg in a thick, savoury gravy, finished with fluffy herb dumplings steamed on top. Warming, filling and easy on the budget.

Ingredients

• 800 g Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, halved
• 30 ml Vegetable oil
• 1 Onions, chopped
• 300 g Carrots, thickly sliced
• 1 Celery, 2 sticks, sliced
• 1 Leeks, sliced
• 400 g Potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 Vegetable stock cubes, made up with 700ml hot water
• 2 g Dried thyme
• 1 g Bay leaves
• 25 g Cornflour, mixed with a splash of cold water
• 1 g Black pepper
• 150 g Self-raising flour
• 75 g Vegetable suet
• 2 g Mixed herbs
• 2 g Salt

Method

1. Heat half the oil in a large flameproof casserole and gently cook the onion, carrots, celery and leek for 8 minutes until softening.
2. Meanwhile, brown the chicken in the rest of the oil in a frying pan over a high heat, in batches if needed, until coloured all over.
3. Add the potatoes, stock, thyme and bay to the veg, stir in the chicken, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
4. Stir in the cornflour mixture and simmer for a couple of minutes until the gravy thickens. Season with pepper.
5. Mix the flour, suet, herbs and salt, then stir in about 100ml cold water to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. With floured hands, roll into 8 balls.
6. Sit the dumplings on top of the casserole, cover with the lid and simmer gently without peeking until they've doubled in size and are fluffy all the way through.