A hearty summer stew with beans and cider. Packed full of flavour for a satisfying but not-too-heavy meal.
It's hard to get across how tasty this recipe is in a photo because I'm not sure how photogenic these dumplings really are.
But trust me, this is such a delicious dish.
Especially in the summer with a pint of cider to serve it with.
Recipe featured in my cookbook 'Great British Vegan' - Get your copy now for more vegan British classics!
📖 Recipe
Cider Bean Stew with Dumplings
A generous serving of cider adds a deliciously sharp sweetness to this hearty, comforting stew. The dumplings couldn’t be easier to make and create a wonderfully soft, melt-in-your-mouth topping.
Ingredients
For the stew
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 white onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 leek, sliced
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 1 tbsp tomato purée (paste)
- 1 x 400 g / 14 oz tin of butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 x 400 g / 14 oz can of flageolet beans, drained and rinsed
- 250 ml / 9 fl oz (1 cup) dry (hard) cider
- 200 ml / 7 fl oz (scant 1 cup) vegetable stock
- 1 large handful kale, washed and roughly chopped
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
For the dumplings
- 130 g / 4 1⁄2 oz (1 cup) self-raising (self-rising) flour
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 1 tbsp English mustard
- 75 g / 2 1⁄2 oz (5 tbsp) vegetable shortening
Instructions
1. Heat the oil in a large casserole dish over a medium heat and fry the onion, garlic, leek and carrots for 5 minutes until softening.
2. Stir in the herbs, tomato purée, both types of beans, the cider and stock. Simmer for 15 minutes, then stir in the kale and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150C fan / 170C / 325F / gas mark 3.
3. Prepare the dumplings by adding all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisking with a fork until it starts to become dough-like. Once it is coming together, use your hands to knead it and roll it into a long sausage shape. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll the pieces into balls.
4. Turn off the hob and place the dumplings on top of the stew. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook, uncovered, for another 20 minutes until the dumplings are lightly golden and the liquid has reduced slightly. Season to taste and serve.
Hannah says
My wife and I are into this stew BIG time, so decided to make it for my father-in-law's birthday a few days ago...he loves classic British food. It went down an absolute storm and they were delighted to take home left overs! Thank you for making me fall in love with British food!
Aimee says
I'm so pleased to hear that! Thanks for the comment Hannah :)