Mince and Dumplings

For the Mince:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180C and wash the carrot, celery & peppers.

2. Prepare onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and pepper to the stage described in the ingredients list.

3. In a large saucepan, gently fry the onion, carrot, and celery on a low heat with olive oil until soft and golden — about 10 minutes.

4. Add the beef mince and cook until browned.

5. Stir in tomato purée, garlic, and other vegetables, then cook for 5 more minutes.

6. Add the stock cube and 300ml of water, bring to the boil, then stir in the gravy granules. Reduce the heat a little, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

7. Once the liquid has reduced and the vegetables are cooked, stir in the chopped fresh herbs, then transfer to an ovenproof dish. 

   
   

For the Dumplings:

1. Mix flour, salt, suet, and herbs together in a bowl. Add enough water to stir into a sticky ball of dough - you'll need about 100ml. Leave to rest for 5 minutes.

2. Pull off a small amount of dumpling mixture and roll into a ball that is a little smaller than a golf ball.

3. Repeat Step 2 until you have 8 dumpling balls.

4. Gently place the dumpling balls on top of the mince without pushing them down too much.

5. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes until the dumplings have puffed up.

6. Take off the foil and bake for a 10 –15 minutes more until the dumplings are golden.