The Tastiest *EASY PEASY* Vegan & GF Vegetable Slow Cooker Stew with HERBY DUMPLINGS.

Helloooooo vegan veggie stew lovers! 

This is the tastiest Vegan Vegetable Stew with Herby Dumplings cooked in the slow cooker you’ll ever come across and it is INSANELY easy to make. Follow my simple step by step guide and WOLLAH you’ll have yourself your very own scum-diddly-umptious stew. Trust me it won’t last long.

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Preparation time: 20-30 mins.

Cooking time: 4 hours in the slow cooker.

Serving: Serves 4

Dietary: Vegan & Gluten Free

*YOU WILL NEED A SLOW COOKER*

 

Ingredients

For the stew:

  • 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.
  • 2 red onions (roughly chopped.)
  • 4 cloves of garlic (thinly sliced.)
  • 1 whole butternut squash (peeled, deseeded and chopped in 2cm cubes.)
  • 4 carrots (peeled and chopped into 2 cm chunks.)
  • 3 parsnips (peeled and chopped into 2cm chunks.)
  • 1 handful of button mushrooms (halved.)
  • 1 bag of spinach (100g.)
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)
  • 2 tbsp of tomato purée.
  • 1 jar of *vegan* pesto.
  • 2 tbsp of *gluten free flour.*
  • 400ml of vegetable stock ( mix one vegetable stock cube with hot water.)
  • sea salt and pepper to taste.
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (optional.)

For the herby dumplings:

  • 200g of *gluten free flour*
  • 75g of vegan butter (frozen.)
  • 125ml of water (cold.)
  • salt & pepper to taste.
  • 3/4 tsp of mixed dry herbs.

 

Method:

  1. Before you start cooking put the vegan block of butter in the freezer.IMG_7288
  2. Heat the extra virgin oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Chuck in the onions & garlic, followed with all the vegetables. ( butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, and mushrooms.) Season with salt & pepper to taste then sauté  for 5 minutes, frequently stirring until softened and slightly brown. IMG_7284
  3. Transfer all the vegetables from the pan into the slow cooker which should be on a high heat. Add in the *gluten free flour*  and mix through the vegetables until covered. Then throw in the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, vegan pesto and the chilli flakes if you are using them (too hot? too spicy? leave this out if you ain’t a chilli lover.) IMG_7286
  4. Give all the ingredients a good stir. Finally pour in the vegetable stock and give everything another really good mix. Season with pepper to taste. Place on lid and cook for 3 1/2 hours (frequently stirring to avoid any sticking.)IMG_7287
  5. Set your alarm for 3 1/2 hours. After 3 1/2 hours its time to make the dumplings. Get the butter out of the freezer and coarsely grate the 75g into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle in the 200g of *gluten free flour*, add the 3/4 tsp of herbs, salt & pepper to taste and toss between fingers to mix. Press the lumps of frozen butter to break up and rub into the flour. Gradually add the water and continue to mix until the dough starts to form into a nice squidgy dough. (remember the less you mix it the fluffier and more fantastic your dumplings will be.) Mould and roll in your hand and form 6-8  equal balls.
  6. Remove the lid from the slow cooker and stir in the bag of spinach, give the stew a good mix once again then gently place the dumplings evenly spaced on the top. Cook for a further 15 minutes…or until they are nicely puffed up and fluffy looking. IMG_7289
  7. You know what to do now- Serve up, ( salt bae away ) eat & enjoy your feast of a meal.IMG_7291

 

Tips:

If by some crazy reason you have any stew left over, store in the fridge and consume within 2 days. Make sure to reheat thoroughly. Alternatively the stew can be split equally into containers and frozen for up to 2 months.

Peace and Love. 

Tigerlily signing off from The Bog Blog x