Mushroom, Borlotti Bean & Cheese-Chive Dumpling Stew

Ingredients

• 1½ shallots, quartered
• ½–1 garlic clove, crushed
• 7½ mushrooms, mixed mushrooms, chunky
• 3½ mushrooms, extra mushrooms for Dinner 3
• ½–1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 10g plain flour for stew
• ¼ tomato paste or purée
• 40ml apple cider
• 100ml low-salt or no-salt vegetable stock
• 100g borlotti beans, drained
• 70g extra borlotti beans for Dinner 3
• 4g chives, chopped
• 5ml oil
• 30g self-raising flour
• 12g butter
• ¼ egg
• 15g cheddar, grated
• 15g blue cheese, adult and older child only
• 3g chives, chopped
• Splash of milk, about 10ml

Method

1. Heat oven to 200°C / 180°C fan.
2. Make the dumpling dough. Rub butter into self-raising flour. Add beaten egg, cheddar, chives and a splash of milk until it forms a soft dough. Add blue cheese only to the adult and older-child dumpling mix, or keep it separate. Chill while you make the stew.
3. Heat oil in an ovenproof pan. Add shallots and garlic. Cook gently for 5 minutes.
4. Add mushrooms, rosemary and bay leaves. Cook for 5–8 minutes, until mushrooms start to soften.
5. Remove the Dinner 3 plain mushroom and shallot base now, along with the extra drained borlotti beans. Cool and refrigerate for Dinner 3.
6. Remove baby and toddler mushroom-bean portions now if you want them completely free from cider, stock and cheese. Add a little water and cook their portion until very soft, then mash or chop finely.
7. Stir flour into the main pan and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add tomato paste and cook for another 1 minute.
9. Add cider and bubble until reduced by about half.
10. Add stock gradually, stirring. Simmer for 20–25 minutes, until thick and saucy.
11. Remove bay leaves. Stir in borlotti beans.
12. Roll dumpling dough into small balls. Place on top of the stew.
13. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, until dumplings are golden and cooked through.
14. Serve with chopped chives.