Roast Roots and mushroom stew with parsley dumplings

What's better than a stew or casserole on a cold winter evening, nothing, well may be a  hot chocolate by a roaring  log fire comes close. Mildly inspired by the recent series "River Cottage" Veg a vegetable only stew was in order. This has all the flavour of a roast dinner but none of the meat , intensely satisfying and comforting. The recipe serves 3 -4 persons when accompanied with a green vegetable such as cabbage, use whatever root vegetables you have to hand , swede and turnips are just as suitable.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• Onion - large , peeled, chopped in to large segments
• 3 carrots - peeled and chunky chopped
• 3 parsnips - peeled and chopped into chunky pieces
• 1 large sweet potato - peeled and chopped in to chunks
• 1/2 a medium celeriac - peeled and chunky chopped or swede or similar
• 4 cloves of garlic - whole and unpeeled
• Cornflour - 1tbsp
• 4 large mushrooms - chopped
• Vegetable stock - about 400ml
• Dried porcini - soaked 

You could also use butternut squash or pumpkin as some of your vegetables if you wish.

Method

• Preheat your oven to 200c
• Place your vegetables (except the mushrooms) on a baking tray, drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil
• Roast for approx 30 mins until tender and golden
• Transfer to a large casserole dish and cover with your stock, reduce the oven to 180c and bake covered for 30 mins.
• Fry the mushrooms (drain the porcini and chop if large) in a little olive, now add the cornflour and some of the porcini soaking stock, stir and then add the whole pan to the casserole dish, stir and return to oven. 
• Prepare your dumplings (check out my earlier recipe) and bake the stew with the added dumplings for a further 15 mins until your dumplings are cooked and fluffy and your stock has thicken.
• Serve sprinkled with fresh herbs.