Slow cooker squash hotpot with dumplings

It’s a pleasure to turn to hearty recipes as the season changes. This one makes
good use of the interesting squash varieties in the farm shop. They are brought
in by local Crop to the Shop growers and by our friends at Growing Well.

Ingredients

Hotpot
2 tbsp Eden Yard rapeseed oil 
1 small squash (800g) deseeded and chopped into chunks
2 onions, sliced
3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tbsp plain flour
400g chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
350ml vegetable stock
Seasoning

Dumplings
200g self-raising flour
75g frozen butter
125ml cold water
seasoning

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the
   vegetables and lightly brown them for 4-5 minutes. Season.
2. Transfer them to the slow cooker, add the flour and stir well. Add the
   chopped tomatoes and purée and stir again. Pour over the stock and stir.
   Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.
3. After 3½ hours, make the dumplings. Put the flour in a large mixing bowl
   and season.
4. Coarsely grate a quarter of the butter into the flour. Toss the mixture to
   coat the butter. Add the remaining butter in the same way, in three
   batches, to yield light, fluffy dumplings.
5. Bring the mixture together as a soft, squidgy dough with the cold water.
   Divide into 12 even pieces and roll each into a ball.
6. Remove the slow cooker lid and arrange the dumplings gently on top. Re-
   cover and cook on high for a further 25–30 minutes. Serve.