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Ingredients
For the hotpot
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 small butternut squash (approximately 800g/1lb 12oz), scrubbed, deseeded and chopped into chunks
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- ½ tsp dried chili flakes (optional)
- 3 tbsp pesto (optional)
- 350ml/12fl oz hot vegetable stock (made with 1 stock cube)
- 100g/3½oz young spinach leaves (optional)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dumplings
- 200g/7oz self-raising flour
- 75g/2¾oz frozen butter (or 75g/2¾oz shredded vegetarian suet)
- 125ml/4fl oz cold water
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
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Heat the oil in a large, frying pan over medium heat.
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Add the vegetables and fry for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
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Transfer the vegetables to the slow cooker, sprinkle over the flour and stir well. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, chili flakes, and pesto, if using, and stir again.
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Pour over the stock and stir.
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Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.
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After the hotpot has been cooking for 3½ hours, make the dumplings.
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Put the flour in a large mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper.
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Coarsely grate one-quarter of the frozen butter into the flour. Toss the mixture to coat the butter lightly in the flour.
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Add the remaining butter in three more batches, grating and tossing it in the same way. This should prevent the dumpling dough from clumping and yield light.
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Stir in enough cold water to bring the mixture together as a soft, squidgy dough.
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Divide into 12 equally sized pieces and roll each into a ball.
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Remove the lid from the slow cooker, stir in the spinach until wilted, then arrange the dumplings gently on top.
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Replace the lid and continue to cook on high for a further 30 minutes, or until the dumplings are puffed up and fluffy.
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Spoon the hotpot onto serving plates with the dumplings on top.
