Serves 4. Cooking time is long.


INGREDIENTS1 tablespoon of dripping or olive oil
900g diced leg of lamb, trimmed of fat
12 baby onions, peeled and left whole
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
3 parsnips, peeled, cored and cut into 1 inch chunks
½ tbsp of soft brown sugar
1 tbsp of plain flour
570ml good brown stock
150 ml red wine
A sprig each of parsley, thyme and a bay leaf
225g plums (damsons if you can get them) halved and stoned
Salt and pepper


For the dumplings:
225g self-raising flour
150g suet
1 large sprig of rosemary leaves
1 desert spoon of onion seeds
Salt and pepper
Cold water to mix




METHOD
Heat the dripping in a flameproof casserole and when it starts to smoke, brown the meat, a little at a time. When each piece of meat is sufficiently browned, take it out and keep warm.

After all the meat is done, put in the onions, carrots and parsnips and fry more slowly until they are just coloured. Add the brown sugar and then stir in the flour and cook it for a couple of minutes.

Pour in the stock and wine and bring to boiling point, replace the meat and add the herbs. Simmer on top of the stove, covered for 1 hour until the meat is tender.


To make the dumplings, mix the flour, suet, onion seeds and the rosemary leaves together in a bowl with a generous amount of seasoning. Add enough cold water to make a firm and moist dough but not sticky.

Uncover your lamb and stir in the damsons. Roll the dumplings into balls and place on top of your lamb.

Place uncovered into a preheated oven at 190 degrees celsius to let the dumplings cook for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the dumplings and cook for a further 15 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with some steamed spring greens.

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