Ingredients

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 small butternut squash (approximately 800g/1lb 12oz)
• scrubbed
• deseeded
• chopped into chunks
• 2 onions
• thinly sliced
• 3 carrots
• peeled
• cut into chunks
• 2 parsnips
• peeled
• cut into chunks
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• ½ tsp dried chilli 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
• 200g/7oz self-raising flour
• 75g/2¾oz frozen butter (or 75g2¾oz shredded vegetarian suet)
• 125ml/4½fl oz cold water
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Heat the oil in a large
• non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the vegetables
• in batches if necessary
• and fry for 4-5 minutes
• stirring regularly
• until lightly browned all over. Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer the vegetables to the slow-cooker
• sprinkle over the flour and stir well. Add the chopped tomatoes
• tomato purée
• chilli flakes and pesto and stir again. Pour over the stock and stir. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.
• After the hotpot has been cooking for 3½ hours
• make the dumplings. Put the flour in a large mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper.
• Coarsely grate one-quarter of the frozen butter into the flour. Toss the mixture to coat the butter lightly in the flour. 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
• fluffy dumplings.
• Stir in enough cold water to bring the mixture together as a soft
• squidy dough. Divide into 12 equally sized pieces and roll each into a ball.
• Remove the lid from the slow-cooker
• stir in the spinach until wilted
• then arrange the dumplings gently on top. Replace the lid and continue to cook on high for a further 25-30 minutes
• or until the dumplings are puffed-up and fluffy.
• Spoon the hotpot onto serving plates with the dumplings on top.