Mum’s lamb casserole & dumplings

 Now, more than ever, we’re shopping online. And not just for things we’ve been buying online for ages but pretty much everything – from Christmas gifts to flowers, clothes, furniture… meat? 

Over this year we’ve increasingly done our food shopping online and this has meant sometimes ordering through the big supermarkets rather than some of the independents we used to visit in the before times. That said, increasingly so, there are independents doing their own thing, including Ruby & White on Bristol’s Whiteladies Road. Those of you who are local will know them best for their restaurant but actually, their deli and butchery next door has launched Ruby & White At Home earlier this year with a range of meat boxes for delivery and I was lucky enough to be sent one to try. 

What did I get? 

They sent me their Everyday Family Meat Box which is priced at £60 and this is what it contained: 

• 8 x pork sausages
• 4 x rump steaks
• 4 x pork steaks
• 1kg diced lamb
• 1kg beef mince
• 4 x chicken breasts

Ruby & White source their meat sustainably and locally and everything is hand-butchered on site. Whilst it’s not organic, it’s as close to it and in most cases, they prefer not to work with farms using pesticides and chemical fertilisers. 

The box arrived well packaged and chilled and I immediately got to work splitting everything down into portions for the freezer and the next few days. For me, buying a box this size works out better value because I can plan meals ahead knowing what I have in and often, buying 1kg of mince (for example) is cheaper than two 500g packs. It’s also a great way to avoid food waste because let’s face it, that’s money down the drain. I also like the fact that this is a local company working with local suppliers. 

Mum’s lamb casserole and dumplings, serves 4

Ingredients:

• 500g diced lamb
• 1litre vegetable or lamb stock 
• 3 carrots 
• 2 onions 
• 2 large potatoes 
• 1 swede
• 2 bay leaves
• salt & pepper for seasoning 
• 2-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary 
• 2-4 sprigs of fresh thyme 
• Olive oil
• Salted butter 
• Plain flour

Method: 

Casserole

• Preheat your oven to 175c / gas mark 3 
• Dice your vegetables into big chunky pieces 
• Dust the lamb in seasoned flour in a large pan or casserole dish and fry until golden brown in a tablespoon of olive oil and knob of butter. You might need to do this in batches. Once golden brown, remove from the pan. 
• Add a little more oil if needed and fry the vegetables for a few minutes. Return the lamb to the pan and stir it all together.
• Add the herbs, bay leaves and the stock, bring back to the boil and then pop the lid on and transfer to the oven. 
• Cook in the oven for 1 hour – 1 hour 1/2 or until your lamb is super tender. 

Dumplings

• For four dumplings, mix the following: 50g self raising flour, 25g beef suet, 3 tablespoons of water, a pinch of dried herbs, freshly chopped parsley and a pinch of salt. 
• It should form a firmish dough. If it’s too firm, add more water. 
• Form the dough into four dumplings and nest them into the casserole. 
• Cook with the lid off for 20 minutes. 

My mum’s lamb casserole is deceptively simple but it tastes wonderful. We ate half for dinner and half the next day for lunch. So comforting and absolutely delicious. The lamb was tender and fall apart. Just so so good. A real taste of my childhood!

Enjoy on its own or with crusty bread! 

In the mood for casserole? Try these recipes: 

• End of the month sausage casserole
• Baked chicken with onions & tomatoes
• Cold weather chicken casserole
• A twist on Matt Tebbutt’s sausage casserole with butternut squash and sage