Ingredients

• 350g/12oz boned chicken thighs, cut into quarters
• 1 tbsp plain flour, seasoned
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, thickly sliced
• 4 celery sticks, thickly sliced
• 175g/6oz chestnut mushrooms, quartered
• 300ml/½ pint chicken stock
• 300ml/½ pint red wine
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 100g/4oz self-raising flour
• 50g/2oz shredded suet
• 4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
•   seasoning

Method

1. Toss the chicken in the seasoned flour and shake off any excess. Heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the chicken and onion and cook over a high heat for 3-4 minutes until the chicken is lightly browned. Stir in the carrots, celery and mushrooms and cook for a further 2 minutes.
2. Add the chicken stock, red wine and mixed herbs. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, stir together the self-raising flour, suet, parsley and seasoning, then add four to five tablespoons of water to make a soft dough. Shape the dough into 12 even-sized balls and drop them into the pan, taking care to space them a little apart from each other as they will swell during cooking.
4. Cover the pot and simmer the stew gently for a further 15-20 minutes until the dumplings are risen and cooked through. Ladle the stew into bowls and serve.