Step 1
Turn your slow cooker on to the high setting, or preheat oven to 150°C/gas mark 2
Step 2
Place all of the ingredients, except the dumpling mixture, into the slow cooker and cook for 6–8 hours. To cook in a conventional oven, place the ingredients in a roasting tin or casserole dish, cover with tin foil (or place a lid on a casserole dish) and cook for 4 hours
Step 3
1 hour before the end of the cooking time, make the dumplings by mixing the suet into the flour. Season and mix to a soft dough with gradual additions of water
Step 4
Shape the dumplings into 6–8 balls, drop on top of the casserole in the slow cooker, replace the lid and cook for a further hour until it is ready to serve. In cooking in a conventional oven, add the dumplings to the dish 45 minutes before the end of cooking.
Step 5
Serve immediately with your choice of seasonal greens and some mashed potato or champ.