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.