Vegan Suppers - Goulash and Dumplings

With snow on the ground and sub-zero temperatures outside, British winters call for warming, tasty,  filling, nutrient-packed dinners and this Goulash ticks all those boxes.  It's  also ridiculously cheap and easy to cook.

Traditional Hungarian Goulash definitely is NOT vegetarian and as much of the flavour and richness of the dish comes from the slow-cooked meat, it mightn't seem an obvious candidate for conversion to a veggie dish.  I've been cooking this recipe for years though and even a committed carnivore like my dad can't fault it. In fact, it's also one of my boyfriend's favourite meals and this is a man whose other favourites are corned-beef hash and steak and kidney pie!

I sometimes serve it without the dumplings but it's soooo much better with them.  You can add a bit of grated cheese to the dumpling mixture if desired but they're just as tasty (and remain vegan) without. 

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Vegetarian Goulash and Dumplings

Serves 4

For the goulash:

2 tbsp mild olive or sunflower oil

2 onions, roughly sliced

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into chunky slices

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

400g potatoes, peeled and cut into one-inch cubes

3/4 pint vegetable stock

1 tsp caraway seeds

1tsp smoked paprika

salt and pepper to season

For the dumplings :

75g self-raising flour

50g vegetarian suet (I use Atora Light)

2 tbsp finely chopped herbs such as chives or oregano (fresh is best but dried is fine too, just use a bit less)

generous pinch of salt

4tbsp water

1. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions.  Cook over a low heat for 5-10 minutes until starting to soften.

2. Add the garlic, carrots and caraway seeds and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Add the potatoes and paprika, stirring well.  Cook for one minute then add the tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.

4.To make the dumplings, sift the flour into a bowl and mix in the suet, herbs and salt. Add the water, 1tbsp at a time, mixing until you have a soft, dough-like mixture.  Make 8 dumplings, either by hand, or by using two spoons to shape them.  

5.Stir the goulash thoroughly then place the dumplings gently into the pan and cover. Simmer gently for 15 minutes or until dumplings have roughly doubled in size.

Serve in bowls, seasoning with salt and black pepper if required, and enjoy :-)

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Jenny
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