Stew Peas & Rosemary Dumplings

A different take on a classic Jamaican dish.

This dish evolved after Joseph (my hubby) was telling me about how his Mum used to make stew peas and how much he loved it as a child.

I wanted to make it for him as close to how he would have had it, but of course a vegan version.

So I found out the key flavours his Mum would use and went on a journey to veganise it...and it's pretty good!

How do we do it?

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This is my version of stew peas and it has several adaptations to the classic but still a lovely flavour and packed with protein! Of course I have taken out the meat element but I also like to pack my meals full of veggies so tend to add more than the classic stew peas would have. Traditional dumplings would be made with just flour and water so these are a little different too in this recipe.

You can add in any veggies to this dish so it's a great one to use up any you have in the fridge. I've listed the veggies I used on this particular occassion but I change them up every time. Instead of dumplings you can also serve by itself, with rice or salad.

Scotch bonnet pepper is classic for this dish, you can use a whole one to release the flavour and remove it upon serving but cayenne pepper works well too.

Recipe - Serves 3-4

Dumplings (makes 6)

• 150g Plain Flour

• 1tsp Baking Powder

• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

• 1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary

• 75ml Plant Based Milk

Stew Peas

• 1 Tbsp Olive or Coconut Oil

• 1 White Onion

• 1 Leek

• 2-3 Garlic Cloves

• 1 Carrot

• 1 Cougette

• Handful of Broccoli

• 1/2 tsp Thyme

• 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper / Whole Scotch Bonnet Pepper

• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

• 1 Tbsp Yeast Extract/Marmite

• 2 Cans Kidney Beans (mixed beans also work)

• 1 Cup Green Peas

• 1 Can Coconut Milk

Method

1. Start with making the dumplings. Add the flour, baking powder, garlic powder, rosemary and plant milk to a bowl and mix till you get a doughy consistency. Roll dough into 6 balls or roll long ways ('spinners') and set aside.

2. Heat the oil, add chopped onion, pinch of salt, leek and garlic and fry on a medium heat until softened.

3. Roughly chop the rest of the vegetables and add them to the pan along with thyme, cinnamon and cayenne pepper and stir in.

4. Add the coconut milk and yeast extract, stir well.

5. Stir in the kidney beans, adding the water from the tins and finally add your green peas.

6. Immerse your dumplings in your stew, place the lid on the pan and let everything cook up for around 20-25minutes. The dumplings should soak up some of the yummy flavours.

7. Serve and enjoy!

Tips

Of course for this dish you can use dry kidney beans, just ensure you prep them the day before to soften and you can use the water you boil them in for the stew also.

Not traditional for these type of dumplings, but sometimes I like to lightly fry the dumplings in olive or coconut oil on the outside to crisp them up a little before adding to the stew which is what I did here.

This is meant to be a stew so the more liquid the better, especially to cook your dumplings- you may want to add more coconut milk for more liquid. However it still tastes amazing if some of that liquid evapourates or if you don't quite have enough coconut milk - it's just slightly less stew like!

The classic dumplings for stew peas are called 'spinners' which instead of rolling round dumplings they are rolled long ways. Usually made with just flour, water and a pinch of salt if you fancy trying these too. These are boiled dumplings so once you make them pop them into the stew right away to cook up, sometimes we boil them in water for around 10 minutes before adding them to the stew.

I get loads of my ingredients from Buy Wholefoods Online check them out as they have such a range of products at great prices.

Let me know if you give the stew peas & dumplings a try. Tag me on social media with your pictures of your yummy cooking!

Any questions please get in touch.

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