Vegetable Stew and Dumplings

The concept of stew is universal and has been around since ancient times, going back to when humans first discovered how to cook food over fire. A few examples are: "ratatouille" in France, "chickpea stew" in Spain, "tagines" in Morocco, ''Irish stew'' in Ireland, ''mince and tatties' in Scotland, beef stew in England, and chuck wagon stew in United States.

Many medieval peasant stews or pottages were made with vegetables and foraged plants as meat was expensive, and hunting was controlled by wealthy land owners. Vegetables such as cabbage, turnip, peas, beans, and leeks, and grains such as oats and barley, were easy to source for the stew-pot. As such, stews were commonly filled with garden-grown vegetables, edible leaves, wild plants, and herbs.

The traditional Scottish hotchpotch soup, which due to its thickness is often classified as a stew, traditionally included lettuce which was an ingredient that might seem unusual to us today but as many folk were suspicious of raw vegetables including salad ones they were also cooked in the stew pot.

Add dumplings to stews was a frugal way to bulk out the meal that may only have been made up with vegetables, beans and grains, or small amounts of meat.

Traditional American dumplings

In The Little House on the Prairie series of books and films, set in the American Midwest during the late 19th Century, Laura Ingalls describes instances of her mother preparing stew and dumplings. Stew and dumplings made an appearance at their Thanksgiving dinner. Similarly, it provided sustenance on the rugged roadside while the family journeyed by wagon, carrying all their possessions, in search of an ideal location to build their home. This hearty meal also graced the dinner table when they hosted a family friend, Mr. Edwards, in their newly built wooden house on the prairie.

Ma Ingalls dumplings were prepared with white flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk, and cooked directly on top of the stew. Also, when Mr Edwards visited for dinner, the dumplings were cooked within a Jack rabbit stew, and served alongside cornbread and molasses. Laura Ingles describes her mothers dumplings as being similar to sour milk biscuits, although the dumplings did not need to be rolled out but simply dropped into the stew as they were of a much wetter consistency.

For more information, see The Little House Cookbook, Frontier Foods from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Classic Stories [Third Edition], by Barbara M. Walker [1979].

Traditional British dumplings

Suet dumplings have been a staple in traditional British cooking for centuries, but when the pioneers settled in America, suet was not an easy ingredient to obtain so early American recipes for dumplings do not contain suet. Suet, is a type of animal fat and throughout the centuries it was cheap and readily available compared to other ingredients so they were useful in making a sparse meal. Flour dumplings made with suet are light and fluffy, and they soak up the flavours of whatever stew they happen to be cooking in.

Adding dumplings to stews was popular during the 18th and 19th centuries, during the Industrial Revolution. This was an era when cheap, filling, and nutritious meals were needed to feed large, working-class families. Stews, soups, and broths could be easily bulked up with the addition of dumplings, providing a more filling meal.

One of the most popular British stews that feature suet dumplings is beef stew and dumplings. Although this traditional meal is a frequent dish during the colder months in modern times, it was a staple all year round for frugal families.

In the popular 19th century cook book Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management [1861] Isabella Beeton describes a plain family dinner as being -

''mutton, carrots, mashed turnips, suet dumplings, and caper sauce: the broth should be served first, and a little rice or pearl barley should be boiled with it along with the meat''

Incidentally, the pudding to follow this meal was a rolled jam pudding which was likely prepared with suet as well.

Old-fashioned puddings prepared with suet

Old-fashioned British dumplings are close cousins of the traditional British savoury and sweet puddings such as - Scottish haggis, sweet clootie dumpling, spotted dick [steamed pudding], steamed jam pudding, and Christmas pudding otherwise known historically as plum pudding and although a sweet dessert now, it was originally served along with the savoury dinner.

In the old cookery book The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy [1805], Hanna Glasse has a recipe for Suet Dumplings which is listed under the ''Of Puddings'' chapter. However, it is not clear whether Glasses' dumplings are intended to be served along with the savoury course or the dessert course, as a Steak Pudding is before the Suet Dumplings recipe, whereas the recipe after the Suet Dumplings is for a Potato Pudding which is finished off by having sugar thrown over it!

Glasses' Suet Dumplings are prepared with flour, milk, eggs, suet, currants, salt and ginger, with the mixture formed into the size of a large turkey's egg, before being flattened and cooked in boiling water.

Vegetable suet

Atora, the most common brand of suet, was the first manufactured animal suet in 1893, and vegetable suet appeared sometime after. Atora vegetable suet is made with a blend of vegetable oils and wheat flour and comes in the form of little, light coloured, firm, but easily squashed pellets. It doesn't require any preparation before being used in a recipe as it can be simply added to the recipe as it comes, and during cooking it melts into the dumpling or pudding, and if cooked properly it creates a deliciously light and fluffy texture.