Veggie chilli with cornmeal dumplings

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 2 celery sticks, diced
• 2 jalepeño chillies, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 bay leaves1 tbsp ground cumin
• 25g red lentils, well rinsed
• 750ml vegetable stock
• 400ml coconut milk
• 1 head of baby spring greens, shredded
• 2 x 400g cans of black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• juice of 1 lime
• salt and black pepper

Cornmeal Dumplings

• 150g self-raising flour
• 75g chilled butter, diced
• 125g fine cornmeal
• 125g sweetcorn, defrosted if frozen
• 50ml buttermilk
• 1 egg

To Serve

• 100g vegetarian Cheddar cheese, grated
• chopped fresh coriander

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish with a lid and add the onion, peppers, celery and chillies. Cook over a medium heat until the vegetables have started to soften, then stir in the garlic, bay leaves, cumin and red lentils. Season generously with salt and pepper, then pour in the vegetable stock.
   

2. Bring to the boil and leave for 5 minutes, then turn down the heat and continue to simmer until the red lentils have softened. Add the coconut milk, spring greens and beans and cook until the spring greens are tender and the lentils have collapsed and thickened the sauce. Taste for seasoning and add the lime juice.

3. To make the dumplings, put the flour into a bowl with a pinch of salt. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then mix in the cornmeal, sweetcorn, buttermilk and egg. Bring everything together into a firm dough, then divide into 12 pieces. Roll them into balls.

4. Arrange the dumplings over the chilli and cover. Cook over a medium heat for about 25 minutes until the dumplings are well risen and glossy. Serve the chilli with grated cheese and plenty of chopped coriander.