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There’s something about a bubbling stew that feels like time slowing down. I always think of my Nan when I make dumplings. She made the best ones, the kind that were fluffy but somehow still hearty, like they were stitched with love instead of suet. I’ve been craving them all summer, like my taste buds have been counting down to jumper weather and comfort bowls.

Today was meant to be one of those wholesome, “proper veg” stews. Carrots, celery, the whole I’ve got my life together vibe. Instead, real life showed up with toddlers, crumbs, and a freezer whispering “peas will do.” So we rolled with it.

Potatoes sank into the broth, thyme floated like a countryside memory, dumplings puffed up and perched proudly on top, and the peas? They were valiant little green stand-ins, bless them. And in that steam rising from the pot, I swear I could smell Nan’s kitchen for a second.

If you do have carrots and celery, toss them in and feel like the domestic goddess you undoubtedly are. But if not? This stew doesn’t judge. It hugs. It remembers. It fills bellies and hearts in equal measure.

Because feeding your family isn’t always about perfection; sometimes it’s about honouring where you came from, using what you’ve got, and letting dinner be a soft landing at the end of a long day.

Serve, spoon, sigh. Somewhere, Nan is nodding in approval.

Comfort in a pot. The sort of dish that forgives you for not having the “proper” veg because life isn’t a cooking show and we work with what we’ve got.

Ingredients

6 chicken thighs 1 onion, diced 3 garlic cloves, minced A glug of olive oil or butter 1 litre rich chicken stock Fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried Salt & black pepper Small potatoes (a handful, halved or whole then chopped at the end) Frozen peas (big handful, heroic) Bay leaf optional Premade dumpling mix (Atora etc.)

If you do have carrots and celery, toss a couple of chopped carrots and two celery sticks in at the start. They’ll deepen the flavour and make you feel like someone who definitely remembers to buy vegetables.

Method

Brown chicken thighs in oil. Soften onion and garlic in the same pot. Add thighs back in, pour in stock, thyme, bay, salt, pepper. Add potatoes. Simmer 45 minutes. Mix dumplings per packet instructions. Drop dumplings in, lid on, simmer 20 minutes. Stir through peas in the last 5 minutes. Break up chicken chunks if you fancy.

Serve. Feel smug. Accept compliments.