Short days with evenings closing in require proper comfort food and this recipe is just the ticket. Use a lighter style of beer such as Ridgeway bitter and serve with some warm fresh bread. Great for a Halloween or Guy Fawkes party as it can be eaten from a bowl with just a spoon or fork.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

For the stew
2 tbs. olive oil
8 chicken tights
1 large onion (roughly chopped)
2 large flat mushrooms (roughly chopped)
1 stick celery (finely chopped)
2 carrots (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
750ml real ale (fridge cold)
1 tbs. brown sugar
2 tbs. plain flour
chicken stock cube
1 tsp. thyme
2 bay leaves
A generous dash of Worcester sauce
Salt and pepper

For the dumplings
110g self raising flour
50g beef or vegetable suet
1/2 tsp. mixed herbs
salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

The day before, place the chicken thighs is a bowl and pour over the COLD real ale. Add the sugar, thyme and bay leaves, cover in cling film and leave in the fridge overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180oC. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with kitchen towel, retain the marinade. In a suitable casserole dish, heat the olive oil on the hob until just smoking and fry the chicken thighs skin side down before frying all over until golden brown. Once browned, remove the chicken and put to one side.

If more than 4 tbs. of fat remains in the casserole dish pour some away. Next add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic and fry until they start to soften and brown. Now sprinkle over the flour and mix into the vegetables for couple of minutes before slowly adding the marinade with continual stirring. Once all the marinade has been added (including the bay leaves), bring to the boil. Next crumble in the stock cube and add the Worcester sauce. Put the chicken back in the dish and add the mushrooms, mix and add the lid. Place in the oven for one hour.

Meanwhile, make your dumplings by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl. Now add a little water until all the ingredients bind into a soft, but not too sticky dough. Divide the into eight equal portions and roll into balls
Remove the casserole from the oven, check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Add the dumplings and try and sit them just below the surface of the stew. If the stew has thickened too much, stir in a little hot water before adding the dumplings. Replace the lid and put back in the oven for 20 mins. After this time remove the lid and cook for a further 15 mins to brown the top of the dumplings. Serve with fresh chunks of bread