MARMITE CASSEROLE RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºC/gas 5.
  2. Trim, wash and slice the leeks 1cm thick, scrub and cut the carrots into rough chunks and finely slice the celery. Peel and finely slice the garlic, pick the thyme leaves, discarding the stalks, and finely slice the bacon.
  3. Heat a lug of oil in a large casserole pan on a medium heat, then add the bacon. Scatter in the thyme leaves and fry for a few minutes, or until the bacon is golden.
  4. Next, add the leeks, carrots, celery and garlic and cook for around 10 minutes, or until the leeks start to soften, stirring regularly. Meanwhile, peel and roughly chop the celeriac and parsnips, then roughly chop the potatoes.
  5. Add the chicken, celeriac, parsnips and potatoes to the pan. Stir in the Marmite, add a good grinding of black pepper and stir to coat.
  6. Pour in the hot stock, bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to low. Crumple up and wet a piece of greaseproof paper, then open it out and place on top of the stew. Cover with a lid and pop in the oven for 1 hour, or until the chicken is super-tender.
  7. When the time’s up, gently break the chicken up into the stew, then serve up in bowls. I like to serve this with broccoli on the side. Sometimes I top it with puff pastry or I stir it through pasta for a really tasty sauce.

Steps:

• Put the flour in a large mixing bowl and season. Toss a third of the beef in flour to coat, shaking off excess. Heat 1tbsp oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry meat until browned all over. Remove with a slotted spoon to the slow cooker after each batch. Repeat with the remaining meat using 1tbsp oil each time. Add the stock to the pan, scraping up brown bits.
• Pour the stock into the slow cooker slowly and mix well with the beef. Mix in the onions, ale, bay leaf and thyme. Finally stir in the mushrooms and carrots and season. Cover with a lid and cook on high for 4hr. 
• Meanwhile, make dumplings. Mix all ingredients, apart from cheese, in a bowl with plenty of seasoning, or pulse in a food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add cheese and mix in to form larger flakes, then sprinkle over 1–2tbsp water to bring the dough together. Roll into 6 balls and dot around stew leaving a 2cm gap between them. Cover again with the lid and cook for a further 1hr.